My first 30g sw tank!

[Joe5688]

Finally decided to set up my salt water tank. Decided to trade my gar for some live rock lol.

So time for the deal for the year lol

35lbs base rock
25lb live sand
5lb live rock
Eheim powerball
Hydrometer
Half of a 5g bucket of salt mix

$60

I'm going with fowlr for now but maybe some beginner coral eventually. One of my live rock pieces had a piece attached but unsure what it is.

What do you guys think of my aquascape?

For pw's I got a korolia 240 and the eheim power ball.

Light is a 24" 50/50.

Any suggestions welcome!

 

[Mrc8858]

Looks good so far but I hope you didn't leave that LR sit out for long cause BB dies very quickly when exposed to air

 

[Joe5688]

It wasn't to long. The lfs put it in some water and when I got home I kept a wet news paper on it while I set up the tank.

Anyone know what kind of coral that is?

 

[Mrc8858]

It's hard to tell in that picture but looks like clove polyps..they don't look very healthy though :/

 

[Schism]

It wasn't to long. The lfs put it in some water and when I got home I kept a wet news paper on it while I set up the tank.

Anyone know what kind of coral that is?

Looks like xenia but kinda hard to tell from the pic. Looks good, hope you bought some test kits too lol. Good luck

 

[Joe5688]

I have the master fw.kit which I heard would be ok for fowlr. I didn't see the coral when I placed the rock it was facing the back of the tank but I turned it around. I.doubt it'll survive with such low light

 

[Joe5688]

Anyone know anything about that power ball? Should I think about getting a bigger Ph?

 

[Joe5688]

Anyone have cheap lighting suggestions?

 

[Gboy66]

4 bulb t5 from fishneedit.com. Worked well
For me

 

[Joe5688]

I think I may go with the Odyssey 4 bulb fixture

 

[Joe5688]

Another question for you guys lol

Since I have 5lb of live rock should I still do a raw shrimp or do I not need it?

 

[22engine]

The shrimp will speed things along. Might take awhile and if the live rock was already cured then it might not cycle it

 

[Madcrazyroyboy]

I would move the LR around to create more holes and caves or fish to go through. Like a more natural home. You don't wanna clump them up like the left side there on your tank. Otherwise nice tank. I have a 30g reef with some clowns. Clowns are a non aggressive approach.

 

[Joe5688]

If I could get clear pictures of the lr u can see that there are tons of caves and places for fish to hide and go thru. It looks like its clumped but there are actually a lot of thru passages. Ill try to get a picture later. Thanks for the advice its appreciated.

 

[Joe5688]

I did a rescape. Any better? Lol

 

[Madcrazyroyboy]

Yes very nice indeed check my 30 gal rockscape

 

[Meanskunk]

Yes very nice indeed check my 30 gal rockscape

Very nice tank....

 

[Joe5688]

Nice tank, its hard to figure out where to place the rocks since there is so much.

I kind of like the look when one side of the tank is all built up with lr and the other side has barely anything.

 

[22engine]

Looks nice

 

[Madcrazyroyboy]

Yeah it does take awhile to get everything situated and my turbos seem to knock the one rock on the left out of place all the time So having a sturdy foundation for everything is difficult. Every so often I move stuff around for a new look. Try experimenting with the rock. Try spacing them apart and build a wall with lots of holes. I haven't figured out how to make ledges with it being sturdy enough. I've had rocks fall and hit the glass a couple times due to turbos. If you have a sump you can take some out and place there. Or if you lightly stock it you can use less.