myztical
New member
OK whew...I finally got the flat spot rubbed out of my forehead from staring into the tank and was able to snap a few pics and continue my review.
Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater is simply amazing. I can't even find the proper adjectives to describe my awe with the entire experience I've had with his company. In a world where skimping is the norm, Richards generosity was unexpected in every way imaginable.
For those who are hesitating because of the shipping cost air cargo, my honest advice is to go for it because all the extras that he throws in will more than make up for it. I received a plethora of wonders from the ocean. Beautiful sponges, star coral, a tiger stripped goby, a large spider decorator crab, a stunning ricordea teal and blue in daytime and glows blue and yellow at night, two different gorgonian sea fans, even a hot pink coral with an oyster of some sort attached to it. If you were to price everything individually, it really is an incredible deal for everything you are getting.
I got my share of hitchhikers too, a few (that I have seen so far) gorilla crabs the largest being dime sized, a pistol shrimp with a fluorescent orange/pink claw, a green pistol, and at least 2 small clear baby pistols. Many other types of crabs but I can't id them because they hide. I know there is one decorator that is uber tiny, but I don't think I got a mantis! IMHO the diversity far outweighs the bad hitchhikers. Plus my tank is unique with life that I probably wouldn't have gotten from my LFS.
My tank cycled in 6 days, I had little die off if any, my ammonia was consistanly around .25 and peaked around .35 not too bad as far as cycling goes, quick and painless. Receiving part 2 was just as easy as part 1, on the plane and in my tank within hours of communicating with Richard. I had 1 casualty unfortunately, my serpent star didn't acclimate to well, poor little guy. He didn't die but was starting to fall apart, so I had to say goodbye to him. :sad1: I dig serpents though so I'll get another one after my tank stabilizes. I'm having the same experience with part 2 for cycling as well, seems to be another soft cycle, ammonia .25 or less.
Thanks a million Tampa Bay Saltwater! I will come back again for stoking future tanks!
Heres some pics, some might look similar but they were taken at different times of day with different lighting or angles. Enjoy!
Richard at Tampa Bay Saltwater is simply amazing. I can't even find the proper adjectives to describe my awe with the entire experience I've had with his company. In a world where skimping is the norm, Richards generosity was unexpected in every way imaginable.
For those who are hesitating because of the shipping cost air cargo, my honest advice is to go for it because all the extras that he throws in will more than make up for it. I received a plethora of wonders from the ocean. Beautiful sponges, star coral, a tiger stripped goby, a large spider decorator crab, a stunning ricordea teal and blue in daytime and glows blue and yellow at night, two different gorgonian sea fans, even a hot pink coral with an oyster of some sort attached to it. If you were to price everything individually, it really is an incredible deal for everything you are getting.
I got my share of hitchhikers too, a few (that I have seen so far) gorilla crabs the largest being dime sized, a pistol shrimp with a fluorescent orange/pink claw, a green pistol, and at least 2 small clear baby pistols. Many other types of crabs but I can't id them because they hide. I know there is one decorator that is uber tiny, but I don't think I got a mantis! IMHO the diversity far outweighs the bad hitchhikers. Plus my tank is unique with life that I probably wouldn't have gotten from my LFS.
My tank cycled in 6 days, I had little die off if any, my ammonia was consistanly around .25 and peaked around .35 not too bad as far as cycling goes, quick and painless. Receiving part 2 was just as easy as part 1, on the plane and in my tank within hours of communicating with Richard. I had 1 casualty unfortunately, my serpent star didn't acclimate to well, poor little guy. He didn't die but was starting to fall apart, so I had to say goodbye to him. :sad1: I dig serpents though so I'll get another one after my tank stabilizes. I'm having the same experience with part 2 for cycling as well, seems to be another soft cycle, ammonia .25 or less.
Thanks a million Tampa Bay Saltwater! I will come back again for stoking future tanks!
Heres some pics, some might look similar but they were taken at different times of day with different lighting or angles. Enjoy!
Thats it for now, I'll update in about a month or so! Hope I can enjoy my tank for many moons to come.
