What an awesome photo of future reefers. Enjoying watching your progress.I put in a hermit crab last night as a canary to make sure everything was good to go. Kids are losing their minds now watching this little guy. Little do they know that a pair of clowns and the clean up crew are showing up tonight. They have dubbed him, "Shelly Krusty Boat". Am looking forward to the other names they create for the fish.
Love the progress. I have a nice barnacle piece that I was going to use when I set my up but decided against it as it looked like a great place for detritus to settle. May still add it with a barnacle blenny. Good luck with your fire shrimp. I had one that set up its cleaning station in the rocks and wouldn't come out except to eat. Someone suggested it needed a "mate" so I bought another. Turned out to be a mistake. Although they are fun to watch one of them is very aggressive and picks on my zoas and mushrooms all the time. Hope your single shrimp will leave yours alone. You have some beautiful zoas with lots of potential.I gave in, turned the lights down a bit, and mounted the frags straight to the rock. Everybody seems to be happy and doing well, but in my haste I managed to let super glue get into a couple of the true blue hornets. I know I nuked atleast one, but am still holding out hope for the others.
There is a tailspot Blenny in there now (Sheldon) along with a Fire Red Shrimp (Lady-Glitter-Sparkles) and everything seems to be doing well. Sheldon seems to have taken up residence in the barnacles, is hesitant to come out when we are near the tank, but the minute we walk a few feet back he comes out and starts pecking at the rocks. He's very interesting to watch. He seems to be eating mysis, but won't touch small algae strips when in the tank. The fire shrimp just hides all day.
With the exception of putting a net cover on my tank, I think I'm going to sit back and enjoy the tank and not mess with it again until at least March. The only things left I'd like to do is add a pink streaked wrasse, springiri dottyback, yellow clown goby, and maybe a skunk cleaner shimp. However, I think the best thing to do right now is be patient and wait until next month before adding the pink streaked wrasse and maybe the yellow clown goby.
I think I'm going to let the green button polyps and yellow polyps grow out on their little island for a few months, then trade them in (and some cash) for some Ricordia frags.
All in all, everything is healthy.
I'm dumping in a capful of Iodine once per week (per instructions) feeding pellets every other day with Mysis the alternating days, doing a 5 gallon water change bi-weekly, feeding reef roids sparingly 2x per week, adding 1 teaspoon of Kalk to every 5 gallons of ATO and wiping down the glass daily. Water quality is so far pristine.
I am enjoying the tank and if I can keep my hands out of it for a while, am looking forward to enjoying my tank with relatively low maintenance for years to come.
My first official polyp count/ census will come the first week of March.
Hello friend! I hope all is well with you and your aquarium.A strange thing has happened. While I have been waiting on my tank, I have been cycling rock in the basement with the dead shrimp method and ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are now all reading 0. I can understand Nitrates going to 0, but not nitrites. I have had dead shrimp in the whole time, and just added another one just in case.
As I have been waiting I have been watching the excellent BRS 160 series (1/2 way through now) and been doing some more research on livestock. I'm thinking of starting of with a pair of captive bread clown fish, adding a clean up crew, and then adding a fish or 2 a month for the next few months for a max of 7 (with the clowns being the largest fish). I am in love with the 6 line wrasse, but from what I have read those guys need to go in last. The lean up crew is the most fun part and I really am looking forward to getting those in more than the fish. I'm thinking going mostly softies specializing in zoas with a GSP island, and possibly adding a torch or hammer coral as a certerpiece. I'd love to do an anemone, but everything I've read is that they like a really established tank, but they like to move so it is difficult to get them in after corals.
I am now 1 month post ordering a tank with guaranteed expedited replacement if damaged in shipping from saltwateraquarium.com and still have no tank. I'm going to be doing a chargeback with them soon if I don't get my tank.
Hello I hope you're well. I know this is an old post, but since I was looking at a similar set up, I was wondering how yours has progressed. I structured my aquascape very similarly in that it is a peninsula in a cube lol. I appreciate any advice in advance.A strange thing has happened. While I have been waiting on my tank, I have been cycling rock in the basement with the dead shrimp method and ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are now all reading 0. I can understand Nitrates going to 0, but not nitrites. I have had dead shrimp in the whole time, and just added another one just in case.
As I have been waiting I have been watching the excellent BRS 160 series (1/2 way through now) and been doing some more research on livestock. I'm thinking of starting of with a pair of captive bread clown fish, adding a clean up crew, and then adding a fish or 2 a month for the next few months for a max of 7 (with the clowns being the largest fish). I am in love with the 6 line wrasse, but from what I have read those guys need to go in last. The lean up crew is the most fun part and I really am looking forward to getting those in more than the fish. I'm thinking going mostly softies specializing in zoas with a GSP island, and possibly adding a torch or hammer coral as a certerpiece. I'd love to do an anemone, but everything I've read is that they like a really established tank, but they like to move so it is difficult to get them in after corals.
I am now 1 month post ordering a tank with guaranteed expedited replacement if damaged in shipping from saltwateraquarium.com and still have no tank. I'm going to be doing a chargeback with them soon if I don't get my tank.
