New nano reef diary

Thanks for the reply blinkie....I was wondering...without the inverts and corals one could do away with having to add the food additions for those critters...and having to keep an eye on the more involved parameters which those particular livestock need in order to thrive....not to mention the added super expensive lighting.

I'm just not sure how much lighiting live rock needs...I'm thinking no where near what the corals need, but not sure....

Anyhow...lol...sorry for interupting your thread to ask these questions...maybe I should start my own....instead of trying to take over yours..... :rolleyes:
 
Laff no worries, I don't mind :)
The only food I really add for my corals etc. is phytoplankton, but I agree that the parameters probably need to be kept more closely in check for corals than if a tank is FO.
Lighting a reef is expensive, it's true. AFAIK if you're doing a FOWLR/FO tank, lighting can be one or two fluorescent bulbs; you definitely won't need PC or MH.
 
JUST what I wanted to hear !! :D

Now I can start planning, scheming and saving up for my first SW FOWLR tank !

I realize bigger is better to start with...but it's also more costly when considering the addition of LR.....so how does a 20 sound to start with ?
 
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If you're going with FO, you may want to go a little bigger if you can - the number of fish you can keep and species to choose from are limited with smaller tanks. You could try checking out the for sale forums on www.reefcentral.com and www.nano-reef.com, you might just find a deal. :)

I did the water change, turned out to be about 35-40%. The numbers are still out of whack, the skimmer is still playing games, but everything looks happy and healthy so I'll just keep chipping away at it until things are back to normal.
I moved the leather, it didn't look too perky - the polyps were half emerging on most of it, but a few parts were looking irritated with too much direct flow. The move clearly ticked it off, it's curled up a bit - the clown goby immediately went for it in the new spot, he's sitting in it like it's his favourite chair! He cracks me up :D
 
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Ya I dove in Blinky and once your in you can't go back lol. Just for the cost involved. EMG, try maybe a liverock and fish nd inverts only just to get your feet wet. (pun) and believe me your feet get wet lol. I had LR with fish and inverts only for the longest time and then added a couple mushroom corals (easy ones) and read alot on all the sites. Go slow and have fun with it.

EMG a twenty is a good size for a couple clownfish, a goby and a pistol shrimp and crabs and a some snails. It can be impressive. But of course if you want a tang, a 90g or more is in order ;)

I gotta get a clown goby one day!

I attatched a pic of the tank this mrning before cleaning. Note the blenny on the rock behind the algae film...ooooo algae? :)
 
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Thanks Swim....Yeah, I figure when I do go the SW route.....I'd start with just LR, a cleanup crew and a couple of fish...gobies are cool...and I do so want a yellowhead jawfish...lol.....not sure if you can mix one of those with gobies...have to do some reading up...


Thanks for the info and advice !
 
Another diary update...
The airstone in the skimmer is working beautifully, I'm getting some really gross gunk in the collection cup today, and much more volume than before (roughly twice the amount) :D

The leather still isn't opening its polyps fully, but it's expanding during the day and shrinking at night and doesn't seem like it's dying so I'm not too worried.

Today the pistol decided the place needed a complete remodel, he's digging away as I type. He's a cutie, but sometimes his renovations make me crazy!

Yesterday at work I found a nerite snail in our Astraea tank, brought it home to replace the snail I lost last week (an Indy, I think the hermits killed it). It's the cutest, roundest, prettiest little snail I've ever seen! It has a black and tan irregularly striped shell.
 
Just felt like posting some pictures :D

FTS (just in case anyone's forgotten what it looks like, LOL):
FTSSep27.jpg


Goby and shrimp hard at work:
SGSep27.jpg


Goby in his new armchair:
GobyLeather.jpg
 
pink5vv.jpg



This is 'pink'. Lyretail anthias. I got him reduced $ because he was a bit beat up, bitten tail, but since this pic, he has a beautiful lyretail.

Your tank is a beauty Blinky.

I need more $$ for corals lol...
 
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