My First SW Build

[CT12]

Well, I'm finally getting started into the world of SW aquariums. I've been reading about it for a long time now and I'm slowly collecting the bits and pieces that I need to get my 90 gallon tank going. The BR sale was too enticing for me to pass up so I started up a 10 gallon nano a few weeks before hand so that I would be able to pick up some livestock on sale. I picked up another piece of LR, 2 ocellaris clowns, an orange spotted goby, a few snails, and a scarlet hermit. All the livestock is doing great so far. They are all active and eating like pigs. Here's a full tank shot of what I have for right now...I needed a fix so this will have to get me by for a while. All the fish are out and about in this one.

View attachment 39132

Here's a picture of the goby, my wife's favorite fish that she affectionately calls a "sand pooper", with one of the clowns. This clown spends most of his time around this corner. I may need to dial down the flow from the power head a little bit. I seem to have better luck feeding if I turn the pumps off. Is that the norm? The clowns get along really well and sleep on the sand next to each other or face to face.

View attachment 39131

I know it's not the ideal setup but is working great for right now. I'm keeping a close eye on the water parameters and they won't be in there for too long. I need to do some wood working on my stand and canopy and then buy a few more things(skimmer, LR, sand, etc) before I can transfer them over to the larger tank.

To be continued...

 

[Chichas01]

Thanks for sharing CT12 and welcome to RF!

 

[thatguy559]

welcome good start.

 

[nomercymike]

Welcome. Your tank is so sparkly clean. That gobie will keep the sand nice and clean. Look forward to seeing your progress

 

[CT12]

Thanks for the kind words. I'll post some more pictures soon of the the stand I'm building. I'm sure I'll have questions along the way.

 

[TJL]

Yes, Welcome and your definately off to a good start. I'd keep the 10g running for a quarantine tank prior to placing fish & corals into the 90g DT as its easier to keep bad things out then remove bad things from an established display tank. Keep us posted and pics of course as you progress on build.

Todd

 

[CT12]

I am definitely going to use the 10 gallon tank as a QT once the 90 gallon is up and running. I used it for FW for a while but I picked up a 25 gallon setup on Craigslist for $20 and I moved all the FW livestock over to that. I explained to my wife that I had to buy another tank right away because I needed a QT tank...she puts up with the addiction pretty well.

 

[CT12]

Business took me to Redmond on Monday and I had to drive right past Barrier Reef. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop in and do a little browsing. I ended up leaving with this Duncan Coral. It's my first coral and I'm excited to have it. It opened up after about 10 minutes of being in my tank. I feed it mysis shrimp and it seems to be doing alright so far.

View attachment 39353

Are these red growths on my LR a type of macro algae? Just curious. I've added a few more snails and I've discovered some hitchhikers in the tank as well. Several very small snails, a horseshoe worm (possibly), and some type of clear worm that lives in a small pore in the LR. The clear worm extends from the pore and cleans the rock that it can reach. Because it is clear, I can see it swallowing what it is eating. Kind of cool. Too small for pictures with the camera I have.

Still working on my stand when I can and gathering equipment here and there. I'm hoping to order some rock from MarcoRocks in the next few weeks and then I can get my 90 gallon cycling.

 

[KrautBurner]

cool cool,


welcome to RF,
glad to see another Reefer in Kitsap

looking forward to more updates/pics.

you're right around the forner from CrashFireJoe, you should meet up with him.


do you frequent Shark Reef (in Silverdale)?



Russ

 

[CT12]

cool cool,


welcome to RF,
glad to see another Reefer in Kitsap

looking forward to more updates/pics.

you're right around the forner from CrashFireJoe, you should meet up with him.


do you frequent Shark Reef (in Silverdale)?



Russ

I stop by Shark Reef pretty regularly. I bought some of my clean-up crew and some rock there. My wife wants to go there to check out the nursery and the shop so I might stop by this week sometime. I'm trying to pace myself with the purchase of new livestock so trips to the LFS don't help with that but I like going anyway. Need to save up some money for rock, skimmer, etc...I am filing an amended tax return so we'll receive that first time home buyer "tax credit" later this summer...$8000 would go a long way in starting up my reef tank...

I wouldn't mind meeting up with some fellow reefers in the area. I have noticed that you are pretty involved with PSAS. It would probably be a good idea for me to get involved with that as well.

 

[KrautBurner]

I'm fairly new,

the meeting last week was cool.

there will be a BBQ next month (June 19th I think)
should be a good time, big raffle of marine stuff.

you're welcome to come check out my tank if you like, it's doing well (not a show piece by any means)

Russ

 

[CT12]

I'm fairly new,

the meeting last week was cool.

there will be a BBQ next month (June 19th I think)
should be a good time, big raffle of marine stuff.

you're welcome to come check out my tank if you like, it's doing well (not a show piece by any means)

Russ

Sounds good. I saw that you have some chaeto that you are getting rid of. I could use some so maybe I could swing by this week/weekend and pick some up and check out your tank.

Chris

 

[CT12]

Here's a small update on my little tank. I picked up a branching hammer coral the other day at The Shark Reef in Silverdale. I'm happy with it but I was a little worried about it when I first got it home. It has two heads and they both had portions that were not attached to the base when I pulled it out of the bag. I don't know if my daughter squeezed the bag or what but it looked like some of the bone came off so I super glued it back together...not the greatest start but it seems to be doing ok. If you look really closely at the photo you can see a new head growing out of the old bone, there may actually be two in the works Super tiny but i can see little green tips waving around so I'm about sure that it is making a new head or two.

View attachment 39504

Here is a better picture of the feather duster / horseshoe worm i found on my rock. It has built its tube up quite a bit recently and it is starting to color up some. It has some red spots that are coming in. Still not the greatest pic but I don't have the greatest camera at the moment.

There is another hitchhiker in the picture that you can barely make out up and to the left a little bit. It is clear with small white bulbs on the end of it's tentacles. Looks like a little nem but I think it is more likely some sort of worm. It closes up most of the time and it looks like a little red/tan bump on the rock. It may be anchored in a poor for all I know. Any idea what it might be? Kind of hard to see I know but I remember seeing something similar on here before but I can't find the thread.

View attachment 39503

Thanks,

Chris

 

[mal1099]

tank looking great. good luck with your 90 build.

 

[CT12]

So I have had my 90 gallon tank running for about 6 months now. Everything is going pretty well. I have 2 T5 bulbs over it right now but I'd like to add some more. I don't have a skimmer yet but I'm planning to get a used one when I find one that I like. I need to post some older pictures but here is what the tank looks like currently. Not the greatest in the world but the family enjoys it. Here's a list of livestock and corals I have aquired:

3 Chromis
2 Ocellaris Clowns
1 Orange Spotted Goby
1 Bangaii Cardinal
1 Royal Gramma
1 Longnose Butterfly
4 Emerald Crabs
1 Scarlett hermit
Lots of various snails
1 Fighting Conch

Sun Coral
Duncan
Bubble Coral
Prism Favia
Dendro
Hammer
Pipe Organ
White Polyp Leather
Some Pink Zoas

Most of you probably haven't seen me around the forums before. I'm always on here reading and I enjoy the site. I'm a bit of a lurker but most questions can be answered using the search function and doing a little reading. I'll get around to posting some more pictures sometime.

 

[CT12]

So scratch the butterfly off of the list. I found it on the carpet Sunday morning...it found a small hole in the canopy...didn't realize they were jumpers...