Let's watch my new tank grow

[brad187]

cool tank, I really like the colors of that damsel, the name suits him

[certainti420]

Originally Posted by brad187

cool tank, I really like the colors of that damsel, the name suits him

Thanks Brad, I thought I liked watching the tank before now there is more personality.


So I have a question for all of you with more experience. My urchin's spines appear to be changing color. When I bought him he looked black, now his spines seem to have a purple-ish tint to them. Is this normal? Is it a sign of poor water quality? Or could it just be the way the lights reflect off of him?

[Tru2nr]

im not sure as far as the urchin but i would def. watch that damsel you might end up finding your self wanting some fish that the damsel doesn't like and even the age old trick of keeping lights off for a couple of days and rearranging rock work with damsels don't work alot of time because their attitude is im here first and im pissed that your here vrs the this is my cave not yours...so i would be careful with him that and the fact that they hate to be caught...usually the easiest way to to put some meaty food in a net and catch him that way usually their pigginess(is that even a word) will bring them out but everythings looking real good and as far as you lightning is concerned what kind of corals do u want softies lps sps because u can plan your light accordingly also i would watch the temp rating of the lights the lower K rating=would be promoting algae

[certainti420]

So hello again RS, its been about week or so since my last post. I thinks its time for an update. Well all of my tank's inhabitants are doing great. Jacques molted for the first time this past Saturday, that was cool to watch. I just did not expect to see him molt so soon after his acclimation (about 9 days ago).

My urchin still has this strange color. But seems to be fine he is very active all over the tank. Do I need to do any direct feeding for my urchin, or is the detritus and uneaten food at the bottom ok for him?

I am a bit concerned about my sea star. He spends most of his time at the top of my tank with one of his arms above the water level. I have read that this means he is trying to escape because of poor water quality, but all my test seem to be normal my nitrates are a little high around 20ppm, And I am trying to bring up my S.G. by letting some water evaporate and adding NaCl H2O. Right now it is around 1.020-1.021 I know inverts like a higher salinity so I am aiming for around 1.025. So we will see what happens over the next week or so.

And finally I want everyone to meet Picasso's playmate. His name is da Vinci ( I am going for an artists theme on the names). He is a small 2" yellow tang.
He is a bit stressed from the transport and acclimation (hence the bright lines running down his flanks), but he and Picasso seem to be getting along quite well. Although Picasso did "slap" him around a bit with his tail when I first added him but, da Vinci put a stop to that real quick showing Picasso who is really the boss and now he guards his cave quite well and they are playing together in the strong currents from my powerhead. Here are a few pics of him








I hope you guys enjoy these pics. So until next time,

Happy Reefing

[certainti420]

Does anyone still read my thread???

I don't seem to get feedback anymore....

[Craig Manoukian]

Jon,

Sorry for missing your post. The Yellow tang will eventually need at least a 75 gallon tank as tangs require lot's of lateral swim room, 48" minimum, that is not available in your 35 gallon. What a great excuse to get a bigger tank, eh?

[kathywithbirds]

Hi!!

I LOVE that orange in the house!! Is that your kitchen? ANd I may take your advice on teh conch shells -- my husband and his father have this strange fixation on spider plants. Every so often I'm breaking out a machete to get through the dining room.

[certainti420]

Originally Posted by Craig Manoukian

Jon,

Sorry for missing your post. The Yellow tang will eventually need at least a 75 gallon tank as tangs require lot's of lateral swim room, 48" minimum, that is not available in your 35 gallon. What a great excuse to get a bigger tank, eh?

Yeah I know, Yellow tangs are one of my favorite fish so wanted to keep one (if only for a short time). My LFS will let me trade in healthy fish, corals or inverts for new ones. So I think in about 8 months to a year I will trade him in.

[Craig Manoukian]

Great plan! Or, get a bigger tank!

[G!N+T0N!K]

nice chronicle I cant wait till I get to this point

[certainti420]

Originally Posted by kathywithbirds

Hi!!

I LOVE that orange in the house!! Is that your kitchen? ANd I may take your advice on teh conch shells -- my husband and his father have this strange fixation on spider plants. Every so often I'm breaking out a machete to get through the dining room.

Thanks Its called Poppy Fields from Lowes (I think). Yes that is my kitchen. We have it decorated with all kinds of Tikis and shells and figured what a great spot for an aquarium. And the conch shell idea really is useful.

[certainti420]

Originally Posted by Craig Manoukian

Great plan! Or, get a bigger tank!

I will be upgrading, I love the new wave fronts like G!N+T0N!K is setting up. But, I want to master my 36 gal before tackling the big boys.

[Woodstock]

Hello Jon

VEry nice tank you've built. I really like the aquascaping. Do keep an eye on the nitrAtes and keep them at 10ppm or less. Perform water changes as needed to keep them down.
Also keep in mind that the recommended rate of stocking marine fish is 1" of adult fish per 3-5 gal of water. I see someone has already mentioned the tang requirements so I won't Remember that the more bioload you have, the more water changes you'll be doing to keep the water quality high.
Your salinity seems a bit low at 1.022. Since you have inverts, you may want to slowly increase it up to 1.024-26.
Keep up the good work!

[certainti420]

Hi RS, I haven't had much time to make many posts over the last few weeks. But I do have an update. I finally got a new reef light It is a Sundial t5ho system with built in dawn/dusk timers from current USA. I have my actinic lights set to run from 7 am till 9 pm and my 10,000k run from about 9 am till 7 pm. And the LED's are powered on a photocell so when the lights cut off they come on automatically. I am having an issue with my hydrometer (its a piece of S*i*) No matter what I do it always reads 1.018-1.020 I took it to my LFS and asked the guy to test it against his refractometer he said it is about one low (whatever that means) So I ordered a refrac for myself, It should be here in a week or so. I can't wait to start adding some corals I really want some ricordia, zoa's, and this duncan frag


If anyone has any frags they would be willing to sell or donate I will gladly accept them, only condition is they need to have low to moderate lighting conditions as I am only running 96w on 30 gals of water.

Thats about it not too much more to tell I am trying to take everything very slowly. All my inhabitants are doing great, everyone seems happy and is eating very well.

[Royalscott]

Get your ricordia from flricordia here on RS. Mike has some of the best florida ricordia I have ever seen. Much better than what I have seen locally!