surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Figured I would start an official build thread to track this thing here instead of in the introductions thread. Starting out with the shopping list: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M2WI6PT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00025YVGC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0773W3LXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002ARF9M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0027VMPXA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AQIUE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GBV4J5S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018LRO1SU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Feb 11th 2019: Tank placement an initial fill. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Feb 12th 2019 Day 2 and the sand is settling in nicely. 1 crimsonvice reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Day 3 Dropped in a piece of raw shrimp. Realized the next morning it was a REALLY big piece for this sized tank so I sliced off just a small chunk and replaced it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) Day 10 The tank is approaching it's final stages of the cycle process so time for a water change today. This brings us up and current so Hopefully will have some livestock in it sometime soon. Edited February 21, 2019 by surjer 1 Muttley000 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muttley000 3,360 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 I really like the way your rock has so much space intertwined with it, nice work! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 I wanted to create lots of nooks and cranies for hideout places since it’s such a small tank. I like the wall of rock but I wanted passages for fishies to swim through too. The biggest goal being pretty from all 3 exposed sides. It’s an office tank here in my house so i get to look at it all day. 1 crimsonvice reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crimsonvice 1,264 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 I like it a lot! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 The confusing part is knowing that I want some pretty corals, but being new I figured i would start with easier ones. However, all the ones I look at are like "they will take over so put on an island by itself". As you can see, i have no islands so no idea what to do for corals. Been trying to look up you tube video's on how to keep zoa's trimmed back but all i can find is how to "frag" them which includes taking the rock out of the water and that is not appealing to me at all! haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flounder 227 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 get some duncans. They are my wife's favorite, and easy to manage. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Ordered a couple more goodies today. 1 crimsonvice reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe 761 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 That’s a lot of rock. But it does look good. Thanks for sharing. Keep us posted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crimsonvice 1,264 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 2 hours ago, surjer said: The confusing part is knowing that I want some pretty corals, but being new I figured i would start with easier ones. However, all the ones I look at are like "they will take over so put on an island by itself". As you can see, i have no islands so no idea what to do for corals. Been trying to look up you tube video's on how to keep zoa's trimmed back but all i can find is how to "frag" them which includes taking the rock out of the water and that is not appealing to me at all! haha You are a little limited on space, so separate Islands may not work for you. However it's going to take awhile for zoa's to take over. And when they intermingle, they look pretty awesome. Something like a torch, hammer, or frogspawn are nice to add some movement. They do have the possibility to sting other Corals in close proximity, but they're pretty awesome to watch in the flow of the tank. You can look into some LPS corals like Duncan's, candy canes, blastos, or acans. These will take a little longer to grow, and are more sensitive to alkalinity and calcium swings, but are generally pretty easy to keep. There are some pretty sweet chalices is out there to. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Decisions, Decisions.. haha. Hoping to get up to JP Success this weekend to grab a set of small clowns. (Given everything looks right in the tank and the new gear gets here). Maybe they will have a few things to look at there. 1 Flounder reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muttley000 3,360 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 25 minutes ago, surjer said: Decisions, Decisions.. haha. Hoping to get up to JP Success this weekend to grab a set of small clowns. (Given everything looks right in the tank and the new gear gets here). Maybe they will have a few things to look at there. Could you get some pics while you are there. This is a store I’d like to know more about! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 For sure I will! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesse 1,231 Report post Posted February 21, 2019 Can't wait to watch this reef grow. Following along. 3 hours ago, Joe said: That’s a lot of rock. But it does look good. Thanks for sharing. Keep us posted. Start off with lots of rock. You can always remove it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 Hmmm. 20% water change in the morning and parameters didn’t change.. Is that not as effective as I thought it would be? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Muttley000 3,360 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 2 hours ago, surjer said: Hmmm. 20% water change in the morning and parameters didn’t change.. Is that not as effective as I thought it would be? What did you measure? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 ph 8.0, Ammonia 0.25, Nitrites 2.0, Nitrates 120ish I would guess. I suppose it did remove a fair amount of trates but the trites spiked again. Also, When I poured the new water back in the current splashed lil dead shrimpy against the glass and he disintegrated. There is now what i think is shrimp scum in the water column. I tried to get a picture of it. I'm also starting to get algae which ticks me off. lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 PS, I am using distilled water from the grocery store because i do not have an RODI myself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 1 Muttley000 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flounder 227 Report post Posted February 22, 2019 JP success is an interesting store. Joe is great and will take care of you. The show room's are small. However you can go back into the warehouse, watch your step. He also let me back into the clown fish breeding room... watch your step. Not a glamour building, and the price reflects. But he runs an honest business and has healthy livestock. 1 Muttley000 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesse 1,231 Report post Posted February 23, 2019 10 hours ago, surjer said: PS, I am using distilled water from the grocery store because i do not have an RODI myself. When you're ready to pull the trigger on an RO/DI don't miss this thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 23, 2019 Right on, Thanks Jesse! Will be a while before I make that jump but will def do it on my next bigger tank. (Which I will no doubt get) lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
surjer 160 Report post Posted February 24, 2019 Did another 30% change tonight just to make myself feel better. Also Installed the new wave maker and added a digital timer for the lights. Man this wave maker is really strong! Having the dust from the water change really showed where flow patterns were. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
