Tank as of 1/17/2024 a sad update…
The tank crashed and it looks like I lost everything. The pair of tiger gobies have died and the Gramma was breathing heavy on the rocks when I checked on the tank last Friday morning. It passed in a qt tank the next morning.
2/6/2024 update Little bugger popped out this morning! Idk what took it so long but I'm happy to know it's alive.
I haven’t seen or heard the mantis in a while either, I could be molting but I’m not holding my breath honestly.
I’ve let the tank go and it’s looking pretty bad. Algae is growing faster than I can remove it.
I’m going to give the tank some time to sit before I add anything. The tank is full of pods and other tiny life so it’s not totally dead, and a huge brittle star seems to have made it just fine so not all hope is lost.
First build post.
I’ve had this empty 5g Fluval spec sitting around for a while and originally planned on a barnacle blenny tank full of softies and macro. But when ordering my rock from TampaBay Saltwater this little green mantis caught my eye and I had to have it.
Equipment list
Fluval 5g spec
Stock pump
Hygger mini return pump (wave makers were too big imo)
10w Nicrew clip on light
Two 3.6w 460nm artinic led strips
50w Aqueon heater
custom acrylic lid (came with tank)
9~lbs base rock/rubble from TBS
3~lbs premium base rock from TBS
9~lbs live sand from TBS
One large barnacle cluster
And the usual salty supplies (food, test kits, etc)
Livestock list
One regular blue damsel (temp home to keep cycle while I was waiting for the TBS order) - removed 8/24/23
Hand full of hermits, mostly blue legged and a couple orange clawed.
Two astrea snails
A few conchs have shown up
6? Gorilla crabs for mantis food
One tiny tiger goby (best freebie!!)
And the N. Wennerae mantis shrimp (around 1”-1.5”)
One Royal gramma - added 8/26/23
Setting up the tank.
I quickly glued the led strips to the lid with superglue gel, doesn’t need to be pretty just has to hold! And I’m not mounting the Nicrew light, just have it resting on the lid.
I filled the tank with sand and water on Aug 12th and added the barnacle cluster and some rock from My main DT AIO chamber to get some bacteria going. As well as a fake plant for the damsel when it’s added.
I added the damsel the following Tuesday when the tank was sucking down about 2ppm ammonia within 24hrs. After adding the damsel I had a slight ammonia spike but everything has been stable since then. Probably should have added more rock but you live and learn.
No water changes till the Friday the 18th. I had noticed something precipitating in the water on Friday so I did a large 50% wc and that seemed to have cleared it up.
Tbs order arrives
On Monday the 21st the order from TBS arrived at the airport so I picked it up, did a small 1g wc and started getting the rocks and sand ready for the 5g.
After adding the sand and rock the tank was nice and cloudy!
Letting the tank sit overnight it seems to have cleared up almost 100%. Here is the tank on Aug 22nd
So far I’ve only lost one gorilla crab and one of
the astrea snails. Mantis and goby are doing well!
Will get better pictures of the mantis today, it made it’s burrow in a barnacle and has blocked the opening with rocks and shells. Seems to be doing alright!
Thank you all for reading. This is my first build thread and I’m sure I messed a few things up. I apologize if this isn’t formatted correctly!
Happy reefing all!
The tank crashed and it looks like I lost everything. The pair of tiger gobies have died and the Gramma was breathing heavy on the rocks when I checked on the tank last Friday morning. It passed in a qt tank the next morning.
2/6/2024 update Little bugger popped out this morning! Idk what took it so long but I'm happy to know it's alive.
I’ve let the tank go and it’s looking pretty bad. Algae is growing faster than I can remove it.
I’m going to give the tank some time to sit before I add anything. The tank is full of pods and other tiny life so it’s not totally dead, and a huge brittle star seems to have made it just fine so not all hope is lost.
First build post.
I’ve had this empty 5g Fluval spec sitting around for a while and originally planned on a barnacle blenny tank full of softies and macro. But when ordering my rock from TampaBay Saltwater this little green mantis caught my eye and I had to have it.
Equipment list
Fluval 5g spec
Stock pump
Hygger mini return pump (wave makers were too big imo)
10w Nicrew clip on light
Two 3.6w 460nm artinic led strips
50w Aqueon heater
custom acrylic lid (came with tank)
9~lbs base rock/rubble from TBS
3~lbs premium base rock from TBS
9~lbs live sand from TBS
One large barnacle cluster
And the usual salty supplies (food, test kits, etc)
Livestock list
One regular blue damsel (temp home to keep cycle while I was waiting for the TBS order) - removed 8/24/23
Hand full of hermits, mostly blue legged and a couple orange clawed.
Two astrea snails
A few conchs have shown up
6? Gorilla crabs for mantis food
One tiny tiger goby (best freebie!!)
And the N. Wennerae mantis shrimp (around 1”-1.5”)
One Royal gramma - added 8/26/23
Setting up the tank.
I quickly glued the led strips to the lid with superglue gel, doesn’t need to be pretty just has to hold! And I’m not mounting the Nicrew light, just have it resting on the lid.
I filled the tank with sand and water on Aug 12th and added the barnacle cluster and some rock from My main DT AIO chamber to get some bacteria going. As well as a fake plant for the damsel when it’s added.
I added the damsel the following Tuesday when the tank was sucking down about 2ppm ammonia within 24hrs. After adding the damsel I had a slight ammonia spike but everything has been stable since then. Probably should have added more rock but you live and learn.
No water changes till the Friday the 18th. I had noticed something precipitating in the water on Friday so I did a large 50% wc and that seemed to have cleared it up.
Tbs order arrives
On Monday the 21st the order from TBS arrived at the airport so I picked it up, did a small 1g wc and started getting the rocks and sand ready for the 5g.
After adding the sand and rock the tank was nice and cloudy!
Letting the tank sit overnight it seems to have cleared up almost 100%. Here is the tank on Aug 22nd
So far I’ve only lost one gorilla crab and one of
the astrea snails. Mantis and goby are doing well!
Will get better pictures of the mantis today, it made it’s burrow in a barnacle and has blocked the opening with rocks and shells. Seems to be doing alright!
Thank you all for reading. This is my first build thread and I’m sure I messed a few things up. I apologize if this isn’t formatted correctly!
Happy reefing all!
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