rebirth of my 35g hex

[cb9tunerguy]

hello everyone! this is the rebirth of my 35g hex. i think i was a bit hasty when i origionally switched over this tank to sw, and after much research on this great forum, i made some changes to my tank. first off i decided to reuse the water from my tank because it has been cycling for about 3 weeks now. i drained it into a 30g holding tank and placed my live rock in there as well. all the equipment has stayed the same. fluval 204 canister, zoomed power head, marineland stealth heater, current 80w pc lighting, day/night timer, and a turbo twist 9w u.v. steralizer. the only new addition to my tank was a coralife 18w mini pc light i had laying around. so i decided to make use of it.

i started out by masking off the the tank so i wouldnt get paint in places where i did not want it.

i painted the tank using prima acrylic paints (my artist paints) and some different spong and brush techniques.

i then painted the dank with a final coat of krylon plastic fusion to fill in any areas that may be open still.

here is what i ended up with

i think i may try repainting it again sometime down the road to give it a bit more of an organic feeling.

 

[cb9tunerguy]

after moving the stand and equipment, i leveled the stand and added 2 bags of thoughrly washed kolorscape preimum play sand making for a 4" sand bed.

when i broke down my old set up i found my hitchiker burrowed in the old substrait. he was id as a certhil snail.

it took about 2 days for the dust to really settle down in my tank. after about a day and a half i added my live rock and some dead live rock i had in my attic. this really helped to settle things down.
here is a pic of my tank.

these are my emerald crabs. they really seem to be enjoying the new set up. they have been very active all day, feeding, and exploring the rock and sand bed.

 

[cb9tunerguy]

i also found this guy aout for a snack, i think he is a bristle worm.

so what have i learned from this process? research, research, research.......
so thats it for now. comments good/bad would be great. thanks for taking the time to view my tank. please feel free to check back frequently for updates. my future plans are to slowly add more live rock and maybe a couple few blue/green chromis. but for now im going to replace my pc bulbs and let the tank continue to cycle.

 

[cb9tunerguy]

here are some updated pics of my tank. i added a few more lbs of LR and two blue/green reef chromis. they are a blast! i am looking for a good candidate to clean up after my emerald crabs. messy little buggers. i was thinking of tonga nassarius snails or a serpant star. the problem with the snails, i dont know how many to add. you can buy them from live aquaria but shipping is $30.00. saltwaterfish.com shipping is free but you have to buy them in a ten pack. i am afraid ten will be just way too many and they will starve. what are your recommendations for a good candidate for a detritus clean up crew? thanks for your input!

here are some pics!

 

[cb9tunerguy]

.................anyone?

 

[harrisagogetter]

Nice look. Real nemoish:') I think as far as the snails go I would go to the LFS and only get a couple at a time. Better to start off small and then move up.

Good luck

 

[Costa Randy]

i have the same size aquarium and am looking to change it from freshwater to salt.. could you give me a few tips and what kind of filtration are you useing?

 

[cb9tunerguy]

i am using a fluval canister filter for the time being. i plan to switch it over to a sump after i get some money together for the equipment and plumbing supplies. from what ive been reading that is the best type of filtration you can use. here is a link to some really good info on sumps. http://www.melevsreef.com. the best advice i can give is to research, research, and research ( a mistake i soon wont make again) good luck!