38Gal Build--Newbie

[Magma]

Ok so I got my tank 38US Gal for cheap whoo hoo!! (check my other thread if you want to know more My Tank setup)

So I have my LR in a bucket and I woke up this morning and saw 50-60 centipede like creatures all over it! I used a LED flash light to take a better look and they all ran away into the rock, but I did see that they all have the same colour pattern. Orange outline along the whole body with a purple center. Hoping they are good because this 12lbs of rock seems to be infested with them!

Also noticed today that I have some small dark purple zoa growing on a rock, not very big but I hope it grows

So steps for today

Clean the tank
Get a Stand for it
make up salt water
Setup Filter, Power Head, Skimmer
And Finally.....
Take Pictures of the progress.

 

[neilanh]

Sounds like bristleworms. Looks here to confirm
Xtalreef

If they are, they're good for your tank, good cleaners, but do not touch them. Their bristles will hurt you.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Im here sounds good. Yeah i see them all the time in the tank (Brothers) I think they are pretty got a nice colour to them.

 

[Magma]

Looks like bristleworms to me, tons of them! So I got out the tweezers and took some of the really large ones out, not because I dont want them but because the wife is scared of worms lol I still have loads of them hiding in the rock just not that she saw

As for the progress well...

clean the tank--Check
get a stand---Check (**** I hate building furniture)
Making up Salt water-----checkish...im sitting at between 1.023 and 1.024 and have the tank 3/4 of the way full (im making about 10G at a time and getting the gravity right then into the tank it goes)
Setting up Filter---Check
Power Head---Check
Skimmer---Check after fighting with it for a good 45min to an hour...and its now starting to make bubbles

Substrate is about 2" thick and I washed it fairly well but the tank is white now...I guess this is normal and should let up in a few days, either way LR is still in the bucket with a heater and PH.

Also the skimmer is loud as all **** any ideas how to make it less disruptive? (its a redsea prizm)

Pictures still to come I have a few take of the before and none of the after math..yet..

 

[Magma]

Pictures!

So some of the live rock

The tanks state when I got it

With some LR in it:

Playing with the lights

 

[the_fish_man]

following looks great so far!

 

[Magma]

And todays look...all LR is in the tank (not really set any special way)

and this crazy hitchhiker I found

Guy at the seafood store thought I was crazy buying 1 shrimp

 

[Magma]

Today I am finding the lights alone keep the tank temp higher than It should be, I have a small heater in the tank and its set for about 70 but with the lights being so close to the water I find the tank temp to be around 79-81. And thats only with the 12000k Daylight bulb thats not using the blue actinic.

The shrimp I threw in is starting to break down a lot and every morning I notice 5-10 bristleworms all over it, even saw a little tiny crab this morning with blue legs.

Also having a problem with streaks on the glass inside the tank...any ideas how to clean those? the outside is fine its just the instead needs some cleaning.

 

[Magma]

Ok so update, I check my water a few days ago and saw .5 ammonia and thought wow my cycle is going! whoohoo! Checked back the next day...and its at 0...on no! did my cycle crash? whats wrong...kept checking over a few days and nothing..

Turns out because I used the filter media from a well established tank and Cured LR from an established tank that I only had a mini cycle due to the bacteria already in the rock and media.

Awesome!

So now im thinking of slowly and I mean slowly adding a clean up crew.

Right now just from hitchhikers I have 5 or 6 hermits, and 1 snail

think the snail is STOMATELLA VARIA (looks like one shown on xtalreef). as for the crabs I think I have a few zebras and a dwarf electric blue, maybe 1 red tip hermit as well, only reason I got them is because the LR was so full of life

What I think I want is:

1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
2 Nassarius Snails
2 astera snails
5 trochus snails
5 nerite snails

Also maybe later an emerald crab and some turbo snails, possibly a pincushion Urchin as well.

Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[Magma]

few freebies from a LFS I snagged pays to spend lots at one place...

 

[Magma]

Lots of Updates not so many pictures

Hardware upgrades:

2 new power heads
4 bulb HOT5 lighting fixture
Extra heater on opposite side of the tank

Livestock:

2 black clowns
2 scarlet cleaner shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
2 fighting conch snails
1 mexican turbo
3 Nassarius snails
3 zebra hermits
1 dwarf electric blue hermit
2 stomatella snails

1 large green mushroom
1 blue mushroom
2 heads of candy cane coral
4 small red mushrooms (LR hitchhikers)
5 small blue mushrooms (LR hitchhikers)
3 SPS Frags (unknown name)
3 Acan Heads

60lbs of liverock


Pictures soon

 

[abdhalim2]

wow....u have lots of CUC there...dont know what and how u are going to feed them..

 

[Magma]

the 2 scarlet skunk shrimp love to steal mysis shrimp and zooplankton when i feed the clowns and the peppermint has a nice bloom of aptasia to feed on as well as stealing some mysis and zooplankton

the crabs are all very small and constantly graze the rocks and have been doing fine for over 2 months now lots of empty shells for them to play in and they have even molted a few times.

Snails do the same they crawl along the glass and the fighting conch's are doing a great job on shifting my 4" sand bed.

All the shrimp have molted at least once and been doing great, really friendly 2 and love to clean my hand.

so i dont think i have to much for a CUC when they are doing an ok job not a great job.

 

[Magma]

some shots from today, excuse the cyno had an outbreak last night

notice the gobie knocked over my SPS frag....and the candy canes that never opened up

acan heads, got them as 3 heads and im up to 5 now

mushroom patch

 

[aquachris]

very nice upgrades awesome tank

 

[Magma]

todays update:

Both clowns have started to Host in the bubble tip! they started sleeping in it last night and today they are playing it like kids in a candy store.

 

[mr_X]

i would do some large water changes and cut back on the feeding. way too many nutrients in that tank. you can use a product called "chemiclean" by boyd enterprises (not to be confused with "red slime remover") to remove the red slime. i've used it before on customers tanks with success, but if you don't get the nutrient level down, the cyano will come back.

 

[Magma]

I vacume it out when I do pwc and I do about 8gal a week for them, also seems to be slowly retreating and going away, I would rather not use chemicals if I don't need 2

 

[Magma]

I upgraded the lighting a while ago and I dont know the name of the fixture, came in a blank box no brand name but the bulbs are Odyssey brand heres pictures of it tho since people have been asking me in the chatroom about them

3 switchs to control the blues, whites and LEDS
1 power cord
the lights tip back and also with the small plastic holder you can put them on a tilted angle so you can still work in the tank without moving the lights right out of the way.
Each bulb is 39W
12000k daylights

Hope those help

 

[the_fish_man]

Lookin nice!