Finally got my tank started up

[goisles1]

Don't worry bout those Zoas, they will spread. Mine are spreading like CRAZY. I've got 5 different frags mounted on a huge rock and they are slowing spreading towards each other. Soon I will have one HUGE Zoas rock with all different colors

I also have what looks to be the same Xenia you just bought. That one is growing like a weed!

 

[Ratrik13]

Honestly, the Xenia is the only one that's got me a little worried cause the more research I do, the more confused I get. DrF&S says they are medium waterflow critters that need moderate light, while Wetwebmedia tends to just give generalized info that Xeniid's like strong flow (some grow right up to the powerheads) and are non-photosynthetic and non-predatory. So, i guess it's gonna be a case of just hoping for the best.

<update> Well, I had noticed that my Xenia had what looked like a second stalk when I got it placed in the tank but i didn't think much of it. Now it's official, it split, I now have two seperate stalks of my heteroxenia. Surprising how far it managed to move though. (sorry about the blurred pic... my camera HATES this coral). =P

 

[fishmonkey]

cool! keep us updated!

 

[thincat]

I want some...Very nice and it looks like all will make it. A word on Wives...They have centuries on us when it comes to "Shopping". XD

 

[rm86100]

Ratrik13: What kind of light do you have for your SW?

 

[Mitchell0605]

Cool Xenia split. Your Zoas look AWESOME!!! Mind sending some to Australia? lol

 

[Ratrik13]

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, my lighting cycle no longer cynics up with my work schedule so only the antics are on when I wake up and when I get home. Makes it really hard to get pics anytime except for my weekend. At least my wife gets to see it when the all the lights are burning. =P

I'm using a dual 96 watt PC fixture with 1 antic and 1 14k bulb and a dual 150 watt MH fixture from Current USA. I got both from E-bay. The PC fixture was actually for the planted FW tank i was going to build. I waited 6 months to a year for my LFS to order me a 40 breeder only to have it come in as a 40 breeder "reptile tank" (thiner glass and only siliconed about 3/4ths of the way up) and it was strapped so tight when they packaged it for the barge that it was crushed to the point the frame was bowed in 6 inches on each side (and the tanks only 18 inch deep!!!). The MH I bought referb from CurrentUSA's ebay store. I actually had a great exp with them, good customer service, price was right (right around $250ish I think), and it was packaged well for shipping.

I've actually moved the zoas around a bit atm cause i'm wanting them to spread and the rock they were on was barely touching any of the rocks I wanted them on. Oh, and the locals around here have first dibs on any frag as my insurance policy incase my tank crashed =P

I bought some green star polyps on friday. Been bugging the LFS to order me some stuff for weeks and then boom, they order without me. Luckily the owner grabbed a nice selection of corals (though he got mostly stonies). I also managed to reserve some blue mushrooms, but he'd already aclimated them to the display tank and I didn't wanna stress them more after the hellacious trip they had with shipping. Turns out the supplyer shipped this load of coral to Alaska... with cold packs. He warned me that he's never gotten them to open up untill at least a week after arrival... mine were open the next day.

Anyway, pics inc Tuesdayish!

 

[thincat]

Sounds like you are well on your way to a great tank. Why not set the lights on a timer so that you can enjoy them while you are home. I don't think the fish and corals will mind as long as you change the lighting schedule slowly.

 

[Ratrik13]

Actually, the lights are on 4 timers, the LED moonlights are on one timer from about till 10am to midnight (14 hours total), the antic is on another from 11am to 11pm (12hours), the 14k PC is on from about 12 noon to 10pm (10hours) and the MHs are burning from 1pm to 9pm (8 hours). I work evening shifts from 1pm to 10pm and I sleep most of the morning so the only time i could shift the lights to would be late night... and around here, thats a great way to get a visit from the cops looking for pot growers.

At the moment this is actually looking like it's gonna be to much light as I've had an algae bloom over the past week or so and the only thing that's changed is the lighting. I guess it could be cause my fuge is offline atm too, but... my fuge hadn't even broken in yet. For the most part, it looks like it's Cyano on the rocks, but that weird hair algae cropped up again, this time on the sandbed. I'm thinking I'm probably gonna cut the MH's back to about 4 hours by adjusting the on and off time by an hour at a time over a the week and do a bit of manual removal on my day off. I'm actually considering throwing the hair algae stuff in my fuge to see if i can get it to grow there since i'm of the oppinion that a problem weed in the display tank might be a great nutrient sink in the fuge where it doesn't detract from anything... heck, I wouldn't even mind cyano if it was corralled in the fuge.

In the grand scheme of things, I've gotta make myself put my tank on hold right now. I'm worried i've done a little to much a little to fast with the coral atm and that the system is gonna need the time to stablize. Oh, and my wife's done the worst thing... EVER! She's decided we need to buy a house sometime within the next two months! The good news is... she's agreed to let me have a moat! The bad news is, she gets to pick the moat monster... jk. Actually, she's agreed that I get my choice of any spare bedroom/utility room... i might actually get to live my dream of my own fishroom!!! In return... she gets to put her computer in the living room... SOLD! Don't worry though guys, i plan to keep posting more pics etc untill I have to rip it all down and move it... in the dead of the Alaskan winter... /shudder. Other than some blue shrooms the LFS is holding for me, my livestock is set for now. Funny, I swear I remember planning this thing out as a FOWLR, but I don't think i'll even have any fish till next summer!

 

[FishEggs]

well that f and c key are pretty close. you probably meant to type COWLR.

 

[thincat]

Yea, try to get the lights down to no more then a total of 12 hours. Mh of about ~6-7hr. Try to get more flow in the areas of the Cyano and that should help that out. Good luck on your new home and the AQ. more. Does 100#'s of ice weigh more then 100#'s of water?

 

[Ratrik13]

Picture time!

Ok, quick update. Did my weekly water test last night, came up with 1.026 SG, 0 ammonia, didn't test nitrites, 0 nitrates, pH 8.4, Alk of 2.0 to 2.4 milliequivalents per liter and calcium at around 430.

On an annoying note, I'm having a slight hair algae outbreak on my sandbed, but I may be able to fix that by just pulling as much hair as I can can then stiring the top a little while doing a water change. As I think it's cause my sandbed kind of "crusted" in a few places.

Picked up my mushrooms yesterday (thus why I'm late on the pics). Almost had a freak out about the shrooms cause when I got to the store they had moved rock they were on so I couldn't find it at first. I ended up feeling like an idiot cause I asked if they sold it since the only other mushrooms i could find all looked red and the ones I had on hold were blue. No one had ever told me that as a mushroom expands it's color can change. Turns out these are a really nice shade of robin's egg blue when they are closed up, but when they expand they are purple. They are actually really nice looking... though I hate the rock they're on... it looks like the corner peice from my grandma's thanksgiving stuffing cassirole.

I had said that the mushrooms would be my last coral for a while, but I made an impulse hold at the LFS. They got in a really nice looking Torch coral (Euphyllia glabrescens, i think), but one of the heads looks like it might be having an issue cause there appears to be a barnical growing in the middle of that head. I'm still mostly on the fence on if I should buy it, cause I mostly want it as a host for a pair of Porcelain Anemone Crab (Neopetrolisthes ohshimai) which i've heard will accept this coral as a host much like clowns.

OK, picture time!

Finally got a pic of the xenia that wasn't to blurry. I'm guessing it's doing ok. It's open most of the time, but around "simulated evening" it closes up into what my wife calls "angry fists" but opens back up after the antic goes off. The odd part is that it mostly pulses at night now when only the moon lights are on.

The mushrooms, I'm much happier with this now in my tank than I was with them at the store.

The pink paly frag I moved higher in the tank cause it looked like the polyps were streaching pretty far to get towards the light.

The pink zoa rock, I repositioned it so that the polyps actually touched the larger rock behind it where i wanted them to spread to.

Finally, my GSPs... i really like these... I just hope I don't regret them...

 

[kaiofcanada]

soooo lovely!

 

[h8z2luze]

Looks awesome! I cant wait to get mine started

 

[Mitchell0605]

Nice, nice and nicer! Beautiful Zoas! Hope they spread for you!

 

[thincat]

Great job. Keep up the good work.

 

[bobothefish]

Im well on my way

Its very exciting to see what you build. I have a 55 gallon, water already cycled with 60 lbs of live sand, 30 lbs live rock ,couple pieces of base rock and a dead shrimp. The Cool thing is I bought some LR from this guy on craigslist and it was covered with coraline. Now its about 3 weeks and I have more hitch hiker creatures that you can shake a stick at. I got Zoanthids,baby mushrooms, baby snails, sponges, tons of brittle stars, spiney worm, and of course apetasia. I bought 3 mexican turbo snails and 2 peppermint shrimp one of which is lost somewhere. and two chromis.
My tank is filtered with a wet dry with a filter sock (removed bio balls). Quiet one 4000 pump, swc protein skimmer, I got 2 topfin 60 hang on back type filters as well. Very exciting. Is it true I shouldent be skimming right away because the water is coming out clear.
Also that is Miley, she is tired from a day at the beach.

 

[Ratrik13]

OK, Sorry I haven't posted any pics this week... not much had changed other than growing hair algae. And then IT happened... our bank's been harping on me about my lack of credit rating (hard to get approved for a home loan without one) so they gave me a credit card and told me to use it. Yeah... I know, Heeelloooo DrF&S. So I figured I should finally get around to ordering a CUC. I ordered 3 of the dwarf blue leg and 3 scarlet reef hermits (1 DOA), 6 cerith snails, 5 of the "super tongan" nassarius snails, 3 "spiny star" astraea, 4 banded trochus (on back order) and a tongan fighting conch (about 1.5 inches long and one of my faves). I also said what the **** lets try something "different" and got a pair of porcelain anemone crabs. I also decided to pick up a "Neon Green Palau" Nephthea frag.

Then... then I did something stupid... I told my wife she could pick something out as long as she kept the price under $50 from the Certified Captive Grown section and left her on the Softies page. She then submitted the order for me before i thought to ask what she picked. When I did finally think to ask, she said she wanted it to be a surprise... thats the point I should have known I was in trouble. Now I've got two frags, an "indigo" montipora digitata, and a "blueberry staghorn" acropora. Kind of sad part is she followed my directions... she stayed under $50 and they are both "CCGC"s, I never thought to tell her to stay away from the stony corals much less the SPS.

So now I've spent all evening drip aclimating corals and inverts. I'm pretty much wiped. Everything "seems" like it's ok... the Nephtea looks a little rough, It's to early to tell how the SPSs are though. I'm a little worried about the smaller of the two porcelain crabs cause when I was transfering it to the display it rushed out of the cup and free fell through the water behind the rock work. The big one's still clinging on to the area he landed and has been fanning some. The snails have mostly disapeared into the rockwork and sandbed, but the conch's pretty much just hunkered down for now. The hermits all skattered as was expected, I really like the little blue legs and the scarlets are gorgeous, but the big one scares me cause his shell's about the size of my conch and he just strikes me as being big enough to cause trouble. The part that really scares me though... is that I was watching the tank trying to see if I could see where anything went when I started hearing the dreaded "clicking" sounds. It was a rapid fire series of clicks that actually sounded like a cross between an electric ignighter and cracking glass. I find it hard to believe that it could be a mantas shrimp cause I have no idea what it's had to eat in well over a month or two, but a small pistol shirmp wouldn't surprise me to much.

Either way, I'll try to get pics in a few days of everything I can!

 

[thincat]

Looks like you are on your way to a reef setup. Just put the SPS's directly under the 150 mh and up in the upper top of your setup and you should be okay. Your little crap should be okay too. Be sure to have spare shells for your hemmits or they could start killing snails and themselves for the shells. Took me a yr to find my pistol shrimp. The conch is going to turn into a bulldozer as it moves around the tank knocking over your frags.

 

[Ratrik13]

Ok, picture time

Mushrooms look'n pretty good and seem to be sprouting new ones all the time. A surprising amount of life on this rock, at least 3 small dusters, and a ton of Halimeda algae cropping up all over it.

Zoa's haven't changed much, but I can tell they are slowly spreading. Actually tried feeding them and the Palys some cyclops the other day.

My big feather dusters grown tremendously since I got it. So has the algae though. You can also see a few of the extra hermit shells that came from DrF&S, i really don't like them, but if they crust over with algae they may not be so bad.

The green star polyps are doing well, the kind of "bald" looking patch has colored up nicely.

Xenia's doing nicely as well, looks like it's working on another split onto the large rock. If it does, then I think the frag plug will probably be moved onto the rock with it and attached so that I can "try" and keep that Xenia in a good spot. Kind of figure the porcelain crabs would try and bond with it.

Here's is said crab, found herself a nice little hole to hide in for now. It's really cool to watch her sit hanging outside the hole and fan for food. (I'm guessing the bigger one was the female.)