Alrighty folks.
So the tank has been running for 3 weeks with water from Chris Sipe's tank and established(~4 years) rock as well as a combination of about 20 lbs of sand from Chris and another 30ish lbs of sand I already had.
Water parameters are good. Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <10ppm, 8.0 to 8.2~3 pH daily. Haven't checked alk or calcium at all.
I have Xenia that is flourishing, some torquoise shrooms that are insane in just the few weeks I have had them. A couple are about the size of your hand and they don't seem to be "reaching" for light or into the flow at all. I have a clump of rics that are again insane with great color. I have a couple of other as of yet unidentified corals that are growing well even though the color could be better. But I plan on remedying my lighting situation by building a custom light and hood. In all, when completed the hood will contain 4 18inch HO flourescents including 2 18,000 K bulbs and 2 Actinics alternating from back to front. I will also have some moonlights wired in as well as a couple of timers to allow the actinics to come on a couple hours before the full daylights and then go off a couple of hours after the same.
Anyway, on to the point. The coralline growth is good. I had a minor problem with Bubble Algae and some Aiptasia that is now under control and receding with the addition of 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 emerald crabs. I plan on supplementing the tank feeding with stuff that the shrimp and the emeralds will eat after the bad stuff is gone.
I feel that we are ready to start adding fish. And I would like your opinions on that. The rock is very mature showing good populations of worms and pods running all over after lights out. The hang on sump has some well populated rock rubble in it. And the snails and hermit crabs all are doing well. And so far, I have counted 6 feather dusters in various locations on the rock.
The first fish I plan to add is a Perc Clown hosting in a BTA.
I will be leaning more towards a fish tank with a few easy to keep reef inhabitants such as Rics, Shrooms, Xenia and maybe eventually a frogspawn or hammer. This is going to be my intro to the hobby tank and will most likely end up being part of the living room permanently as I have already decided that when we remodel our basement, if I enjoy the hobby, to do a large in wall.
I have a list of fish that should get on well together and the list is based on the fish being very personable fish that interact well with each other and their enviroment.
Fish list includes
Perc Clown
Royal Gramma
A mated pair of Rusty Gobies or
Lawnmower Blenny
Purple Firefish
Small Blue Angel(I know Angels are questionable when it comes to reefs but like I said, it won't be primarily a reef tank...)
That is my starter list and based on adult sizes, should allow the addition of another 1 or 2 more fish in my tank.
Also want opinions on my fish list.
Once I get a larger tank, I would focus on a more reef oriented tank. But I want to make sure the hobby will hold my interest. Although, I have to admit, even with very little in the form of real reef life in the tank, I am still amazed by the amount of things going on in there.
Also, anyone know of a LFS in the DSM area that stocks Joe's Juice? I want to help my Peppermint shrimp out with their aiptasia feast and heard that Joe's Juice, kalk paste, or lemon juice work well. The bastards have already killed a small xenia colony that I really liked and are trying to encroach on my big colony and I will have none of that. I have sucked quite a few out with a turkey baster but most are too well attached.
On a side note, we went to the zoo tonight for some after hours enjoyment(Dream Night for children who were at one time or are now special needs patients of the local area hospitals...my fiancee's 5 year old was in the NICU at Mercy since he was premature and had some health issues but is now a thriving little boy who loves sports).
I got to see their "new to me" reef setup and have to admit that for the most part it looked pretty good. They have a hammer and a frogspawn(my favorite coral btw) that are both doing well but also have at least 4 clowns all together in that tank. Something about the tank just didn't look right to me though. Although for the life of me, I can't put my finger on what it was.
Also, their big salty tank concerns me a bit. It feels like there are too many fish in there. And ALOT of same species clowns in the tank that were very agressive towards each other. Even the tangs seemed to be standoffish towards each other. Again, something just didn't feel natural about that tank. Maybe it was all of the fake coral skeletons in the tank or something.
Anyway, my long winded post is over. Thanks for the input.
Ryan
So the tank has been running for 3 weeks with water from Chris Sipe's tank and established(~4 years) rock as well as a combination of about 20 lbs of sand from Chris and another 30ish lbs of sand I already had.
Water parameters are good. Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <10ppm, 8.0 to 8.2~3 pH daily. Haven't checked alk or calcium at all.
I have Xenia that is flourishing, some torquoise shrooms that are insane in just the few weeks I have had them. A couple are about the size of your hand and they don't seem to be "reaching" for light or into the flow at all. I have a clump of rics that are again insane with great color. I have a couple of other as of yet unidentified corals that are growing well even though the color could be better. But I plan on remedying my lighting situation by building a custom light and hood. In all, when completed the hood will contain 4 18inch HO flourescents including 2 18,000 K bulbs and 2 Actinics alternating from back to front. I will also have some moonlights wired in as well as a couple of timers to allow the actinics to come on a couple hours before the full daylights and then go off a couple of hours after the same.
Anyway, on to the point. The coralline growth is good. I had a minor problem with Bubble Algae and some Aiptasia that is now under control and receding with the addition of 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 emerald crabs. I plan on supplementing the tank feeding with stuff that the shrimp and the emeralds will eat after the bad stuff is gone.
I feel that we are ready to start adding fish. And I would like your opinions on that. The rock is very mature showing good populations of worms and pods running all over after lights out. The hang on sump has some well populated rock rubble in it. And the snails and hermit crabs all are doing well. And so far, I have counted 6 feather dusters in various locations on the rock.
The first fish I plan to add is a Perc Clown hosting in a BTA.
I will be leaning more towards a fish tank with a few easy to keep reef inhabitants such as Rics, Shrooms, Xenia and maybe eventually a frogspawn or hammer. This is going to be my intro to the hobby tank and will most likely end up being part of the living room permanently as I have already decided that when we remodel our basement, if I enjoy the hobby, to do a large in wall.
I have a list of fish that should get on well together and the list is based on the fish being very personable fish that interact well with each other and their enviroment.
Fish list includes
Perc Clown
Royal Gramma
A mated pair of Rusty Gobies or
Lawnmower Blenny
Purple Firefish
Small Blue Angel(I know Angels are questionable when it comes to reefs but like I said, it won't be primarily a reef tank...)
That is my starter list and based on adult sizes, should allow the addition of another 1 or 2 more fish in my tank.
Also want opinions on my fish list.
Once I get a larger tank, I would focus on a more reef oriented tank. But I want to make sure the hobby will hold my interest. Although, I have to admit, even with very little in the form of real reef life in the tank, I am still amazed by the amount of things going on in there.
Also, anyone know of a LFS in the DSM area that stocks Joe's Juice? I want to help my Peppermint shrimp out with their aiptasia feast and heard that Joe's Juice, kalk paste, or lemon juice work well. The bastards have already killed a small xenia colony that I really liked and are trying to encroach on my big colony and I will have none of that. I have sucked quite a few out with a turkey baster but most are too well attached.
On a side note, we went to the zoo tonight for some after hours enjoyment(Dream Night for children who were at one time or are now special needs patients of the local area hospitals...my fiancee's 5 year old was in the NICU at Mercy since he was premature and had some health issues but is now a thriving little boy who loves sports).
I got to see their "new to me" reef setup and have to admit that for the most part it looked pretty good. They have a hammer and a frogspawn(my favorite coral btw) that are both doing well but also have at least 4 clowns all together in that tank. Something about the tank just didn't look right to me though. Although for the life of me, I can't put my finger on what it was.
Also, their big salty tank concerns me a bit. It feels like there are too many fish in there. And ALOT of same species clowns in the tank that were very agressive towards each other. Even the tangs seemed to be standoffish towards each other. Again, something just didn't feel natural about that tank. Maybe it was all of the fake coral skeletons in the tank or something.
Anyway, my long winded post is over. Thanks for the input.
Ryan
