Check out my first Update

[shooshoomanz]

Heres a video of my tank, let me know what you think what im doing right or wrong? By all means any advice is good advice no matter the tone or criticism

THANKS :]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6sPHmvfmpQ

[DaveWF]

I'm certainly far from any sort of expert, but in my opinion you're off to a great start! If you're planning of building a reef, I think you should get a bunch more LR. I think the general rule is at least 1 pound per gallon. Nice bonus with the mushrooms on the existing LR. As I've learned, patience patience patience. Don't by any more fish till your cycles completes.

Keep us updated!

[shooshoomanz]

yeah i should have mentioned in the video more live rock is certainly coming just at 10 bucks a lb haha and a part time job gotta pace myself.

[Lynnmw1208]

looking good but just a few things...
The stealth heaters have been known to break open in people's tanks and leech metals into the tank so I'd recommend getting a better one. I hear the titanium one's are good, I have glass.

you don't really need a damsel to jump start the cycle, just add live rock (like you did) and some of the nutrafin stuff should be good. Once you add the damsel they're hard to catch again and once they get big the get MEAN. so just a heads-up on that.

Other than those things, it's looking good! also, I don't know how accurate having your hydrometer stay in the tank. you are supposed to rinse out with freshwater in order to prevent buildup. refractometers also read salinity better.

What kind of corals are you planning to keep?

[shooshoomanz]

yeah thanks for the heads up haha, my girlfriend wanted the damsel so bad, so i couldnt say no but we're planning on giving him to our local saltwater store after the cycle is done because of their aggression, along with this damn gorilla crab i've got in one of the live rocks...

thank you for the heads up on the heater, thats something ill monitor daily for any cracks, so far its working wonders on maintaining temp even with my lights on.

as for the hydrometer, its out of the tank rinsed and does reads daily now as well.

right now i can tell you I loveee <333 ahaha pulsing xenias. otherwise im going to try to grow these mushrooms i have currently, im not so sure aside from the previous mentioned, i think with the light and the depth of this tank i have enough lighting for anything really i just need to learn the ways of maintaining elements for optimal growth of whatever i buy. for now simple sweet stuff mushrooms, i love blue and green zoas, idk my girlfriend suggests pretty ones.

any suggestions?

[Lynnmw1208]

Originally Posted by shooshoomanz

yeah thanks for the heads up haha, my girlfriend wanted the damsel so bad, so i couldnt say no but we're planning on giving him to our local saltwater store after the cycle is done because of their aggression, along with this damn gorilla crab i've got in one of the live rocks...

thank you for the heads up on the heater, thats something ill monitor daily for any cracks, so far its working wonders on maintaining temp even with my lights on.

as for the hydrometer, its out of the tank rinsed and does reads daily now as well.

right now i can tell you I loveee <333 ahaha pulsing xenias. otherwise im going to try to grow these mushrooms i have currently, im not so sure aside from the previous mentioned, i think with the light and the depth of this tank i have enough lighting for anything really i just need to learn the ways of maintaining elements for optimal growth of whatever i buy. for now simple sweet stuff mushrooms, i love blue and green zoas, idk my girlfriend suggests pretty ones.

any suggestions?

I like the xenias too. If you're into softies I like green star polyps as well. they look really nice under lights. BUT they both grow like weeds I hear lol. For me though, I really enjoy softie tanks, so I don't care if they take over. Ricordia and frogspawn are another of my favs. I just love the look of them. also some zoas are pretty cool like these: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...681&pcatid=681

[rayn]

Haven't watched the video yet. Some nice sorties are hammers and frogspawn. Leathers are great as center pieces and grow large and quick. Not sure how much feeding you want, but the sun corals are heat when they come out after lights out. However you do have to spot feed them. They are listed as nps.

[shooshoomanz]

thanks for the link and im quite okay with fast growth haha, it will inflate my ego as to my tanks health haha. and ill sell them or learn to frag and sell to buy more stuff for my tank. i will definitely be checking out all of your suggestions :] thanks so much guys.


when should i start seeing signs of my cycle kicking in.. im getting excited haha.

[rayn]

Okay watched the vid. You will get blasted by a bunch of guys for starting with the damsel. It really is hard on the fish. The snails probably won't make it. As mentioned the stealth heaters are known to go kaput in a short time, but I currently run one and have for about six months now with no problems. For the rest of your rock, just go with dry base rock. It is much cheaper and around here only 2-3 bucks a pound compared to the 7-10 for live rock.
I noticed the pump you have too. I ran one in my 29 QT for a short time and it didn't move enough water to keep the cyano from forming everywhere! You can probably sitck with the one you have, but add another on the other side of the tank to help. Point both toward the front and up to aggitate the water.

As far as seeing your cycle start, you should see ammonia, nitrite, then nitrate. Then water change, about half I would say. You do have all the basic test kits, right? If not go get them, don't rely on the LFS to tell you what is right and wrong. That goes for anything, not just the testing.
Also another good biological filter starter is stability by seachem. I use this in my QT and I have never seen ammonia register, ever.

Last but not least...........BE PATIENT!!!!!! Everything hurried in this hobby goes bad quicker then you can realize. Take your time and read, then reread. Money can't buy the tank the way you want it long term, only good husbandry. Good luck.

[boostat4500]

You can mail order live rock for about $3 a pound shipped. It was my only option when I started and have no regrets. Might be something to look into.

[shooshoomanz]

i appreciate your advice, as for live rock vs dry, im going to spend the extra cash to get my live rock up to 20-30 lbs, i like the benefits of established rock rather then trying to seed it.

im surprised i havent been blasted but either way im okay with doing what i did, the live sand and bacteria i continue to put in the tank does need waste and by-products to consume the fish purchase fills this gap.

ill keep you updated on the snails, currently i have just the ammonia test kit, my LFS is closed on mondays going to get more live rock and tests tomorrow.

all tests have come up with nothing :/

the pump seems to move plenty of water in this tank, but then again how can i really tell whats the dead give away im moving enough? all i know is bubbles and things swirl around pretty fast in there. and my mushrooms that came with the live rock seem to enjoy the adjustments away from this current.

Thank you for your advice and i'm hoping continued help :]

[rayn]

Time will tell if you have enough movement. Problem there is it is to late. Those pumps are cheap enough, I would just get another to be safe.
With the live rock you have, seeding more wouldnt be a problem. The bacteria will colonize it just as well. Maybe look for some that is in ro water, but not fully cycled. I've gotten some before cheaper then LR, but still had surprises pop out. I have three different coral starts that way on three different rocks.