Redkneecoral's 30gal

[redkneecoral]

I've first gotten into reef tanks was about little bit over 2 years ago when I was working at a pet shop. My wife and I always wanted to setup an FOWLR and a few of anemones ( like the flower nem, which was my favorite) cause she likes the sw fish so much more. But we was told that maintaining a FOWLR is extremely expensive every month. So at that time we just stuck with tropical fw fish (which I've kept everysince I was 12yrs old).

Anyways when I was working at the pet shop, I was the main one who maintained all the fish tanks (and saltwater was part of it). My boss lady decided to start selling corals. Well it was on for me, I was hooked after seeing some corals in person for the first time. So I talked it over with my wife of what she thought about setting up a reef tank. She said that would be great just as long as the cost didn't interfer with paying our bills. Then it came to me if I were sell all my reptiles, 3 roach colonies, few millipedes, centipede, all the scorpions but 1 (had about 90) and all of my tarantulas but 17 (had about 300), plus sell for of my tanks and use that money there to get started on my reef tank. The I would be able to fullfill this craving, and I did.

So I taken down my 15 gal high tropical fw tank. Use that tank to get started (cuz of lack of room for a bigger one). Every week I would buy one item at a time to get the cycling part starting and bought everything else before I added any live stock (cuz i didn't make very much at the pet store. Taken me about 4 months to have all I needed (sure was worth the wait), like the proper lighting, protein skimmer, powerheads, more live rock, ect. My 15 was up and running for about a year. Then my family and I moved into a bigger place I turned around and cycled out a 30 gal long and moved everything from the 15 to the 30.

 

I'll have a few pictures of my 15 gal and what I have going on with my 30 gal long reef,

my equipment:

Penguin 350 fitler (350 gph), taken out those bio wheels

SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer

Odyssea 4 buld T-5 156 watts w/ 3 lunar lights (I know these are junk, bought before I asked around)

Maxi-Jet 400 powerhead (106 gph), have behind the rockwork for better flow

Hydor Koralia nano (240 gph), bought this small size to see how I would like this brand, need a bigger one)

Stealth heater 50watts

 

use Reef Crystals salt

dose with B-Ionic 2 part, only dose when needed

 

fish & shrimp

1 neon goby

1 yellow watchman goby

1 scarlet cleaner shrimp

6 sexy shrimps

 

corals

1 Acropora sp.

1 red and green Blasto, 2 heads

1 Rainbow Acan, 9 heads

1 Sinularia sp.

1 neon orange Ricordia

3 orange and blue Ricordeas

1 purple/blue Ricordea

1 neon green Ricordea rock, 4 heads

Radioactive Green Candy Cane colony, 3 heads and all are splitting

1 Radioactive gr. Candy Cane frag, 1 head

1 Kenya tree

Athelia colony

Green Star Polype colony

Powder Blue Zoanthid, about 25-30 polypes

Green Tip Hairy Mushy rock, 3 heads

Floresence Green Mushroom rock, 8 heads

Cherry Appy Berry Palythoa colony, 13 polypes

Green Palythoa colony, 5 polypes

Eagle Eye Zoanthids, 30-40 polypes attached to 2 mussels

1 colony of zoas suppose to be Armor of Gods

and a few other mushies and zoas, which i have no clue what they are.

 

1 Feather Duster

 

CUC

3 blue leg hermit crab

3 Astreas snail

1 Turbo snail

5 other snail, cannot remember what they are.

1 baby Brittle Star

3 baby Serpants

I need to add more CUC

 

Parameters

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate 0.5

Ph 8.4

Phosphates 0

Salinity 1.026

 

 

Here is pretty much how my 15 gal tank looked before everything was moved over to the 30 gal.

 

The FTS of the 15, sorry for crappy shots. This pic was from my wife's cell, taken over a year ago

 

FTS of my 30, tried to get a close shot, but I couldn't without being too fuzzy looking.

 

right side view

left side view

center front view

 

my neon goby, who is all lonely without it's friend, had 2

 

My 1st sps coral,Acropora sp., can anyone tell me what type is acro is.

Rainbow Acan, I love this pc. I had paid $30 for this beauty.

Blasto

This one was suppose to be an Armor of God zoas. Maybe you all could tell me if it is or not.

 

 

I do have more pix, but I don't have too much more time to post them all.

Sorry these pix of my 30gal isn't too good. They were taken from my dig vid. cam

Thanks for looking.

Mark-

[bzphotog]

looks pretty good. Love the shroom collection

The aquatraders light isnt as bad as you read around since they have fixed some ballast problems. But of course if could be better with individual relectors and so on.

 

 

bzphotog

[redkneecoral]

thanks. Sure had tanking me awhile to get this amount of livestock. Worth the wait.

I love the mushies, them and zoas is what I mostly have. I'll post them soon.

 

With the light, I heard much bad things on them, but this fixture will hold me over until i am able to get me a better one.

[Weetabix7]

I like the Rainbow Acan and the Blasto's.

Welcome to the 30g Club!

[redkneecoral]

thannks mate.

This 30 will be 9 months old on the 16th.

The only thing i don't like about my tank is the rockwork, looks too cluttered and i think i need more current flow.

 

I am hooked on the acans and the blasto's

[steve0xr]

are you still running the 4 bulb t5 fixture?

[Curry02]

Wow, looking really good. Hope my 30 fills out nicely like yours... lol.

 

Cool neon goby!! My LFS never has them. How are they in pairs?

[redkneecoral]

are you still running the 4 bulb t5 fixture?

Yes, still running the 4 bulb T-5'

Sometimes I wonder if that is too much, cuz for some reason i cannot keep some zoas in there for too long.

 

 

Wow, looking really good. Hope my 30 fills out nicely like yours... lol.

 

Cool neon goby!! My LFS never has them. How are they in pairs?

Thanks, but wish I can have more in my tank. In due time.

As for having neons in pairs, well before I lost my other one, the two would play around kinda like two puppies, lol

I've waited a few months before the LFS finally ordered them.

I love these fish

[redkneecoral]

here is anoth pic

green candy canes

 

I thought this was a cool pic

[reefrook]

the tank is fillin up nicely! lovin those blastos and rainbows as well. nice pickups!

 

try to post a pic of all your sexies grouped together. when i upgrade to a bigger tank i wanna get a big posse of sexies. it'll be cool to watch those guys runnin the tank.

[r3dr33f]

Yeap, Nice lookin tank man..

[steve0xr]

Yes, still running the 4 bulb T-5'

Sometimes I wonder if that is too much, cuz for some reason i cannot keep some zoas in there for too long.

 

Yeah zoas are funny. In my 20 they take forever to open up for some reason. I mean like 2 weeks!

 

I might try a 4 bulb fixture for my 95 but I'm not sure if it will be enough.

[redkneecoral]

the tank is fillin up nicely! lovin those blastos and rainbows as well. nice pickups!

 

try to post a pic of all your sexies grouped together. when i upgrade to a bigger tank i wanna get a big posse of sexies. it'll be cool to watch those guys runnin the tank.

Ihave tried to get a group pic of them altogether, but that is like waiting for xmas, cuz they don't stay together. Mostly they will divide in 2 groups of 3's or 3, 2 and 1.

 

Yeah zoas are funny. In my 20 they take forever to open up for some reason. I mean like 2 weeks!

 

I might try a 4 bulb fixture for my 95 but I'm not sure if it will be enough.

with your 90, Ithink 6bulbs may be better than 4 but i could be wrong

 

Yeap, Nice lookin tank man..

thanks, i love this tank, but hate my rockwork

[redkneecoral]

A few more pix

1 of the 6 sexies in between the polype of some sort and the candy cane

2 more sexies

 

my scarlet cleaner on a red mushy I was told that it's an superman mushies, you tell me. Cuz i don't

think it is. All the pimples are blue but the cam didn't allow the blue to shine.

here is a better pic

 

My neon goby. I love these guys. Use to have a pair, but one came up missing one day

 

I'll get a shot of my yellow watchman goby if he would ever come out of hiding, he's shy

[redkneecoral]

Here soon,I'm going to redo my tank kinda like Shadwick had done by moving everything over to a tote and redo my rockwork cuz i cannot stnd how it looks

[redkneecoral]

this is when i first gotten this mushroom rock that was sold as supermans

here it is now

 

can anyone tell me if they are supermans , cuz i don't think so

 

this is my Sinularia sp. only paid $6 in Tally Fl. next to that is my Powder Blue zoas

[redkneecoral]

wow, no one can tell me what they are lol

[Weetabix7]

I've heard those just called Red Pimpled Mushrooms.

[redkneecoral]

thanks, I kinda figured they are called that. Those pimples are a blueish color but cannot tell in the picture

[reefrook]

how's the rockwork remodeling going?

[xcode]

are you gonna frag thoes acans?

[redkneecoral]

Hadn't one in awhile and don't have any updated pix yet. And i hadn't gotten around to redoing my rockwork yet...laziness lol.

I had thinned out my tank some. My mushies had produced so much and sold them to my LFS i use to work at and now added a T. max clam and bird's nest of some sort and a goniopora and 2 more sexies (now have 7 instead of 5) and added a percula clown for my daughter.

Hadn't been able to get anything new since jobs are harder to find these days.

As soon as i can i will post some new updated pix

 

are you gonna frag thoes acans?

I've thought about it. But i was told they are tricky to frag and if youdon't know what you're doing, you could ruin it. And since i'm not sure of what i am doing i'm leaving it alone, cuz I'm scare to try it.

[redkneecoral]

here's something to look at, I'd thought is was cool

 

will have more later

[redkneecoral]

my berry apple cherry polythoas that I gotten from corallineadam.When i gotten them from Adam, there were only like 5 heads. And now there's about 35 heads on there but can't see them all unless they are closed up.

 

my T.max,(finally gotten me one)with my YWB

[redkneecoral]

wow I figured someone would commented on the clam at least lol

 

I'm getting ready to redo my rockwork in a few days or so. SoI'll have some pix up when i get done.

Shame I cannot get online much.

 

Now , once i am release to go back to work from the doc from my surgery. I am going to hook up my sump, finally lol.

So i can get rid of my hangon filter. When i do get started, i may need some pointers, advise and so on.