cju84 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Hey all - I ordered the Ecopico 5.1g from Ecoxotic and it came in on Thursday. Went to my LFS and got live rock, live aragonite, and water from their established tank. One snail was in the aragonite, haven't seen anything else yet. Waiting a week or so to get other inverts/CUC. I plan on doing some low light corals (will have 3 strips of lights soon) and probably a small clownfish/goby. First time aquascaping so hope you all like it! Link to comment
Halo_003 Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Hopefully you didn't pay for the 'established' water. If so, don't shop there again. Link to comment
cju84 Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 nope, it was free. Link to comment
cju84 Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Cleanup crew came today from Reefcleaners. Think I got MUCH more than what is needed for a 5 gallon. Also had a question: I don't see any noticeable algae in my tank yet (had for a week). The LFS owner, who I bought the live rock, live sand, water from, said a CUC should be fine after a few days. I worry that without any algae (or at least noticeable algae), most will perish? I have 4 hermits, 1-2 nassarius snails, what seems to be 50-100 dwarf ceriths, couple Florida ceriths, maybe 5-6 nerite snails. I'm guessing I'm at a 'wait and see' point to see if most of these guys survive. Also - anyone know what pink dots/specs are on the live rock? Cheers. Link to comment
cju84 Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Better pic of new set up (I think). Testing out iPhone app. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I like the pile look... you could also try a slope look with it being high on one side or the other.... lookin good though Link to comment
xzeror Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 I have ecopico light strips if you wanna buy some! I have 3 of the 12ks and 1 of the 420nm blues. The way I had them setup was two 12k and the blue in the middle. (I have the same tank) Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 I like the pile look... you could also try a slope look with it being high on one side or the other.... lookin good though Thanks! I might have to do that - would probably be more stable that way as well. I have ecopico light strips if you wanna buy some! I have 3 of the 12ks and 1 of the 420nm blues. The way I had them setup was two 12k and the blue in the middle. (I have the same tank) I have three right now, but if I jump to 5, I might take you up on that. Do you have a power supply and splitter to sell as well? Link to comment
xzeror Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Thanks! I might have to do that - would probably be more stable that way as well. I have three right now, but if I jump to 5, I might take you up on that. Do you have a power supply and splitter to sell as well? Yes i have the three way splitter, and power supply. Link to comment
gena Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Looks great! You have a nice open sandbed for a brain coral, or a fungia, or even nothing at all . Just having an open sandbed is nice too . Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Looks great! You have a nice open sandbed for a brain coral, or a fungia, or even nothing at all . Just having an open sandbed is nice too . Thanks! I did remove a ton of live rock this past week as I thought the previous set-up was a bit cluttered. I think a fungia right in the middle would look awesome. I plan on adding some zoas/mushrooms for sure - hopefully, some frogspawn/hammer. I need to read up on some other corals that'll do well in 'lower light' (although I can add a couple more LED strips). One to two more weeks... Link to comment
gena Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Thanks! I did remove a ton of live rock this past week as I thought the previous set-up was a bit cluttered. I think a fungia right in the middle would look awesome. I plan on adding some zoas/mushrooms for sure - hopefully, some frogspawn/hammer. I need to read up on some other corals that'll do well in 'lower light' (although I can add a couple more LED strips). One to two more weeks... Can't have just one. You need a minimum of 2 fungias in a tank . Just kidding . Blastos do well in low light. Just don't over feed them like me LOL. Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 Can't have just one. You need a minimum of 2 fungias in a tank . Just kidding . Blastos do well in low light. Just don't over feed them like me LOL. I do really like the look of the fungias... hmm.... Blastos look great but they seem ridic. expensive?! Link to comment
gena Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 I do really like the look of the fungias... hmm.... Blastos look great but they seem ridic. expensive?! They certainly can be! I think they are pricier than acans but not too astronomical unless you are looking at a rare color. You can get the generic red and green for as low as $12 online (sale price). I just went to my LFS and he can get me a bright red and green or red and purple for $25 per frag. It really depends on the color...like most things in this hobby . Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 Very true.. and I'd be kidding myself if I thought this was a 'cheap' hobby. I think since my tank is so new that I'd want to wait a few months with some 'boring' corals and make sure they don't die before adding anything 'sexy.' Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 First corals!! Candy Cane and Xenia. Question for Xenia - should they be in a 'low flow' area? They seem to be getting blown around a lot in current location, but if they're pulsing, is that okay? Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 Ok, I moved the Xenia a bit. Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 Figured I'd post a couple pics in here as well (xpost from the Beginner's forum post). So I got some more corals last week (yellow polyps, some zoas, a mushroom that is hidden some, more xenia). I think I actually hate them (all) and how my tank is doing/looks overall. I lost one hermit this past week (levels have been the same for a month now - only thing high is nitrates around 20ppm). Do you guys think I should completely remove the hermits? They seem to be crawling all over the corals as well. I don't think they're 'eating' them though. I haven't spot fed any of the corals nor have I fed anything to the hermits, but I don't think there is enough internal/natural 'food' for either. I know this could take time but I just have a bad feeling about this. I worry that adding anything (food) will just throw all my levels into a whirlwind. Someone please convince me to keep this set up running.... Link to comment
CronicReefer Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Removing the hermit crabs and some of the cuc would not be a big deal. Having as many snails as you listed in that small of a tank is quite a lot and may be increasing your nitrates. You could spot feed the corals some zooplankton if you feel they need to be fed. Try adding some brighter corals like a red acan or some ricordea. Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Updated a thread in another forum but figured I would too. Candy Canes seem to be growing/puffing up nicely over the past week or so. Polyps also looking healthier. Hopefully will have a percula in the next few days. Link to comment
acrab78 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Looking good... I would advise against a clown or any other fish other than a small goby etc in a 5 gallon... a yasha goby and a pistol pair is always cool in small tanks etc... People do put clowns in small tanks but its just a little too small in less than 10 gallons IMO... but each their own Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Finally got a fish in the tank. Seems to be doing well after a couple of days. Link to comment
cju84 Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 Pic of a zoa opening up nicely. Not sure what type it is. Link to comment
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