Bigtuna's Ocean In A Wall

[ZoddyZod]

this is going to look amazing when it's had time to mature. Great size tank.......and a bar right next to it! Like someone took a picture of heaven.

 

[Biulu]

That fish looks lovely! I always figured I wanted those for a marine tank.

 

[SaltNoob]

I LOVE cardinals, they are awesome fish. They look so cool. I wish I had enough room for a star fish. We have hitchhiker star fish that are no bigger than a nickel =)

-Tyler

PS: get your own test kits, testing on your own is the way to go..... I use api they are cheap and I find they are accurate. I have checked them with other tests and they are all similar or the same.

 

[BigTuna]

Ya Zoddy, I'm getting the bar finished sometime soon as well I hope. Then it should be a pretty cool place to relax.

SaltNoob, I do have my own test kits. I just like to bring in a sample every time I head in to look at fish just to make sure its on the same page as my tests at home.


The Cardinals appear to being well today. I'm not sure if they are naturally a timid fish, or if they're just trying to get a feel for their new surrounds. Might be a little odd for them to have 125G all to their own. I've been told that that could make them feel like predators are near if there's nobody else around. So hopefully things continue to look promising and next week I can get an Angel or Tang in there.

I did some questioning on Emperor Angels while I was at LFS yesterday. According to two guys I spoke with my tank would be fine for one. Apparently the length of my tank leaves my opinions open. If this is the case I am beyond excited!!!! The though of someday having an Achilles and an Emperor!!!!!!!!!

 

[Biulu]

The nice thing about your tank is that it is long which means lots of swimming space. This gives you way more options than with a tank with the same volume but higher.

I hope you will be able to keep the fish you want!

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

looking good my sand looks exactly the same as yours, it gets me well mad lol i have like 15 turbo snails and i still dont think thats enough so go tell your LFS to give you snails!

 

[BigTuna]

Thats sounds like a good idea. I'm think some more snails and a crab. Not sure how much I like crabs but I guess they do great work with the sand

 

[lljdma06]

I'd definitely get more snails and hermits.

The fromia is not something I would've added now, but we all make the noobie mistakes. I've made my share too. Hopefully it'll do well as your tank is rather large. The Cardinals are nice. I eye those at the store on occasion.

Hmmmmm....

L

 

[BigTuna]

sounds like today we are going for a drive so I should be able to stop at the fish store. I'll be looking to increase the manpower on the CUC for sure.

With the star I was never deterred by the LFS. Could this be because of the cured live rock? I'm not sure why they thought I should hold off on more snails, though? Doesn't really make any sense, especially after reading more on here. hmmmmm, is right....



ps
thanks for the visit

 

[lljdma06]

sounds like today we are going for a drive so I should be able to stop at the fish store. I'll be looking to increase the manpower on the CUC for sure.

With the star I was never deterred by the LFS. Could this be because of the cured live rock? I'm not sure why they thought I should hold off on more snails, though? Doesn't really make any sense, especially after reading more on here. hmmmmm, is right....



ps
thanks for the visit

No problem, I got a lazy Saturday to just bum around. As long as you acclimate snails, they are hardy. Well, some people don't like to start with a large CUC. I don't either, but sometimes you do need more. You need to find a balance as to how large a population can your tank maintain. See if you can find cerith snails. These are great CUC snails. Also Nassarius vibex. Awesome sand sifters.

I bet the starfish cost a lot more than the snails did. Food for thought.

Like I said...

I see all...

 

[BigTuna]

Yep, the star was actually a gift for my wife. I'm not the biggest fan, but she absolutely adores them! She's happy and interested in what I'm doing, all the better


The coralline on my LR seems to be taking off nicely. I hope this is a good thing, and not an indication of something bad?

 

[SaltNoob]

Tuna,

What kind of water did you start with? Did you mix your own? Did you use RO/DI? How are the snails doing that you put in first? All alive? I made the mistake of using conditioned water from my house.... OOPS I have copper pipes. If you used RO/DI or premixed from store then you are good. Just lost snails early on from that mistake. I would grab like 5-6 ceriths. they are awesome. Just watch out, the hermits will pull them out of their shells if they outgrow the one they are in.

-Tyler

 

[lljdma06]

That's why you get a bunch of cheapo empty shells so the hermits can go house hunting. That's very fun to watch, btw.

L

 

[BigTuna]

Tuna,

What kind of water did you start with? Did you mix your own? Did you use RO/DI? How are the snails doing that you put in first? All alive? I made the mistake of using conditioned water from my house.... OOPS I have copper pipes. If you used RO/DI or premixed from store then you are good. Just lost snails early on from that mistake. I would grab like 5-6 ceriths. they are awesome. Just watch out, the hermits will pull them out of their shells if they outgrow the one they are in.

-Tyler

I mixed my own water. I used a chlorine conditioner, some bacterial bio support, both same brand as my LFS so they get pushed hard. The products are highly recommended, and seems to do the job well so I stick with them. I was about a couple weeks into everything when I added the 5 snails. Fast forward a few more weeks and they are all doing well.

 

[BigTuna]

I've thought about an RO/DI unit but wasn't sure if it was completely necessary. I really don't mind making the investment if its going to make life simpler and improve the quality of my aquarium.

I guess my question is, when is an RO/DI necessary?