Tank and pics

[11:11]

So here are some pics of my tank. It's a 40 gallon and has been running for 1 month and 11 days.

Currently in the tank I have

1 Firefish
1 Blue Cleaner Wrasse
1Royal Gramma
2 Chromis

1 Sally Lightfoot Crab
2 Large Hermit Crabs
1 Arrow Crab
3 Turbo Snails
1 Feather Duster
1 Chocolate chip Starfish

I no longer have the condylactus anemone as I took it back to the pet shop.

12-08-2010

1-09-2011

As you can see it went through some changes in a months time. Rock formation changes due to removing a damsel and later a purple pseudochromis, as well as sandscape changing due to large hermit crabs plowing it constantly.

I've been having a lot of cloudy water, and from accumulative research it seems that its been an ongoing bacterial bloom. I also noticed that my marine land filter has filter cartridges that don't really come with a lot of carbon in them. It's quite skimpy on carbon actually has anyone else noticed this about power filter cartridges. I decided to go with custom cartridges and added today a bio-chem zorb pad which removes odors and pollutants from water. Now not only 2 hours later the water is clearing up. I think I'm gonna go with some of the cascade filter pad in my marine-land filter instead of their signature cartridges they seem to not make good enough use of the actual filter and I have to change them out more.

I see a pink spot on my dead rock which looks like the beginning of the spread of corraline algae from my live rock, could this be?

Also, the fish I plan to add to the list of what I already have are a flame angel and a clown, any opinions?

 

[tkeracer619]

Looks like a good start.

I would hold off on livestock for a few months and let the tank settle down a bit.

Those pre made filter cartridges suck.

 

[ATinPGH]

I'm getting ready to start a 40 gallon this week. Water is being prepared and everything is staged. Honestly, I don't anticipate adding ANY livestock, other than a clean up crew, for 3 to 4 months.

Maybe an LFS sold you a bunch of fish. Cut your losses, slow down and get your water parameters under control.

Just my $.02

 

[Cj923]

Yea slow down that's alot for a month old tank

 

[DanEnglish]

You could also add a carbon tube filter to the intake of your power head to clear the water more...

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Just an FYI, chocolate chip star fish aren't reef safe. They will eat clams, soft corals, tubeworms, sponges. They also have the potential to reach 15".

As far as the filter pads go, they really don't contain much carbon. You can get a media bag to put some loose carbon in and run that along with the filter pad. Also, you can run some Chemi-pure to help polish the water.

 

[demonnite57]

Have to agree on the slow down thing with the livestock. Let everything settle and calm down. As for adding a clown and a Flame Angel...I have no personal experience with Flame Angels and I have a pair of GSM Clowns and currently a Cinnamon Clown. I didn't want to add clowns till I had a home for them (Anenomes). To me it felt like throwing a person out on the street with no where to live.
So....I say wait till you're tank has settled down some.

 

[DoubleM 10]

if i were you like the other people have said to hold off on anything alive for a bit. also i would remove the SALLY. IME they will "swing" at fish. i have 3 lions. they have made aggressive advances twrd my 5+in lions.

that being said my lions would eat your fish for lunch. that means that crab will try to eat your fish if the oppotunity comes around

matt

 

[israel.kendall]

I have a marineland filter on my tank as well, but I modified it a bit. What I did was cut off the fabric portions of the cartridge and rinsed them very well to get rid of all the carbon from inside. So I was left with two pieces of plastic that used to be filter cartridges. I put the plastic pieces back into the filter. I then put a bunch of live rock rubble in the filter behind the plastic, maybe half full. Then I put a bag of carbon on one filter side and a bag of granular ferric oxide in the other side. I then bought some cut to fit filter pads to stick in front of the plastic to filter the particles from the water. This works well for me and is inexpensive too.

Just an idea, there are plenty of creative ways to run that filter without those cartridges. I've even seen people put lights on them and grow chaeto in there.

 

[Angelfish33]

Looks pretty good in there! But I would also slow it down a bit for a while.

 

[11:11]

Looks like a good start.

I would hold off on livestock for a few months and let the tank settle down a bit.

Those pre made filter cartridges suck.

I know they do suck! I looked at the filter cartridge and see like 6 pieces of carbon in it, they don't even fill the whole things up with carbon, only the center. WEAK usage of filtration media space. seriously it's sad. HOWEVER, when you think about it, it's a clever tactic in getting more buck out of the customer. They have to exchange pads out more frequently than lets say a home made carbon filled media sock or something. Or canister filter media. They fit perfectly in these large marineland openings. WHy not?

As far as live stock I agree. These few hardy fish are gonna do me for a while. as I really want to see my corraline algae mature and add more live rock, as well as buy a protein skimmer before I buy anymore fish.

In fact, what do you all think about me getting rid of my two chromis to open up more space for fish with more color? These chromis are neat when in schools, but I thinkk they might take up space especiallyl since they are ALWAYS out swimming if the light is on, where as my royal gramma and firefish make "appearances" frequently.

 

[11:11]

I have a marineland filter on my tank as well, but I modified it a bit. What I did was cut off the fabric portions of the cartridge and rinsed them very well to get rid of all the carbon from inside. So I was left with two pieces of plastic that used to be filter cartridges. I put the plastic pieces back into the filter. I then put a bunch of live rock rubble in the filter behind the plastic, maybe half full. Then I put a bag of carbon on one filter side and a bag of granular ferric oxide in the other side. I then bought some cut to fit filter pads to stick in front of the plastic to filter the particles from the water. This works well for me and is inexpensive too.

Just an idea, there are plenty of creative ways to run that filter without those cartridges. I've even seen people put lights on them and grow chaeto in there.

wow, we think alike, but you have just expanded my thinking a little further. The reason I say this is because I did that exact thing as far as cutting away the plastic of the filter media in hopes to help it prop up my bio-chem zorb pads. These pads by the way are beast and I reccomend them to any newbie or anyone having cloudy water issues. This stuff is clearing my water up quickly and making me have more confidence that excess particles arent decreasing my water quality.

By the way, I started with tap water, but have done atleast 3 water changes and even more top offs with reverse osmosis. I made the descision to never use tap water again. Especially in Texas.

 

[11:11]

if i were you like the other people have said to hold off on anything alive for a bit. also i would remove the SALLY. IME they will "swing" at fish. i have 3 lions. they have made aggressive advances twrd my 5+in lions.

that being said my lions would eat your fish for lunch. that means that crab will try to eat your fish if the oppotunity comes around

matt

Funny you say this as I have seen him do that. But now that he is more acclimated in the tank, and there plenty of new tank algae on the rocks he seems to have gotten use to leaving the fish alone. I was worried that with all the different crab species (my zodiac sign is the crab what can I say) that my fish would dissapear, but all the small guys that I do have seem to all have their little way of dodging a crab. My fire fish is so quick at darting away. My cleaner wrasse has found the smallest hole in the world to hide in at night. It's a tunneled hole in the live rock, and there's also a "window" crack in this tunnel so you can see his blue streaked body resting in the small tunnel. It's wild, nothing can get in there lol. I didn't think a fish would go that far to hide. And the gramma seems not to be worried about anything in the tank. The chromises are what I worry about, but then again my sally is still young so he may turn aggresive.

 

[11:11]

I'm getting ready to start a 40 gallon this week. Water is being prepared and everything is staged. Honestly, I don't anticipate adding ANY livestock, other than a clean up crew, for 3 to 4 months.

Maybe an LFS sold you a bunch of fish. Cut your losses, slow down and get your water parameters under control.

Just my $.02

Well the only losses i've had were chromis, the other guys seem to be very hardy especially the firefish. Im making sure my water parameters are perfect all the time, and if they aren't I am willing to drive to walmart and grab some reverse osmosis to do a water change. But I do agree I should slow down in fish. I guess I have a somewhat clear picture of how I want my tank, and wont add any of the fish I REALLY want until later down the road (clowns, fairy wrasse, flame angel, MAYBE a spotted mandarin that thin just look so cool the way it swims like it is gliding.) I am willing to ditch these chromises although I swore by the idea of having a chromis school.

 

[11:11]

Just an FYI, chocolate chip star fish aren't reef safe. They will eat clams, soft corals, tubeworms, sponges. They also have the potential to reach 15".

As far as the filter pads go, they really don't contain much carbon. You can get a media bag to put some loose carbon in and run that along with the filter pad. Also, you can run some Chemi-pure to help polish the water.

chemi-pure? what is that? also, I did hear about the chocolate chip guy. He seems to be consumed by algae right now, and I plan to put him in the hands of a good LFS. The true starfish that I want is the Blue Linckia?

 

[Angel*Fish]

Lots of research needs to be done before considering a Linckia. It is not a beginner creature.

Your LFS was irresponsible to be selling a cleaner wrasse. It won't survive long term, I'm sorry.

For a 40g tank you shouldn't house an angel larger than an argi. But your tank isn't ready for any angel just yet and won't be for at least 6 months. Angels need well established rock for grazing and much more rock than you have in your tank at this time.

This advice isn't fun, but it's good advice ----> Whenever you feel the urge to go buy a $30 fish, go pick up a $30 rock instead. Or $30 worth of base rock.

It was my experience that the holey rock must have somehow exuded something that fed my bryopsis. Here's a pic of the problem I had early on with the holey rock. I could not get the bryopsis off of it - I seriously mean it would not come off. And I had to remove it from the tank. That's not to say this will definitely happen to you, but if it does start growing on the holey rock, I would throw that rock out. The pieces you see in this pic where the algae is almost all holey rock.

 

[11:11]

Here is an update on my tank guys, im 2 months into the game now.

Next items up, a protein skimmer, and some more coral.

So far I only have the mushrooms you see at the bottom left which are doing great.

 

[heckfire]

i hate to sound like a jerk but you need to slow down man,, i feel sorry for the animals you put in that aquarium,, ITS ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD!! A skimmer and a fuge are much more important than any live stock now,, the hob filtration is a nitrate factory... slow down man . read up, it will save you tons of money and frustration

 

[11:11]

i hate to sound like a jerk but you need to slow down man,, i feel sorry for the animals you put in that aquarium,, ITS ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD!! A skimmer and a fuge are much more important than any live stock now,, the hob filtration is a nitrate factory... slow down man . read up, it will save you tons of money and frustration

Why do you feel sorry for them when they have perfect water parameters...? I don't plan on doing a fuge. Also, im not having enough issues to feel that a skimmed is my tanks life or death. In fact many hobbyist I have "read up" on don't use a skimmed and my nitrates are 0. You say read up, as if there is only one method to read up on. What if I "read up" on someone who uses an hob and has great luck?

 

[Angel*Fish]

It looks pretty the way you stacked the rock. Those crabs are likely to be big trouble makers. You can never trust a crab.