Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Decided to setup a nano after seeing some amazing nanos on this board. About 5 months ago I setup a fish only 40 gallon and have been hooked ever since. I knew I wanted a reef from day 1 but was a little cautious as this was my first marine tank. Well, got bored the other day and finally decided to take the plunge... Went down to my LFS to get a new 10 gallon and PC hood to get things started. They had a 2x36w JBJ that was on sale for $107.00 so I jumped on it. I wasn't going to get a new 10 gallon tank as I had one already, but it wasn't in the best of shape. I thought the PCs would have been more expensive so I decided to splurge and spend an extra $8 on a new tank. So far ~ $125. Next LFS had a better deal on LS, so I got 20lbs for $20 and a 50w Ebo Jager for $25. Roughly $175 now... Next LFS had some nice Tonga LR so I grabbed 7lbs of it @ $6 and 6lbs of Figi @ $4. ~$75 on LR, so grand total up to ~$250. Stopped at the local HW store on the way home and got a small can of blue Krylon, some masking tape, and some razor blades for about $10. I needed a stand for the tank, so I got a cheap-o table from Ikea for $10. Under $275 for the tank setup (already had 2 Rio 50s), just need it to cycle and slowly stock it. Here's my first pic. (And first post for that matter!) Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 Here's a closer pic. You can see there was a couple hitch-hiking snails on the rock. Link to comment
CRG Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Nice aquascaping! I like how you chose different types of LR as well. Keep us updated once you start stocking it. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 8, 2003 Author Share Posted March 8, 2003 I had to get the Tonga rock when I saw it. Has excellent shape for good water flow. These pictures are very poor quality... actually taken with my cell phone cam. Link to comment
KnOt-HaRd Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 hey if you need more fiji live rock i have about 20 pounds of fully cured for 3 bucks a pound. Link to comment
kimura Posted March 8, 2003 Share Posted March 8, 2003 Really nice. I like it, very simple and clean. Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 So far so good. Just make sure the $10 cheapo Ikea table can hold the 100 plus pounds or you will end up $275 in the whole. I had a cave in many years ago, you wanna be sure the stand is worthy. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 9, 2003 Author Share Posted March 9, 2003 I was concerned with the table myself. It's 2" thick and darn sturdy... stood on it myself just to make sure. Not a creek. Link to comment
Reefy Posted March 9, 2003 Share Posted March 9, 2003 Nice tank. I like how you spred out the live rock. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 15, 2003 Author Share Posted March 15, 2003 Got some corals for my tank. Picked up a mushroom that looks like an anenome, a torch, and a tiny rock with some small zoos. Also tossed in a coral banded shrimp. Please excuse the crummy pics (cell phone cam)... need to get a real digital camera already. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 15, 2003 Author Share Posted March 15, 2003 My coral banded shrimp hanging upside down, just chillin'. You can see the tiny zoos on the right side. Link to comment
Goliath Posted March 15, 2003 Share Posted March 15, 2003 Damn Puff, you should of met up with us at Jeffs Exotic Fish today. Looks like the tank is getting very nice. I justadded my LR so the cycle begins! Jeremy Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted March 15, 2003 Author Share Posted March 15, 2003 I went to Jeff's about a week ago and was not impressed at all (I've been to Aquatic Warehouse in San Diego, much better IMO...). I didn't like their coral selections. I got these corals at Tong's in Fountain Valley. They have a good selection of fish and corals for a LFS. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted April 5, 2003 Author Share Posted April 5, 2003 don't know why the pic didn't display. here's another. Link to comment
danano Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 I've been using a similar 'el-cheap-o' IKEA table for my 10G SeaClear acrylic since Aug'02. So far so good! :-) I do check on the legs/stability every so often, just in case. Nice setup. The aquascape and build-up of marine life looks good. Link to comment
heuerfan Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 Nice tank, lovce the rock work! Can you list the inhabitants so far! How's the torch, i would like to get one too, and also the xenia. How did you mount it? Thanks! Link to comment
pitbullpooch Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 must have been a quick cycle?3/08 you set up and 3/14 add corals and shrimp or is it ok to add them corals and shrimp before full cycle?if so darn i waited for nothing but better safe then sorry. Link to comment
Puff_the_Reefer Posted April 6, 2003 Author Share Posted April 6, 2003 The cycle was very quick. The Tonga rock was fully cured when I got it, it's now fully encrusted with 4 types of coraline and has feather dusters everywhere. I used water from an established system to start the tank(advice from a guy to speed up the cycle). The tank took less than a week to fully cycle. Here is what is in the tank so far: Torch Green Star Polyps Star Polyps Zoo's (green&puple, various pinks, purples, yellow...) Galaxy Ricordia Pipe Organ Xenia Flower Pot Green and Red button Polyps Percula Few snails, hermits, and a Coral Banded Shrimp Everything looks great so far. I do a 1 gallon water change every 5 days to keep the water quality high, using RO/DI. So far, so good (knocking on wood). When I added the clown I also added a Yellow Watchman Goby. He had some red stuff growing around his mouth after 2 days in the tank (he didn't look healthy). Unfortunately, this morning when I woke up I couldn't find the Watchman... it was being consumed by the coral banded shrimp . My first loss... I had a bad feeling about him after I saw signs of stress. The Xenia is mounted on a small piece of rock and is just resting on a piece of my Fiji rock. I got a good deal on the frag from Lizbeth. The zoos are from Anthony who is also local to me. I built a LED moonlight the other day from pieces bought at Radio Shack. I will post pics tomorrow. Used a Blue LED with a resistor and a small DC power supply. It looks awesome. Very subtle for night viewing... adds a perfect shimmering to the water. The pics do not show up well as the camera barely pics up the light when focusing. Link to comment
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