ninjamyst Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 ~ Life in the Shallow ~ FTS: 10.23.2014 FTS: 8.23.2014 (1 year) FTS: 5.27.2014 FTS: 11.29.2013 Photo Gallery http://www.flickr.com/photos/40199713@N03/sets/72157635200062319/ Background: This is my first fish tank ever, but my dad had a 75 gallon and a 125 gallon when I was a kid. I had many great memories of my family picking out new fish / corals at the LFS. Sadly, both tanks went down when parents divorced, and dad went bankrupt with gambling problems. This is my way to bring back some of those memories.Thanks to this forum's recommendation, I decided on the PicO S III. I love the shallow rimless look, and it is very close to my dream dimensions of 20 x 20 x 11. Tanks with curved glass give me headaches. It took 10 weeks for me to get my tank because I changed the order, went on vacation that conflicted with delivery time, and first tank was damaged by UPS. The wait was beyond agonizing, but sooo worth it. During the last 3 weeks, I been cycling my dry rocks in 5 gallon buckets to give myself a head start.When my dad first set up his tank, he used uncured live rocks. We had so much fun at night checking out all the little critters with a flashlight. At that time I thought aiptasia was the coolest thing ever. Now I know better, and I dont want to deal with any pests. So I went with Vidarock for a modern, clean scape. I did drop in one pound of LR to seed the system and a few small starfish got into the tank. I plan to stock mostly LPS and softies with lots of bright colors. I am also into photography so I hope to get some nice maco shots. I currently shoot with Nikon D7000 and gave up upgrading to D600 to fund this new nano reef hobby. Filtration: Bonsai and Branch Pico VidarocksCaribsea Arag-Alive Reef SandFilter padSeachem PurigenSeachem Carbon Matrix Seachem PhosguardInstant Ocean Reef Crystals Equipments: PicO S III 18 x 18 x 9 12.5 gallonsNanobox Duobox Full Spectrum AwesomenessEcotech MP10Mikro Omega 3 Stage Portable RO/DI SystemCobalt Neo-Therm 50wTunze Nano ATO Stocking Plan: Zoa gardenRicordea garden Acan gardenFrogspawnHammer TorchGreen star polypsGorgoniansSPS (3+ months) 2 x ClownAnemone shrimp Pom Pom crabClam (6+ months) Link to comment
Passaggper Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Very nice. I dig the simplicity. What are you using for a stand? Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Very nice. I dig the simplicity. What are you using for a stand? my fireplace =P. I have a corner fireplace so the tank fits perfectly on the mantle. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Woah, you must be tall. I bet it is great having things closer to eye level. Link to comment
Lalani Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Oooh, I'm loving that scape! Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Thanks! I just don't know what I can actually put on the bonsai tree rock since it's so high up. There's like 1/2 inch of water available there. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted August 24, 2013 Share Posted August 24, 2013 Thanks! I just don't know what I can actually put on the bonsai tree rock since it's so high up. There's like 1/2 inch of water available there. Probably not much! When I started scaping my tank, I realized how empty the top 1/3 of the tank looked so I built a rockscape from different size pieces to kind of consume that space. My original idea was to put some kind of light loving sps up there but in reality, there is just not that much room. The top of your scape is so close to the top, I don't think you really need anything up there. You have a lot of room on lower tiers that will get plenty of light. What kind of blenny are you thinking? Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 What kind of blenny are you thinking? I can't decide whether I want 1 firefish + 2 clowns or 1 firefish + 1 tailspot blenny + 1 clown. I will be visiting 2-3 LFS today and hopefully I can make up my mind. Either way, I will get firefish first and clown(s) last. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share Posted August 24, 2013 Didn't get a fish today but did get a $12 zoa frag since I read they are very hardy and easy. Also saw a ton of tank bred banggai cardinal fish at the LFS. They have big ones and small ones. I was tempted to get one but heard they can get aggressive. May still go back and get one tomorrow after doing more research tonight. So now, I am deciding between: 1 banggai cardinal + 1 firefish + 1 clown OR 1 firefish + 1 tailspot blenny + 1 clown Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Tank looks fantastic so far!!! I think the cardinals are only aggresive amongst themselves unless you get a pair. IME there have been no aggression issues between the cardinals and other fish. I would go for the blenny and a pair of clowns. Firefish will find a way to end up on your floor eventually, and the tailspot has more personality than either the cardinal or the firefish. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 Tank looks fantastic so far!!! I think the cardinals are only aggresive amongst themselves unless you get a pair. IME there have been no aggression issues between the cardinals and other fish. I would go for the blenny and a pair of clowns. Firefish will find a way to end up on your floor eventually, and the tailspot has more personality than either the cardinal or the firefish. Yea, the more research I do, the more I think the cardinal is a gamble. It's a picky eater, and I plan to use only spectrum new life pellets. I do have a screen for the top so firefish should be ok if it attempts to suicide. My biggest worry is getting a tailspot that hides all the time. Link to comment
Giga Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 1 tailspot blenny + 2 clown This, tailspot as more character and a pair of clown is always cool Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 I think if you added the blenny first and gave it time to settle down, it wouldn't hide. My cardinals never had a problem with food, would eat anything I put in the tank. I know people who have tops on their tanks, and their firefish find a way to end up on the ground... either when your doing maintenance, or when they are startled... Unless you really like the way they look or something? You could get a gramma, or a dwarf angel. How big is this tank? Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 25, 2013 Author Share Posted August 25, 2013 I know people who have tops on their tanks, and their firefish find a way to end up on the ground... either when your doing maintenance, or when they are startled... Unless you really like the way they look or something? You could get a gramma, or a dwarf angel. How big is this tank? Tank is 12.5 gallons. I am like obsessed with the firefish =P. I love the color. I love the way they are suspended in the water. If they actually do well in a group in a smal tank, I would just get like 4 of them and nothing else =). This, tailspot as more character and a pair of clown is always cool I want a pair of clown too but alot of people here dont recommend a pair of clowns in 12 gallon tank. And I dont like how some clowns just stay near the top of the tank. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 Tank is 12.5 gallons. I am like obsessed with the firefish =P. I love the color. I love the way they are suspended in the water. If they actually do well in a group in a smal tank, I would just get like 4 of them and nothing else =). I want a pair of clown too but alot of people here dont recommend a pair of clowns in 12 gallon tank. And I dont like how some clowns just stay near the top of the tank. Oh ok makes sense... clowns are weird haha, there's no way to predict what yours will host or where they'll like to swim. Definitely an entertaining fish. I think you could do a pair of clowns and one small fish if you have the filtration for it, would probably need a good skimmer for sure Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 Got my firefish today. Went to 3 different LFS, and the last one had a big 2.5" firefish for $22. It's more expensive than I want to spend on a normally $10 fish and bigger than what I want to start with, but it's very healthy. The LFS had it for over a month already so it must be eating well. It's hiding right now, but I am very glad that I got it as my first fish so it can adjust to an empty tank. Shy little guy. Link to comment
Passaggper Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Got my firefish today. Went to 3 different LFS, and the last one had a big 2.5" firefish for $22. It's more expensive than I want to spend on a normally $10 fish and bigger than what I want to start with, but it's very healthy. The LFS had it for over a month already so it must be eating well. It's hiding right now, but I am very glad that I got it as my first fish so it can adjust to an empty tank. Shy little guy. Cool! Firefish go for 39.99 here in Indiana. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 $10 for mine in California. Link to comment
Roshan8768 Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Nice, they go for $15 here in Texas Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Firefish finally came out of hiding after I turned off the pump. Dropped in a few Spectrum pellet. They were floating on top. He looked interested but didn't bite. The pellets finally sunk when I turned back on the pump and are now behind the rocks. CUC not coming in till Thursday so I hope these 3 days of light feeding wont skyrocket my nitrate. Here's a quick pic of the little guy. I named him Torch =P. Link to comment
TristanC Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Nice choice in tank! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted August 27, 2013 Author Share Posted August 27, 2013 Nice choice in tank! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. My choice was greatly influenced by your tank, jcusmarine's, and zrogst's =) Link to comment
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