First SW tank.. tons of dumb questions! Help a newb get started? :)

[janky]

Tacoma. So easily a 45 min drive from you. :/

 

[NC2WA]

ah...yes.makes sense....50 min drive to my doorstep...have made the drive myself...

 

[janky]

Yeah... thank you though, I really appreciate the offer! I guess it's just going to have to wait a couple weeks because I literally have $100 to my name for the next 2.
I don't think my tank will collapse in that time frame, right?

 

[Peppie]

I am making the trip north this weekend for the NSR get toghether.
Kirk will you be attending? If so I could be the mule for Janky's sand????

 

[NC2WA]

Dave,

Doubtful, as that is my anniversary date..dont think that would fly over well with the wife...

 

[Peppie]

Dave,

Doubtful, as that is my anniversary date..dont think that would fly over well with the wife...

That is a given, Wouldnt want to start a war!!!! LOL

 

[tofu]

The abundance of kindness amazes me in this hobby.
I'm new here, but got to say I don't see this with the guys I ride dirtbikes with...or the local gun club

 

[janky]

^ lol, yeah. Everyone seems to be really helpful and supportive in this hobby. It's pretty cool.
I'm checkin around with people parting out SW setups on CL to see if any of them have leftover sand they'd sell. There's a listing that said they had a whole bag left in Auburn, so we'll see how that goes.

Where do you guys get live food around here? I can't find baby brine shrimp or live blackworms or anything.

 

[user 26995]

Red C has blackworms. He may also have used sand.

Sent from my SCH-I405 using Tapatalk 2

 

[janky]

NC2WA; I'm going to be heading to Issaquah to Sierra probably tomorrow afternoon at some time. Is that far from you? I could kick some gas money your way if you'd be able to meet me out there?
(I tried to PM you but your box is full)

 

[NC2WA]

issaquah is about 25 mins away and normally would meet you, but I am spending the day with the wife to celebrate our anniversary(which is on Sat.)..

sorry..I feel bad...

 

[janky]

That is far more important!!! lol don't feel bad, you'd be doing me a favor! I will just talk to them when I get there, I will probably have my cash together by then anyway.

 

[janky]

So my LED replacement should be here any day now (they sent the wrong one).

What do you guys recommend for an absolute beginner coral? I was thinking a colony or two of some zoas, maybe a mushroom, or candy cane to get started - then as I get better and learn more I could add others.

I'd like some brain/favia ones too or an anemone, but I'm pretty clueless on how to take care of them properly or if they'd all be compatible.

What do you guys think? any recommendation?
Anything I should absolutely know before making a purchase?


(I've been reading over articles on here and other sites trying to educate myself more on corals as well - not rushing into things)

 

[jezzeaepi]

Zoa, mushrooms, and other soft coral like the kenya tree coral and xenia are all easy beginner corals. They are easy because, since they are soft, they don't produce calcium skeletons, which means you don't have to worry about testing for and dosing alk/calc/mag. The only downside to these corals is that sometimes they grow TOO well and end up smothering corals that don't grow as fast(like hard corals), so keep that in mind when you place them. You want to give some space around the hard corals(or where you plan on placing some hard corals in the future).

When you have decided you are ready for hard coral, things like brains, candy canes, and euphyillia are all good beginner LPS. With only one or two LPS, you will probably be able to get away with just doing weekly water changes, but you can start getting your feet wet about learning about the relationships between calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium, and how to properly dose for them.

Peace,
Jesse

 

[janky]

Thanks Jesse! I appreciate the advice.

Here's some pics since it's been a couple pages with no updates.

I took the tall rocks and laid them flat so that I wasn't "building up", since I feel like that'll give me some more surface area for polyp colonies and such. I think maybe one good sized rock in the center should finish the scaping and due to the unique shapes of a lot of the pieces there are plenty of spaces for fish/crab/shrimps to hide or investigate.
Plus this way there's better water flow through the rocks and less sand dunes being blown up everywhere lol

Here's the emerald crab... right after we took this pic he started hanging on to the rock with 3 legs and leaning out waving his other legs around like a show off

My light should be here tomorrow!!! I'm beyond excited!!!!

 

[janky]

Well... today was a terrible day for this tank. Finally got the CORRECT par38 and it is not working. Had to buy a different light, and I'm gunna have to try and return this crappy one tues. We did get the sand in, but even with rinsing it before hand the water is so cloudy I can barely see. I seriously hope my fish/shrimp/crab are going to survive this.

How long will it take for this water to clear up? And can I expect anything to live through this?

 

[NC2WA]

1-2 days...if you add carbon filter it will cut the time...sorry about today, but it was kid watching day.

 

[janky]

I probably have a carbon pad laying around somewhere.. ill check.
And not a problem - dude the bag was only like $10 and my gf said she'd buy the other... I planned on kickin $10 your way for gas $$ anyway haha
Family is more important!

I'm just stressed hoping that my shrimps/gobies/crab will live through this murky mess of sand water. I turned the powerhead off so it wouldn't just be stirring the mess around and it's Slightly clearing.

Got a really cool light for it though

 

[janky]

Thank you NC2WA.. that extra filter did help. My tank was almost clear when I woke up this morning!!
So it's all good news;
All my animals are alive, just a little shocked. Everyone's accounted for!
I got my first corals ever; a candy cane and a favia frag.
The light is mounted, works like a champ, and looks really cool!

and apparently my gf is some kinda artist, because in the transferring of sand yesterday she just tossed the rocks in randomly and it looks waaaaay better than anything I would have strategically tried to sort out lol

I'm gunna give the walls a scrub later and see if I can get a couple pictures.

How long does it take the corals to get comfortable in their new home and start opening up?

 

[NC2WA]

give it a couple of days to get use to its surroundings and more importantly use to the new water quality it is in.

part of this hobby, as you are finding out, is patience..dont rush it, and the hobby will reward you.

congrats on the new corals and sand.