jmorris Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 halamida macro algae... very calcerous, and poor at removing nutrients, but still a nice lookign macro... just keep your Ca levels up and it will flourish. Jared Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 7, 2005 Author Share Posted October 7, 2005 Snails! Here they are, the first round of the cleanup crew, acclimating! Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 12, 2005 Author Share Posted October 12, 2005 Just thought I'd share what my current plans are. This weekend I'm planning to head over to PA and pick up some chaeto and a little more LR rubble for the fuge (I didn't quite realize how much I'd need the first time). Since I already have a cleaning crew in, I'll have to get the rubble cured in a bucket and introduce it when it's ready. Hopefully, with any luck, I'll have the first coral in a couple weeks or so. Figure I'll start with a simple mushroom or zoo and make sure it works out before getting much else. At first, I was a bit dissappointed with the astreas, but in the last couple days, they've been phenomenal in what they've accomplished. I've decided one of my ceriths is crazy, during the day, he climbs on top of the mag float, but every morning, he's gone off doing something elsewhere. Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 12, 2005 Author Share Posted October 12, 2005 Hmm... after seeing this thread, I know I have that stuff at least on a couple of rocks. Never thought too much about it, just figured it was normal and something would eat it. Guess I'll be picking up a little more LR this weekend, too... Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 I'm planning on making another check on water parameters in the next couple days. If everything still reads good, off to get a coral or two I go! I'm thinking something nice and simple like zoos, mushrooms, or maybe even a ric. Nothing too complicated (or expensive, in case I screw up). Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 I got my first two corals on Saturday. Some red mushrooms and some zoas. They all seem to be doing well. Here's some pics. Link to comment
sr71pav Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 And I just observed another new hitchiker. Looks like a brittle starfish. 6 long spindly legs, banded green and brown/black. He came out when I turned the lights out briefly (switching to a GFCI outlet...I know, should've doen this sooner). When the lights came on, I see two legs and then the whole thing comes in view. This just gets more exciting all the time! Link to comment
sr71pav Posted November 11, 2005 Author Share Posted November 11, 2005 Definitely time for an update... Last weekend I switched to a Finnex 4x24W T5 light setup. I love this thing! The blue look is much more pleasing than the yellowish I had before. Plus the actinic really makes things "pop" better.My temperature also doesn't fluctuate quite as much anymore. I go 79-80.3 now as opposed to 79-81.5 when I had PCs. I've also added two scarlet hermits. I know I didn't want any before, but I've read these are probably the safest I can get. I also got a few extra shells for them so that they'll lay off the snails. I've been dealing with a very minor cyano problem. It's getting ever so slightly worse each day, but no where near the nightmares I've seen around. I just try to siphon it out every couple of days. It's odd because it seems to go away overnight, re-appear in the morning within an hour of the lights coming on, and then slowly go away throughout the day. It's only in a couple spots, so I'm not pulling my hair out yet. The tank is young, and I guess this is just part of what it's going through before it stabalizes. No new corals, yet. I have discovered that there's actually several small shrooms on the rock I got, so it's more like 12 total for it. I'm waiting to get over this cyano thing before I add something else. I'm thinking a Ric, and maybe if I find an easy one, and LPS of some kind. I don't want something that has long sweeper tentacles. Something colorful that'll pretty much behave itself. I've been thinking maybe blastos or candy cane. Anyone got some suggestions/tips? Link to comment
sr71pav Posted November 30, 2005 Author Share Posted November 30, 2005 I've been doing some thinking about my setup lately and I've come to several conclusions. First off, it's fine the way it is, but it could be better. I already don't like the PH's and HOB fuge on the tank, plus the small water volume bothers me. It doesn't take long to drive up salinity because of evap, but it's much better with T5's than it was with the PC's IMO. I've decided I want to make a few (but major) changes sometime early next year (stupid December funding issues). I think I'd like to have a sump/fuge, also 15G, bringing the total to 30G. I'll have to figure out a new stand, might be a chance to build my own. I also want to drill the tank as opposed to an HOB overflow. I saw someone who had drilled their glass tank and use 90° elbows to raise the drain input so as to keep the water level up. That's if I went through the back. Or I could always go through the bottom, but that seems like a bit more work having to build an internal overflow box. It'd be my first time at this, so I don't want to go too far with no experience. I figured I'd have two returns from the sump for flow. I have no idea really where to begin on plumbing (diameters, should I had an SCWD?, etc.) Comments? Link to comment
proraptor Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Got any pics of your tank with the finnex unit over it? Link to comment
sr71pav Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 The rockwork has been re-arranged since then, but this is the best picture I have where you can see the light itself. Link to comment
proraptor Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Nice! Thanks a lot Ive been wanting to see what kind of light output these finnex units actually put out... Link to comment
sr71pav Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 In reality, it's more blue than that pic lets on (hooray for white balance). But depending on the bulb arrangement, you can tune color to your, and more importantly, your coral's preferences Link to comment
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