orang3julius Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 well, here are my worst possible qualities in art: aquascaping.... pls pls pls someone help me ... it's also been two weeks that i've been cycling my tank: 10AGA using an AC70 as a fuge, with 2x 20w PC 50/50's, AC20 powerhead, 20lbs LS, 11lbs LR.. ammonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-5, pH 8.2, salinity 1.024... i'm planning to have fish, inverts, and some soft corals.... i wanted to ask what kind of inverts would be best and how many of each, what kind of corals [if possible, if any of you are currently fragging your corals maybe you can help out a newb]... well yea, that's it for now i know i'll have more questions as i go.. this is my very first SW tank [nano-reef]. i currently have two FW tanks a 55g mbuna [cichlid] tank, and a 10g [community tropical fish].. so i'm pretty experienced with some of the basics and i have been reading endless hours throughout this forum. thanks ahead for any help. Link to comment
4251c Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Mostly softies, zoos, shrooms (if rics closer to the light source), xenias. Do a search on low-er light corals. I have 8 more watts then you do and everything so far has been a-o-k. Good luck. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 how about inverts? what kind? how many? - i personally want to have a cleaner shrimp and an emerald crab [not too interested in hermits....] and maybe astrea or turbo snails? Link to comment
4251c Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Cleaner is fine, but if you're going to have one you have to feed it like a fish. If, you don't want fish. Now when you say turbo do you mean the mexican "margarite" turbo or the golfball sized real turbo? Astreas are fine. If you can find a cerith, bonus. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 hehe, im so sorry you just lost me =] .......... how about this... what would you recommend for a newb to put in his tank as for inverts, fish, and coral friendly. i'd like to keep all three. even if the corals consists of shrooms or zoos, it's all good... i just want a friendly-active looking tank... as for fish, i want to get a firefish [purple if possible, hopefully i can find one at the lfs] and something else if possible.... so maybe we can work from that? -what would be compatible in terms of: inverts and other fish mates Link to comment
4251c Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Corals: mushrooms, zoanthus, xenia (very active). Snails: Cerith, nassarius, astrea or trochus, bumblebee, maybe 1 turbo grazer (disclaimer) you will need to get dried sheets of green nori algae to supplement feeding the turbo or he'll starve, 2-3" sheet once-twice a week. Fish: caution w/FF, they leap when startled. Open tank could lead to his demise. Clown or a goby would be fine. Would need to be the smaller variety of clown though. The amounts on the snails could be 2 nass, 2-3 cerith, 2-3 ast or trochs, 1 bb. Fish you may just want one fish, depends on your husbandry practices w/the bioload. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 thank you so much for your help, very helpful i must say.. it'd be nice to see other ppl's comments, but as far as i see it your very knowledgeable. =].. i'll take ur advice on the snails, but i was wondering will i still be able to have any kind of shrimp or crabs? i like the look of shrimps but not really sure of what i can have since there are so many.. i'm open to everyone's opinions Link to comment
proraptor Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 Your aquascaping looks good to me, I like it Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 thanks proraptor, just finished reading ur whole 60g thread and it looks great, kudos to you.. quick question: should i stock my tank with fish first or inverts or all at once? Link to comment
4251c Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Your cleanup crew first. Wait a bit, shrimp, wait a bit then a fish at a time. I gave a two week buffer. If you go w/a pair of clowns it might be better to get them at the same time. Link to comment
4251c Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 thank you so much for your help, very helpful i must say.. it'd be nice to see other ppl's comments, but as far as i see it your very knowledgeable. =].. i'll take ur advice on the snails, but i was wondering will i still be able to have any kind of shrimp or crabs? i like the look of shrimps but not really sure of what i can have since there are so many.. i'm open to everyone's opinions I am a fan of my skunk cleaner shrimp. The two tone gold and red, w/white features is nice. Best of all is they are very active during the lighting period. Blood or fire shrimp, great deep red coloring. They are from deeper water, so they might not be as active when your lights are on. I for one couldn't justify the asking amount for an animal that I would not see unless I had my flashlight. Some like peppermint shrimps. In my experience they too are shy and more active at night. They have a reputation of picking at softies. I will not go into sexy, pistol and their likes because I'm ignorant to those types of shrimp. Crabs: dwarf hermits for the most part or a nice scarlett hermit. Some will tell you no way to crabs....I like the three in my tank, they are constantly in motion and do a fair job. It's really up to you in the end because it's your tank. All we can do is suggest but it's your investment, time and care that will count. Good luck and welcome aboard. P.S. they will all live together somewhat peacefully. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 more liverocks please. will do, how high should i stack it up the tank? a lil over half way? Link to comment
Iveman Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Corals: mushrooms, zoanthus, xenia (very active). xenia are very hit or miss. ive kept them years ago and they spread like no ones business, and that was in just a fowlr with no real attention to corals, just saw them and thought they were cool. now i have a pico i actually maintain and i added a colony but it just shrivelled up. when it was down to something that didnt resemble a xenia at all (no stalks what so ever) i took the rock and dumped it in my 29g fowlr. 2 days later the stalks were back and pumping. so i took and placed it back in my pico and back to shrinkage. i dont get it so i dunno that id recommend it to a newb EDIT: i bought an emerald crab when i had a bubble algea outbreak and he cleaned it rather efficiently. however, he likes to wedge himself between rocks and do "push ups". wouldnt be so bad except the rocks arent that big so things get moved around every now and then. Link to comment
4251c Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 xenia are very hit or miss. ive kept them years ago and they spread like no ones business, and that was in just a fowlr with no real attention to corals, just saw them and thought they were cool. now i have a pico i actually maintain and i added a colony but it just shrivelled up. when it was down to something that didnt resemble a xenia at all (no stalks what so ever) i took the rock and dumped it in my 29g fowlr. 2 days later the stalks were back and pumping. so i took and placed it back in my pico and back to shrinkage. i dont get it so i dunno that id recommend it to a newb Seems the xenia thrive w/DOM in the tank. That would be my take on why they did better in your large set up. Water in your pico might not ideal for them. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 22, 2006 Author Share Posted March 22, 2006 xenia are very nice looking, i like how they stand out of the LR, unlike shrooms and zoos that kinds just 'grow' onto the rock, if you get what i mean; don't get me wrong, i also like the vibrant colors of shrooms and zoos. i plan to have a small colony of each, but we'll see my newb skills in nano-reefing [don't worry i know they will end up multiplying sooner or later, and i don't really have an intention to overcrowd my tank; i will do my best to take things slow and watch my tank mature]. i mean to do well in this hobby and don't want to make room for mistakes that's why i'm preparing myself by asking all of your experience, opinions, and suggestions instead of just charging for the bullet and risking anything [mind you, the amount of money i've and will continue to spend that i wouldn't really want to waste]. i'll make sure to post pics when i start stocking which won't be for a while still. thank you everyone for all your wise info. edit: btw what is DOM? Link to comment
4251c Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Dissolved organic matter=nutrients that eventually become nitrates. Link to comment
jenhao Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 well, here are my worst possible qualities in art: aquascaping.... pls pls pls someone help me ... OK, interior decorating ain't my strength but here's what I've learned....the gap between the rocks may look better if you don't place it dead center. Just move it off to the side. The rock bridge could be a bit better if it is less horizontal. You have a good start. As someone else already said, get a little more rock - it'll give you more to work with. And don't ask me to post a pic of MY aquascaping - it's not there yet either Mark Link to comment
Iveman Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 id recommend if you add more rock (which would help) dont get too close to the front or side glass. it becomes a pita to clean if/when it gets algeafied Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 okie dokie, will do =].. will buy LR on friday i think, soo busy with school and midterms don't have time to pass by the lfs [it's about 10 miles, 20 miles back and forth]. thanks again, will post new pic of new aquascape when ready, maybe monday sat or sunday still. quick question: is it fine to go ahead and get a cleanup crew already? i have a lot of brown algae or diatoms forming all over my display.. when i buy LR i will place in a bucket and leave pumping until params are equal to the tank... pic of brown algae or diatom bloom?: more mainly on tank and can you guys I.D. this for me? im guessing it's some kind of macroalgae... or something? =/: before [yesterday] after[today] Link to comment
Andy16 Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I beleive that macroalgae is caulerpa taxifolia. I didnt think i had it, but then I switched to metal halides and they just popped out of one of my rocks and grew at alarmingly fast rates. Not a big deal since I think they look kinda cool, and they arent that hard to remove if they start to take over. Link to comment
4251c Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 I beleive that macroalgae is caulerpa taxifolia. I didnt think i had it, but then I switched to metal halides and they just popped out of one of my rocks and grew at alarmingly fast rates. Not a big deal since I think they look kinda cool, and they arent that hard to remove if they start to take over. Just be careful. Caulerpa tends to go sexual, releasing all kinds of bad stuff that can crash a tank. Do a search and see how many horror stories have occured w/this horny plant. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Just be careful. Caulerpa tends to go sexual, releasing all kinds of bad stuff that can crash a tank. Do a search and see how many horror stories have occured w/this horny plant. so should i remove it, simply by just pulling it out? Link to comment
4251c Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 so should i remove it, simply by just pulling it out? Get as close to the attachment as possible and pull. It may attempt to regrow but you'll be on top of it. If you go through different threads esp. the refugium section you will not see many people running caulp. in the fuges. If they do then they run a 24/7 light period. Seems this algae is shy and won't perform unless the lights are off. . If you would like to add macro to the display (the natural look) look into chaeto, halimeda, gracilaria(sp) and or bottle brush. These do not have the potential to crash your tank and their nutrient uptake is invaluable. Though you do have to harvest it to export excess nutrients. Any other ?'s hit me on this thread or PM me, have fun, Mike. Link to comment
orang3julius Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 okay, i bought some cured LR last thursday like i wanted to and left it in a bucket filled with enough water from my tank to cure a lil longer [basically to quarantine anything unwanted]. I left it pumping for 4 days, checked its params, and saw that it was good so i decided to place them in tank and reaquascaped tell me what u guys think =]: - haha i think i overdid on the rock but they had a better deal if u bought 10lbs of LR [$40] compared to buying a lb of LR[$4.99/LB], it is okay though because i'll be setting up a sump/fuge soon and i will just move a couple of the LR in this tank to fill up the fuge. -btw i added a bag of carbon the other day in my AC70 fuge and noticed that my coraline started to bleach is this normal? or is my tank suddenly starting a new cycle after adding the new LR? edit [new aquascaping]: Link to comment
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