Hey all. My name is Paul. I'm a poet and didn't even know it.
I'm a database programmer for a small software comapny located in MA. Since I work remotely either at home or at my clients I'm able to spend some extra time with my tank shhh..
A little about my aquarium exp:
I had a fresh water tanks most of my childhood. I had a 30g and a 20g. Most of the common fish that everyone buys. Gouramis, danios, tetras, zebras, neons etc. At one point someone gave me 2 fully grown oscars. Those were fun, especially during feeding time!
About a year ago a friend gave me a 75g bowfront that was a salt set up. 404 Fluval, SeaClone 100, sump with bio balls etc. That got me thinking about setting one up. Months and months passed, and about 4 weeks ago I stopped in a pet store callec "Aquarium Adventure" with my gf. Everytime I went in there I had the itch to set something up. I dug my 30g out of my parent garage, sanded and painted the stand, and started looking over the equipment that my buddy gave me. I figured I would set the 30g up first just to get used to maintaining the water etc before I took the leap into the 75g. Long story short, I have since read, Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies, and the Consciention Aquarist, and have set up my 30g. I have the Fluval 404 hooked up and turned down a bit. I'm going to add a protein skimmer at some point but the SeaClone 100 has a leak (common problem based on what I've read in the oh so useful swf boards). I'll probably buy a new one unless I can figure out a way to plug the leak. So, I filled the 30g with live sand and dead rock that was left over from the 75g. I cycled with 3 damsels. Not cool as I found out but I didn't know any better.
Anyway, I was so psyched when the trites went down to 0 in about 2 weeks. Yesterday, I took the poor damsels back and picked up 2 false percs. They are awesome.
So much more social than the damsels. The damsels were skiddish and hid anytime someone walked in my room. Next on the list is a cleaner shrimp and/or some snails. I'll probably wait until the end of the week to do that. I don't want to max out my bio-load so I'm being extra selective. I may go with a goby or blenny after the shrimp and that will probably be about it. I made a few posts here on swf.com as I was starting out and everyone was more than helpful. Great find, thanks to my google search. Good to meet you all.. :happyfish
