View Full Version : masterchef's first saltwater adventure
masterchef518
10-29-2009, 7:41 PM
so about a month ago i decided to take the jump into the sw scene. I am no stranger to the fish scene i have had aquariums on and off since about the age of 12,
so heres what i have so far
29gallon glass tank
wrought iron stand
30lbs of live sand
35lbs of live rock
1. korilia 2 power head
1. aqua clear 30 power head
aquatic life t5 HO light with 1 blue lunar light
marineland bio wheel 400 hob filter
seaclone 100 protien skimmer (yea yea i know its not great but its gonna be replaced as the bio load gets bigger)
an under construction custom hood
two ocellaris clown fish
one green chromis(was three but the other two dissapeared)
two turbo snails
3 cerith snails
2 blue leged hermit crabs
masterchef518
10-29-2009, 7:43 PM
pics of the tank and aquascaping
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2651.jpg
pics of the fish
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2650.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2649.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2648.jpg
masterchef518
10-29-2009, 7:46 PM
the hood in progress
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2643.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2644.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2645.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2646.jpg
Amphiprion
10-29-2009, 8:05 PM
Looks like a good start to me. If you haven't done so already, you can do without the biowheel.
masterchef518
10-29-2009, 9:02 PM
question what do you mean "do with out the biowheel"
Jaykit
10-29-2009, 9:13 PM
Pretty sure it means take off the bio-wheel from the filter. Good looking start. What is the yellow and black stuff in the sand?
masterchef518
10-30-2009, 12:26 PM
thats what i though but wanted to be sure, and the black is the sand its indo pacific sand if i remember correctly what looks like yellow is actulay green and ive been told its coraline algae i have it on my rocks too
Reefscape
10-30-2009, 12:31 PM
I doubt it will be coralline algae on the sand...i would expect just basic green algae, whcih you can syphon out...
And yeah, remove the bio-wheel filter...no real need for it...
masterchef518
10-30-2009, 3:44 PM
yea ill pull the bio wheels out no sense having them if they do no good.the algae on the sand looks like the algae thats on rocks should i scrub it off? it dosent look like hair algae, but i do know i have coraline algae pic two shows it really good
The bio-wheels actually work too well, which is the reason to remove them. You want your live rock doing the bio-filtration, not the bio-wheels. Bio-wheels are best left for fw use, where there's not typically as much surface area for bacteria to populate as there is in a sw tank with live rock.
You do have coralline algae on your rocks, but the green is not coralline algae. It's not hair algae, either. It's a green algae that grows more like a film. You can scrub it off or recruit an algae grazing snail to clean it up for you.
masterchef518
10-30-2009, 6:59 PM
oh ok i see about the bio wheels i was told to get this filter by my lfs. like the title says its my first time in saltwater so im still learning things, also im at almost a disadvantage when it comes to filtration because i have no sump, and yea i didnt know about the algae i though that coraline only came in a purple-ish pink color, so i guess im breaking out the tooth brush during the next w/c
Coralline algae does come in a variety of colors, some of which are very cool and different than the typical purple and pink. There is a green variety, but it's definitely different than what I see in those pix of your tank.
I wouldn't say that you are at a disadvantage just because you don't have a sump. Running a sump definitely has its advantages, but you can still do plenty with your tank without a sump.
masterchef518
11-04-2009, 7:00 PM
well i went to clean the rocks today and do a little re aquascaping but the algae wouldent come off, i also found some thing very interesting on the backside of the rocks, not sure what they are, they are like fat cream colored worms with bright white like feathers on the type they are on two of the rocks there are about 5 of them total here are some pics
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2663.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2668.jpg
masterchef518
11-04-2009, 7:04 PM
well the canopy is almost finished just need to do a final sand and stain
here are some pics of the final mock up
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2658.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2660.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2661.jpg
as you can see its deep enough to cover all the hob equipment
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/07azuresciontc/103_2662.jpg
masterchef518
11-05-2009, 8:47 PM
well i got my first corals today i guees that makes me a reefer of sorts, i got i green and one orange ricordea will post pics tomorrow
masterchef518
01-07-2010, 10:06 AM
well the hood is almost done i just have one more coat of varnish to put on there, on a side note i wish i had my camera last night there whas this beautiful night scene in my tank the star fish was on one of the rocks the two irredecent corals were still in bloom and the the clown fish were sleeping right above them this whas all happening just after the lights went out