Rgwiz11

My roommate and I were filling up our 75g we got on craigslist. I had mentioned that I hoped the stand held together as we were dumping our 50th or so gallon into the tank. No sooner than I said that, we heard "creeeeaaaak." Turned out to be a branch of a tree that snapped outside our apartment, but it gave us both a good scare

Thanks alex Aptasia is the one thing we have looked at pictures of because we have heard so much about it and read a lot about people trying to avoid it. But, because a lot of the pictures are so varied of what it actually looks like, it became a running joke in our apartment to refer to everything we saw growing as Aptasia. "Look at the size of that aptasia," or "Ooooo, we had another aptasia outbreak on that rock." Finally, I figured the best place to figure out what the stuff really was would be to post it here.

My roommate and I plan to do a water change this weekend and continue to watch our parameters. If everything is staying A-OK, we plan to add our first group of cleaners (5 hermits, 10 snails, and a pepp) in about two weeks. We are still debating about whether or not to put in a yellowtail damsel at the same time or wait to see how the cleaners do first.

Thanks for the info everyone! After seeing some pictures of the Kenya Tree Coral, I definitely think that is what I have. Also, good to know that we didn't have an outbreak of something bad. Ammonia and Nitrites have been at or near 0 for a week now. Getting closer to the time we can add some livestock...on purpose this time. Very exciting

Many Thanks Hamp!

My roommate and I added some LR to our tank and are going through the constant water testing phase. Today, when I came home from work, I noticed some things growing in the tank. Problem is, my roommate and I are both new to the hobby and have no idea what it is we have growing in the tank. So, three different things I've found so far. Anyone know what it is I got?

It's a little hard to see, but it's near the center of the rock. It's reddish brown and looks to have little branches coming off of it.

This stuff is interesting. I never see it in the morning. It just looks like a rock with a lot of tiny holes in it. But, when I come home from work and the lights are on, this stuff has sprouted out and is wafting around in the current.

To me, these look like Zoas, but just seem really scattered around instead of growing together in a little colony.

Any help would be appreciative.

Thanks stone! The rock is on the acrylic and not the sand. When we put it in we made sure we shifted it around enough to bury it in the sand bed

Ya, overflow box is built into the tank, so can't move it. We've been looking at our powerhead placement and seeing how it's affecting the flow into the overflow. Looks good now, but we may end up moving it once we get some livestock in and more stuff we have to filter out.

I've been doing some sleuthing on the Mandarin, and found a good article about a guy trying to keep one alive in his nano. I'm not saying I'm ready to get one yet, but it's a good read, nonetheless, if you've thought about getting a Mandarin, but have been hesitant because of lack of rock.

http://joshday.com/mandaringoby.htm

So...Possible, but challenging. Probably not the best fish for a starter tank. Thanks for the info!

Sure did. We needed about 6 inches of tubing to connect our return pump to some plumbing. All we could find at HD was the 10ft. pieces and they were selling for something ridiculous like $7-8. Went to Lowes, got some bulk tubing and it was less than $1 otd.

Thanks for the input everyone! Most of the bottom rock is wedged into the sand and not moving around much, but yes, the big rock in the center is quite a danger at the moment. I don't think most anything could knock it over, but I've learned to never underestimate the strength of wildlife

As far as tunnels, I guess they are kind of hard to see in the picture. I wanted to get far enough away so that you could see all of the rock work. There's a tunnel on the bottom right of the big rocks in the center, as well as one to the upper right of the purple rock right of center. Also, we tried to incorporate 3 more tunnels on the left side of the tank as well. All in all, I'm hoping it's enough for the critters that like to hide and swim.

Sad to hear about the mandarin, as they are one of the best looking fish that I have seen. Is it possible to add supplements for the mandarin to munch on if you don't have enough rock? I've just noticed the mandarins at RCA that seem to be hanging out in nothing bigger than a 30g biocube, and they always seem to be doing fine.

I've always heard that if you run your pumps it helps to move some of the stuff around that can be filtered out. But, you shouldn't do it if the silt is actually getting into your pumps, as it can sometimes damage them. I just recently started up my tank with about 50lbs of white sugar sand....silt everywhere. We ran our return pump with no ill effects, and we ended up putting a phosphorus pad in our overflow chamber so the overflow could run over that. It really seemed to help remove some gunk. The cloudiness settled out in about a week. All it takes is some patience

This is my first tank (75g) and my first try at aquascaping. My roommate and I found a great deal on some LR, so we could finally start filling it up and letting the cycling get into full swing. We have about 90-100lbs of rock. How does it look, think we need more or less? We plan on having corals and some fish; a couple tangs, some clowns, and a mandarin or two. I think we have some pretty good caves and shelves, but would love to hear what you people with more experience think

PM sent for rock

Hi Liz!

Welcome aboard. I joined the site about 2 weeks ago and am still surprised at how much information and free good advice there is floating around. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I've been quick to learn that everyone is very friendly, and always willing to help out another reefer

I want to see someone get creative with the theme and take a picture of their solar-powered MH's, and wind-powered return pump.

Thanks Mike,

I have some containers on hand that haven't been used yet, just wasn't sure if I should be bringing them with me or if it came sold in containers already. Thanks for the info

I may have to convince my roommate to put together the setup you are talking about. Seems like an easier way of mixing the salt in than doing everything by hand. We'll see how it goes though

Ya, my question was more of the transportation aspect than benefits of RO/DI. I know in the long run the RO/DI system would pay for itself. I just didn't want to show up to a store and ask for water and then find out I had to bring my own containers for it.

As I said, I plan on getting a RO/DI unit eventually.

Kind of a really weird question, but I'm completely new to this whole saltwater hobby, so here it goes. I got my tank last night and my roommate and I spent the good part of 3 hours cleaning it out and making sure we were ready to go when we start the filling, and cycling process. I don't want to use tap water when we fill it, as I've seen that it creates quite a bit of brown algae and just adds more unnecessary time to the cycling process. However, I'm worried about how I'm going to get 75g of RO/DI water to my tank. I'm just very unfamiliar with how to get the water from a supplier. Do I have to provide my own buckets, or will they provide them for me? If I'm providing them, any suggestions on how to keep them from sloshing around during transport? Eventually, I hope to get my own RO/DI unit, but that won't be until later down the road.

Hello Everyone!

I've been wanting a saltwater aquarium for quite a while now. I'm happy to say that my roommate and I have a 75g SeaClear being delivered tomorrow. I'm very excited, and a little nervous about getting it all together and started up! Looking forward to learning everything I can from you experienced folk