My 46 gallon bow front adventure TONS of Pics

[Ellylove]

I have a 46 gallon bow front with a Coralife Aqualight Pro light (2 65 wt true blue actinics, a 150 wt, 10,000 k MH, and 2 blue lunar LEDs). The euro brace in the middle of the tank casts a shadow where the MH, which sits directly over it, can't get to. I didn't like that at first and it still bothers me when I look at the tank as a whole, but it gives me the opportunity to put some corals that fluoresce under actinics in the shadow. I had black argonite sand in my 29 gallon freshwater tank and loved the look so much that I went for black sand in the 46 too. My sump is a self-modified 10 gallon tank that I added baffles to. (Intake, bubble trap, fuge, baffle, return). I have a SCWD on the back of the tank (currently not spinning) connected by garden hose; yeah, garden hose. I bought it by the foot at Lowe's and siliconed it to the connections on the SCWD (I had to run 3/4" hose from the SCWD to 1/2" hose on the return lines. You'll see what I mean in the pics). My return pump is a Mag 7 and it's doing great. I have a Remora skimmer hanging on the sump intake area with a Mag 3 and It's skimming like a pro. I collected my rock from several places. I got some from a gal on here on Reef Central who was taking her tank down, some from a guy in Puyallup, a HUGE gorgeous piece covered in aptasia and gha from Barrier Reef, and a few more pieces from a guy who was selling his livestock so he could set up his tank when he moves to Arizona. I also purchased the 2 clown fish, 3 red firefish, some hermit crabs, and a scissor tail goby from him. I used about 20 gallons of his water to seed my tank too. My cycle took only about 3 weeks to finish the brown and green algae "blooms" (it showed up on my rock and left the water crystal clear) and now I'm starting to see some coraline growth. My ammonia, nitrite,and nitrate are all at 0, even with a crab, a shrimp, and Norman, the tiny yellow tang I got from Barrier, passing away in the tank. I do have micro bubbles in my tank and right now, but that is the only problem I have with it at this point. I've rearranged the rocks 3 times and I guess I'm happy with it, but with such a small floor space I can't do a nice open design like those of you with 280 gals can, without sacrificing a lot of rock. Enjoy and feel free to give me pointers and suggestions on how I can make my tank better! (Sorry the pics aren't that great. I'm trying to figure out the best setting to use on my camera)
My tank is now 1 month old, but I'll post pics from the beginning until now.

Some friends were generous enough to let me test some common corals in my tank so I can see how they do before adding anything expensive. I'm going to pass them on as I need to make room for new stuff. One friend also gave me a little rbta for pointing him toward Indoor Reef as somewhere to offload large amounts of rbtas and get store credit; that and he's a nice guy. My other friend's wife also gave me some very nice mushrooms and a mushie that I'll frag when they are ready and pass them off to others. It's so nice to see some color and shape in my tank other than rock and the fish. He also showed me how to dip corals and let me drool over his tanks.

Now at one month I've added a BEAUTIFUL purple pseudochromis, a few more snails, and some zoas to the tank. Everything is doing GREAT! The dottyback and the female clown can't really decide what to do with each other. It's like they don't speak each others language. The female clown will go up really close to the pseudochromis and act like "I just want to be near you"/"I'm bigger than you are... See?" and the pseudochromis has a look like "Uh, what are you doing?"/"I don't really care and I'm not moving". There has been no fighting what so every though. It seems more like the clown is curious and wants to know what the pseudochromis is doing and if it will be it's friend (she gets close to him like she wants to be his buddy) and the pseudochromis just kind of ignores them and minds its own business picking at the rocks. Hopefully I can get the frags I have glued down so they can grow and I can start repaying those wonderful people who helped me get started!! Now for the good part; pics!

[Ellylove]

[Ellylove]

[Ellylove]

[Ellylove]

[Ellylove]

[likemike99]

looking good. the black substrate is something different. better take care of those aptasia before they get out of hand

[gmr7494]

Looks cool man. Lots of life in there.

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by likemike99

looking good. the black substrate is something different. better take care of those aptasia before they get out of hand

If you look at the pictures toward the end (they are newer) you can see that the nasty little aptasia are hardly visible. I've Joe's Juiced them like crazy and when I counted this morning were only about 7 tiny baby aptasia. I'm going to give the peppermint shrimps a chance to eat those ones.

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by gmr7494

Looks cool man. Lots of life in there.

I'm a gal, but thank you. I'm pleased with how it looks considering it's only a month old.

[nitro4kthompson]

Any way you can replace the center brace with clear acrylic? It is distracting to have the dark stripe down the center (to my eye anyway). Other than that, looks pretty good for a new tank. Also I love the description you gave of the fishes interactions with each other. It's hard not to give them human characteristics and emotions.

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by nitro4kthompson

Any way you can replace the center brace with clear acrylic? It is distracting to have the dark stripe down the center (to my eye anyway). Other than that, looks pretty good for a new tank. Also I love the description you gave of the fishes interactions with each other. It's hard not to give them human characteristics and emotions.

The brace is distracting when you look at the whole tank, but when you're up close it actually looks cool. I have some zoas in the shadow so they floresce more than if they weren't. I've discussed tons of options with other refers about how to handle the problem of the brace. The MH sits right above it so it can cause UV damage to anything under it (which is why I have the brace wrapped in foil) and if I remove it, the tank WILL break (at least 3 people told me they tried it and tank went ker-splat on their floor after about 6-12 months). Another person with the same tank ended up just making the brace narrower, but that lessens it's ability to brace the tank. If I replace it with clear acrylic, the UV can cause the weld-on to fail, again resulting in a broken tank. I could get a different light system, but the one I have was really expensive and it's a nice all in one unit. I'll just have to live with it. Like I said, I don't really mind it anymore.

Fish have such big personalities. Fred and Ethel are named that after the couple from I Love Lucy. They seem to have similar dispositions. I have yet to name the dottyback or shrimps because I haven't found a name suitable to their personalities yet. I can't wait to see what the tank looks like a year from now.

[Michael]

hi-elly welcome to the forum, i like the black sand, certainely different and theres a heck of a lot of rock in there for sure, id slow down on stocking any other live stock at the moment as well as the tanks only a month old, also keep an eye on ammonia, you should be fine but it can appear from no-where in young tanks, thanks for sharing all the lovely pictures.

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by Michael

hi-elly welcome to the forum, i like the black sand, certainely different and theres a heck of a lot of rock in there for sure, id slow down on stocking any other live stock at the moment as well as the tanks only a month old, also keep an eye on ammonia, you should be fine but it can appear from no-where in young tanks, thanks for sharing all the lovely pictures.

So far I've had a shrimp, a hermit crab, and a tiny yellow tang all die in the tank and there was absolutely no ammonia. Nitrates have been at 40 then 30 then 20 since the first 2 weeks. Since I used live rock and water from other people's tanks (and Nitro-Boost) the bacteria were already in the tank and very happy. My only other live sock plans are a pearly or yellowheaded jawfish, 2 purple firefish, and a mandarin when the tank is more mature. I plan to add them slowly over the next 9 months or so. I do plan to add a lot more corals though. I LOVE the black sand, but the little white rubble etc on it bothers me. I just took down my 29 gallon and rinsed the sand for over an hour in small batches and I'm going to let it dry out and then add it to the tank to cover that rubble.

[Michael]

shame you lost a yellow tang, still take it steady from now on and when the tank is eventually more mature you could add a new fish, a 46 is a little small for a tang though, a small angel or maybe a royal gramma would be nice, oh and congrats, your at 50 posts just a few days until the 90 as well, see it didnt take long

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by Michael

shame you lost a yellow tang, still take it steady from now on and when the tank is eventually more mature you could add a new fish, a 46 is a little small for a tang though, a small angel or maybe a royal gramma would be nice, oh and congrats, your at 50 posts just a few days until the 90 as well, see it didnt take long

The tang was half dollar dollar size and very skinny. He was also only $15 so I figured if he made it and put some weight on I could have him in my tank for at least a few months before I would sell him to someone with a bigger tank.

Just let it go!~dc

[Ritten]

Tank looks nice! I also like the black sand. Elly, another product you can use that is the same as Joe's Juice, but tons cheaper is Mrs. Wages pickle lime. It is in the grocery store, usually in the canning isle, with the canning jars and fruit pectins. You just mix it up with your RO water into a thick solution and use the same as Joes Juice. You might have to look a little harder since canning season is over, but some stores might still have it. It comes in, I believe a one pound sack for a couple of bucks.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Ellylove

The tang was half dollar dollar size and very skinny. He was also only $15 so I figured if he made it and put some weight on I could have him in my tank for at least a few months before I would sell him to someone with a bigger tank.

oh- i see, well its a shame he didnt make it, $15 is cheap for sure, we pay 40-60 uk pounds for a tang, about $60-90 bucks i suppose

[reeflord]

very nice start, just take i slow, and turn your tank into what you think it should be.... ask questions and figure out problems this hobby can be very rewarding and when company stops in you will always have something to talk about

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by Ritten

Tank looks nice! I also like the black sand. Elly, another product you can use that is the same as Joe's Juice, but tons cheaper is Mrs. Wages pickle lime. It is in the grocery store, usually in the canning isle, with the canning jars and fruit pectins. You just mix it up with your RO water into a thick solution and use the same as Joes Juice. You might have to look a little harder since canning season is over, but some stores might still have it. It comes in, I believe a one pound sack for a couple of bucks.

Someone mentioned that to me and I totally forgot about it!!! I actually ended up getting the JJ for free from the store I purchased the infested rock from because they realized it was their fault. (I paid $70 for that rock alone).

RO water............ My RO unit is sitting unhooked up in my living room. It's been there for 3 weeks. I've been using carbon filtered water from my fridge to top off (after a few min in the microwave). Since I only have 8 cups of top off a day, it isn't that hard. Everything in my tank seems really happy and healthy and all my levels are good. (I started using that before I had any livestock in the tank and all the livestock I've added [aside from the emaciated tang and some dead coral that was shipped to me] everything is happy and active)

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by Michael

oh- i see, well its a shame he didnt make it, $15 is cheap for sure, we pay 40-60 uk pounds for a tang, about $60-90 bucks i suppose

He was on sale and the healthiest one in the tank, sadly.

Also, today I've reached 50/90! But I still can't see the for sale threads......

[Michael]

you havent reached 90 yet, that will be on december 20, and even then it could take a few days for the site to set you up for the sale threads, tbh elle i dont think you will make it the way your going which will be a shame, my recommendation is not to mention this anymore, especially in the feedback forum, from what ive seen your almost a dead on cert to be moved on should you post there again, that would be a disappointment as i believe you have lots to offer here with your new tank build and im sure you will enjoy the site a bit more if you just let it be.

[Ellylove]

Originally Posted by Michael

you havent reached 90 yet, that will be on december 20, and even then it could take a few days for the site to set you up for the sale threads, tbh elle i dont think you will make it the way your going which will be a shame, my recommendation is not to mention this anymore, especially in the feedback forum, from what ive seen your almost a dead on cert to be moved on should you post there again, that would be a disappointment as i believe you have lots to offer here with your new tank build and im sure you will enjoy the site a bit more if you just let it be.

Oh, I didn't realize december was my 90. My bad! What is tbh? Are people really not allowed to voice there opinions on here without just being pulled?

[Michael]

tbh = to be honest

yes you can voice your opinion, usually just ask a question and wait for a reply, if its not what you want to hear then thats unfortunate but the end of the matter really, alternatively you could start a pm conversation with a moderator privately so not to seem a problem member, although once they have given a reply their answer to your initial question will usually be theyr'e final decision,lately though there has been litrally 2-3 dozen threads on the same subject and constant bickering, they can only repeat the same answer so many times in each thread before frustration is bound to occur.

[kingb4c0]

Nice looking tank!