Hi all i got a 46g bowfront a couple weeks ago with the intent of just picking up an HOB skimmer for a 29g tank i was going to make a semi-aggressive tank but found a killer deal on this 46g bowfront with HOB skimmer and more. so now i have decided to use the bowfront because of the extra gallonage. so tonight i finally finished filling the tank up and putting the 3 large pieces of liverock that i got with the tank in it. i have also put 10-15lbs more sand in it.

so far my plans are to take 2 pieces of liverock that have some decent macro growth on them out of my aquapod and put them in this tank along with getting more macros i have also ordered 10lbs of live rock from tampa bay saltwater to finish off the live rock.

so far my equipment is 1 reef octopus HOB skimmer(dont ask me which model because i cant find any model numbers on it and the guy selling it didnt know only that it was rated for 90g) with an upgraded pump, 1 K1 and 1 K4(bought for $10 each n thought the K4 was a K3 until i actually looked at it earlier today lol), 60w T8 light(2 30w T8 bulbs), 1 stealth heater(cant remember the wattage for some reason right now lol), future equipment: 1 aquaclear 110(modded into a small refugium), glass lid for the tank

CUC plans: several(30+) nassarius snails, 10ish astrea snails, 4-5 nerites, 1-2 turbos, 1 serpent sea star, and ???

livestock plans: 1 leaf fish, 1 sailfin scorpionfish, 1 dwarf fuzzy lionfish, and ???(maybe something that will stay in the rockwork and that looks "strange/ugly" but still not be threatened by the rest of the fish in the tank)

i plan to have a decent amount of macro algae throughout the tank


i have a feeling im forgetting something but i cant figure out what.

so any suggestions or critiques to my plans so far?

So is this all imaginary or do you have PICS of it??

i can't wait for this tank! It will look awesome!

I call dibs on that K4 when you decide you want to sell it for something with less flow.

Sounds like this will be a fun tank. In for pics.

no pics yet i still have to blow the sand off the rocks that are in it. i highly doubt i will be selling the k4 if i find that it is too much flow i will save it for a future tank and find a k3 somewhere i dont think i will need to replace it because of the way i have the k4 and k1 positioned.

i will take a few pics tonight i still have to find a glass top for it and debate whether the 60w t8 will be enough light for some nice macro or if i should upgrade to a 192w PC or 156w T5HO

also does anybody have any recommendations for a fish that will hang out in the rocks. something that most people would find strange or ugly would be best

hawkfisH!

yea i was thinking hawkfish cause they look pretty cool. now if there is any other suggestions for fish that people would find uglier than a hawkfish let me know lol

u cud try a rhinopias if u ahve the cash great fish, or a snowflake eel or something

otherwise groupers, honeycomb or like a flagtail grouper?
i cant really think of anything else maybe a school of flagtail grunts for motion or even a couple large anthias, for some motion cus the tank will be kinda boring and empty
what about a frogfish?

i think with the 2 scorpions i shouldnt really put another bottom dwelling fish down there. now if i could find a rhino for a steal i would deff chose it over 1 of the scorpions. ive heard frogfish will eat anything they can get ahold of even a scorpion so im not to keen on getting one of those lol. also im not looking for a really active tank id be happy with just the dwarf fuzzy lionfish as the main focus with the other fish blending in because i like how natural it looks. ill think about the eel that would be a great addition although it may get larger than i want for any one creature in this tank maybe if i can find a dwarf golden moray for a good price ill chose one of those and be done with the stocking

also any recommendations on any inverts that would be ok to add to this tank besides snails

Arrow Crab?

hhmm that may be a good possibility you dont think the lion or scorpions would eat it do you because it looks like it could easily be sucked up in their mouthes

A Fuzzy Dwarf or Snowflake Eel wouldnt. What about an anemone?

i was thinking about an anemone but i dont know if ill have the lighting for one(156w T5HO im going to order) seeing as how ill have 2 6700k bulbs and only one 10,000k and one actinic. i was thinking about maybe a tube anemone but i dont/wont have a deep enough sand bed for one.

I love tube anemones!

yeah they look so cool but i dont want to run the sand bed that is needed for one

Dont they need like 6 inch sand bed?

yea a 6in plus sand bed

Do you likie Flower Anemones? I real;ly like them but know nothing about them lol

oohh rock anemones? some of them look pretty cool ill have to make a thread in a few months when the tank is more stable to see if my lighting will be ok for an anemone

alright cool!

ok i just filled teh skimmer up and turned it on but it is surging(best way to describe it) now the water level is low because i havent finished adding all the rock yet so could this be why the skimmer is surging or does it need a little time to get going

also the skimmer is a reef octopus HOB rated for 90g(not sure of the model as it came with the tank and it has an upgraded pump)

well i upped my order at tampa bay saltwater from 10lbs to 25lbs and i will be picking it up tomorrow afternoon

i was unable to order my light because it is out of stock right now

ok i picked up the rock this afternoon it was supposed to be 25lbs but i think he gave me a bit more than that cause one of the rocks alone feels like atleast 15-20lbs. he also threw in a surprise, a gorgonian i think but im not positive, but it is extending its polyps now and i have no clue what kind of lighting, flow or surface to mount it to so i just stuck it in the sand for now. dont worry i have a couple pics but only 2 because the box is still sitting infront of the tank. oohh yea i have already seen a tiny pistol shrimp, a gorilla crab(was crawling around in the bag of water so i stuck it in the tank), and i can hear either a larger pistol or a mantis.

now i didnt realise it till i put this temporary light over it but the front glass is covered in sand "dust" from where i didnt rinse it well enough but you can still see the rock.

now the nicer colored rock is the rock from tampabay saltwater the other 3 pieces came with the tank.



now this is the gorgonian i think?(i will get a better pic of this once i clean the front glass and either figure out this new camera phone or use my spare phone which has a better camera)

ok im editing this whole post because apparantly the camera on my brothers old blackberry SUCKS and it turns out after playing with my new cheap phone that the camera aint half bad

FTS


left side of tank


center of tank


right side of tank


and the gorgonian that i need ID'd

I like your foratmion. Perfect for scorps!

I also like your gorg

thanks. i had no idea what i was going to do with that big flat piece on top until i read somewhere that dwarf fuzzy lions needed overhangs to hang from at night and then it hit me to make a big plateau kind of top with a huge opening under it and i must say it looks great. i have 2 more pieces of rock left to take from my aquapod but i already have ideas on where to put them so that it adds to the tank and doesnt look like i just threw them in there.


also i was looking in the tank this morning before i turned the lights on to see what might be crawling around and i found a mantis shrimp has build a tunnel under the rock on the far left. so i will be cleaning out my old eclipse 6g this afternoon and making a bottle trap to catch the mantis. i will then try to order another small piece of live rock from tampabay saltwater to put in the 6g and just hold the mantis in a critter keeper in the 46g until the 6g is cycled. then i will have a mantis tank again.

That is true. Fuzzies do need something to perch on.

ive got several different sized perching spots so it should be able to find somewhere to perch no matter how large it grows

Awesome!

What are you getting again? A fuzzy dwarf and a Leaffish?

i am planning on 1 dwarf fuzzy lionfish, 1 leaf fish, and 1 sailfin scorpionfish

I like that list

me too it should make for a really nice tank and depending on how stocked the tank is after those 3 fish i may try some kind of hawkfish but i dont know if i will go that route. also with that flat rock i am thinking about some kind of leather up there would look pretty neat along with the macro and maybe some easy zoas and more gorgs(maybe)

Def go with a hawkfish!

Great Personality!

hahahaha i will probablt go with a hawkfish unless i can get ahold of a waspfish which would match the tank well

Waspfish are awesome!

yea i know there was 1 on DD awhile ago and i looked it up and found out they live in macro fields so i thought it would be perfect i just have to find one lol

It would be really cool to have like a dwarf seagrass bed! Maybe on yours... I do think it would look good! Especially with the scorps!

yea but all seagrasses need like a 3in sand bed and i dont want to run that much sand in the tank.

oh

Maybe you can have like an elevated sand bed in a corner and put seagrass there?

i might im still not sure yet. i may move that rock on the far left farther forward and put a bunch of sand behind it and put some seagrass there but im not sure yet. still have to catch the mantis shrimp that is calling that rock home first

I hate mantis shrimp

i hate u

MANTIS SHRIMP FTW

BTW if you catch that mantis ill pay for shipping to get it here

i dont i really like them



yes mantis shrimp FTMFW!!!! and sorry i will not be taking you up on your offer.

also what i thought was a mantis turned out to be a crab but the shadows tricked me and i think it was a combination of that i wanted to find a mantis too that tricked my eyes when i saw it. now i do believe i still have a mantis in the tank somewhere because i hear tapping and from the descriptions i hear of pistol shrimp i think there is also a larger pistol shrimp in the tank too. if i do catch a mantis i will go out and get a critter keeper to keep it in(in the tank of course) until i can set my 6g eclipse up for it

Try almost seeing a murder of a hermit crab by something that is the mix of a killer worm, centipede, snake, and Yoda!

i used to feed my previous mantis a variety of hermits, snails, ghost shrimp, and whatever random crab my LFS would get in with their ghost shrimp order. one time my LFS got in a decent sized crab(not sure what kind but it had swimmer legs) that the mantis "tortured" till it died then left it and didnt eat it lol

gggrrrrr there was a great looking black leaf fish on DD earlier today for a decent price but the tank isnt finished cycling yet and i still havent found all of the bad hitch hikers that may hurt a fish under 2in


http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden/itemd...&ddid=81185

if you guys were wondering

maybe i can hope and pray that pink and yellow leaf fish thats been on there for weeks goes on a great sale when my tanks is ready

::

Tank looks good, nice rockscape!

Bruce