1st SW/Reef Tank: 14g BioCube

[yungreefer2410]

you can have more then one clownfish in there if you are interested in more fish. just one more though lol

[astiesi]

I have been trying to decide on a second and final fish. I'm leaning towards getting a yellow watchman but I have also considered a second clown or firefish. Just kinda waiting to see that fish that I have to bring home. If anybody has any other suggestions I'd love to hear them.

Grasspicker, sorry to hear about the Arrow. I was in the same situation with the Emerald, caught him red handed and had to beat the poor thing over the head with a turkey baster till he let the snail go. All PETA members out there, don't worry, he sustained no lasting injuries.

[yungreefer2410]

i would go clownfish or firefish. watchmen might hide and you rarely see him. thats how it is with my orange prawn striped goby

[nstiesi]

so, where are the updates? I KNOW you bought some more zoa polyps........

[astiesi]

Geez, take it easy, some of us have to work for a living. J/K

Actually, there is a story there. Went to the LFS looking around at their coral, nothing caught my eye. I was about to leave when I noticed under the racks in the sand were two zoa polyps open but in the shade. I decided to inquire about them and ended up bringing them home.

After gluing them to a piece of live rock, they are now sitting in my tank recovering. After one day they are open but still very small. One looks to be orange and the other has a bright green center. I'm looking forward to seeing them really take off.

I'll try to snap a pic tonight, however not sure how well it will turn out being that they are still very small.

[astiesi]

Here is a pic of the single polyps I found at the LFS. After only 5 days in the tank one of them already has a second polyp growing!! They aren't the most colorful specimens but I had a good time glueing them to the rubble and I'm looking forward to seeing them grow.

[yungreefer2410]

nice!

[astiesi]

Just a quick update:

I went to the LFS on Sunday and came home with a second fish, a firefish. He just looked so colorful and healthy I decided it was time. I'm a bit bummed that I am at my stocking limit, gonna have to start looking for an upgrade. All I have to do is buy a bigger house first....no problem.

Anyway, the firefish was out and about last night but I was unable to find him this morning. This doesn't worry me too much as my lights don't come on till 2 pm, but I'll feel alot better when I go home tonight and see him swimming around. Besides, tonight is feeding night so I should be able to get a pic or two.

[astiesi]

I'm happy to report that everything appears to be doing pretty well. The new firefish is very active and eating well.

And now to the pics:

[nstiesi]

everything is looking good! That firefish is the pimp....does he and the clown get along?

[yungreefer2410]

wow very nice

[astiesi]

So, I decided to mess around with the wife's camera tonight and see if I could take some pics that would more reflect what the tank looks like in person. I still have alot to learn but here are some pics which I think turned out quite nice.

[nstiesi]

wow, those are nice pics! I knew your camera could be dialed in.

[Jeremy0322]

Just to warn you that toadstool leather will grow like crazy. I have had one for about three months(if that even) and it is about 4x its original size. I just hope zoas grow as fast as that thing does!

[astiesi]

Yeah, I'm aware that toadstools can get quite big. Thus far, I've had it for about 4 months and its has been growing steadily, it has maybe 2x in size. Hopefully I'll be able to upgrade by the time it outgrows this tank.

The zoas on the other hand have started spreading like crazy. I've had 10 - 15 new polyps since adding it to the tank 2 1/2 months ago.

Just a note to anybody following along. I started using a product called PhosLock to help remove phosphates from the tank. Product works well and I had finally gotten rid of all of the HA and cyano. However, I did learn the hard way that it has to be fully changed monthly. I began noticing cyano in the tank 2 weeks ago, I couldn't figure out where the phosphates were coming from. Well it seems when the PhosLock becomes saturated it leaks phosphates back into the water. Changing it out has since fixed the problem and I am again cyano free. Basically, I'm just saying follow the directions and don't get lazy like I did.