It's Alive............

[Pieler]

Hey everyone, I finally have a pic of my tank, albeit a bit squirrely.. It is a pic from my camera phone.... :bounce: It is a 35 gallon FOWLR (for now, LOL) I have a canister filter, about 40 lbs of live rock and 5 lbs of deadrock.. The lights are the std 8k that comes with an All-Glass tank..

I got my first fish today, a Coral Beauty, which it is, also an emerald crab and a chunk of LR from my local LFS (which included a bristle worm, really small snail and a few as of yet unidentified hitchers.. The piece of LR is the one with all the green on it....


I do have a question.... I know descriptions are horrible for identifying, however, until I can get a pic........ Here goes, It looks like a realllllly small anenome.... about 4mm in diameter, it is pinkish in color, it has tiny tentacles of which each is tipped with a white spot.. Unfortunately, I suffer from middleaged blindness=I didn't have my glasses with to get a good, in focus, look at it..... Also, I wish to put some shrimp in as well.. Maybe 2 peppermint shrimp, or a skunk shrimp..

This tank is in my workplace and a few co-workers wish to contribute fish... One if those black & White Ocellaris clowns and I want a Flame Hawkfish also.. Does anyone see any issues with those choices?? I understand the 3 week between fish rule of thumb....

Pics to follow tomorrow.........

Thanx for any input from the Wisened Ones......

 

[yote]

You've got a great start.
The "anemone" could be an aiptasia or majano.But dont hold me to that.Cant make a positive ID without a pic.

 

[Pieler]

Yote, I think it is similar to the pic you posted for Hitchhikers.... The corals, I think it is the last pic... Do you know what size those are, each? I also failed to mention that the "tentacles" were out waving in the breeze when I put the rock in, however when I looked at it again, about 6 hours later, they seemed to be tucked into the center.... That would be cool if it were a coral, though I know nothing of care and feeding of it...

 

[yote]

Is it like this one?

If so,then its a type of cup coral.

 

[Pieler]

This is the one I meant.. Didn't think to copy the pic..

 

[yote]

Sometimes you'll get several of those on live rock.There cool,but most of the time they dont live long in our tanks.But their harmless.
Cant remember the name of em.

 

[messiah023]

Probably some type of coralimorph.

Pieler, welcome to the site.
You're off to a good start. Can I make some suggestions to you.

1.) Dump the canister filter. They aren't great for SW tanks and will become crap traps messing with your water parameters.
2.) Get some flow going in your tank. Two Koralia powerheads should do the trick. You want to point them towards the LR to keep wast suspended and circulate the water. You can use the powerhead (I assume that's what I see in your pic) to break the surface water. This will help aerate the tank and provide oxygenation.
3.) Get yourself a skimmer. The LR & Sand in your tank will become a "biological" filter. You need to remove the proteins (fish waste and uneaten foods) to "cleanse" your water. A protein skimmer will do this. I suggest a Octopus HOB (hang on back) style for your tank.
4.) How long was the liverock in your tank? Was it cured? Your tank may still cycle and your CB will end up dead. You didn't mention so I figured I would point it out to you.
5.) You may want to put your heater horizontally along the BOTTOM of the tank. Heat rises and this will give your entire tank an even warming rather than one "hot" spot.
6.) Go slowly, ask questions and be patient. It's an easy hobby if you can adhere to those three rules.

Ps....how are you doing your water changes? Are you keeping with RO/DI water....keep the Tap water out!

Good Luck, so far so good!

 

[Teixeira29]

Looks good so far, that is beautiful!

 

[Bifferwine]

You should google pictures of aiptasia and majano just in case -- you want to rule those two out for sure since they are such nasty pests.

As for your fish, the coral beauty, clown and hawkfish will be fine together, but the hawkfish is not reef safe if you want to turn the tank into a reef down the road. It's also not cleaner crew safe, so you'd have to be willing to part with any snails, crabs and shrimp you have.

 

[Pieler]

Wow, so much to do, so little time, LOL.. Well, It did cycle 5 weeks of 30 people asking when the *$&## we are getting something interesting..... I am going to move the heater shortly.. I had already purchased the Canister, sok, I can dump it on ebay.. In a tank this "small" will have to create a sump?? I kinda assume so..

I had the fishmonger remove a large aiptasia prior to purchasing the rock.. I had asked him what it was to verify.. It definitely is not the latter either.. thanx on the headsup with the Hawkfish, damn, I really like the looks of them......

I got only one of the Koralia pumps, makes great flow, however I will add another soon..

As for the water changes, I have been using bottled watter from Wallyworld however I have been toying with the idea of using the Bottled SW from the LFS... Any ideas there???

 

[Bifferwine]

You don't need a sump. It's definitely helpful, but by no means necessary.

Buying pre-made saltwater from your LFS will be more expensive than buying bottled water and mixing in the salt yourself, so you'll have to weigh if it's worth it. If you do decide to go with water from your LFS, you'll still need to test it prior to adding it to your tank because it's not unheard of for LFSs to produce bad batches now and then. You'll want to make sure the salinity and pH are correct, as well as verify that there are no nitrates in it.

 

[Pieler]

I figured it is best to test prior to use... Believe it or not, I got into that habit manufacturing Latex...

On the LS and skimmer, should I add more LS? Can I add more now that I have livestock in?? I only have about an inch or so in tank... I would think it would make the tank cycle again....

 

[yote]

I personally wouldnt add anymore sand.

 

[messiah023]

Like Biff said, sump is not necessary, but it makes things easier. You will need overflows to add it however.

On the LS.....it's all depending on your method of thought, there are many of them. Some people say 1" is fine, others like the Deep Sand Bed (6") and still others swear by bare bottom. Add sand slowly and it's unlikely to give you any trouble.

I buy premade SW from the LFS (it's dirt cheap here) plus I'm only buying 20g per month.

If you decide to mix, you should pickup a RO/DI system.....www.purewaterclub.com.

In my opinion, the Skimmer is the single most important part of your system. I have had tremendous success with the Octopus brand.

Good Luck!

 

[Pieler]

I kinda like the look of the current level of sand... It is looking good to me..
Do you really by SW?? Can't you just go offshore in your Yacht and get a bucketfull or two?? Would make for a good excuse to untie the boat.... Actually, I have no Idea where Naples is, just can't be too far from a shoreline.....

About the filter, I think I am going to wean myself off of it... I have no clue how that is going to happen, except I will have to have a skimmer in place first...

I looked at what is offered for the RO/DI systems... This tank is in an office building... I am certain they already don't like me taking up space with the tank... Lol, I can appropriate a bathroom for my hobby.......... I will have to weigh the pros and cons of my options, I guess...

 

[messiah023]

Keep the level of the sand the way you like it.....you just won't get any benefits of the DSB (but that's OK).

I assume you are going with a FISH ONLY tank....
If you go with some corals, you will have to upgrade the lights later.

Naples is on the water, on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida.
I am as far South on the Gulf side before you get to the Everglades.
Unfortunately, raw saltwater will have too many contaminants and bacterias to add to the tank....My LFS charges .50 cents per gallon...it's just cheap enough to buy versus making my own.

On the RO/DI system....you could put it at your home and do your salt mixing there and transport to the office.

Good luck....keep up the good work.

 

[Pieler]

I currently have it firmly fixed in my mind that I am only doing FOWLR.. Til I find a coral I just can't live without.... LOL Currently, the drain on the wallet is sufficient... I am, as of now, not wanting to make the required investment for the required lights..... And please don't tell me where I can get some reasonable ones... I am ok with the idea that they are immensly expensive... On the other hand, I recently found out, go figure, that a co-worker has a 55 reeftank... Lo and behold, he even has a few corals he would not mind bringing into the office tank...... Damn.....

I was stationed in P'cola when I was in the Navy... Loved the beaches there, though not the tepid temp. of the Gulf.. I love to have to run into the ocean and back out in 45 minutes...........

And, of course, I forgot to take the camera to get more pics... Damn again...

Finally, I don't know how long I can expect the hitchhiker to last, however I put in a Koralia today, it opened after 10 minutes...