JOM20's 38g Reef Build

[JustOneMore20]

I was definitely going to wait a few days. I won't be able to go to the lfs until Tuesday at the earliest anyways. And I plan on testing every day to make sure. Plus, the light fixture wouldn't be here until later this week, if it makes it this week at all.

 

[severum mama]

We started with some frags after our 20 gallon cycled, but I don't see why you couldn't add a small fish. The only issue I see is that your first fish in should probably be the yasha goby because of its small size and mild temperament (I've always been told to add the least aggressive fish first, and so on). The problem there is that the yasha will likely be your most expensive fish, and possibly the most difficult to find. Ours was first in but we waited until about 2 months after the tank cycled to add him. Starting with cheap frags and watching how they did made us more comfortable with adding him. If your tank is cycled, though, there's no reason not to add a small fish.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Yeah, the Yasha will probably be the most expensive. Good point about it being the mildest temperament too. Didn't think about the order I should add them.

Could I add the Clownfish first, then the Yasha you think? The LFS had a b/w clown a couple weeks ago, so I'm assuming its something they keep in stock. Not sure if they have or can get the Yasha though. I may end up ordering it online somewhere. I can always wait though. But, if I decide to go look and they have the Clown but not the Yasha, I know I'll be tempted....lol.

I'm gonna wait a bit to add some snails too. I don't have algae yet, so there isn't anything for them to eat just yet. I'll wait a couple weeks and see then if I think they'll do ok.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Tested my water again this afternoon and the results are:

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 25
pH 7.8
phosphate: 0.5

Updated tank pic (I need to top off ):

I ordered my light fixture last night. So hopefully it will come sometime this week.

 

[Zer0]

That tank is looking awesome!! You've done a a great job. I cant wait to see what you put in it!

 

[mdaniel2882]

I still need a background. I will consider blue, Andrew! I'll probably get both blue and black (obviously not permanent ones) and see which I like better with liverock, lights, fish and stuff.

try acrylic paint for the background. then you can get any color you want. I did mine in black but there is a great dark blue that is very nice.

 

[Sharkbait430]

Love the tank, congrats!

 

[severum mama]

Yeah, the Yasha will probably be the most expensive. Good point about it being the mildest temperament too. Didn't think about the order I should add them.

Could I add the Clownfish first, then the Yasha you think? The LFS had a b/w clown a couple weeks ago, so I'm assuming its something they keep in stock. Not sure if they have or can get the Yasha though. I may end up ordering it online somewhere. I can always wait though. But, if I decide to go look and they have the Clown but not the Yasha, I know I'll be tempted....lol.

I'm gonna wait a bit to add some snails too. I don't have algae yet, so there isn't anything for them to eat just yet. I'll wait a couple weeks and see then if I think they'll do ok.

I think you could probably add the clown and then the goby. I assume you're going to start with a small one like we did. Ours doesn't pay any attention to the other fish and yours probably won't either.

 

[Etunes]

Looks great. I want to see the new light on there. I see lots of dry rock, but is there any live rock in them DT?

 

[InfernoST]

I love it, cant wait to see what you get for it.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I think you could probably add the clown and then the goby. I assume you're going to start with a small one like we did. Ours doesn't pay any attention to the other fish and yours probably won't either.

Thanks. I'll see what the lfs has before I decide. But, if I could find the Clown but not the goby, just wanted to make sure I could do that. I may get a Hi Fin Banded Goby instead of the Yasha, depending on availability. It looks pretty similar and seems a little easier to get.

Looks great. I want to see the new light on there. I see lots of dry rock, but is there any live rock in them DT?

Yeah I have some live rock. They are the darker brown pieces in the FTS. There are about 5-6 pieces of live rock in there.

try acrylic paint for the background. then you can get any color you want. I did mine in black but there is a great dark blue that is very nice.

Thanks. I'll look into that.

Thanks Inferno, Zer0, and Sharkbait!

 

[severum mama]

The hi fin banded goby is a really cool fish. I used to keep one in the Biocube 8 nano. It's similar in size and behavior to the yasha, but is easier to find as you said, and also a lot cheaper.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I got new stuff today!!!

I got my light fixture, thanks to UPS for that. I actually like the color with all 6 bulbs on, so I'll keep them for a bit before upgrading...or atleast I'll take my time.

Since the tank is officially cycled, I did a 10-15% water change today before the new inhabitants got here. I also setup my skimmer, but I can't for the life of me get it to siphon...I'm missing a piece and apparently it isn't just me. I can't figure out how to get it going though.

So, I went to the lfs today and got:

2 Clownfish (not sure what they are yet..probably False Percs, but I'm not sure. The black and white ones were $20 more and I decided last minute I'd like to have 2....and the lfs guy didn't have 2 that came in together and he said they do better when they come in together (I dunno if there is truth to that...). So, the regular Clowns were cute as pie, so they are mine.

FTS with all bulbs on:

I'll take a better one later. That one was with my macro lens, which doesn't take good FTS.

And the clowns acclimating:

I also got a Zoa frag. Not sure what kind they are, but they are acclimating as well. I'll get pics whenever they are in the tank and open up for me (which might be tomorrow).

 

[severum mama]

I'm almost positive you have true perculas there. The ocellaris don't have as much black on them. They look super healthy and nice!

 

[HN1]

I love the rock wall!

 

[JustOneMore20]

Thanks! I just looked at them in the bucket again and they do have alot of black on them, so maybe they are true Percs. They were swimming around together at the lfs, so hopefully they'll be good friends. They'll go in the tank in about 15 mins. I drip acclimated them for over 2 hours, so hopefully that will do it. I'll get some pics of them in the tank later if they'll cooperate.

More better FTS showing the new light fixture, all bulbs on:

Just 2 10000K bulbs:

edit:

Clowns in the tank:

 

[FishEggs]

yay!!! fish!!! congrats on this momentous occasion

 

[Zer0]

Awesome! JOM im so happy for you!!! I can already tell this is going to be one awesome reef tank.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Thanks guys!

I'll try to get some pics of my Zoas this weekend. They are pretty, but small.

 

[InfernoST]

Congrats, that's the best feeling in the world and they sure do look great.