lljdma06 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Hi everyone, A friend of mine has an amazing nano journal on this forum (I followed it somewhere else) and one of the first links was to this website. Reading & rereading that journal inspired me to start my own SW system. Seeing as this is my first SW system, I thought I'd maintain a journal here as well. I've been keeping FW fish for about 22 years, the last five of which have been focused exclusively on Planted tanks. I do think, however, that the time is right to begin a saltwater journey. After all, I do live in Miami, FL and it is actually easier to setup a reef system here than a planted tank! Try and figure that one out, but it's true. You can find a LFS around the corner that sells lovely frags, but ask for a pot of HC and you'll get a funny look! My parents are Cuban and for the name of this system I drew on an old reference to Cuba as the "Pearl of the Antilles". For this system, I'm restricting myself to species that are found in the Caribbean and we'll throw in Florida too, as it's the place where my family currently lives. You have to throw in a challenge in a system and I think resisting the urge to make it a blend of species from different parts of the world will be my challenge. Would like even LR from the region, which I think is possible. I know Tampa grows LR for commercial purposes. LOL, this will, however, allow for a lionfish, since they now do breed locally. Just kidding! Florida is a paradise for that sort of thing. There may also be the possiblity of local collecting, should I obtain a valid Fl fishing license. I have to check the rules again. Last time I had a license, over 10 years ago, you could do this, but I really need to confirm. That may put an exciting twist into the system, though quaranteen becomes essential. I do have a spare 8g, 10g, or a 20g that could serve that purpose well. Run it with SW, heater, some LR, and a Powerhead? Also can serve as a hospital tank so I wouldn't have to treat the whole system. So this is what I have so far... Tank: 36g corner bowfront, 21" deep, 21" radius Lighting: Going with 2 x 65 CF fixture and 2 x 14W NOT5, so 158W. These are from old planted systems and I've already changed the bulbs for SW bulbs (10k & Actinic) I think it's plenty for what I want. Will buy a moonlight or a red LED to watch nightime critters. Any recommendations on lights to watch the night time critters? Now, I no longer have space on the hood, so I'll need a clip on. Skimmer: EDIT: Think I'll go with the Hydor slim nano. My friends rave about it and I think it'll fit nicely. Circulation: EDIT: Two Hydor Koralia nano 425s, I'll supplement with some Rio 50s that can be used for target circulation and surface agitation. I don't plan on having an extra filter, though I do have two spare Aquaclear 70s should the need arise. One Koralia 750 and Koralia nano 425 Substrate: Think I'll go with a sandbed, but I have to think about what I want to keep more before I make my final decision on its depth. Live rock: I've made the decision to go with aqua-cultured LR from FL. So far 40lbs of cured Haitian rock Water: I'll be using RO/DI water, mixed with a Salt mix. I've got the following unit from an auction at a convention, very cheap. Refugium: Not having this as I will be featuring macro algae prominently in the scape. I like them. Sump: Don't think I'll need this either. Heating: Now, I do have a question on heating. I live in FL and have central air. I know I'll need heaters in the Winter months, as we don't have heat and the house temp goes down to the 60s. On the other hand, when summer comes, ac kicks in and the house is at 76 degrees. But... See, we have a bit of a lemon AC, it crashes on occasion (like once or twice a year) and the house can spike to the high 80s. Or, I can opt to use smaller heaters all year round and keep the temperature a bit higher, like 78-80, to save myself incase the AC breaks and then the spike won't be as hard on the livestock. Last time the AC crashed, the house temp was like 87, but the tanks stayed at around 82, so I may be ok without a chiller. Sorry, I'm rambling, but it's good to bounce this off you guys now rather than deal with the consequences later. I know that what the reef needs is stability, whether you choose 75 as the temp or 80. Books: I've purchased the following... The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta - read this already, good. The Simple Guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums by Jeffrey Kurtz - read this already too, very good. The 101 Best Saltwater Fishes by Scott W. Michael - use this to look up species at the LFS Marine Invertebrates by Ronald L. Shimek - use this for invert ID Aquarium Corals; Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History by Eric Borneman - reading this now, wow... website http://reefguide.org/carib/index.html - For me, this will help identify Caribbean species. There is also a field guide that I want to purchase from Amazon.com Based on what I've read, I've made a preliminary livestock list. Not going to put all of these in the system, it is only a nano, but these are species I'll be looking more heavily into. If others have any suggestions or comments, please let me know. Thanks for looking. I'm excited about my first SW system. Right now, it's in the planning stages and I'm basically pricing the big items and doing the reading. The tank was an old FW planted tank that was treated for ich about 2 years ago, but I did a copper test and everything came out fine, no copper. ********** End of Original Post ************** Basic stats & current livestock -3 Koralia nano 425s (laste Koralia added 2/20/12 -40lbs of cured Haitian rock -60lbs of Oolite sand, 4" sand bed -Red sea coral pro with RO/DI water -25-30% weekly water changes Fish -Royal Gramma - Gramma loreto - died due to stress caused by chalk bass competing for space -Chalk bass - Serranus tortugarum (4) - a school, very interesting -Yellowhead Jawfish - Opistognathus aurifrons, mated pair, but female is now missing... Sessile inverts -Ricordea florida -Rock flower anemone (I think it's Epicystis crucifer) Motile inverts -Mated pair of Stenopus hispidus (banded coral shrimp) -Blue-legged hermits -dwarf ceriths -florida ceriths -Nerites -two fat and sassy Babylon snails -Nassarius vibex -Green porcelain crab -Caribbean porcelain crab (hitch hiker) -asterea snails - killed by hermits Macro algae & grasses -Halimeda opuntia -Dictyota (hitch hiker) -Ochtodes (hitch hiker) -Caulerpa prolifera (hitch hiker) -Halimeda discoidea - went sexual ewwww! -Halodule wrightii - shoal grass FTS: (2/24/11) llj Link to comment
Monochrome5 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Looks like a good start! The fish list is a bit big, though... Especially for your tank size. Also, a lot of basslets are known to eat anything that fits in their mouths - such as just about everything on your pretty invert list Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Share Posted June 25, 2011 Looks like a good start! The fish list is a bit big, though... Especially for your tank size. Also, a lot of basslets are known to eat anything that fits in their mouths - such as just about everything on your pretty invert list Hi, wasn't plannning on adding all the fish. That's just a list to narrow things down. Cannot scan through all the species in the Caribbean. That would be insane. Yeah, stupid basslets, behaving just like bass with big mouths... But they come is such pretty colors. The lit says Chalk bass are social plankton feeders? Lit can be wrong... Thanks for posting in my journal. Was beginning to think I'd posted it in the wrong section, but this is a biotope of sorts, so I'm in the right place. Glad you like the start. I've got a long way to go. Tank still has water in it from being a FW planted. The goal is to incoporate macro algae into the setup. I keep planted tanks, so I knew I'd find a way to plant this one up too. What light would you recommend for viewing nocturnal critters? I don't have anymore room in my hood, so I have buy a clip-on for this purpose. Thanks again for posting and looking. It's my first system, so I've got a lot to learn! Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 LOL, killing time while I wait to go on stage... Playing Maddalena in Rigoletto. Got a lot of funny looks from the rest of the cast. What? I gots to learn about my corals... Link to comment
Monochrome5 Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 If you're looking for a clip on LED moonlight I've got one you can have. It's got two 3W red LEDs. Most marine critters can't see red (it's the first color filtered out by water) so a red moonlight is like nothing's there while still giving you viewing ability. It has two little holes to screw it on to whatever you want, however I always found it easier to just zip tie them to a light. They light up my new 29g with no problem, so they should rock on your tank. PM me if you're interested in them and I'll send them down your way. As far as the basslets, the chalk bass is generally a planktovore... In the wild. A pretty good rule of thumb is that "in the wild" and "in the aquarium" are two totally different things haha. They're beautiful fish though - I would love to put one in my new tank. For what it's worth, the one down at the fish store is currently taking frozen mysis without hesitation, so there's that... Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 If you're looking for a clip on LED moonlight I've got one you can have. It's got two 3W red LEDs. Most marine critters can't see red (it's the first color filtered out by water) so a red moonlight is like nothing's there while still giving you viewing ability. It has two little holes to screw it on to whatever you want, however I always found it easier to just zip tie them to a light. They light up my new 29g with no problem, so they should rock on your tank. PM me if you're interested in them and I'll send them down your way. As far as the basslets, the chalk bass is generally a planktovore... In the wild. A pretty good rule of thumb is that "in the wild" and "in the aquarium" are two totally different things haha. They're beautiful fish though - I would love to put one in my new tank. For what it's worth, the one down at the fish store is currently taking frozen mysis without hesitation, so there's that... A mysis is a big piece of plankton! LOLOL Well, the good news is that most of my motile inverts can be added before the fish. Get them big enough, and get little chalk bass. They are the last fish to be introduced anyways, if I'm doing this correctly. I do like them, though, I like the idea of a more social fish and seeing a group of fish together rather than just having a collection of a single individuals. While I like the Swissguard and the Yellowhead jawfish, I think they are a bit too big and will probably go off the list soon. I was thinking 3-4 chalk bass and a neon goby, but neons are teeny. If the neon is introduced first, and it's a big individual, while the chalk bass are little, I may be ok. At least long enough for the goby to establish his/her station and the bass to see the service. I like the two grammas as well, and the blenny, but I know I can't have them all, unless I go the "collection" route, which I don't want. Enough rambling about fish. That is very nice of you to offer the light. I've got to get ready for work now, but, I'll PM you for sure. Thank you very much. Hehehe, am I the only Caribbean biotope that's active now? I feel very tropical next to all of these NW tanks and they are beautiful systems too! Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Update: Ordered the following. No going back now. 2 Koralia nano 425s 1 Hydor Slim Skim nano (this tank is going to feature macro heavily, I didn't think heavy skimming was necessary) 2 Coralife digital thermometers 2 Eheim Jager heaters at 75W each (deliberately went with less wattage) 1 Portable refractometer (the splurge, but if I go collecting, may be interesting to measure the sg of the local water) 2 API test kits (Saltwater & Reef, tests what I need to test for now). Salifert is too expensive. Didn't order the saltmix yet, but I want to read more about it first. Was going to use Oceanic, but heard about alkalinity issues. If I go the macro algae route & corals, I'll need good alkalinity and will have to dose calcium for sure. There are still some odd and ends, like the mag float, buckets, and other things, but I can go do that on my own time. Ordered the big ticket items and that's important. Not too expensive either, really helps having the tank and lighting already. Want to look for a book on macro algae. Thanks for looking. Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Update to the Update Found a potential source that I think will help a lot with the macroalgae I plan on adding to the tank. If I'm breaking a rule by posting this, it's not my intention, but it doesn't link to a forum or anything like that. http://marineplantbook.com/ Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 A picture of the tank with the full lighting setup, 36g corner bow. 2 x 65 CF 2 x 14 NOT5 Please excuse the state of the tank. I'm still in the process of removing surplus plants and wood, so yes, the water looks like someone went peepee in the tank. It's the tannins. The nice thing is that it's got a sand substrate so while I most definitely will not be using that substrate, the aragonite sand will look pretty similar. This may be mixed with something else depending on what direction I decide to go... Hehehe have subscribed to several macro algae and seagrass threads... Oh and another picture of me in the opera, because I was told that people like pictures here. I promise, I'll post more pictures as this tank gets started. Hahaha, wait until I setup and like actually do things to the tank. You'll be really sick of my pictures by then. Will be looking at updating my livestock list in the next few days. Depends on how my seagrass inquiries go. Thanks for looking! EDIT: Also, the stuff I ordered from Drs Foster and Smith, has shipped Liz Link to comment
Monochrome5 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Ah the joy or corner tanks. They do have one great benefit though - placing a Koralia on each wall so they blow into each other will provide excellent movement without a huge sandstorm! What's the plan for rockwork? Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 Ah the joy or corner tanks. They do have one great benefit though - placing a Koralia on each wall so they blow into each other will provide excellent movement without a huge sandstorm! What's the plan for rockwork? That's like the only benefit! The plan is to use Tampa Bay Aquatics and go for cultured LR. There is better rock out there, I know, but I like that the aqua-cultured rock has less of an impact on the environment than some of the other varieties. I have to contact Tampa Bay, though, and see if they'll let me drive over from Miami and let me pick the rock. What I really want to do is make a two day trip out of it (visit the Tampa Aquarium first) and then see if Tampa Bay Aquatics can arrange for a tour of the facilities and I'll do a write-up for the Fish forum I mod for. Then I pick out the rock and drive home. For corner tanks, the best scapes are what are called "Island" scapes. Centerish rock work that radiates outward. I'll be skimming too and featuring the macro and possibly seagrass, so the rock work doesn't have to be so dominant, though I'll need rock work to mount some of the macros that I pick and the corals that I will use. I want uncured rock. It may well be easier to go buy my rock at a good LFS, so I can pick it out, but a visit to Tampa is just such a cool idea. Liz Link to comment
yoshii Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 You should check out Sea Life Inc. cultured rock, I've heard great reviews about their service, and they rock has tons of interesting life on it! Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 2, 2011 Author Share Posted July 2, 2011 You should check out Sea Life Inc. cultured rock, I've heard great reviews about their service, and they rock has tons of interesting life on it! I'm about 90 minutes from Tavenier, FL too. Thanks for the link. Bookmarked! Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 Hi, Went to some LFSs in my area. Picked up some bulbs and a background. Bought the graduated blue ones, which I like better than just the plain royal blue. It'll serve as a temporary background until I make one for photo shoots. I want something a bit more subtle than deep royal blue. Want it to look like how it looks when you snorkel in the shallow reef, having done this. The lighting I got... You may ask, but doesn't Liz have her bulbs already? Well, yes and no... Previous bulb configuration: 1 65W CF 10k 2 65W CF Actinic 1 14W T5 10k 1 14W T5 Actinic Based on what I've read about Macro algae and seagrasses, I need at least 3-5WPG of full spectrum lighting. With the above configuration only 79W are full-specture, so only 2WPG, give or take. Yes, there are better ways to measure light, I know this, but this is the easiest for me to understand, because I really don't care about PAR, and I'm not going to invest $150 for a PAR meter. So, I'll stay in the dinosaur age and use WPG. While corals need actinic, they will not be playing a major part in this scape, but only a supporting role. I think I'll have enough Actinic for them. I'm really limiting species right now and you'll see this in a revised stock list that's coming soon that will include species of macros not mentioned before and seagrasses. Probably tomorrow. New bulb configuration: 2 65W CF 10k 2 14W T5 Actinic So now my full-spectrum load is 130W or 3.6WPG, much better for macros and maybe some hardier seagrass. The 28W of Actinic should be sufficient for the species of coral I intend to keep. You also notice a 50/50 in the mix. Still not sure if the above configuration looks best, so I got a 50/50 just in case. If I don't need it, which I don't think I will, I'll sell the bulb. I can also opt to switch out one of the T5 Actinics for another 10k, which would bring me to 4WPG. Don't think I'll need this, but it's an option, if the macros and seagrass are especially light hungry, but I think again, I'll be ok. Haha, can you tell I've been thinking about this? We'll see, still could be an epic fail... Thanks for looking. I'm adding more pictures now... Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Hi everybody! Here's another revised stock list, but you can see that I've narrowed things down, and I'm including some pictures, especially of the big ticket items. These images are not mine, so please don't reproduce them. They're only here for educational purposes, especially since the macros and seagrass are not commonly seen. Not a lot of corals, but that's ok. Fish Serranus tortugarum - Chalk bass, a shoal of 5. So this is a species tank essentially. Very odd, but I think it's fascinating and it'll work. Did a lot of reading before I decided on this. A bit risky, but potentially so beautiful. See the group photo! Woohoo! Sessile inverts Corallimorphs - would prefer an actual species rather than just a genus, so the Discosoma sp went off the list. Ricordea florida - love this coral, a definite. Discosoma sanctithomae Discosoma neglecta Gorgonians Erythropodium spp (Caribbean encrusting gorgonian) - I really like this, doesn't look like your typical Gorgonian and likes brighter light. Motile inverts Cleaner shrimp Lysmata grabhami - would love a mated pair. this isn't the right species, but similar. They all look a like to me. Lysmata wurdemanni - everybody knows what these look like. Might be chalk bass food. Crabs Mithrax sculptus - will eat algae, I know, but useful for pruning Paguristes cadenati (potentially harmful in large numbers, but they are very little) Snails - pictures not needed for now. Turbo sp Trochus sp. Tectus spp. Strombus alatus (no large hermit crabs if I go this route; may be too large for the tank, but definitley a FL native) Sea slugs Elysia crispata (needs algae Bryopsis, Derbesia, and possibley Halimeda, advanced species)- Yes, I still kind of like it. Macro algae & Vascular Plants - or what makes this tank unusual. Macro algae - You can see that in the macro algae, three distinct leaf shapes are emerging. Excellent for layout contrast. The colors, barring the dictyota are also on the subdued side. Mostly greens and darker reds. I am aware, though, that many of the red macro algae species can have huge variations on color. All species can be found in the Caribbean. Bonus. May or may not use all of these species. Images are from the Marineplantedtank website that I previously linked to. Halimeda sp Halimeda discoidea Halimeda opuntia Acetabularia calyculus Chondria sp. Gelidium Sp Ochtodes sp Dictyota sp Sea grass - These are the three toughest species, based on my reading. I'm most in love with the shoal grass, but am considering the other two as possibilities. Halodule wrightii Halophila decipiens Halophila engelmannii Thanks for looking. Again, will probably narrow this down some more as I would rather have fewer species. I'm also getting some moonlights from Monocrhome5. Thank you! Liz Link to comment
tyty Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Looks like a good plan. My chalk bass is my favorite fish that I have kept. Very curious and always hungry. I'm not sure how well they do in multiples though as I only have one. I would recommend against the mithrax crab, even one can devastate your macro and they grow really quickly. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Looks like a good plan. My chalk bass is my favorite fish that I have kept. Very curious and always hungry. I'm not sure how well they do in multiples though as I only have one. Funny, no body keeps them in groups. The lit says they can be if introduced at the same time, but I guess people want to keep more kinds of fish, so they settle for one. I imagine a group will be very entertaining to watch. I would recommend against the mithrax crab, even one can devastate your macro and they grow really quickly. Yeah, was taking a shot with that one. They just look so cute, and the lit doesn't emphasize the damage they do, but I guess I'll work with just the hermits. Wish I could find another Caribbean crab that wasn't a Mr. Destructo! Funny, in another forum, people are bugging me about the slug, which I know only eats specific types of algae. Yet they said nothing about the crab, which will eat anything. Go figure... Edit: Stenorhynchus seticornis is found in the Caribbean and doesn't eat algae. Now it might eat peppermint shrimp... Bleh... Some sources say it's reef safe, others no... Thanks, glad you like the plan. Liz Link to comment
tyty Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Yeah, was taking a shot with that one. They just look so cute, and the lit doesn't emphasize the damage they do, but I guess I'll work with just the hermits. Crabs can be hit or miss. One mithrax will play nice and the next one will rip apart everything it touches. I had a great Sally Lightfoot crab even though the consensus seems to be that they are evil. If you setup a hospital tank get whatever crabs you like and evict them to the hospital tank if they cause trouble. Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Crabs can be hit or miss. One mithrax will play nice and the next one will rip apart everything it touches. I had a great Sally Lightfoot crab even though the consensus seems to be that they are evil. If you setup a hospital tank get whatever crabs you like and evict them to the hospital tank if they cause trouble. Love it! Banished to quaranteen if you do not conform! Yeah, hospital/quaranteen is a huge part of this project. It'll be an old 10g I've got lying around. Liz Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I got a package in the mail... Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Wee! Can't wait to see pics! Put on some Jean-Philippe Rameau and rock out on that delivery! Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Wee! Can't wait to see pics! Put on some Jean-Philippe Rameau and rock out on that delivery! I LOVE Rameau! You like opera! Woohoo! Will get pix up in a bit. Uploading them to photobucket. So that you know, it's not livestock... That won't happen for some time yet. Liz Link to comment
Dr.eclipse Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 ive got a pair of chalk bass in my 20 long. with a pair of clowns. no aggression at all. though they do hide a good bit but come right out when its feeding time. GL with you tank (: Link to comment
lljdma06 Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 ive got a pair of chalk bass in my 20 long. with a pair of clowns. no aggression at all. though they do hide a good bit but come right out when its feeding time. GL with you tank (: I just really liked the chalk bass. I don't know why. Probalby because I've seen them in the wild. Thanks for the good luck! I hope it works. Like I said, I got a package in the mail today. Woohoo!! Big box... I like Drs Foster & Smith. I've ordered from them before and they always do pretty well. Big summer sale. Free shipping. Came pretty fast. Two Koralia Nano 425s Very good for flow. The Hydor Slim Skim Nano - The regular slim skim is too big at 17" tall. This was smaller and with the larger waterchanges I plan on doing, doing some different things as it's a planted Marine, the nano will suit me just fine. Thermometers (one for the main tank, one for quarantine & waterchanges) My test kits. Went with API for now, may go a different route later as the reef progresses and opt for better quality test kits, but at least I've got test kits. I can't afford Salifert. I still think I need like two more, but I'm good through the cycling process and can test my Ca and Carbonate hardness. I opted not to get a hydrometer, instead going for a refractometer. This seemed like a reasonably priced one and it got pretty good reviews. Several people I know have it. Honestly, I had a good laugh when I saw it. I got a bawdy sense of humor. I also got two Eheim Jager heaters at 75W. I prefer to underheat tanks and FL is warm most of the year. Got two incase one busted. Happens. In the next few days I'll be making a list of the rest of the things I need (chemicals, salt, odds & ends). The plan is to head over to Big Al's at Tamarac, FL about an hour from my house. I could go other places, but I thought I'd dive in and make this whole build process extra fun by going to such a large place. It's the biggie SW lfs in South FL. It's like a mini aquarium with shark tanks and mini reefs. I'll take pix, promise. Also, will be including detailed write-ups on each of the products as I set them up, so be prepared for these types of posts as I begin the process of setting up the tank. It's a build thread, going to show the build process in all of its glory. The RO/DI post, I promise, will be especially funny. I'm no plumber. Hopefully my moonlights will show up soon. I'm looking for them Monochrome5! Of course, I'll post pictures of those too. Thanks for looking. Liz Link to comment
Monochrome5 Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Hopefully my moonlights will show up soon. I'm looking for them Monochrome5! Of course, I'll post pictures of those too. The post office said no later than Tuesday... LIES! haha Link to comment
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