My First Tank.

[brandonk]

After my most recent scuba diving adventure in the Caribbean, I have decided that I need my own slice of the ocean.

I finally decided to go for it, and bought a 40G breeder for my first tank about two weeks ago. There are some things that no amount of research will prepare you for....

I knew that I wanted to keep the tank in my favorite room of the house: the bathroom. Well, I bought the tank without measuring the distance between the two sinks, and luckily the 40 breeder fit PERFECTLY ith about 4" on either side.... Luckily. So now I'm sitting in my bathroom with a giant empty tank. I never really realized that I would have to haul 40 gallons of water in here as well. So I make my second trip and buy 30 gallons of water, some salt mix, and a powerhead.

I let that run overnight, while I thought about all the possibilities that the future could hold for that tank.

The next day I realized I had to fill my tank with something. After talking and reading, I decided to do go the live rock / live sand route, and after reading many reviews, eventually decided to get THE PACKAGE from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

I placed the order that night, and picked up part one from the airport about 18 hours later.

After haphazardly throwing in the sand and the rock, my tank looked something like this:

Once I could see, I tried to move things around to make them look a little prettier.

The amount of life on these rocks and in this sand is incredible. In the sand we found what we later determined to be a spiny sea cucumber, currently around 4 inches long when he's fully stretched out, a few porcelain crabs, a decorator crab, and my nemesis, a pistol shrimp.

This pistol shrimp has killed two of our other shrimp so far, and has evaded all of my attempts of catching him. He lives in what we now refer to as pistol shrimp rock, the second to last one in the previous picture. He has NEVER come completely out of the rock as far as I know. I've tried EVERY DAY baiting him out with some mysis shrimp in a bottle trap, but he has never shown his face. As soon as i stick the bait in the water though, SNAP SNAP SNAP he goes.... Very frustrating. Another method I tried is what I call the chopstick method. This method pretty much involves me sticking chopsticks in every hole that I see his face in until he's forced to come out. I quickly ran out of chopsticks. I've also tried isolating him. I stick his rock in a giant pot within the tank and stuck a lid on the pot, and after two days tried baiting him out, but he wouldn't show his face. I know he's about 2.5-3 inches long, and he has a stripe on his back, and evidently he's smarter than I am.

Well, today I got an email from Richard from TBS asking if I was ready for part two, and I was, so he sent it and I picked it up from the airport after work. I wasn't prepared for what came in those boxes.

A few of my favorites...

Two GIANT sea cucumbers

A beautiful large starfish

A lovely sponge

And a bunch of snails, crabs, shrimp, not to mention more beautiful rock. Heres a picture of how I have everything set up right now.

I love it.

The best part about this rock is that its so alive-- Almost every time I look at it I see something new. I plan on just letting it sit like this for a few months, making a few minor tweaks here and there, and then seeing what comes next....

Also, if you have any suggestions please let me know because I am a true amateur and need all the advice I can get!!

[Mike Mays]

Awesome score on the critters! I had a couple of hermit crabs and snails in my live sand and on the few live rock I got, I had a peppermint shrimp, more snails and an emerald crab. (the emerald crab was in a rock that my son gave me. He was not happy!) Good luck with the tank and keep us posted!

[+KimP]

Your tank is beautiful! You scored some great stuff. Make sure to feed all that life while you're just letting it sit and watch your water parameters as things cycle. Looks like you may have some non-photosynthetic stuff that will certainly need food. Looks great!