Wookie14 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Hi all, After finding this amazing forum, and looking through all of your incredible builds, I have decided to get back into the hobby. When I was in high school I had a 29 gallon tall FOWLR (horrible dimensions for an aquarium). I had incredible plans to turn it into reef before personal illness and the realization that a high school student, on my then budget, cannot afford this hobby, which resulted in my decision to sell everything. Fast forward 10 years, two degrees, several multi-state moves, a very supportive fiancee, and a dog (our version of a child) later, and here I am, back in the hobby. I have attached a couple of pictures to give you an idea of the rockscape. The photos are far from a quality I deem acceptable, but I'm too lazy to mess with lighting, white balance, et cetera tonight. I promise better photos once I start introducing livestock. Equipment List IM Fusion 20 IM stand - starting to regret this purchase 2 x IM Skkye 18 watt LEDs 1 x Kessil A350 2 x IM Spinstreams 2 x Cobalt MJ900 pumps IM Ghost Skimmer 1 x IM CustomCaddy Media Basket Eheim Jager TruTemp 75 Watt 20lbs Real Reef Live Rock 20lbs Caribsea Arag-Alive Indo-Pacific Black Live Sand Timeline 6/8/15 - The tank and most of the other equipment arrived. 6/9/15 - I assembled the stand and tank and performed a 24 hour water leak test. 6/12/15 - I left work early to get to the LFS for live rock and RO/DI. 6/24/15 - The Kessil A350 arrived. I realize it may be overkill, but I realized how much the IM lights suck, and I got a really good deal on the Kessil 6/27/15 - A little over two weeks into my cycle, and my parameters stand at: Ammonia 0.25 ppm Nitrite 5.0 ppm Nitrate 10.0 ppm Temp 79.0o F SG 1.025 pH 8.3 Upcoming Equipment Tunze Osmolator Nano IM Minimax Media Reactor Vortech MP10 (if my fiancee will allow me to "clutter" inside the tank) Apex controller Livestock Plans Exquisite Firefish (Nemateleortris exquisita) Orange Strip Prawn Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli) 1 or 2 Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris/percula) 3 x Sexy Shrimp (Thor amboinensis) Randalli Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli) Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) Blue Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilia globulus) I have aspirations of an SPS dominant tank, but will be starting out with Zoas and LPS. You are all a wealth of knowledge; so, any feedback any of you have will be much appreciated. Link to comment
TOURING Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Good choice on the lights and not overkill at all. A kessil 150/160 would have been a joke. Now get some sps in there!! Link to comment
DCUEVAS74 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Great start! You'll love that Kessil. Every tank i've seen with these has great colors and growth! The Osmolator will be your best friend and love my apex! Good luck and look forward to this getting full of corals! Link to comment
Wookie14 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 So, Ammonia and Nitrites started reading 0 on 7/1. After a water change nitrates were also near 0. On 7/4 I picked up a Purple Firefish, and about a dozen snails. Yesterday, I noticed something on the side of my firefish, just behind his pectoral fin. After some research it appears to be egg sacs of a parasitic copepod specific to Firefish (of the genus Serpentisaccus). It appears there is no treatment for this parasite, but some fish fight it off. Does anyone have any experience with this? I have grown fond of the little guy, and he is otherwise perfectly healthy, and eats like a champ. I would like to try to fight this off, as I know if he goes back to the LFS he will be euthanized. Link to comment
soeminpaing Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Did you put the heater in the middle compartment? I also have jager 75 watts and just bought Ghost skimmer and mini max. I used to have the heater in second compartment. Link to comment
Wookie14 Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 soeminpaing I have my heater in the minimax compartment, because I do not have the reactor. It will fit in the middle compartment if you wedge it right. Though it's far from an ideal length. I may find a different heater soon. For an update. The firefish is still going strong. I am very certain the parasite only hosts Firefish; so, I was comfortable bringing my Picasso Clownfish today. I got two, but they were not paired. They seem to be doing okay together so far, but they will be heavily monitored for aggression for a while. I also added a Tunze ATO earlier this week; I wish I had ordered that on day one! I am heading out for the night, but I'll try to add some pictures of the new additions tomorrow. Link to comment
uwdanno Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Good luck. Fusion 20s are great Link to comment
soeminpaing Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Clowns will be ok if they start out small. I now put the heater in the middle. I might need an ATO too. If the water level drop too low the heater will be exposed. I have to top off daily for now. Funny thing is the tank is the cheapest and all others things cost an arm and a leg. Link to comment
Spectre66 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Out of curiosity why are you regretting the IM tank stand? I bought my fusion 20 a couple weeks ago but haven't pulled the trigger on a stand yet. Was considering the IM stand just to get a stand even if it seems a bit high, at least it fits the tank. Link to comment
evanski Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Am mid-build of an IM20 stand...have a look in my thread. Not to hard to do and will look better than a stock one. Link to comment
Wookie14 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 I find the stand to be extremely overpriced for what it is. It is too tall, unstable, shelving is awkward, and generally unattractive. Im pretty sure I could find something stronger at Ikea for half the price, and it may actually support the aquarium during a minor earthquake. Link to comment
evanski Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Careful with anything IKEA for a tank. Any water spill will case the particle board to swell and lose strength. Great way to flood the house. Link to comment
Wookie14 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 I never said I was buying anything from Ikea. I was merely comparing how poor the quality of the IM stand is. Thanks for the advice though... Link to comment
evanski Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Gotcha. I have about $50 in wood and a couple of hours into mine and it is all Hardwood and sturdy as hell. Link to comment
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