graceless Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Well, i'm pretty nervous about posting this, but i figure i may as well cause i might get some good feedback. This is my first attempt at salt water, and i'm starting with a 2 foot standard tank. Lighting = 2 X actinic, 2 X triphosphor flouros. Filtration = approx 10kg of live rock, Queen Turbo 200 skimmer powered by a Rio 2000lph pump Water Movement = 1 X Rio 200lph powerhead, 1 X Rio 800lph powerhead Substrate - crushed marble Ok, so the first 2 are at the beginning. Bare tank, and bare tank with substrate. Taken 12 NOV 04 Taken 12 NOV 04 Within the first week, i was desperate, so i got a lesser quality live rock than i would have liked, but put the first 6kg of rock in. tank looked like this: Taken 13 NOV 04 Just last week (approx week 2 of the tank's life) i got some more LR of a higher quality and added that. i got approximately 4.5 kg. this is the maximum amount of LR i'm gonna keep. i think it looks pretty crappy at the moment from an aquascaping perspective, but i'll work on that. i think i need to break down some of the pieces of rock into smaller pieces. Taken 22 NOV 04 Just one more that shows the colors that i'm getting on my live rock. i have a LOT of orange coraline algae, which i'm pretty happy with! Taken 22 NOV 04 And finally, photos with the lights on. (i built this hood - still need to paint it tho.) Front on: Taken 22 NOV 04 From the side/my bed: Taken 22 NOV 04 Well that's the tank to date. please comment on what looks bad and what looks good. whether i have too much or too little, etc. cheers Grace Link to comment
graceless Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 The hitchikers that i've found so far - anyone feel free to ID them please. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Great start! Second one is some kinda zoanthid (zoo's) polyps...fourth one...peanut worm? But hard to be certain from the picture. Not positive about the rest. Link to comment
Meercat_Maric Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Not bad for a first go-around, I think most of us actually started out the same way! You say you got crushed marble for your substrate, is that the same as crushed coral? Link to comment
graceless Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 Originally posted by Meercat_Maric Not bad for a first go-around, I think most of us actually started out the same way! You say you got crushed marble for your substrate, is that the same as crushed coral? i don't think so. crushed coral is like agralite (sp?!?!). it's whiter than coral sand, and a heap less expensive. it's just marble crushed up really. i dunno how to explain it. i like it tho. it's whiter than crushed coral. but has the same buffering ability __________________ Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 huh? I didn't talk about crushed coral. :| Link to comment
graceless Posted November 22, 2004 Author Share Posted November 22, 2004 ######! quoted the wrong person. will fix it up. sorry! Link to comment
Razin Kane Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 very nice grace...nice freebies on the rock Link to comment
Sushi Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 that's a sharp looking tank, i would suggest moving that huge rock in the middle and use it in the back corner or something, and start making some caves with the other pieces. once u get ur aquascaping down things should start to look much better! Link to comment
graceless Posted November 23, 2004 Author Share Posted November 23, 2004 cheers guys. i will re-aquascape this arvo and post more pictures soon. should i be worried about touching the rocks? what if there's yucky bristleworms on them!! Link to comment
fishykid9212 Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 dude looks great but one word of advice: fill the tank all the way up so you aren't blinded by the light and ther isn't a line. Trust me it will look better. Link to comment
audiocontrol Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 omg, you started out with the same lighting set up as I did on my 20L reef back in 99. My hood looked very similar except I had stained it dark. Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I'm sorry if you already mentioned this, but I can't seem to find it above...but where did you get that glass tank? is it custom made? It has a very nice "seamless" look to it. Link to comment
graceless Posted November 25, 2004 Author Share Posted November 25, 2004 Originally posted by Tigahboy I'm sorry if you already mentioned this, but I can't seem to find it above...but where did you get that glass tank? is it custom made? It has a very nice "seamless" look to it. Tigahboy. it's as stock standard as they come man! i just got it from a local tank builder. cost me $40 AUS. cheap. it is nice though. ]Originally posted by fishykid9212dude looks great but one word of advice: fill the tank all the way up so you aren't blinded by the light and ther isn't a line. Trust me it will look better. yer man, i'm lazy, eh?! but i shall. i shall. Originally posted by audiocontrolomg, you started out with the same lighting set up as I did on my 20L reef back in 99. My hood looked very similar except I had stained it dark. really? that's cool. i built that myself actually - go a girl with semi-ability to do woodwork! i plan on painting it black. it is currently raw pine Link to comment
Tigahboy Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I like it cuz it doesnt have the black or wood colored trim....and no dark color lining/edges....very sweet. Link to comment
audiocontrol Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 did you seal the back of your hood off with wood, or did you leave it open as i did (to let out evaporation and not warp the wood)? Mine was made out of pine, but it was stained lightly with orange and heavy dark brown to give it an oak look. I used coralife retrofit ballasts. They were total garbage. After a year they burned out on me. When the lights went, so did my first reef... Link to comment
graceless Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 nar, i have no holes in it at the moment, but i think i need to. i just don't want the light escaping all in my eyes! it's all 4 sides done. i might take a photo soon and post it Grace Link to comment
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