Wiil's 5 gallon hex

[Wiilio]

Tank looks good. I really liked the fire fish too. Don't have ant experience with the clown gobies don't like em much. if you leave zoas on rocks they are easier to place and glue down. you really can get any zoas they; all have the same general requirements. mushrooms would be good too. maybe xenia. any softies really.

 

looking good man!

 

I did too, I did too... but she was just so active, unlike my first, and kept darting up and down the wall of the tank. She needed the room.

 

With the 50/50 10W, would my tank be considered a moderately lit tank? I really do like xenias but I stayed away because I thought they were moderate/high light. I've heard ricordea, as well, which would be awesome.

 

Any idea what might be going on with the GSP? I have a picture of it on the first page before it turned brown and went to crap :/

 

Thanks! And nice dwarf (I'm assuming) lion in the 20 gal. Hope you get some cuttle eggs for your 20 long!

[Markushka]

Yeah I dont know. I had some gps do that too. as long as the mat isn't disintegrating its not dyeing. tho I dunno..

 

yeah thats a fuzzy dwarf lion in the hex, and I hope I get some more cuttle eggs too.

[Wiilio]

Just did a major overhaul of the rock work.

Just waiting for the water to clear.

[Markushka]

Very nice! I love the rock work!!! this tank looks awesome!

[Wiilio]

Very nice! I love the rock work!!! this tank looks awesome!

 

And now it's just waiting on the frags

[Wiilio]

Figured I'd let you guys know my final stocking plans to see if there are any objections

 

Yellow Clown Goby

 

Porcelain Crab

 

And I'll be ditching all of my hermit crabs for snails since they have killed some of my snails for their shells numerous times.

 

Since I have these levels now, I'm guessing the list of corals I can keep has gotten a bit bigger Now it's just a question of what I should get! I know I want these:

 

Xenia (for the YCG since I don't want to get a colt)

Zoas

Mushrooms (preferably blue or green; the reds never appealed to me)

Yellows

Green star polyp (bottom right rock, sort of like a lawn)

Other stuffs (suggestions? )

 

I have no idea where to PUT them though (besides the GSP)! So if anyone has suggestions on where I should put them, hit me! And I'm looking for something to go on that top section. It's pretty close to the top of the water and it's right under the flow, so high-light, high-current, and short sounds good for that.

[.Newman.]

put the GSP right at the top after you start it at the bottom of the tank. it should grow in nice there.

stocking plants look fine

[Wiilio]

Thanks for the tip!

[.Newman.]

actually better yet, so that you dont misunderstand me, start the GSP at the bottom then keep moving it up on each ledge, each time it looks comfortable on a ledge, move it up, until it reaches the top ledge where it will grow and look amazing!

[Toxic Fish 9999]

WOW sicks!!!! that is killer rock!!!!

[.Newman.]

I think you may want to look into either a scoly, or a pachy for that open bottom space in the center of your scape. something that looks like nork's would look very nice there

[Wiilio]

Thanks TF9999

 

Newman, thanks for the GSP tip. I'll definitely do that.

But... what's a scoly? or a tachy?

 

EDIT: Okay, I found a scoly (still don't know what the real name is though)... way too expensive though! I'm in the same boat as yoshii; teen reefer with a lack of funds The only way I'm getting some of these polyps is by a generous donation from someone on here (who will remain anonymous so they don't get flooded with messages) which I'm VERY excited and grateful for. And as for the rest of the things I want (GSP included), I'll probably have to buy ridiculously overpriced frags from the LFS (ex: $10 for a frag of GSP that's about the size of a quarter)... unless I get the nicer lady that takes the size and rarity of the coral into account for the price (Got a nice zoa frag for $5 but it died off )

[.Newman.]

I am also in the same boat as you and yoshi,and although i am no longer teen since i just turned 20, im still limited on funds. I'm kinda cursed that i throw most of my money on my aquariums though lol. Tachy is a similar looking coral to a scoly. its the green thing in nork's tank. it would look great in your tank, even though they normally go around $40 per polyp (which is all you need)

I am sure you can afford a nice looking coral if you save up for it. Good places to look for for cheap corals are at Mr. Coral's site or on ebay (look for coral frag packs) however to get the best price for frags you usually have to buy an entire pack, which is usually $100+ to make the whole shipping thing worth it (since its usually free then)

 

but you can go the more expensive route and only buy specific coral that you want, frag by frag and pay for either overpriced frags at the LFS (which is why i no longer buy coral from my LFS) or from an online source, having to pay a shipping cost each time. this all adds up to more than if you just bought a bunch of coral at once.

 

Though I wouldnt buy a frag pack until youre certain you want every coral in that pack.

I'm sorry im flooding you with so much opinion lol, you can pick it apart and see what you can apply to your situation

[Wiilio]

It's fine, really! I appreciate the advice. My main thing about ordering online is the fact that I don't have a way to pay over the internet (PayPal, credit card, etc). If it weren't for that I'd love to buy online all the time. It'd help me save on gas too

 

After I get the frags sent to me, I'll see what else I want. Something as pretty as a scoly would be amazing, but I'd be afraid I'd kill it since I'm new to saltwater.

[.Newman.]

well you had a yellow clown goby before and he did fine right? so youre not that new

Try to get a bank account and debit card if you are around 17-18 yo. if youre not ,then ask your parents maybe?

[Wiilio]

No no, that picture's from the internet But I did have two clowns for a very short time before in a 10 gallon nano cube (which I still have!), as well as a firefish in this tank, but I've never had luck with polyps.

 

I have a bank account, but according to my mom I "have no need for a debit card" :/

 

And I'm 17

[.Newman.]

my mom was telling me the same thing. just get a debit card, because you probably cant get a credit card yet (unless your mom will arrange one for you like mine did). the debit card can be used as a credit card online. that IMO is the most useful thing about it, you can purchase anything you normally do with a credit card, on the debit card, and your account will be charged directly. OR you can setup a paypal for yourself just by telling paypal your bank account's account number and routing number (ask for these two numbers at your bank). that way pay pal can take money from your bank account directly. if you get paid with paypal (lets say you sold someone some fish or coral), they will put money towards your pay pal and since you gave paypal your bank account info, that money gets directly deposited on your account. thought the one downside is that not all online stores will have the paypal option. thats why having a debit card or credit card pays off. I have my paypal account, for example, set up with my debit card. thus w/e i buy via paypal, gets charge off my debit card. you can set paypal up with a credit card instead too. (or both if you have both)

 

Hows that for some random info?

[Acropora12]

Nie looking tank, can't wait to see it stocked!

[Wiilio]

Acropora12, I can't either XD Even just polyps would be better than just staring at these rocks now.

 

Newman, I actually have a paypal and used to have a debit card when I went to another school. But I came back, and there went the debit card, along with the ability to use paypal

 

 

I seriously need to get SOMETHING for this tank Next time I go back to the LFS I'm trading in the hermits for snails for sure, and depending on the water quality I'll get a frag of... something. Probably a mushroom.

 

Just thought I'd let you guys know the water parameters... or the ones I know.

 

Ammonia: .5

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20

(This was because I was being a little slack on my water changes. I did a change shortly after I came back and fixed the rocks, and I'll be back on my regular schedule.)

Calcium: 600 (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF I need something to use thissss... suggestions!)

Phosphate: ? (Didn't bring in enough water for the test )

[Markushka]

Acropora12, I can't either XD Even just polyps would be better than just staring at these rocks now.

 

Newman, I actually have a paypal and used to have a debit card when I went to another school. But I came back, and there went the debit card, along with the ability to use paypal

 

 

I seriously need to get SOMETHING for this tank Next time I go back to the LFS I'm trading in the hermits for snails for sure, and depending on the water quality I'll get a frag of... something. Probably a mushroom.

 

Just thought I'd let you guys know the water parameters... or the ones I know.

 

Ammonia: .5

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 20

(This was because I was being a little slack on my water changes. I did a change shortly after I came back and fixed the rocks, and I'll be back on my regular schedule.)

Calcium: 600 (FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF I need something to use thissss... suggestions!)

Phosphate: ? (Didn't bring in enough water for the test )

 

 

.5 ammonia is not good! trates are a bit high too but thats not really a problem. Did you have a LFS test the water for you? If so they probably did it wrong, at least on the ammonia. SW specific test kits are more accurate in SW than just regular test kits, in particular for ammonia. No worries on the calc levels, tho what kind of light do you have?

[Wiilio]

Yeah they did test it... I don't have the money for my own test kit right now, and all I have is a freshwater kit. Will the ammonia test from the freshwater kit work for saltwater? It's an API.

 

I was surprised about the ammonia too, especially since this tank has been up and with a filter for at least three months now, but I figured it was because I had slacked off on water changes.

 

Then again, that shouldn't remove ammonia, should it? Just nitrates. The ammonia should be taken care of in the cycle.

 

As for lighting, I have a 10W 50/50. Again, that's all I could afford, and it was the best option.

 

 

 

Edit: I DID notice them using the test strips for part of the test... which kind of made me mad... but that's more than I could do.

 

 

Edit 2: Scratch that, forgot I had strips of my own from forever ago.

[Markushka]

Yeah they did test it... I don't have the money for my own test kit right now, and all I have is a freshwater kit. Will the ammonia test from the freshwater kit work for saltwater? It's an API.

 

I was surprised about the ammonia too, especially since this tank has been up and with a filter for at least three months now, but I figured it was because I had slacked off on water changes.

 

Then again, that shouldn't remove ammonia, should it? Just nitrates. The ammonia should be taken care of in the cycle.

 

As for lighting, I have a 10W 50/50. Again, that's all I could afford, and it was the best option.

 

you can try with the api, My tetra fw was no good for sw, nor are other fw tests I tried. I don't really bother testing for ammonia (or testing for that matter) unless something looks bad.

 

yeah I hear ya on the light thing. I need better lights on my other tanks but i cant afford to get them.

[Wiilio]

Noooooo good. The ammonia test made a white gooey thing. It's pretty gross.

 

So how hard are sun polyps to take care of exactly? I figured some would be good under the left overhang since it's shady there.

[.Newman.]

well you have to feed them ._.

is that something youre willing to do?

[n0rk]

Let your calcium fall naturally, or offset the difference with a known good value mix might get some precipitation but anything you do otherwise will cause it just as bad.