New to SW. Just got 12G Aquapod

maryg

maryg

Member
Hi, I am a newbie.Just got a new 12G Aquapod. I been admiring my brother in laws 2 salt tanks and have always wanted to give it a try.
I got the tank second hand for 100$.
Started with live sand, lfs RO salt water, and some base rock.
Let it run for 2 days and purchased some live rock and some Chromis that were recommended. I can't wait to see what develops!
I think I need more live rock. Any suggestions?
Can't wait for it to cycle so I can start with some frags, anenome, and other corals.
Here are my starter pics. I will keep you posted.



 
bill109

bill109

Active Member
welcome to the boards!

you will find a lot of useful info here on the boards.
it is looking good. the only thing i suggest you do is take the chromis out..
during the cycle you shouldn't have anything in your tank except ur lr/ls water. i woudlnt listen to our lfs so much. you will learn that here as well
it looks good. you may want to pick up a power head tho for some water movement and some more lr will be a great addition.
good luck!
-bill
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Thanks Bill,
I am going back to my lfs for some more rock today. I have alot of green. I want to get some more red and other colors in there.
Thanks again for the input
 
krazykarel

krazykarel

Member
Congrats Mary!
My advise for you would be to go slow :) Try to learn from wisdom and not from experience as the latter will cost you a bunch of heartache and cashola!
On a technical note, since you have a small tank make sure you stay on top of testing the water parameters since you will not have much of a buffer (only 9-10 gal of water) if something goes wrong.
Enjoy!
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Thanks for the advise. I picked up a few more LR today. I think this is enough. Should be about 12 pounds.

 
blazin2k6

blazin2k6

Active Member
Awesome looking rock work you did :) It looks wonderful with all the caves and everything. just a little advice though. 3 Chromis in a 12 gallon tank seems a bit too much. Did you take them back or what because i dont see them in the last pics ? Its an excellent looking start though. Wait about 3 or 4 weeks before you start adding anything else. goodluck and welcome to the boards.
 
maryg

maryg

Member
I haven't got a chance to take back the Chromis. I need to ask my LFS what is his policy on returns. I am picking up some supplies tomorrow I needed him to order for me. I will ask then. Thanks for the input.
 
maryg

maryg

Member
I had my water checked yesterday and it showed some nitrates. They said I am starting to hit my cycle. I know it is a little early but I got a wishlist of fish I would like to have.
1 royal Gramma
1 neon goby
2 common clowns (and a bubble tip anenome)
Please let me know if this is do-able with this tank.
My LFS said he would take back the Chromis and give me credit.
Thanks for any input. Be nice I am a newbie.
 
triga22

triga22

Active Member
Stocklist looks good, but you wont be able to get an anenome. They need more intense light than what the Aquapod can supply. You could look into torch or frogspawn corals that look like an anenome.
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Thanks for the input.
I was breezing through craigslist and found a 29 gal for 40$. It was only listed for one hour!! Looks like brand new.
It came with a filter, 2 powerheads, and some coral. I am pretty sure the coral is fake. But it is very realistic.
I am so siked. This gives me some new possibilities. I can't to wait to go to my LFS and get started with water and LS and LR. I had my eye on a few things in there but couldn't do much with my 12 gal. I guess it will be my clown tank. I will probably have to stop with these two tanks before my husband kills me. This is sooooo addicting. I will post some pics when it is set up. I need to get a stand. I believe it came with standard F18T8 bulbs. I would like some advise on what to replace the bulbs with so I can have some corals and keep them going. They sell "coral life" bulbs. I am getting a little in over my head with the expense so I will have to keep it afforadable for now. Can't upgrade to the halides until I know I can get this going successfully. Any input will be appreciated.
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Thanks for the input.
I was breezing through craigslist and found a 29 gal for 40$. It was only listed for one hour!! Looks like brand new.
It came with a filter, 2 powerheads, and some coral. I am pretty sure the coral is fake. But it is very realistic.
I am so siked. This gives me some new possibilities. I can't to wait to go to my LFS and get started with water and LS and LR. I had my eye on a few things in there but couldn't do much with my 12 gal. I guess it will be my clown tank. I will probably have to stop with these two tanks before my husband kills me. This is sooooo addicting. I will post some pics when it is set up. I need to get a stand. I believe it came with standard F18T8 bulbs. I would like some advise on what to replace the bulbs with so I can have some corals and keep them going. They sell "coral life" bulbs. I am getting a little in over my head with the expense so I will have to keep it afforadable for now. Can't upgrade to the halides until I know I can get this going successfully. Any input will be appreciated.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Hi Mary and
to SWF. You will find a lot of good people and information here.
I am a little confused, is the new tank replacing the Aquapod or in addition to it?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Okay. Well a couple of thoughts here.
I hope you are doing some reading outside the forum here to gain some additional knowledge of the keeping of a marine aquarium. Some good books:
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner
The Nano Reef Handbook by Chris Brightwell
The addition of another tank at this stage of the game is IMO a two edged sword. On the + side while setting this tank up you can leave the other alone so that it matures more before you start adding any livestock, other than the Chromis already there. On the - side, you don't have much experience and taking care of two tanks may be a bit taxing on you.
Either way do get some reading done, the Fenner book is very complete and is also fairly expensive. The Brightwell book is a good inexpensive book to get going with. In addition keep posting here on your progress and have a good ear for people with the experience of having systems up and running.
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Thanks,
I have been to my local library and have read about 6 books already and have done alot of research on the internet as well. I get alot of info here. I will post an updated pic. It has been about 3 weeks now. Taking it alot slower with tank #2. Getting brown algae in the 12g. Got 2 crabs as hitchhikers. Thinking about a clean up crew? Any suggestions?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Are you doing your own testing for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? If so what are the readings now? Brown algae is part of the cycle, it is most likely diatoms. This will go away in a little while. Post your readings and we can recommend the next steps. Oh yeah have you been testing those things all along? If so did you see changes in them as time went by? What kind of changes did you see?
 
maryg

maryg

Member
Here are some recent pics. Been 3 weeks now. Got a piece of new LR and it had a tube worm and some small "anenomes" They are clustered and do not have any stalks. I have been researching I am thinking maybe tube anenomes





 
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