sandlot13 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 So it's been about 3 years since I have had a tank set up. In undergrad, I had up to three tanks going at a time while living in my dorm (my roommate loved me Im sure... though after coming home late at night after a few adult beverages, nothing quite occupies the mind like moonlit tank full of corals and creatures of the sea ). I had to get out of the tank business because I was moving and kind of starting a new life after undergrad. I had one for a momentary time after moving (drilled through the cabinets in my apartment to hang a MH lighting over a pico in my kitchen..... SHHHHHH! dont tell my ex-landlord). Then I started medical school and honestly havent had a waking moment to even think about a tank. I moved every year for the past year, studied 16 hours a day, and it just wouldnt have been worth it for me to try and upkeep a tank during that time. Buuuuuuuuuuuut! The marine-bug has bitten me again, and its time to get it up and going! I honestly loved this community and what it brought to my life. Not only knowledge and amazing access to information, but the people and creatures that come along with it. One of my favorite things on this site are the competitions that occur, which really are more "excuses-to-start-a-tank" than competitions. Sure people win prizes, but really its just fun to compare as our tanks grow. I logged on for the first time in years a week or so ago and the first thread I saw was this Walmart Pico thread. Instantly I went from just browsing to seriously thinking of putting a tank up. Once I confirmed I could make the deadline, I was all in! So for now, Im just currently waiting for that package to arrive on my doorstep so I can start setting things up. It will be slow going for me (I still am on rotations in medical school, so time is a rare commodity), but hopefully a consistent, plodding effort on this tank should yield good results. Going through a mental list of all my old stomping grounds online for supplies, livestock, forums, etc, trying to make sure I have it all in order before I commit. Im hoping sometime during this upcoming holiday weekend my tank will get here and I'll be able to start cycling the liverock. Keeping my fingers crossed for some inspirational hitchhikers Link to comment
streetsong Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Welcome to the contest! I hope that this project can be more of stress-reliever than a stress-causer. Any ideas at all for livestock in your tank? Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Yup, definitely been thinking of livestock options! My goal is to go for a simplesubtleyetelegant look, having a few choice pieces of coral and some other creature to really pop. Im debating about a possible small goby (not too sure about the goby yet, that may not come till a few months down the road). And I have a sneaky creature that I may try to shoot for if I can locate one I got my feelers out and working Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 My tank is in! Woop!! Just did a 24 hour test of both the integrity of the tank itself and running the light/filter. Everything ran smoothly without a hitch With the tank ready to rock I ordered some liverock and sand from premium aquatics, as well as some of the random odds and ends I needed to help me get this tank going. CANNOT WAIT for this stuff to get here!! As of right now, here is my FTS/FES. Not a lot to look at, just the bare basics (which is my plan.... even though I was drooling over all the newer gadgets that are out there now!). http://www.flickr.com/photos/44673598@N05/6387232379/ EDIT: Does anyone know how to post pictures via a link from Flickr? Grrrr, I was hoping that would work so I wouldnt have to use another site. Link to comment
phantom25 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 EDIT: Does anyone know how to post pictures via a link from Flickr? Grrrr, I was hoping that would work so I wouldnt have to use another site. here you go. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 here you go. thanks phantom! Manila! I did a medical mission there a couple of summer ago, except I was based out of Davao. Truly a beautiful a country with good people. How did you post the picture like that? Did you go through flickr, or was there a special site to do that? The link I tried to use that was generated by flicker was "unacceptable" by the forum apparently. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 Happy Thanksgiving all! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and some good rest and relaxation! I just moved all of my stuff to my new house, which means its time to get things officially set! Once my shipment comes in I'll have a rapid setup and get my cycle going. Im gonna sit on that for a few weeks just to make sure, then slowly start adding some stuff (thinking some rics and chalice corals). Then, if I can find my secret ingredient I'll be done and ready to watch it grow over time! Link to comment
streetsong Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Sandlot- I just saw your post on the November FTS thread and it looks good. There is nothing else that you need to post at this point. Just enjoy working on your new tank! Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Share Posted November 29, 2011 Just saw that my shipment of liverock is going to take a full week to get here, so looks like my cycle-time is going to be a few weeks. Oh wells, nothing like patience when it comes to reefing. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 Live rock in!! Start the cycle up! The shipment took 5 days to get here, and it was frozen when it got here so not sure how much of the "live" is going to be left in the live rock and live sand...... we'll have to wait and see over the next few days or so...... pretty content with the aquascape though! Pics coming soon! Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 Alrighty! I know Ive been pretty sparse on my updates, but they are going to start coming more often now that things are settling in. My liverock came in after 5 days in shipping and freezing temperatures, so my cycle took a bit longer than normal. It's honestly just been a lot of my tank sitting in the corner of my room doing nothing...... that, however, is just about over!! Started to get a little algae breakout as of about 5 days ago, and the test kits showed acceptable chemistry for the water, so amidst all my last minute christmas shopping I swung by the LFS just to peek at some stuff. And by peek I mean I bought some snails, couple of hermits, and I couldnt resist buying a small frag as well!! Woop!! Here are a few sampler photos!! Apologies for the low quality camera on my phone....(I havent had a chance to bust out my DSLR yet on my tank, but eventually all my pictures will come from that once my tank gets a little more aesthetically pleasing). This is just a FTS from a week ago. Aquascape is going good in my opinion, and has just the right amount of room for some good frags snail checking out his new territory new frag! I bought it for the mushrooms (which look close to ric's almost and peeked my initial interest) and was happy to see I snagged a few good zoos as well! I. LOVE. CORAL. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 I love coral too! I honestly think thats part of the big reason I love saltwater tanks, not only do you have cool creatures in fish and inverts, but the "flora" (which is actually more fauna) is so intriguing to me. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 New corals and some updated photos! Woop! Hooray for rewarding myself for going to the dentist with a trip to the LFS to buy a couple of frags! I started experimenting with some macro photography, but bear with me as shooting aquarium photos has a slight learning curve (photography is one of my other ridiculously expensive hobbies. I always have my camera - Nikon D7000 - where ever I go!). It'll get better as the contest goes on, which is convenient as my tank should also get better as the contest goes on! Without further adu.... Arnold the football shaped hermit crab. Original frag I bought. Love these shroom/rics, wish I could get a better photo but they are in the blackhole of photography corner of the tank. Here's a smaller schroom/ric from that same frag... I think there are about 5 or so total of the mushrooms of various sizes. Zoos peeking over the back side of the original corner... need to find a better angle to snap a photo of these, really bright green centers and skirts snail doing work on my dirty glass, with old western cowboy music cued up Chalice coral!! These types of corals are my all-time favorite, so I'll prob snag a few more before the contest ends. The detail of these corals when looked at close up is just mind-blowing to me Another small frag I picked up specifically for this. It doesnt look like much because I asked the guy to blast some aptaisa on the rock and he accidentally coated this mushroom?? with joe's juice. It was pissed and partially melted, but I think its going to recover just fine. some awesome zoos on that new frag with the crazy shroom. good bonus material Full tank shot (sorry its kinda bleached out and colorless, my camera's white balance was being funny). Oasis Corner. Happy holidays everyone, hope its filled with tons of nano/pico reefing!! Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 two new corals picked up today! woop! (rewarding myself for keeping my head above water during my inpatient internal medicine rotation during the first week of 12 hour shifts). nothing too fancy, but added a little warm colors to my tank. pics coming soon! I think Ive also decided to add a few corals at a time, but leave plenty of room for growth. To me thats the coolest part, is seeing these things thrive and grow and take on a personality of their own. Debating on adding another invert or two, and possibly a small goby. Any thoughts of a fish in a tank this small?? Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 New rics that I bought! Between these and chalice corals, I dont know what I love more close up of the rics. Still working on getting clearer shots.... Chalice new shroom that I picked up... this thing is neon orange and I just couldnt get a good photo of it.... Be sure that more will follow Underside of the shroom when I first put it in, kinda cool looking even though its all blurry This is the pseudoshroom that I have not quite figured out what it is yet.... its plump like a anemone, but gets flatter like a mushroom. It usually looks neon green with black stripes, but I moved it lower in my tank away from the lights as it seems lighter than it used to be. Any ideas??? The best part about reefing is watching this stuff over time..... Link to comment
streetsong Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Things are looking good! I love the chalice. I think a pico this size would look sweet with different colored chalice pieces. The mystery mushroom looks like it could be a very tiny Rhodactis. Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Rhodactis.... I am intrigued.... I'll research a bit and see what I can find. That was my original goal to do a chalice tank, but unfortunately here in Boise its hard to come by affordable chalice frags Ive picked up one or two here before, but the pickings are slim so I'll have to see if I cant get some shipped in sometime.... Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Update coming soon..... just need to find a better way to clean this glass then the toothbrush I have been using so I can take some more pictures. Debating whether I should hit up the LFS to see if they have gotten any new frags in the last week Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Alrighty, so January came and went in a whirlwind of internal medicine and bachelor parties, so there wasnt too much added on my tank. I did, however, add a nice Pom-Pom/Boxer crab to my tank!! Ive always loved these guys, and even though they are pretty shy and mostly nocturnal, they are beautiful crabs and soooooooo freakin cool. Unfortunately, during transport my crab dropped his anemones.... I thought one may survive but they both withered away into nothingness, so Bam Bam is on his own as of right now. I wish I could acquire some mini anemones for him, but I dont think that's possible from what I have found online. Hopefully he picks up a zoa or something just for fun! Anyway, if you havent figured it out already, Im leaning more towards a "simplicity" approach with my tank. Adding a few choice corals here and there, maybe another creature as it goes. A few photos to keep it going.... Bam Bam FTS Jan 30, 2012 Oasis Corner Link to comment
castiel Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Looks great! Any updates on the mystery rhodactis? Link to comment
sandlot13 Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 AH HA! Two pages!! I feel like I belong now that Im on twice the web space No word yet on the rhodactis... everything Ive seen on the internet that I can find doesnt quite look like it, so Im still keeping an eye out for anything similar. Its such a weird looking coral, but its one of my favorites so hopefully it thrives and "breeds"... man I feel like celebrating page two, perhaps its beer time?? Link to comment
moblues Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Nice! I love the coral selection you've got in there. Link to comment
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