Lula_Mae Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Such a cool tank! Following to see where this goes. 1 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 11 hours ago, lkoechle said: do you have any pics of your anemone? I was hoping for one, but no luck. lol I have had so much fun with the TBS package. I have plans for a bigger tank with TBS now Keep seahem prime on hand and an ammonia alert badge. My cycle took 7 days with no free ammonia reading but I did have a small nitrite spike so I know a cycle did happen. No pics of the anemone. It disappeared from the original location and I haven't found where it moved. It (like all my hitchhikers) is tiny so I may have to wait till it grows a bit (if it survives the cycle). I haven't tested the water this morning but last night I had 0.25 ammonia. The Cycle Has Started! 2 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 Speedy cycle! I got my live rock and live sand on Monday. I watched both Ammonia and Nitrate rise and now fall - this morning Ammonia is 0 and Nitrate is between 0 and 5 ppm. Wow! This means I'll be ready for the second shipment sometime next week! I have to say I've been so happy with The Package. I wish I had done this in my "big" tank (RedSea Reefer 250 - around 50 gallons). Fingers crossed things continue this way. 2 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 17, 2017 Author Share Posted June 17, 2017 More photos! All white hermit crab Urchin and limpet Snail (I have two this size) Half Tank shot (lower half - there's nothing but water in the upper part of the tank). Notice how the flow has moved the sand around. I have a pretty strong flow. Once I get the rest of my rock I'll adjust everything as needed. Hopefully late next week! 4 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 38 minutes ago, Thunder Goose said: More photos! All white hermit crab Urchin and limpet Snail (I have two this size) Half Tank shot (lower half - there's nothing but water in the upper part of the tank). Notice how the flow has moved the sand around. I have a pretty strong flow. Once I get the rest of my rock I'll adjust everything as needed. Hopefully late next week! Ooooh, I LOVE the macro you have growing out of this rock!! 1 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 6 hours ago, Thunder Goose said: Speedy cycle! I got my live rock and live sand on Monday. I watched both Ammonia and Nitrate rise and now fall - this morning Ammonia is 0 and Nitrate is between 0 and 5 ppm. Wow! This means I'll be ready for the second shipment sometime next week! I have to say I've been so happy with The Package. I wish I had done this in my "big" tank (RedSea Reefer 250 - around 50 gallons). Fingers crossed things continue this way. Yeah I definitely have ideas rattling for a bigger pacakage tank. Its so much fun! I cant wait to see what your part two looks like! Its also cool that I can already see difference between our hitchhikers. Like your urchin looks like a pencil urchin and mine isnt. Its really cool! 1 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 Part 2 of The Package has arrived! Woo-hoo! I always heard that TBSaltwter was generous with extras. Boy, you aren't kidding. I'll post more later. First up, though, is my attempt at scape. I have at least 2X this rock, some I put in my bigger tank, some is still waiting in the box. Opinions welcome, nay, encouraged! Sorry it's so cloudy - it's a work in progress. PS. I think I hear snapping... 4 Quote Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Looking forward to seeing what pops out. Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 21, 2017 Author Share Posted June 21, 2017 Option 2 Option 3 (I think this is a bit crowded, uses all but one piece of rock) Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I like option 2 best. Make sure you can get a scraper around the rocks. and I will say this, my pistol snaps WAY more than the mantis. I hardly hear Yoshii. Red goes all the time though. So my bet is pistol shrimp over mantis shrimp. Cant wait to see your goodies! 1 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 5 minutes ago, lkoechle said: I like option 2 best. Make sure you can get a scraper around the rocks. and I will say this, my pistol snaps WAY more than the mantis. I hardly hear Yoshii. Red goes all the time though. So my bet is pistol shrimp over mantis shrimp. Cant wait to see your goodies! I agree, I like option 2. 2 Quote Link to comment
jesseatam Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I like either 1 or 2, besides room for the scraper try to make sure you have room for your siphon to fit too. 1 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 13 minutes ago, jesseatam said: I like either 1 or 2, besides room for the scraper try to make sure you have room for your siphon to fit too. You can use any size tubing you need and a syringe to start the siphon for a diy fix. My siphon is too big for the 14 so I use other tubing to siphon. Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 22, 2017 Author Share Posted June 22, 2017 PICTURES! Here's my FTS from yesterday evening (I've moved a few things since then, but the rocks are the same). It's a compromise 'scape. I think I only used one piece of "base" rock in the final version... I hope it doesn't cycle again. See all the sponges, gorgonians and macroalgae. All those were "freebies" with The Package. I didn't expect those! I got at least four different crab - both as "freebies" and as hitchhikers - not pictured are a spider decorator crab and a porcelain crab (gorgeous!) 'cause those photos didn't turn out. Emerald crab above and still undetermined (probably red Mitrax/ red Emerald) crab below. Gorgeous, huh? And I got a nice nudibrach. It's probably an Elysia (related to the lettuce nudibranch). I was disappointed when I first discovered how small sea slugs often are - they're gorgeous and I always thought they'd be about a foot long. The Package includes a sea cucumber - but I got sent two. Those are actually in my "big" (50 gallon) tank. Below is one going the wrong way! You're supposed to be in the sand, not on the glass! My white hermit crab is not happy she has to share her rock. She likes this rock and can be found perched on it almost all the time. Now there are SNAILS and other HERMITS. The Horror. And I'm out of picture space... You'll just have to tune in later to see more. I'm still hearing snapping but I haven't spotted the culprit yet. 4 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 Love it! Cant wait for more! Decorator crab was another I was hoping for but didnt get. I want more shots of your freebies! Like whats that red ball shaped thing? I switched all the rock in my mantis tank and didnt have any ammonia readings but I did put prime as precaution, so you will probably be good, but thats what i did. 1 Quote Link to comment
lkoechle Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 I took my cukes to the LFS. I didn't think they were a good fit for any of my tanks, but I will be interested in updates on how they do in your 50! I did a lot of research on them. If you go to the first post of my contest thread, I have been putting in all my research links for the different critters. Maybe my stuff will help you out Its organized by critter (not alphabetically yet) 1 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 22, 2017 Author Share Posted June 22, 2017 And now for some sponges... I don't have ids on any of these except the ball sponge and the tree (or finger) sponge. These were all freebies in my shipment from Tampa Bay Saltwater (except the one attached to the rock - on the right in the second photo). Now sponges were not in my plan and 5 sponges (not counting the ones that came in on the rocks) are taking up a lot of real estate in the tank so I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them or not. I may see if my LFS will take them or post them on my local reefers forum. Or I may keep them and enjoy them as long as they look good. Or I might even actually TRY to keep them alive. Still undecided. 5 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 22, 2017 Share Posted June 22, 2017 1 hour ago, Thunder Goose said: And now for some sponges... I don't have ids on any of these except the ball sponge and the tree (or finger) sponge. These were all freebies in my shipment from Tampa Bay Saltwater (except the one attached to the rock - on the right in the second photo). Now sponges were not in my plan and 5 sponges (not counting the ones that came in on the rocks) are taking up a lot of real estate in the tank so I'm not sure if I'm going to keep them or not. I may see if my LFS will take them or post them on my local reefers forum. Or I may keep them and enjoy them as long as they look good. Or I might even actually TRY to keep them alive. Still undecided. I think the sponges are beautiful and really add something to the tank. 4 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 After I turned on the powerhead several things blew around the tank. I may have too much power for such a small tank - I know gorgonians need flow but I wonder if the return pump flow might be enough... So I rearranged a few things - moved some rocks, tied down some things with fishing line and et voila! I think I like this version. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. In other news - a new cycle has started. My Ammonia was 0.50 and my nitrate was 40 ppm. Wow. I don't even have any fish. But I am starting to see algae growth - CUC, GET TO WORK! I do have a rather large serpent star. She had her arms out of her hiding place this evening when I was feeding the other tanks so I took some tweezers and gave her a chunk of food from the LRS I had thawed. She took it like a champ! I may end up moving her to Tranquility Base (my 50 gallon). I would have put her straight in there but I have two brittle stars in that tank already and I'm concerned that may be too much. 4 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Just now, Thunder Goose said: After I turned on the powerhead several things blew around the tank. I may have too much power for such a small tank - I know gorgonians need flow but I wonder if the return pump flow might be enough... So I rearranged a few things - moved some rocks, tied down some things with fishing line and et voila! I think I like this version. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. In other news - a new cycle has started. My Ammonia was 0.50 and my nitrate was 40 ppm. Wow. I don't even have any fish. But I am starting to see algae growth - CUC, GET TO WORK! I do have a rather large serpent star. She had her arms out of her hiding place this evening when I was feeding the other tanks so I took some tweezers and gave her a chunk of food from the LRS I had thawed. She took it like a champ! I may end up moving her to Tranquility Base (my 50 gallon). I would have put her straight in there but I have two brittle stars in that tank already and I'm concerned that may be too much. Oh my goodness, this is BEAUTIFUL!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment
WV Reefer Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 32 minutes ago, Thunder Goose said: After I turned on the powerhead several things blew around the tank. I may have too much power for such a small tank - I know gorgonians need flow but I wonder if the return pump flow might be enough... So I rearranged a few things - moved some rocks, tied down some things with fishing line and et voila! I think I like this version. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. In other news - a new cycle has started. My Ammonia was 0.50 and my nitrate was 40 ppm. Wow. I don't even have any fish. But I am starting to see algae growth - CUC, GET TO WORK! I do have a rather large serpent star. She had her arms out of her hiding place this evening when I was feeding the other tanks so I took some tweezers and gave her a chunk of food from the LRS I had thawed. She took it like a champ! I may end up moving her to Tranquility Base (my 50 gallon). I would have put her straight in there but I have two brittle stars in that tank already and I'm concerned that may be too much. Very nice!! 1 Quote Link to comment
samnaz Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Where'd you get all those cool sponges? Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 24, 2017 Author Share Posted June 24, 2017 8 hours ago, samnaz said: Where'd you get all those cool sponges? The sponges were "freebies" with my live rock order from Tampa Bay Saltwater but KP Aquatics sells them as well (and they're a good company to order from). The big question, of course, is how long will they survive. 2 Quote Link to comment
Thunder Goose Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 The second cycle seems to be finished - my ammonia came down to 0 and my nitrates are at 20. I guess it's time to think about occupants. Current motile residents: At least 2 urchins (including the pencil urchin that I swear has gotten bigger since I got her about 2 weeks ago!) The decorator crab A second, very tiny decorator crab Peppermint shrimp Nudibranch At least 2 micro brittle stars The large serpent star Miscellaneous hermit crabs - blue legs and Pagurus sp. (white legs) Miscellaneous snails Sessile residents: 2 elephant ear sponges 1 ball sponge 1 tree sponge 1 red unk sponge lots of small hitchhiker sponges Red and green macroalgaes (not yet identified because I haven't gotten around to it) Hitchhiker corals, barnacles (I wish those did better in captivity, I love watching them), macroalgaes, bivalves I'm very happy with the way the tank looks but it could use some more active movement. This is where it gets hard. I would prefer Florida/ caribbean species but I also have to take the tiny size of the tank into consideration. That really limits me. Soooo... Here's where the "semi" part of my "semi-biotope" comes in. I think I'll relax my restrictions. I'd like a blenny so either a goldline (Florida native) or a tail spot. I want something that swims around and The Husband likes firefish so probably one of those - but I need a lid first. The question now is: how many fish? If I can do three I would probably add a clown goby. If not, well, those two would probably provide plenty of interest. This is a tentative list and I am wide open to suggestions! Quote Link to comment
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