New Nano Diary...

[chrissaysyes]

Alright...so today was the day my LFS owner has been bugging me about for a year now The first time I went in her shop and saw her nano she's been trying to convince me to get one and go SW. I currently have a 55gal cichlid tank which was my first tank...it was my dream tank forever and is still my pride and joy...after that I wanted a brackish puffer tank (figure 8). It is just recently become pretty well established and definitely makes me happy...it's a 30gal btw and home to lots of bleached coral and marcus the puffer . Also I have a 10gallon that was a hospital tank but has since become home to a blue crayfish that I just had to have. ANYWAYS...I recently got a new job and the first thing that dawned on me at the thought of a new paycheck was of course...nano tank. The cichlid tank was a dream of mine for a few years but I mean cmon...who hasnt wanted an SW tank since they were a child? I would have started sooner but I always thought it was some magic trick to sustain salt water...funny since it took me all of 5 minutes today to get the SG right Ok so....

I'll list specs on the setup later...basically it;s a 10gallon biocube. Im trying my BEST to take my time, and I promise everyone that I will but it's so hard sometimes heh. I'm bad about not letting tanks finish their cycle before adding fish...never had a death but that doesnt mean I never made a fish hate me for a few days. So here's what's up:

Today:
Setup/cleaned tank, added water, added salt until hydrometer read 1.022ish, added ~1" of LS argonite, also added dechlorinator, as well as a dosage of bacteria for saltwater tanks...my LFS lady said it would be a good idea although she had never tried it...me being the anxious person I am jumped at the thought of speeding up the cycle. The manufacturer is TCL I believe...I've always read that you cant overdose a tank with bacteria since if it's not serving a purpose it will simple die and will be cycled out so I figured it couldnt hurt. Let me just say that after the sand settled and I got to see how the tank looked with the different lights on and such...wow...Im STOKED!

Tomorrow:
I'm heading back to the lfs tomorrow to pick up (hopefully, depending on how much of a discount I can muster up) about 10lbs of LR. Not sure as to the type...she has tons of it and Im wondering if since it's been in this established tank for atleast a year and since it will only be out of the water for the 1 minute drive from the LFS to my house if maybe I can hope for some of these miracle results like Ive seen here where people never see an ammonia spike. We'll see.

Future:
My excitement along with my girlfriends pestering to put something in the tank will more than likely drive me to test the water connnnstantly. Not planning on the first test until thursday or friday. A day or two after the levels are right Im adding my clean up crew, then probably a week or more later adding my fish...here's what I really want but know nothing about...advice would be nice:

1x mandarin dragonet
1x gold stripe maroon clown fish
1x monkey shrimp

The only things Im dead set on having in this tank are the clown fish and an anemone. Anyways, pics tomorrow

 

[Mr.September15]

I would wait on the mandarin drogonett as they need a well established tank with lots of L.R and coepods. I see that your getting lots of cured L.R from your friend so im sure you'll be good with the L.R part. I cant wait for pics

 

[chrissaysyes]

hoping I get some neat hitchhikers but probably not with cured LR, eh? The dragonet will definitely be a while since I'd have to order him and definitley dont have the dough to buy a fish a plane ticket right now I've decided that as a rule of thumb Im just going to toss in the rocks tomorrow and nothing else until algae appears...and my levels are stable of course. Resisting the urge will be tough

 

[Mr.September15]

I hear ya on that one! Your propably going to get the usual hitchhiker like bristleworms and hopefully some coepods =).

 

[@ombomb]

I would wait on the mandarin drogonett as they need a well established tank with lots of L.R and coepods

Personally I'd forget it entirely unless you have something more along the lines of a 100g OR a reliable and daily source of pods to add to the thank. Even then, they get a bit on the large side for a 10G.

1x gold stripe maroon clown fish

If you mean a Maroon Clown (Premnas biaculeatus) again I'd forget it in a 10g, they can get up to 6" and can be pretty aggressive.

Not familiar with Monkey Shrimps.

With LR, the more the better. Stick it in a HOB filter / external filter is you can for a little be extra. I'd say 1lb per gallon was really the minimum you should be using, ideally try for 1.5 if you can squeeze it in.

What water turnover will the tank have?

Lighting?

Don't mean to piss on your bonfire with the stocking ideas, but better you think long and hard about it now than suffer disasters a month or two down the line.

 

[chrissaysyes]

any advice is good advice....not sure this second as to the specs of the filter and lighting but I will post asap, btw this is the Oceanic 14 gallon Biocube. See...I have those extra 4gallons so the maroon will do just fiiiine I'm kidding hehe. I couldve sworn my LFS lady said she'd do LR for $5/lb yesterday and Im hoping she'll stick with that price today. Probably only going to do 10lbs unless the said price drops or I get in there and realize that 10lbs looks slack/bare. I'd like to avoid adding LR any later so as to not spike the ammonia again. I'll post pics in a few hours once I get the LR in place and some new batteries in my digi

oh and btw....no need to feel as though you're pissing on my bubble or bursting my bonfire...the dragonett just had nifty colors and as for the maroon...me and my roommate had a bit too many drinks after work when I asked him as to what should go in the tank...for some reason the plan to have an evil looking Nemo with the name Omen was brilliant at the time...get it....nemo..omen..back...ward...yeah...so reading that about them being too large and aggressive just helped me to put 2 and 2 together and realize that Im retarded and would rather have a perc anyway heh

 

[SkiFletch]

Lmao, Omen . If you get drunk and think about that again, try and remember a black percula next time . There are new breeds coming out that are almost completely jet-black with white stripes .

 

[sianeds]

Amphiprion Tricinctus


Amphiprion Latenonatus


Amphiprion Ephippium

hope these help

 

[chrissaysyes]

oooo amphiprion tricinctus had that look in his eye like he wanted to be my buddy...or steal from my wallet. Just added 10lbs of LR. I got a mixed variety...from the looks of it I didnt get any nifty hitchhikers aside from some plantlife and a few long wavy white tentacle things that could just as easily be a dirty piece of hair Either way Im pleased thus far with the setup. The tank does look a bit bare but then so does my bank account and I can just make up for the gaps with some random items. I was thinking today and decided against the anemone...screw that. I havnt had a chance to get batteries for the cam yet so pics will be coming later today or tomorrow.

Here are some pics to hold you off:

my blue cray, pinchy...yes he lives in a broken wine bottle

My 55gal cichlid tank

I would post a pic of the brackish puffer tank but the aquascaping is far from finished and I dont want you guys thinking I'm shabby

 

[sianeds]

Give it a week or so and you'll be amazed how much life there is on your live rock. Try watching it at night with a red light

 

[Mr.September15]

lol i go with @bomb. I totally dis-regarded your tank size. No mandarins should be in a 10gallon =)


Oh yeah what happened to the pictures

 

[chrissaysyes]

hah yeah I am...I just read this guys site about how he's trying to have mandarins in a 10gallon tank...sounds possible and he cited a lot of other cases where people have made it work but I mean...this is my first SW tank...not going to bother with something that tedious...not to mention having to special order food for it. I do need some help figuring out good stock for it as far as fish go...what will go well with a perc clown? I want something with blues and a nice smooth tropical look if that makes sense...sort of the same smoothness that clowns have.

After taking the aforementioned advice, I left the lights off on the tank and when I came home from work and turned them back on I saw a few tiny objects drop from one of the rocks. Snails! Little white snails with smooth blue shells with black stripes...cute little critters...they dropped down off of the rocks they were on when I turned the lights on, then immediately slimed into little hiding places. Makes me wonder if since theyre so active then maybe my levels are ready to sustain life. I know snails are only as active as these were when theyre hungry so definitely waitting until I have more algae growth. Im having the levels tested either tomorrow or friday, if everything checks out I may go ahead and bring home a crab. I saw a little blue legged hermit crab hiding in a piece of live rock at the lfs so I may just buy that rock and hope she doesnt notice him. I tried to sneak home an urchin in my rock purchase today hoping she wouldnt notice but that didnt work out heh. Anyhoo...didnt get a chance to get batteries for the cam today but I wouldnt have posted a pic anyways...not 100% pleased with the rocks I have right now...doesnt seem to be enough. I'd like atleast another 5lbs. Possibly do that tomorrow. Anyways, thanks for the interest from everyone and for the advice and such!!

 

[chrissaysyes]

ordered my clean up crew today, they shouldnt be arriving for about another week...here they are:

Scarlet Hermit Crab: 5
Blueleg Hermit Crab: 5
Turbo/Astrea Snail: 10
Nasssarius Snail: 5
Queen Conch 2
Cleaner Clam: 2
Brittle Star: 1
Monkey Shrimp 2

It's a tall order but Im going to donate/sell some to my lfs.

 

[Mr.September15]

Or you can just give some to the Mr.September relief fund =)

 

[Redstratplayer1]

The conches will have to go.So will the britle star and i have never heard of monkey shrimp.



Live rock pics please even if they are just plain rocks.