loyalrogue
Aquarium Advice Freak
Well after years of doing FW tanks I finally decided to take the SW plunge with an extra 10g tank I had lying around.
(*Disclaimer* To anyone reading this that is thinking of starting a SW tank I would not recommend "rushing" this as I did unless you already have experience with aquariums and don't mind the expense of potentially losing all your livestock.)
I setup the tank with a biowheel, powerhead, a standard FT hood with an "Ultimate Reef" lamp, some LS, base rock, cured LR, Biozyme and a peppermint shrimp to start the cycle.
A few days later the LFS tested the water and said it was looking perfect so I added some hermits, a few more shrimp and a featherduster.
This is how it looked 2 weeks ago.
A few days later I added a yellow belly damsel and a little more cured LR.
A few more days and in went a TR clown and some more cured LR.
A couple of days later I introduced a cleaner shrimp, a pair of emeralds, a snail and the last of the cured LR.
I was having a little issue with the temperature creeping up a bit high (84ºF) so I swapped out the standard hood with a raised coralife fixture with a 28w 50/50 today.
Here's a shot from today.
One interesting thing is that the first batch of LR I added had a coral skeleton (bubble?) that was a little slimy.
I didn't think much of it figuring it would just add a bit to the cycle.
Here's what it looked like after the first few days.
Imagine my surprise when I happened to notice it today and it looked like this.
I can see that it suffered quite a bit of damage and broken "ribs" from being kicked around in the LR rubble bin, not to mention my manhandling it and breaking a bunch of the polyps when I placed it.
(To think, I almost took a brush to it to clean it before putting it in... lol)
So does anyone know what exactly this is and have any advice on how to nurse it back to health?
I wasn't planning on getting coral yet but it looks like so far it's pretty happy in my little tank... so in for a penny, in for a pound.
(*Disclaimer* To anyone reading this that is thinking of starting a SW tank I would not recommend "rushing" this as I did unless you already have experience with aquariums and don't mind the expense of potentially losing all your livestock.)
I setup the tank with a biowheel, powerhead, a standard FT hood with an "Ultimate Reef" lamp, some LS, base rock, cured LR, Biozyme and a peppermint shrimp to start the cycle.
A few days later the LFS tested the water and said it was looking perfect so I added some hermits, a few more shrimp and a featherduster.
This is how it looked 2 weeks ago.
A few days later I added a yellow belly damsel and a little more cured LR.
A few more days and in went a TR clown and some more cured LR.
A couple of days later I introduced a cleaner shrimp, a pair of emeralds, a snail and the last of the cured LR.
I was having a little issue with the temperature creeping up a bit high (84ºF) so I swapped out the standard hood with a raised coralife fixture with a 28w 50/50 today.
Here's a shot from today.
One interesting thing is that the first batch of LR I added had a coral skeleton (bubble?) that was a little slimy.
I didn't think much of it figuring it would just add a bit to the cycle.
Here's what it looked like after the first few days.
Imagine my surprise when I happened to notice it today and it looked like this.
I can see that it suffered quite a bit of damage and broken "ribs" from being kicked around in the LR rubble bin, not to mention my manhandling it and breaking a bunch of the polyps when I placed it.
(To think, I almost took a brush to it to clean it before putting it in... lol)
So does anyone know what exactly this is and have any advice on how to nurse it back to health?
I wasn't planning on getting coral yet but it looks like so far it's pretty happy in my little tank... so in for a penny, in for a pound.