The Adventures Of A Marine Newbie...

[jennybugs]

At last I have sufficient info to start my diary. I type with pruned fingers and salt creep round my nostrils

It's a 24 gal (yeah right! 24 USgals my backside it is! ) D-D nano cube and already I've changed the stock pump for a Maxijet 1200. The outlet has a Hydor Flo valve on and I have 2 Koralia nano's in to start me off. A Rena SmartHeater lives in the back section with tons of filter floss and a sachet of Seachem Purigen. I have every intention of adapting the rear sections to accomodate a light source and lots of LR rubble and chaeto.

So, the story as it unfolds...
1 tank

and stand (cleverly put together with the aid of lots of red wine consumption. Only pleased it looked like it should do the next morning)

Ooh a shelf!

inside the tank was lots of stuff I don't intend to use

and obviously stuff I will

Place tank in nice location on stand and fill trying not to disturb BF on PS3 mission

Good, no leaks. Move on with fingers in ears as the industrial hum inside the tank is immense. Shake all pumps, remove maxijet from suction base adhered to side of tank and leave free floating. That's much better!

Next morning (today), fit digi thermometer in to tank.

Panic and turn up heater as temp seems too low. Read instructions on thermometer only to realise there's a room temp setting and a tank temp setting.
Panic again and turn down thermometer thanking the stars above that you haven't got any livestock in the tank to boil alive!

Turn lights off and take a trip to meet a fellow marine person so I can pick up my much awaited LR he's selling from his tank shutdown with very understanding/tolerant BF in tow to do the manly carrying stuff

Let's get rocking!
Placed it all unceremoniously in the tank and had lunch

Good rock I have to say!

Chubby glares at me because I wouldn't let him climb on my back while rock placing

Nice perm madam!

It's packed with brittle stars and an odd 3 legged tiny starfish.
WE HAVE LIFE!

Apres lunch it is decreed that the rock must be moved - tolerant BF looks at me as if mad as he thought it looked just 'fine' dumped as it was *bless*

I have spoken though so it must be done

Once happy (at last! cried the BF) it was time for my Caribsea live aragonite sand which sounds like it should be doing something harmful to Superman!

No pics here as there is literally nothing to see

So at close of play today we have a tank full of milky silt and one happy laydee.

Future wishes for this tank will no doubt be discussed with you all at length, but for now the corner shop beer shelves becon more loudly than you do

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy my diary right alongside me.

Just a thankyou to Steelhealr for his very informative journal on his voyages into this particular tank, many tips of which I have brazenly decided to pinch!

 

[VictorMeldrew]

i will follow, keep us updated with loads of pics

 

[orange shark]

looks great so far

 

[jennybugs]

VM...you have my word on that LOADS of pics but I'll try not to make them all look the same....oh look - rock. What's that? More rock? That's nice. Surely not MORE rock? No way!

 

[VictorMeldrew]

VM...you have my word on that LOADS of pics but I'll try not to make them all look the same....oh look - rock. What's that? More rock? That's nice. Surely not MORE rock? No way!

i hope thats not a dig at my journal

 

[jennybugs]

VM...you have my word on that LOADS of pics but I'll try not to make them all look the same....oh look - rock. What's that? More rock? That's nice. Surely not MORE rock? No way!

i hope thats not a dig at my journal

Hell no! I was reading yours yesterday and it makes me feel like small fry I was just referring to how obsessed I can become with things to the point that I become blind to the fact I have taken millions of pics of the same object from many different angles

 

[kewskills]

Great to see you got there with your marine tank at last, good luck I will be following this intently.

Where did you put the BIO orb that was where the new tank is? poor little puffers been relegated to a second class place now?

Karl

 

[ben1987]

looks great. You might not get much of a cycle if the rock was out of someones tank breakdown. Depends how long it was out the water

 

[jennybugs]

Great to see you got there with your marine tank at last, good luck I will be following this intently.

Where did you put the BIO orb that was where the new tank is? poor little puffers been relegated to a second class place now?

Karl

Karl, the Dwarf Puffs are now pride of place in the dining room in the middle of the table! It looks great when the moonlights are on and I have a 360 degree view of the tank so the little things can't hide from me at all now

looks great. You might not get much of a cycle if the rock was out of someones tank breakdown. Depends how long it was out the water

It was out of the water for no more than 50 mins so hopefully not much die off hapened. All the brittle stars etc survived in the chaeto as well

Getting LR rubble tonight along with some form of lighting to add to the inside of the hood until I get the courage up to cut away the backing of the tank as Steelhealr did with his tank. Just a bit concerned it will invalidate the ungenerous 6 month warranty if I adapt the tank about too much to start with

 

[ben1987]

i imagine they expect a few mods to be done. Just dont cut great chunks out of it an you will be able to return it to standard anyway

 

[jennybugs]

Hmmm I guess just cutting a bit of the vinyl backing off wouldn't damage it too much really.

 

[jennybugs]

After sending silt back in to the tank when removing my clogged up filter wool last night, I sat patiently waiting for the waters to clear again

SO...I couldn't resist the urge to stare at pet rocks once more. Camera at the ready I peered in to the 'Wig Washer' - new name for tank as the first thing you see is a green curly permed mass of what can only be described as a wig
See? I swear it's trebbled in size overnight!

Movement spotted! Incoming at 6 oclock - dive dive dive!
Orion the brittle star making a bid for cover. That's one hell of a left leg stretch going on!

Off into the murk

Mr Brittle Star disappears stealthily and I continue to scan the 'depths' for signs of life.

Holy Neptune's codpiece, I found something!
An anemone in a fetching shade of rust

How nice! Aiptasia already!
I've spotted 3 of the monsters so far and my systems far too young to be adding peppermint shrimp as yet. Aiptasia X the beastie killer will be purchased this evening

Getting my rubble for the back chamber tonight and some small submersible lights to keep the wig happy for a bit until I get the Stanley Knife out to chop away some backing

 

[kewskills]

Excellent photos Jenny, I know i asked last time but i have forgotten, what camera are you using?

 

[jennybugs]

Morning K....it's a Fuji FinePix S9600 here. It's an inbetweeny - not compact and not fully DSLR

 

[ox5477]

Nice, I have an s1000fd... good quality cameras for the money the fuji's. Tank looks good. Brittle star looks to be quite the mover!