Andy's 29 Gallon Reef

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 12:46 AM

Well, at the start of the year, I decided to get back into the hobby, fantastic for me, bad for my wallet! Anyhow, I got my tank up and running, and soon found the RS community, where many of you have already helped me out tremendously! I would like to especially thank Cougra and Icstorc, for all of their help thus far! I couldn't possibly have had peace of mind without the input, advice, and opinions of you two! Anyhow, Here goes:

About a year and a half ago, I had the same size aquarium set up, only FOWLR and without a heck of a lot of knowledge. Unfortunatley, I don't have any pictures of my old setup, however, this time around will be much different!

Well, when setting up my current setup, I intended to mimic my last go at the hobby, and expand on it over time, originally thinking that setting up a reef would be somewhat lame, since i was so fascinated with my old dwarf zebra lionfish

I can't quite say what it was that made me see the light though... I suppose once I had the tank to the point where I was able to add a clean up crew, I began to think, well their just going to get eaten... and so I picked up three blue chromis when the time was right, and I was fascinated how much personality even the smallest most unexpected fish could have. This is when I found RS, and I think thats when I got bit. Another hobby of mine includes growing carnivorus plants, venus fly traps, sundews, pitcher plants, and so on. and it dawned on me that a reef was in a sense an even more wild of a garden than the one i have! So, I went out and picked up My first coral, a rock with three mushroom polyps. (pictures to follow) since then, Which, mind you, hasn't been very long, I have added 6 narcssisus snails, and 4 blue leg hermits, one of which was lost to the substrate while aranging new LR

And finally a Cleaner shrimp named piere and a rock of orange and button polyps. There will surely be more to come in the not so distant future, and equipment upgrades coming later this week, so I thought why not start a "reef chronicle" after reading a number of them, the input each and every one of you offer is invaluable to ultimatley making my piece of the ocean as good as it can be! Thank you to everyone on RS!

Without Further Adieu, Photographs, in chronological order.

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 12:50 AM

This is the earliest photograph of my current aquarium. Inhabitants at this point in time include 3 blue chromis, and two scarlet reef hermits

A picture of the 3 stooges!
I am really fascinated by these fish.. I without question have witnessed them play hide and seek on a number of occasions!

sasquatch · 02-07-2007, 12:53 AM

Very nice Cassette, sounds like a pretty painless reentry into the hobby, look forward to the pics. Steve

BrothaWolf · 02-07-2007, 12:54 AM

looking good Andy tell us about your equipment. You might want to take a roller and some paint to the back of the tank You would be amazed at the depth it will give you

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 12:55 AM

My first coral purchase, I may as well have my paycheck direct despoited to the LFS, I know I'm addicted at this point.

Whole tank shot after the addition of the 4 blue leg hermits and the three mushrooms.

A few days later, I was able to pick up a couple of new bulbs for my wonderfully terrible hood, the eclipse 3 system. I picked up a coral sun and reef sun bulb (dayligt and actinic) and all i can say is wow, Pictures don't do it justice, it is truly beautiful!

The mushrooms Are doing wonderfully!

BrothaWolf · 02-07-2007, 12:58 AM

Awesome shrooms! I hope they explained you need to target feed the sun coral and that they dont like the light so much

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 01:05 AM

More recently, the mushrooms are certianly growing! In fact, underneath the top of the rightmost one, a small frag has broken away from the stem, and is most definitley developing into another mini me mushroom!

My Newest coral addition! Various Zoa's, and they are amazing to say the least!, If only there were a venus fly trap coral... and don't mention the a word, they don't count. :-)

My new cleaner shrimp Piere! He does seem to simply sit under his one rock all day... should these guys be more active? Sorry about the Picture quality here... my hand was shaky, with zoom and macro.. doesn't make for a good shot.

And finally, a whole tank shot. This is what the tank looks like now, except I've added another powerhead on the left side, which is cleaning up the cyano after only a day of added flow! Oh, and incase it wasn't obvious, More Live rock! the leftmost piece you can notice a few hitch hiker polyps! I was definitley excited about this!!

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 01:10 AM

As for my equipment, I currently don't have a whole lot to talk about. The canopy is a Marineland Eclipse 3 system, so there is a Carbon/floss filter and a biowheel built into the hood, powered by a 250GPH PH. The heater is a typical Ebo Jager model, and Both powerheads are Penguin ph's one flows 170 GPH and another at 300GPH. My stand was a giveaway from my friend who had a freswater aquarium from some time, and that about does it

This week I ordered a aqua c remora protien skimmer with the mj1200, and will be picking up a 30" coralife aqualight PC fixture with lunar lights!! I will definitley be moving the pillow on my bed to face the tank instead of the tv!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrothaWolf

Awesome shrooms! I hope they explained you need to target feed the sun coral and that they dont like the light so much

I didn't get a sun coral, I got a bulb that was advertised as a "coral sun" bulb :-) although sun corals are very beautiful! Sorry if I worded that incorectly.

saltwaterfarm · 02-07-2007, 01:11 AM

Nice Job...

lgerold · 02-07-2007, 01:21 AM

You are off to a wonderful start! You'll really like the protein skimmer you ordered. I used a Remora C Pro on my 125 and it did a great job.

Keep us in pictures!

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 01:27 AM

Thank you Igerold! I heard many positive things about the remoras, so I figured better to buy a good one to begin with just like everyone says. That way when my itch gets me into a 55 i can still use it!

One thing i forgot to metion is that I recently noticed some Aiptasia in my tank, and have already ordered joes juice. I'm scared that this could ruin my reef experience, so hopefully all goes well. I would like to avoid peppermint shrimp, since so many of you have said they can nip at coral.

BrothaWolf · 02-07-2007, 02:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassette87

I didn't get a sun coral, I got a bulb that was advertised as a "coral sun" bulb :-) although sun corals are very beautiful! Sorry if I worded that incorectly.

Nope you didnt word it wrong Im just a bit lexdisic after 12am!!!!

billyr98 · 02-07-2007, 02:38 AM

tank looks great!!

Cougra · 02-07-2007, 11:46 AM

I really like the look of the tank so far. It reminds me of my tank when I first set it up. I wish that I had taken pictures of it then so I could have something to look back on! I can't wait to see more pictures as things progress in the tank.

I'm also certain you'll like the Remora skimmer. I've only had mine for a few weeks and I am impressed with it and glad I made the purchase. It's incredibly simple to use, not too noisy (does have some running noice but I find it relaxing) The first couple weeks are definately the noisiest though.

I think you'll also like the new lighting system you get. I know the pump for the canopy creates good water circulation in most areas of the tank but you'll find that regular powerheads will allow for more flexibility in the tank and you wont have to try to work around a free hanging outlet!

Cassette87 · 02-07-2007, 01:53 PM

Thanks Cougra! I can't wait to get the new equipment set up, although I'm sure you know that already :-) I will probably pick up the lights today, although without the skimmer, I don't want to remove the eclipse 3 yet. So Probably no assembled pics just yet, but I'll throw up a picture of the new lighting system if I get it today!

02-07-2007, 12:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Well, at the start of the year, I decided to get back into the hobby, fantastic for me, bad for my wallet! Anyhow, I got my tank up and running, and soon found the RS community, where many of you have already helped me out tremendously! I would like to especially thank Cougra and Icstorc, for all of their help thus far! I couldn't possibly have had peace of mind without the input, advice, and opinions of you two! Anyhow, Here goes: About a year and a half ago, I had the same size aquarium set up, only FOWLR and without a heck of a lot of knowledge. Unfortunatley, I don't have any pictures of my old setup, however, this time around will be much different! Well, when setting up my current setup, I intended to mimic my last go at the hobby, and expand on it over time, originally thinking that setting up a reef would be somewhat lame, since i was so fascinated with my old dwarf zebra lionfish I can't quite say what it was that made me see the light though... I suppose once I had the tank to the point where I was able to add a clean up crew, I began to think, well their just going to get eaten... and so I picked up three blue chromis when the time was right, and I was fascinated how much personality even the smallest most unexpected fish could have. This is when I found RS, and I think thats when I got bit. Another hobby of mine includes growing carnivorus plants, venus fly traps, sundews, pitcher plants, and so on. and it dawned on me that a reef was in a sense an even more wild of a garden than the one i have! So, I went out and picked up My first coral, a rock with three mushroom polyps. (pictures to follow) since then, Which, mind you, hasn't been very long, I have added 6 narcssisus snails, and 4 blue leg hermits, one of which was lost to the substrate while aranging new LR And finally a Cleaner shrimp named piere and a rock of orange and button polyps. There will surely be more to come in the not so distant future, and equipment upgrades coming later this week, so I thought why not start a "reef chronicle" after reading a number of them, the input each and every one of you offer is invaluable to ultimatley making my piece of the ocean as good as it can be! Thank you to everyone on RS! Without Further Adieu, Photographs, in chronological order.

02-07-2007, 12:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef This is the earliest photograph of my current aquarium. Inhabitants at this point in time include 3 blue chromis, and two scarlet reef hermits A picture of the 3 stooges! I am really fascinated by these fish.. I without question have witnessed them play hide and seek on a number of occasions!

02-07-2007, 12:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
sasquatch Brunt of all Jokes~ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: the very farthest west coast of canada Posts: 8,981 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Very nice Cassette, sounds like a pretty painless reentry into the hobby, look forward to the pics. Steve

02-07-2007, 12:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
BrothaWolf Acropora Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,798 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef looking good Andy tell us about your equipment. You might want to take a roller and some paint to the back of the tank You would be amazed at the depth it will give you __________________ 75 Gal AGA Nano - 115lbs LR 140lbs LS Tunze 6025 x 3 40 gal DIY Sump/fuge 20lb LS 26lb LR Outer Orbit 150 HQI Mh x 2, 54w T5 x 4, 18 moons, ASM G3 Mated pair Yashia Gobies (seperated) and Red Band Pistol Shrimp, True Percula, Purple Fire Fish, Yellow Clown Goby, Orange Back Fairy Wrasse, Barber Pole Goby, Blood Shrimp, Crocea Clam, Scarlet Hermits, Cerith, Nassarius, Nerite and Margarita Snails (hold the salt) Zoas, Rics & Shrooms, Xenia, Hammer & Frog Spawn, Star Polyps, Blasto, Blue Anthelia, Lord Acans 29 Gal Oceanic Bio Cube- 40lbs LR 30lbs LS Sapphire Skimmer, DIY Nanotuners 4.36 Lighting, DIY Moonlights, DIY Mod CPR Refugium Randalls Goby, Zoa's ,Trach,Shrooms President: Crabs Make Me Itch Society

02-07-2007, 12:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef My first coral purchase, I may as well have my paycheck direct despoited to the LFS, I know I'm addicted at this point. Whole tank shot after the addition of the 4 blue leg hermits and the three mushrooms. A few days later, I was able to pick up a couple of new bulbs for my wonderfully terrible hood, the eclipse 3 system. I picked up a coral sun and reef sun bulb (dayligt and actinic) and all i can say is wow, Pictures don't do it justice, it is truly beautiful! The mushrooms Are doing wonderfully!

02-07-2007, 12:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
BrothaWolf Acropora Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,798 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Awesome shrooms! I hope they explained you need to target feed the sun coral and that they dont like the light so much __________________ 75 Gal AGA Nano - 115lbs LR 140lbs LS Tunze 6025 x 3 40 gal DIY Sump/fuge 20lb LS 26lb LR Outer Orbit 150 HQI Mh x 2, 54w T5 x 4, 18 moons, ASM G3 Mated pair Yashia Gobies (seperated) and Red Band Pistol Shrimp, True Percula, Purple Fire Fish, Yellow Clown Goby, Orange Back Fairy Wrasse, Barber Pole Goby, Blood Shrimp, Crocea Clam, Scarlet Hermits, Cerith, Nassarius, Nerite and Margarita Snails (hold the salt) Zoas, Rics & Shrooms, Xenia, Hammer & Frog Spawn, Star Polyps, Blasto, Blue Anthelia, Lord Acans 29 Gal Oceanic Bio Cube- 40lbs LR 30lbs LS Sapphire Skimmer, DIY Nanotuners 4.36 Lighting, DIY Moonlights, DIY Mod CPR Refugium Randalls Goby, Zoa's ,Trach,Shrooms President: Crabs Make Me Itch Society

02-07-2007, 01:05 AM	#7 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef More recently, the mushrooms are certianly growing! In fact, underneath the top of the rightmost one, a small frag has broken away from the stem, and is most definitley developing into another mini me mushroom! My Newest coral addition! Various Zoa's, and they are amazing to say the least!, If only there were a venus fly trap coral... and don't mention the a word, they don't count. :-) My new cleaner shrimp Piere! He does seem to simply sit under his one rock all day... should these guys be more active? Sorry about the Picture quality here... my hand was shaky, with zoom and macro.. doesn't make for a good shot. And finally, a whole tank shot. This is what the tank looks like now, except I've added another powerhead on the left side, which is cleaning up the cyano after only a day of added flow! Oh, and incase it wasn't obvious, More Live rock! the leftmost piece you can notice a few hitch hiker polyps! I was definitley excited about this!!

02-07-2007, 01:11 AM	#9 (permalink)
saltwaterfarm Manta Ray Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,222 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Nice Job... __________________ Lisa 90 Gal AGA, DIY Sump/Fuge, Current Outer Orbit 250w MH's with T5's. AquaC Remora Pro Skimmer, RK2.[/font] Purple LTA, pair of Percula Clowns, Clams, Softies, Shrooms, Ricordea, Echinophyllia, Torch, Frogspawn, Blastos, Sponges, Acro, Wellso, the NEW Zoa Mountain, and some more stuff... 3 Gal Sexy Shrimp Pico. 29 Gal Oceanic BioCube, Current Sunpod 150w MH.

02-07-2007, 01:21 AM	#10 (permalink)
lgerold Scopas Tang Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Brainerd, Mn Posts: 473 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef You are off to a wonderful start! You'll really like the protein skimmer you ordered. I used a Remora C Pro on my 125 and it did a great job. Keep us in pictures! __________________ Lucy Upgrade from 125 long to 210 on 1/7/07. 66 gallon sump/refugium. 10 hrs of light: 500 watt pc actinic 10 hrs 400 watt pc daylight 6 hrs 500 watt MH 4 hrs 180 lbs branch liverock. 100 lbs + assorted liverock. 3"+ DSB. Fish - Foxface, Yellow Tang, Mimic Tang, 2 Tomato Clowns, pair True Percula Clowns (and their 6 inch pastel green carpet), Mandarin, Scooter Blenny, Bartlett's Anthias, Royal Gramma, Pseudochromis Splendens. Blue/Gold Crocea Clam, Teardrop Squamosa Clam Coral favorites include: 2 Acanastreas, Pink Cynaria, Green Cynaria, Birdsnest, Trumpets, Red and Pink and Green Goniporas (3), Frogspawn (peach favorite), Fox Coral, Diploastrea, Blasto, 3 Fungia (orange, purple, and green) and many others.

02-07-2007, 01:27 AM	#11 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Thank you Igerold! I heard many positive things about the remoras, so I figured better to buy a good one to begin with just like everyone says. That way when my itch gets me into a 55 i can still use it! One thing i forgot to metion is that I recently noticed some Aiptasia in my tank, and have already ordered joes juice. I'm scared that this could ruin my reef experience, so hopefully all goes well. I would like to avoid peppermint shrimp, since so many of you have said they can nip at coral.

02-07-2007, 02:38 AM	#13 (permalink)
billyr98 Reefing Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ Posts: 5,409 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef tank looks great!! __________________ Billyr98 - I'm BACK!! -

02-07-2007, 11:46 AM	#14 (permalink)
Cougra Dragon Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 2,216 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef I really like the look of the tank so far. It reminds me of my tank when I first set it up. I wish that I had taken pictures of it then so I could have something to look back on! I can't wait to see more pictures as things progress in the tank. I'm also certain you'll like the Remora skimmer. I've only had mine for a few weeks and I am impressed with it and glad I made the purchase. It's incredibly simple to use, not too noisy (does have some running noice but I find it relaxing) The first couple weeks are definately the noisiest though. I think you'll also like the new lighting system you get. I know the pump for the canopy creates good water circulation in most areas of the tank but you'll find that regular powerheads will allow for more flexibility in the tank and you wont have to try to work around a free hanging outlet! __________________ Michelle Just because something CAN be done, it doesn't mean that it SHOULD be done!

02-07-2007, 01:53 PM	#15 (permalink)
Cassette87 Reef Lobster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Palos Park, IL Posts: 1,474 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Andy's 29 Gallon Reef Thanks Cougra! I can't wait to get the new equipment set up, although I'm sure you know that already :-) I will probably pick up the lights today, although without the skimmer, I don't want to remove the eclipse 3 yet. So Probably no assembled pics just yet, but I'll throw up a picture of the new lighting system if I get it today!

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