timmeh Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Hi everybody. I've been lurking on these boards for a long time now. Finally got my own setup, a stock (for now) 3g picotope. Got it last Thursday. Ran straight H20 for a few days, did a huge water change, then added reef crystals and some live rock Saturday. Got very lucky to find 5 1/2 pounds of cured tonga branch pieces for cheap. Running the stock palm filter with an extra fountain pump for now, but i wanna go au naturale. I'll yank out the hob & stick in another pump. It's really small, so I can tweak it now to make sure I have good flow everywhere. No image host yet, so all my the pics are attached. Look for the critter! I think I have a polyp in there. Patience is difficult right now. I feel like an alcoholic staring at the neon sign of a liquor store from an AA meeting. I want to put some livestock in tonite but...must...wait...for...cycle... Any suggestions or advice? Link to comment
Prowland Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Looks like a good start... what are your plans for lighting? Link to comment
Argent Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 so far so good! can't wait to see more pics! Link to comment
pico1 Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 your "critter" is aiptasia. Remove it asap! Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Yes, remove it. Since it's just rock in there now, you can remove the rock and just remove the aiptasia completely. I usually remove a bit of the rock with it to make sure there's nothing left behind to grow into another one. Link to comment
timmeh Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Any stocking plans? Yes, I put a grouper in there today [pic attached]. He keeps knocking over my pile of rock though. Seriously though, I want to get some soft coral in there, maybe zooanthid and some mushrooms. Anything that will fluoresce for me. Eventually a domino or other really small fish too. I'm waiting for an algae bloom so I can get a cleanup crew in there. It's such a small tank though. Can I start off with a single snail & a blue-legged hermit, or should I get more scavengers? Link to comment
erikg Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 What are you going to cycle it with? Link to comment
timmeh Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Looks like a good start... what are your plans for lighting? Thanks! I want to bump the lighting up to 18W of 50/50 pc pretty soon. Not sure if that flimsy-feeling stock lamp holder can hold the weight of another lamp, so I'll need to change that. I'm a diy kind of guy but if I find a good 18W kit w/ legs I might buy it. I've built a couple of kits from AH lighting before. One thing I've never figured out though, is the magic numbers for running fluorescent lights. Can I find a wall wart to run 2 9W pc bulbs? What voltage/frequency do they require? Link to comment
timmeh Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 What are you going to cycle it with? Hello erikg. I'm thinking about using a domino damsel. Hopefully the LFS has a really small one. What do you think? Is the domino a good choice? I didn't have a test kit for the first few days. My ammonia & nitrites have been at 0.0 since I started testing. Nitrates peaked at 10.0 and have been hovering at or below 5.0 since yesterday. Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 dont cycle with a fish!!!! the tank will cycle on its own... Link to comment
Argent Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 ^^^^^ what he said -- live rock/sand will cycle your tank! my 3G Eclipse took just over a week to cycle. Link to comment
timmeh Posted June 14, 2006 Author Share Posted June 14, 2006 ^^^^^ what he said -- live rock/sand will cycle your tank! my 3G Eclipse took just over a week to cycle. Does it make a difference that I'm using cured LR that came straight from the store to my tank bagged in water? I've only been testing my water for the last few days, but NH4 & NO2 have stayed at 0. NO3 peaked at 10 and is down to 5 (ugh...aquarium pharma tests) after a water change. I've only done planted tanks before, so my guess is that the tank is near the end of a mini cycle. What do you think? Should I wait? Link to comment
Fishfreak218 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 wait it out.. it is near the end of a mini cylce Link to comment
debbeach13 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 Welcome to NR this is a great place for info and some laughs. Your off to a great start. Like stated no need to put a fish in for cycling. One of the hardest parts of this hobby is waiting to stock your tank. Read some of the threads on pico's and check pictures for stocking idea's. Keep us posted on how your tank is doing. Deb Link to comment
pico1 Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 domino damsels can grow to 6in. go with a small goby Link to comment
andre Posted June 14, 2006 Share Posted June 14, 2006 domino damsels can grow to 6in. go with a small goby I also vote goby. Link to comment
CBlanks Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 It has been awhile since you posted any updated pics. I imagine now the tank must be filled. Any updates? Link to comment
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