hefner413
Active Member
Well, I've entered the marine realm and absolutely am enjoying it. It thought I might share my pics here and see what you think - and see if you all have any tips.
It is a fish only tank and has been set up for 2 months now. I've been slowly inserting fish over the past month and everything is great so far.
I began by buying a wornout used acrylic tank and buffed the acrylic with Novus 1,2,&3. I refinished the base and hood. I set up the tank and seeded with a piece of live rock from a friend's tank.
I almost blocked off the tunnels with a type of screen enabling me to put community on one side and aggressive on the other, but now my biggest joy is watching the fish swim from side to side of the tank through the tunnels - so I ditched that idea.
I still have a lot to learn but am enjoying watching it develop.
Well, enough said, here's the pictures:
Here was the mess that I initially bought. Tons of scratches and I had to repair a crack in the back.
Here is my first attempt at aquascaping. I added sandstone from outside. I tested water pH to ensure no change, and even though it seemed fine at 8.2, I still was worried about future problems, so I bought the Penn Plax medieval castle and used a tan Krylon Fusion to lighten the castes.
Here is the final setup. This is just after cycling and I have added one damsel to make sure all is well.
I have added most of my fish over time now. All that I have added since this picture are my 2 clowns. Also, you can barely see in the above picture that the bubbles are turned on and below they are off. I also am torn about the bubbles. I kind of like them on, and I also like them off. I have minimized salt creep by adding an additional layer of plexi just below the top of the tank - no creep now at all. But if I ever decide to go with coral, then I'll need to upgrade my lighting and remove the plexi to allow max light through.
Here is a pic of the Tang and the Valentini passing through the lower tube together. The Valentini likes to follow the Tang around for some reason.
I will be adding a couple more fish eventually. I plan on a Longnose Butterfly and possibly a Regal Tang (but worred about ick and aggression b/w two tangs). I also am going to go ahead and set up a QT just in case something goes wrong. Anyway, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas.
.
It is a fish only tank and has been set up for 2 months now. I've been slowly inserting fish over the past month and everything is great so far.
I began by buying a wornout used acrylic tank and buffed the acrylic with Novus 1,2,&3. I refinished the base and hood. I set up the tank and seeded with a piece of live rock from a friend's tank.
I almost blocked off the tunnels with a type of screen enabling me to put community on one side and aggressive on the other, but now my biggest joy is watching the fish swim from side to side of the tank through the tunnels - so I ditched that idea.
I still have a lot to learn but am enjoying watching it develop.
Well, enough said, here's the pictures:
Here was the mess that I initially bought. Tons of scratches and I had to repair a crack in the back.
Here is my first attempt at aquascaping. I added sandstone from outside. I tested water pH to ensure no change, and even though it seemed fine at 8.2, I still was worried about future problems, so I bought the Penn Plax medieval castle and used a tan Krylon Fusion to lighten the castes.
Here is the final setup. This is just after cycling and I have added one damsel to make sure all is well.
I have added most of my fish over time now. All that I have added since this picture are my 2 clowns. Also, you can barely see in the above picture that the bubbles are turned on and below they are off. I also am torn about the bubbles. I kind of like them on, and I also like them off. I have minimized salt creep by adding an additional layer of plexi just below the top of the tank - no creep now at all. But if I ever decide to go with coral, then I'll need to upgrade my lighting and remove the plexi to allow max light through.
Here is a pic of the Tang and the Valentini passing through the lower tube together. The Valentini likes to follow the Tang around for some reason.
I will be adding a couple more fish eventually. I plan on a Longnose Butterfly and possibly a Regal Tang (but worred about ick and aggression b/w two tangs). I also am going to go ahead and set up a QT just in case something goes wrong. Anyway, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas.
.
