First Marine 20g (From Set-Up To Now, Picture Journal)

[TropicalNorth]

A few pics of my first marine aquarium, FOWLR. I did a fair bit of research (months worth) before setting it up. I'm really glad I did all the research because it made the set-up process a lot less daunting. It's only been going for 1 week; there's no ammonia as of yet, hardly any die off and all the critters on the live rock look pretty happy. I'm not expecting the hitchiker corals to survive (low lighting) but they actually look pretty healthy at the moment.

STATS:
Tank – length 61cm, width 30cm, height 38cm, volume 70 litres.
Lighting – just a 36w 7100k PL tube.
Filtration/Circulation – a 1200l/hr powerhead and an aquaclear 70, at first I’ll just use the aquaclear as a filter then I'll convert it to a sort of refugium.
Heating – standard 55w heater.
pH - 8.2
KH - 11dkh
temp - 27c
salinity - 1.025 (I want to stay close to natural seawater)

Empty Tank and Light
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/SaltwaterTank1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Stand1.jpg

Live Rock (getting ready to go into the tank)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/LiveRock1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/LiveRock2.jpg

Tank Set Up

Front
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1SaltwaterAquariumFront.jpg
Back
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1SaltwaterAquariumBack.jpg
Filter (with a bit of coral rubble in it)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Refugium.jpg

Live Rock Hitchikers

Unidentified
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Coral1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Thingie1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Coral.jpg

Anemone (I fed it a few baby brine shrimp which it loved)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Anenome.jpg

Brittle Starfish
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1BrittleStar.jpg

Feather Worms
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1FeatherWorm.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Feather.jpg

Mantis Shrimp (I'm trying to get him out with a trap)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/MantisShrimp1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/MantisShrimp2.jpg

Okay I think thats it :). Comments, questions and ID's welcome.

[Evan214]

Are you planning on putting any fish in there>?

[Mgamer20o0]

great looking pic and a really nice tank. good job

[Emg]

Wow....you got alot of nice hitchiker corals on that rock ! Would be great if they managed to survive...

Nice tank and nice setup ! Welcome to the sw world ! :D


I would recommend a redhead goby if you managed to find one....VERY entertaining little fish..hehe..I have one in my 20long reef....lots of fun to watch.

[TropicalNorth]

Thanks :).
I'm planning on putting 4 small fish in there, not all at once of course but over a few months. The waiting to put fish in is so hard. My family wanted to put some in straight away because the tank looked finished. I managed to convince them to wait :).

It's legal to catch fish for an aquarium here, as long as it's not in a protected zone (30% of the Great Barrier Reef is completely protected) or the fish has a size limit. There's an inshore island reef about 30min boat trip away, and it's full of small fish, so that's where I'll get them. I'd prefer to get tank bred fish but they aren't sold around here.

Most likely it will be a damsel, blenny or goby and if I'm lucky one of the dwarf wrasse species. I've seen what fish are there and now I'm researching their personalities, sizes etc to see if they would be suitable.

[Ghost_knife]

heh, you got more cool critters then I did! very very cool, definatly take some more pics!

[TropicalNorth]

As requested, 2 more pics.
These are of 2 different Octocorals that just started to come out. If you look close you can see lots of white baby octocorals.

[Mgamer20o0]

very nice. keep them coming.

[TropicalNorth]

Update.
Everything is still going strong, all water params are good and stable. The only problem I've had so far is with sediment settling in areas. I've tried stirring it up with a turkey baster so the filter sponge will catch it. This sorta works. Next step is to move the filter and powerhead around a bit and if that doesn't work I'll put some filter wool in the filter and powerhead so it catches more when I stir it up.

The baby fungia is definately growing and so are some of the red and green algaes on the live rock. Still haven't got the mantis out yet but I'm wearing him down (I think LOL). Also I've seen some tiny crabs out and about now.

Resisting the urge to put fish in is hard :) especially when my extended family comes over and says 'where are the fish'....explaining the nitrogen cyle to a 3 year old might be a bit difficult:).

Piccies.
Whole tank at night.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1SaltwaterAquarium.jpg
Baby Fungia
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Fungia2.jpg
Mystery green algae (good or bad?)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1GreenAlgae.jpg
Sponge (I think)
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Sponge.jpg
My best bit of Live Rock (it brings new meaning to the term 'live rock' :))
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Bommie.jpg

[fish_freak]

Nice tank! You really got a lot of great hitch hikers on your live rock! Is the tank outside? That would be awesome if we could do that here but to cold sigh.

[5xevy]

What kind of live rock is that?

[legendaryfrog]

nice tank, but please dont kill that mantis shrimp.

[TropicalNorth]

Nice tank! You really got a lot of great hitch hikers on your live rock! Is the tank outside? That would be awesome if we could do that here but to cold sigh.

Thanks :). I find new hitchikers everyday, all my effort in keeping the LR under water payed off. It's on the edge of the patio (which opens dierectly to outside). I live in a large warehouse style shed and the edge of the patio is the coolest part of the house. There's no chance of it getting too cold in north queensland :) rather the opposite. So far we've had a few 35c/94f days and the water temp hasn't gone above 27c/80f, I think due to evaporatve cooling.


What kind of live rock is that?

It's from a few LFS, I picked all the best bits. I think it's local (australian) Live Rock.


nice tank, but please dont kill that mantis shrimp.

I don't want to kill him but I think it's my only option, no-one else wants him. I've done some research and he's not a fish killer (which is good) but he'll eat my snails and crabs.

[blackwolfXKAV]

I don't want to kill him but I think it's my only option, no-one else wants him. I've done some research and he's not a fish killer (which is good) but he'll eat my snails and crabs.


wjy not just pick up a small ten gallon and have your own mantis tank?

btw, neat how you got so many criters, where was your LR from?

thanks, B.W.

[azadehm1]

I need to move to Australia

[fish_freak]

Thanks :). I find new hitchikers everyday, all my effort in keeping the LR under water payed off. It's on the edge of the patio (which opens dierectly to outside). I live in a large warehouse style shed and the edge of the patio is the coolest part of the house. There's no chance of it getting too cold in north queensland :) rather the opposite. So far we've had a few 35c/94f days and the water temp hasn't gone above 27c/80f, I think due to evaporatve cooling.



If you do have a problem with that there are some very reasonable chillers on the market now many that regulate both heating and cooling in the tank to keep it at a constant.

[TropicalNorth]

wjy not just pick up a small ten gallon and have your own mantis tank?

btw, neat how you got so many criters, where was your LR from?

thanks, B.W.

I think if I bought another tank my parents would kick me out LOL :). In the beginning it was just 1 tank, then just 2, then just 3 (I now have 4 tanks). Although my sister does have a 15g, hmmmmm possible mantis tank :).


If you do have a problem with that there are some very reasonable chillers on the market now many that regulate both heating and cooling in the tank to keep it at a constant.

If I had powerful lights I'd definatly need a chiller but at the moment its staying very constant, so far so good. I did think about getting a chiller in the beginning but the power and money would have been a bit much, especially for just a 20g.

I went on about my 6th trip to Reef HQ (huge public aquarium in Townsville). They had a new fish in one of the smaller aquariums, a Flame Hawkfish. He had to be the most gorgeous, energetic and personable fish I have ever seen. Needless to say I'm currently researching the species to see if he can go in my tank (in the future).

[cullyisgully]

so hot your tank is the **** man



:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[TropicalNorth]

Thanks :dance:.
I will post more pics when anything new pops up.

[Plecosterone]

Being able to keep a tank outside would be awesome. I'd have a pool size tank if I could do that. But here in Canada we have a problem with ice in the winter time...Fish don't take too kindly to being in an ice cube. At least not any I have found.

[TropicalNorth]

About the closest we've come to ice is hail and that was only once, before I was born :). Right now its so incredibly hot, Tropical Fever is in the air, yep Tropical Fever is real and it sends people crazy :).

Anyway on to the tank.
Me, my sister and my Dad went casting for prawns off the beach. Not many prawns but my Dad caught this little cutie in the castnet (legally). Well I used my judgement and decided the tank was stable enough to add him. All tests point to the tank being cycled. He was acclimitised very slowly and has been in the tank for 2 days; eating, swimming and looking good. He even went to take food from my hand when I went to feed the fungia. He's about 1 1/2inches long.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/1Fish.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/2Fish.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/3Fish.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/4Fish.jpg

I'll make sure I can keep him alive and happy for a couple of months before spending money on a more delicate fish.

[5xevy]

Wow- what kind of fish is that?

[TropicalNorth]

Its a juvenile Tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis), which gets big. I wanted something that stayed small, and he looked like a damsel type fish in the castnet, didn't ID him 'til later.

He's the cutest thing, he swims around the tank acting like a leaf. He even takes food straight from my hand.

[5xevy]

I just looked them up and they get HUGE! I can't believe he eats from your hand already. The sites I glanced at also made the "leaf" reference, heh. How long you going to keep him?

[Sevenstar]

Heh, he looks so grumpy. What a cute fish :)

I am so jealous of your live rock. I have only had a total of two different hitchhikers. This makes me more determined to pick out a great piece when I add about 3 more pounds of liverock.

Wonderful job :)

[jm1212]

looks great!

[TropicalNorth]

I just looked them up and they get HUGE! I can't believe he eats from your hand already. The sites I glanced at also made the "leaf" reference, heh. How long you going to keep him?

Yeah they get massive, I felt so bad after ID'ing him cause I've only ever gotten fish suited to the size of the aquarium, oh well live and learn. Fresh saltwater shrimp are too much of a temptation, he can't resist :). I'll keep him as long as he's small enough, after then not sure.


Heh, he looks so grumpy. What a cute fish :)

I am so jealous of your live rock. I have only had a total of two different hitchhikers. This makes me more determined to pick out a great piece when I add about 3 more pounds of liverock.

Wonderful job :)

Thanks :). Go to all the marine LFS you know, scope out all their LR and just 'cherry pick' the best pieces, it's definately worth the effort.


looks great!

Thanks :). I'm putting in a fair amount of effort to keep everything really happy, it doesn't feel like effort though just fun. The water params are pretty much perfect (using Red Sea Salt) and very stable which I think is why everything is doing well.

Progress pics.

This coral was damaged when I first got the live rock, it has regenerated all the broken areas. The photo makes it look big but its pretty small. My favourite.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Coral1-1.jpg
Pink fuzz algae :), growing quickly.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/PinkFuzz.jpg
This coral (I think) just apeared yesterday.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/NewCoral.jpg
This coral faded a fair bit when it first went in, it looks like its starting to recover now (colours coming back).
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Coral2-1.jpg
A very small fungia coral.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Fungia.jpg
Green algae, just appeared a few days ago (very jamacian LOL).
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/GreenAlgae.jpg
Whole tank.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Aquarium.jpg

[TropicalNorth]

Well I decided to get rid of the mantis, I didn't want to risk him eating one of my fish especially since I plan on getting a small goby or blenny. Me and my sister caught him this morning. I held tweezers with a bit of prawn in them outside his cave, he swam out after it so I brought the tweezers towards the surface then my sister netted him. He was killed humanely.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/CaughtMantis1.jpg
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/CaughtMantis2.jpg

[Rbishop]

Very nice! Great job!

[Evan214]

Very nice tank. Too bad the fish you got doesn't stay small. It is rather cute...

[TropicalNorth]

Thanks :).
Sadly the fish jumped out the other day :(. I have since covered every gap so there's no chance another fish will jump out.

I went to Cairns Marine yesterday to BUY my first fish. Cairns Marine is a 'straight from the collector' place, if you have any fish or invertebrates/corals from Australia chances are thats where they came from. Basically the fish come off the boat, into tanks and then their bought or shipped out. It was a really awesome place.

Anyway I went there hoping to get a Flame Hawk but they were $65AUS so I got a Dwarf Hawk (C. falco) for $16.50 instead. He's eating already (frozen prawn pieces) and is really inquisitive. He's out all the time and not scared at all. My sister has named him Falcon (original:)).

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Hawkfish1.jpg

[Mgamer20o0]

really nice looking. great pic.

[Rbishop]

A great first pick!

[TropicalNorth]

Thanks :).
He's really easy to photograph, he comes to the front of the tank every time I go near the aquarium. He's eating from my hand now, and when I gave the tank a clean he came out and watched my every move. I can highly recommend this fish, great personality.

[m007]

Green with envy my friend. Thanks for sharing!!!!!

[TropicalNorth]

UPDATE:
Falcon has turned out to be a really good buy. Right now I'm happy for him to have the whole tank to himself, he's such a character. The tank is running well and pretty much takes care of itself; all I have to do is freshwater top-ups occasionally, weekly 10% water changes and water param checks.

I've decided my next fish will be a Six-Line Wrasse. When I first started the tank the fish I wanted most were a Hawkfish and a Wrasse, and it looks like I can have both :). My LFS gets Six-Lines in regularly and for only $28AUS. I'm also planing on getting some Turbo or Cerith snails to control the algae and Cyano. I've settled on having a max of 3 fish, probably Hawkfish, Wrasse and a Gramma. I'd also like to get some non-photosynthetic corals in the future, if I can find any at my LFS.

Progress pics.
Home made spray bar. The flow from the powerhead was just right but it all came out in one strong jet and was knocking the corals around. Ugly but works well.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/SprayBar.jpg
Anemone's (BTA's I think), they seem to be doing well and since I put the spray bar on the powerhead they get a bit more flow and are fully extended more often. I guess they must be happy (even though the lighting is low) 'cause they're not wandering or bleaching.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Anemone6.jpg
Falcon doing what he does best, watching my every move. Who says fish aren't intelligent???
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Hawkfish2.jpg
Close-up of the possible Turbinaria Peltata, thought it looked pretty :). They're actually starting to spread and are growing.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/Coral24.jpg
Tank as of a few days ago (before spraybar), cleaned and cropped. Note the need for snails LOL :).
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q201/renay86/SaltwaterAquarium10.jpg

[Rbishop]

Looking good!