ShawnKoto Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 Hi All: I am a new member to ARC. You can find my 'Welcome' post here: http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/32421-arc-and-hobby-newbie/ Anyway, I am completely new to saltwater aquariums. I know that I am going to make some mistakes with SW as I did with FW, so I decided to jump in on the cheap by buying a used 29g BioCube. It was really cheap because it is all scratched-up, but it came with a clown fish, a bunch of live rock, the stand, and lots of equipment. I don't mind the scratches too much because I know that this is just my start the hobby. I want a big tank eventually and this project is ALL about learning. Of course I will be buying nice stuff and trying to make it the best that I can. I will be posting about all the livestock and equipment I acquire and the associated questions and initial experiences. Time to warm-up the credit card... something tells me that this hobby is going to give it a workout. --Shawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 This was my start a couple days ago. The bag said pre-washed. Everything I read on all the forums said that I should not waste my money on live sand--that well-washed pool sand would work great. But I couldn't do it, the allure of living organisms in my sand was just too great. I went for it. I read that this won't hurt anything. I have also read that the fines in the sand are actually a good thing once they settle because they allow increased surface area for good bacteria... i dunno... What I do know is that it took 3 days to settle and there is still a slight cloud in the air to remind me of my first learning experience and fail. Onward! --Shawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I wouldn't say you failed at anything. I think your off to a good slow start. Just remember to take it easy and that patience is defiantly a virtue in this hobby. A suggestion I would make is going through some build threads in this forum and learning everything you can. http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/30505-KimP's-in-wall-room-divider-build KimP's in-wall room divider build http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/26847-First-Time-Build First Time Build And my personal favorite http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?/topic/20845-440g-Custom-Starphire-Metal-framed-Reef-Dropoff-Tank 440g Custom Starphire Metal-framed Reef Dropoff Tank ... you'll see why at the end [emoji12] There's a frag swap on the 19th where you can meet a lot of the awesome people on here face to face...Good luck! Oh...and welcome to the club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Thanks for the insight, Dustin. I will check them out. I have been doing a ton of research, but it seems never ending. Like just understanding all the corals that are out there so that you can make decisions and understand which to get--It is nuts But I see people that do it on this forum. People that know every family of coral and can identify 50 different polys, etc.. This is definitely a hobby you can get into for a lifetime. I have been lurking for a couple months without an account and that 440g Drop-off build was looking so crazy at the beginning! Ha! then I read through he entire thing and got all the way to page thirteen... It kind of reminds me of working at Pizza Hut when I was a kid. When we would get new kids we would tell them that they needed to go in once a day and shake all the Italian dressing so that it wouldn't settle and go bad. Out of the builds I have read online, this is my favorite. Had me in tears: http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/93875-our-400-gallon-wall-natural-sun-lit-reef.html I am sure that it has to be famous in the reef community. I definitely plan on coming to the frag swap... equipped with plenty of flat green frag for trade. --Shawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OU12004 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Good luck! I have had good luck with keeping it simple. Great bulbs, weekly water changes and a Tunze ATO has worked for me, but there are many ways to be successful keeping a reef, thats what make these forums great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 So, I finally got my tank and water parameters into a good situation. The cloudiness took about 4 days to completely clear. I found that when I added a 50 micron filter to the tank that it cleared up much faster. Anyway here is a picture of my little scratched up starter I am pretty excited about how it is turning out! I am not sure about the way I stacked the live rock, but I can always change that up later. I have spent a lot of time at AquaDome lately--mostly pestering Hunter with questions. He is awesome BTW. But eventually I had to buy some stuff. So, i have a few things living in there now: Ocellaris Clownfish - Curtis (came with the tank) Halloween Hermit Crab - Hal A couple Turbos Some Lavender Mushrooms Kenya Tree Coral Hunter explained that these were some good beginner, hearty shrooms and coral. Especially because I need to think about lighting. A Blue Damsel fish also came with the tank along with the Clown. My original idea was that I was going to take them both to AquaDome so I could get all my parameters in order and everything setup without fish. But I got attached to Curtis so decided to keep him. Hunter said that it should be fine, and it was. So, I will let these guys settle in a bit and continue to research. I think my next step is to figure out a better filtration system. I am about to order an InTank Media Basket that looks pretty neat and has had great reviews. Onward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 So, I saw that my pictures were not good from my camera phone. So, I shopped around a little bit and picked up a Cannon T3i. I have absolutely no idea what I am doing with it, but I did read the primer in the Photography section of the forum, which was nice. Anyway, I have been fooling around with it taking pictures, and I am having a good time with it, but it is another thing that I think will take a lot of research and practice. This seems like a camera to enter into that journey. Also, I added a Emerald Crab today to the tank and I think that he is super cool: He is part of my CUC along with Hal: Next things up: 1. InTank Media Basket on the way 2. Research and buy a new lighting solution 3. Get a friend for my Clownfish 4. Separate my Lavender Mushrooms On the topic of the Lavendar Mushrooms. You can see below that I have a rock full of mushrooms: But they are all over each other with no room to fully spread. I don't like it and would like to move a couple of them to a new rock or to a new place in the tank. However, the thought of taking a razor blade to them freaks me out. Also, from what I have researched it is kinda hard to get them to reattach to something. So, I think I will wait until the frag swap to get a better idea. I can't get a good idea from the YouTube videos and I don't want to hurt anything. Here is one that I took with the new camera that I like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 So, I am sure that this is not the most exciting build in the world because it is a beginner build, but I am going to keep posting away. J Here are the updates: The InTank Media Basket is in! I am finding this Chemi-Pure and Purigen to be doing great things for my water parameters. Also all water goes through the filter layer as well and the stacked filtration allows me to filter the water for different situations. I always have a poly filter floss and finer green filter, but when there are little particles in the water or sand I put a 50 micron filter on it as well and it clears it up quickly. I love the increased control of the filtration. I added some frags to the tank. Or they were frags and have grown nicely. J The only thing that really sucked is that when I got home from my trip, Hal my Halloween Hermit was dead and the cleaner shrimp was taking care of business. L I can’t figure out what would have killed it. I know my roommate was overfeeding the tank for a couple days while I was gone… maybe raised nitrites? There was brown algae as well, which I have never seen before in the tank. Maybe vinegar or vodka? From what I am researching I really need a skimmer for that to work well. Maybe I will just lower the light cycle and keep doing water changes. Hunter told me this guy would help as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 The brown algae might be diatoms which are a pretty common outbreak in new tanks. I had them for about a week or two when I started mine. I think its normal for them to die off after they have used up any free silica in the water (often from new sand) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Do you have a picture of the algae? Those fighting conchs will destroy the diatoms, they love it. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Fighting conchs are really cool. Unfortunately my hermits took my conchs out for their shells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 How big are those hermits!? My conchs are at least 2" with razor sharp blades on their foot. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 hermits are smart though... and murderous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 The Halloween Hermit was really big before it was slaughtered, but all the other hermits I have a small guys (big as a dime maybe?). I should have taken a picture of the algae, by the time I woke up this morning though the conch had eaten most of it--really incredible appetite. Also, I did a couple water changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Yikes... so it is one thing after the next in this hobby. I bought a little tiny blue tang several days ago and it came down with Ick... I know that my tank is not big enough for a tang, but it is about the size of a quarter, and once it is big enough I will have a much bigger tank (flawed thinking as well, I know). But my Clownfish needed a buddy and they have been inseparable. Anyway, so I read about 20 threads on hypo dip, copper, other methods, but I have seen that it is very hard to cure this in a reef tank. So, i started up a QT. However, I only have a little 2 gallon tank. I put some rocks in there because he likes to hide, but he is now wedged himself under a rock. I don't know if this will be big enough. I have a filter in there with no carbon and a heater. I am dripping this "quIck cure" Ia couple drips a day. http://www.amazon.com/Mojetto-AQUARIUM-PRODUCTS-QUICK-CURE-OZ/dp/B0002AROE You think this will work? Thanks, Shawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Do you have a picture of the algae? Those fighting conchs will destroy the diatoms, they love it. Sent via Tapatalk Here is a picture of the algae: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Okay, I can see from the lack of responses on my hospital tank post that people must have thought it was not a good idea--which it was not. I felt bad today that he was stuck in that tiny tank and it would be very hard to keep the water clean in a 2 gallon tank. So, I upgraded the hospital tank today to a much better 10g. Bare bottom, with some LR, a filter, and a heater. When I put the tang in there he looked happier immediately. I am still thinking that he will not make it, but he will have a much better chance now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCAB Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Just make sure to keep him well fed. That will go a long way to helping him make it through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCAB Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Just make sure to keep him well fed. That will go a long way to helping him make it through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanfe Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I had a clown fish get Brooklynella after I got it from an established tank. I set up a 5 gallon bucket QT tank with probably 3-4 gallons in it. I treated with Kordon Rid-Ich and if I remember it took about 3 weeks for complete recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Tank is not looking too bad. I have been focusing on dialing in my parameters over the last week or so. The thing that I have learned the most over the last month is to SLOW DOWN. This is one of those things that everyone tells you, but you can't help but mess with your tank all the time because it is a real addiction--"Just one more fish won't hurt anything". I just started and I already want better lighting, better flow, more space, neat fish, colorful coral.... etc. What I am finding is that this is one of those things that you can fiddle to death. Nothing in your tank wants you in their business all the time. It stresses them out. Although i might be messing with the water parameters and making them better, there are constant fluctuations in the params all the time, which everything in the tank hates. Everything you do needs to be well researched and implemented slowly. This will be difficult for me, but less difficult as this hobby is quickly outpacing the amount I have budgeted for it. Also, I wanted to let people know that I asked to be the first mentee in the ARC Mentor program. I am an absolute beginner and have lots of those sorts of questions. Also, I don't think anyone is going to get all jazzed in the build thread because of a scratched-up BC29 with some starter stuff in it. Here is a pic of the tank now. some things that I am noticing is that I have all sorts of new coralline growth on the live rocks and the coral seems to be settling in. Great news is that after researching everyone says that you should have a permanent QT/HT tank up and running. So, I went for it, and the results have been awesome. My blue tang, which was laying on the ground for two days, gasping for air, covered in ich, is now spot free and eating. I added a HOB filter to the side which is giving a nice subtle current and have been treating with copper. Looks like he is going to be okay. Also, I like this new little tank Very excited to meet everyone at the swap today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Congrats on the little hippo! Those are some of the harder tangs to raise from such a small size. Like everyone said just make sure to keep him fed and healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnKoto Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 So, after the swap Ty graciously accepted to be my reef keeping mentor. Mike is setting up a page in the Mentor section where I will move this little build for a while. I will update my progress as I go--I may turn back to this thread down the line or make small updates. Good stuff! Here is a little video I just shot of my little yasha and his live-in pistol: http://youtu.be/6iSUevnAujA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I'm just catching up with your thread. Great job on the qt tank! Sounds like you're doing better than most with that little hippo. And there's nothing wrong with a starter build, I'm looking forward to following your progress! You snagged an excellent mentor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellyfish Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I'm following along as well, I have plenty to learn myself, and Ty is a great choice for a mentor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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