....point of no return diary

[tferrante]

Thanks!...I think I see new lighting in my future....Christmas is around the corner and there is a great set up at my LFS. I can't remember the brand name but it is very nice. It even has the lunar (blue leds) for night vision. Looks like a pretty set of lights. I have been working patiently, but I would like to add more corals and such. Getting the tank stabilized was my first goal. I am not sure I will be able to add any more fish at this point, but I am pleased with the results of a few months work.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by azfishgal
You have to remember most coral reefs around the world range from 78 to 86, with the average temp being 81, so your tank is fine. Keeping the temp stable is more important.
Actually, keeping the temperature stable is not very important. Reefs have temperatur swings anywhere from 3 - 6 degrees on average daily. Some reefs even see 15 degree changes some days.
Keeping a stable temperature is definately not bad, but not a must.
The temperature in my tank is 80 degrees overnight and 84-85 during the day.........

 

[tferrante]

Funny that you should comment on the temperature. The temp in my tank is running a bit on the high side or so I thought. Will the fish have difficulty with 82 to 84 degree water and down to 78 at night? my lights sit right on the tank. even though they are std lights, they still generate heat along with my filter, skimmer and powerheads.

 

[tx reef]

I don't think your temp is getting too high.....like I said, my tank runs 84-85 during the day.

 

[tferrante]

Here's are some more pictures. My mushrooms are still closed up due to the fact that the lights have only been on for a short period of time. Enjoy!

 

[tferrante]

I saw the coolest thing yesterday. The cleaner shrimp jumped on the Coral Beauty and was cleaning it. To hear about it is one thing, but to see it was another. I have also seen it clean my clowns....If I can get a picture, I will post it.....Tank is looking good....more coraline growth.

I am truly enjoying this hobby.

 

[tferrante]

It's almost been a month and I have not posted any new pictures....the tank is doing great and I have added a new fish....a female lyretail Anthias. She is just gorgeous. Everyone else seems to be doing fine. The tank continues to mature and the fish are getting fat...

below are some pictures...check out the shell of my cleaner. It molted over night...it has also gotten pretty big...I will try to post a picture as soon as I can get a decent shot.

 

[tferrante]

one more shot...they think it is feeding time....got alomost every fish in one shot....

 

[tferrante]

...couldn't leave out my watchman...

 

[mie]

Your mushroom rock is absolutely beautiful, I would love to have it.

 

[bjoe23]

that lyretail anthias you have is beautiful! would that fit in a 29?

 

[tferrante]

the Anthias should not be in anything smaller than a 55 by itself and as a group, they need at least a 125.....I took my chances with a single in the 55, but she gets along well with most of her tank mates...The royal gramma is a little territorial...
Thanks for the commments on the mushroom rock...they are not doing as well as time has passed...they really need more light...Christmas is coming..woohoo...thanks for the comments!

 

[azfishgal]

Your tank is looking great!!! I hope you have better luck with your female Anthias than I did. I understand why one of them died, she was always being picked on by the other female. After the one died the other female, which was beautiful (looked just like yours), also died. She never showed any signs of stress or illness so I'm not sure what happened. I still have my male anthias and he's doing great, but I do miss my females.

If I do attempt females again I'll be sure to get three, so it splits up the fighting.
LOVE the watchman.

 

[tferrante]

I happened to have the camera out working on some pictures for the holidays and took a few more of the tank. I have decided I might venture into a few more corals after the holidays.

I am going to add a couple of Koralia powerheads and some more lighting. In my pictures below you will see some new growth and a sponge than has been growing for some time. I am not sure what the new growth is, any ideas? enjoy the pics...a pic of my cleaner as promised.

 

[paintballer768]

I think you notice theres some aiptasia in the second pic. I just read through this thread and I think its been a good success. Those mushroom rocks are so awesome, I hope mine cover the rocks like that. I dont know what kind of mushroom is in the 3rd pic but its getting ready to split.
The peppermint shrimp should be eating the aiptasia, but sometimes they get spoiled and it takes a few days of no food for them to prey on aip. A copperbanded butterflyfish also goes after aiptasia, and would be a nice addition to your tank, however I think it may pick at the mushrooms.
Keep it up and keep us posted

. If I could start over I wouldnt have bought this 24 gallon and gone straight to the 55, but I will eventually.
Also, if youre going to venture into softies, make sure your lights are strong enough. A lot of lights that come with the tanks arent strong enough for even mushrooms. IMO if you get something like a softie (xenia, leather, kenya tree), put it as close to the top of the tank as you can.

 

[tferrante]

Yes...I just killed the Aptashia....I taking some pickling lime (Mrs. Wages) and mix with some hot water (just enough for about a half of syringe). I put it in the syringe and fire it right into the pest.

Presto! gone! I then brush away the sediment to get it mixed in with the water. I would not do much of this all at once. Just a little bit works well. I only had a few in the whole tank and they had gotten pretty large. They are gone now.
Thanks for the compliments. I am probably going with a quad power compact. They are fairly inexpensive and do a good job for what I am looking to do.....more mushrooms, a leather, green polyp, xenia, zoos....I don't want much, but it would nice to have in the tank.

 

[paintballer768]

If you like corals alot, I can recommend you a sun coral. Heres the catch with them though, theyre non photosynthetic, therefore require feedings of brine to each head about every 2 days. Very pretty nocturnal piece. Research it a bit, I think it may do very well in your tank if you can find a nice overhang for it to be out of direct light and feed it and it will thrive. Im getting mine next weekend hopefully!

 

[reef diver]

Love that rock on the right, if you frag off a few of those shrooms that will be a grea place to put inverts. and during teh first hitch t ferrante, alot of stuff dies, i have nothing left fish wise from when I first started.

 

[reef diver]

Oh, and get that cyano out of there, that crap crippled my reef for a yr and a half.

 

[tferrante]

Thanks for the comments....yes, I am working on that little cyano problem now....I will be siphoning the gravel and doing a water change this morning. I am my own worst enemy because I am probably feeding them too much. I do feed once a day, but I need to cut back on the amount. They seem to eat it all, but with the flow in the tank I am sure some gets left for my cleanup crew. I am also cutting back on my lighting time.
I think my biggest problem is not enough flow. I am planning on adding 2 Koralia 1's on each side of the tank. I believe that will help a lot. I have a small PH in the back left corner at the bottom of the tank pushing water across the bottom behind all my live rock. the sand there stays perfectly clean.
You have to love this hobby. You really didn't have to worry about all these things with a freshwater tank, but the rewards are so much better. I have learned a lot and yet there is so much more to learn. I am having fun and I think that is what counts.