Marinne's 75G Reef

[Marinne13]

I figured since my tank cycled and I actually have livestock that I should start a tank showcase thread.

When I first had the idea of a saltwater tank, I was terrified that I would kill everything and mess something up...well so far so good, no deaths and I feel confident!!

my tank has been up since 16 Feb 2013 and is doing great, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5ppm nitrates(working on getting them down), 0 phosphate and calcium is at 450

here is how it started, first attempt at aquascape

added some fully cured live rock and changed the rockwork a bit

the final rock work and first addition of livestock...two percula clowns

 

[little_fish]

Looks good! Off to a fantastic start!

 

[Marinne13]

thanks!! when do you think I can add a CUC? the clowns have been in there for 5 full days and no spikes

maybe just add a small CUC: 5 hermits and 10 snails maybe

 

[little_fish]

I usually wait until you see some algae start to grow, then you know they are something to eat. I would get more snails than that, and make sure you get a variety. Each will target a different type of algae and surface.

 

[Marinne13]

there is def algae, I just didn't know if they would be a big bio-load

I was planning on getting astrea snails, nassirus snails and whatever else my LFS has

the only reason I said 10 is I don't want to add to many at once

 

[little_fish]

They dont add to the bioload, you can add as many inverts at once as you want :)

 

[Marinne13]

sweet...I picked up 10 nassirus snails, 6 Astrea snail, 4 Margarita snails and an emerald crab for now

 

[AnthonyTheNewbie]

Looks very good! Should throw a peppermint shrimp in there too! :p

 

[Marinne13]

I think I might wait awhile before adding a shrimp...maybe when I get my next fish :D

I am thinking of a 6 line wrasse or flame angel

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

I love the open rock. Perfect set up. Keep up the posts

 

[Marinne13]

hammer coral

frogspawn

mushroom colony (came on the piece of rock!!)

not sure what this is??

brain coral frag

my favorite CUC addition

 

[little_fish]

The unknown thing is a duncan coral, one of my favorites!

 

[AnthonyTheNewbie]

I love the way Flame Angels look! Not sure how big they get though, nor how active they are. Lil_fish would be able to tell if you much better then I, if it's a good sized fish for your tank. I think it would be a awesome idea if it will thrive in your tank :)

 

[little_fish]

A flame angel would be very happy in a 75

 

[AnthonyTheNewbie]

Sorry to Hijack thread for a sec, but would a Flame Angel be happy in a 55? And should I add it last?

 

[little_fish]

Yes to both :)

 

[Neno reefs]

Just remember that if you get a flame angel you run the risk of it eating coral.

 

[Ted]

sweet...I picked up 10 nassirus snails, 6 Astrea snail, 4 Margarita snails and an emerald crab for now

I so hate to mention this .....you have been so good with everything so far but those margarita snails will be the first thing to die in your tank. They are a cold water snail and will not last more then a month or so. Saltwater Aquarium Snails for Marine Reef Aquariums: Margarita Snail Most of us have tried them, I have a few hermits running around in their shells in my tank. It seems when they say the max temp is 78 they really mean it. I keep my tank min temp at 78.5

 

[Marinne13]

I will note that...my tank is at 77.5, I am home all day so if I see them dieing off I will take them out

thanks for the info

I did only get 4, I didn't know much about them...should have prob done some research

 

[Ted]

We have all ended up buying them at one time or another. Four snails dying wont be a huge factor in your tank. Like I said my hermits have some cool looking shells at least. :D