Whisk's Aquapod 24g journal
- Thread starter whisk
- Start date
subielover
Active Member
Very cool, can't wait to see ya get started.
paintballer768
Active Member
Originally Posted by Whisk
http:///forum/post/2819225
crazy news, i just got an email from my LFS last night...No sales tax sale this weekend AND $2 off per pound of LR, making it 3.99/lb this weekend only. Looks like I'm starting up this weekend! woot!
Lucky you, its going to be an expensive weekend.
http:///forum/post/2819225
crazy news, i just got an email from my LFS last night...No sales tax sale this weekend AND $2 off per pound of LR, making it 3.99/lb this weekend only. Looks like I'm starting up this weekend! woot!
Lucky you, its going to be an expensive weekend.
patrick8929
Active Member
awesome!!! post pics!!!
miami_reefer
Member
Sweet..can't wait to see the aquascape
nano-newb1983
Active Member
Originally Posted by Whisk
http:///forum/post/2819225
crazy news, i just got an email from my LFS last night...No sales tax sale this weekend AND $2 off per pound of LR, making it 3.99/lb this weekend only. Looks like I'm starting up this weekend! woot!
Sweet deal, cant wait for pics..
http:///forum/post/2819225
crazy news, i just got an email from my LFS last night...No sales tax sale this weekend AND $2 off per pound of LR, making it 3.99/lb this weekend only. Looks like I'm starting up this weekend! woot!
Sweet deal, cant wait for pics..
nano-newb1983
Active Member
hope your out shopping for LR
whisk
Active Member
Originally Posted by NaNo-NeWb1983
http:///forum/post/2821750
hope your out shopping for LR
Maybe......
http:///forum/post/2821750
hope your out shopping for LR
Maybe......
whisk
Active Member
November 1, 2008
Woot! Here we go! My LFS has a sale this weekend on LR and no sales tax, so I jumped on it and decided to start the tank a week early. It was deal I couldnt pass up and would save me about $60. I took the time yesterday to buy 25 gallons of saltwater and let it circulate and warm up overnight to a nice 78 degrees. I tested the gravity of the water @ 1.024 with my refractometer. I also bought a 20lb bag of Nature's Ocean Live Sand and added it this morning before I went to the store. I heard decent things about this brand and the substrate was the right kind of texture I wanted.
As suspected the water got cloudy when I added the sand and this would make it hard to aquascape. Hopefully it would clear quickly.
I then headed to the LFS to pick up a net, some RO water, and the Live Rock. I was in no rush and I took my time picking out some pieces from their large bin. I knew that I wanted some big pieces at the bottom for foundation, with flat tops to them so I could place other rock pieces on it. I grabbed about 3 big ones, a few medium ones and a couple small ones. The owner of the store pointed out a small rock with a feather duster on it so I grabbed that too (FDs are one of my favs. Not sure if it will live or not since the tank is just starting but if its free, worth a shot). When I was placing the rock in the box, a small crab fell off. Seeing the crab and feather duster gave me a good feeling these rocks were not duds and they were full of crazy goodies!!! After I was done selecting, it came out to 26lbs of LR.
Live Rock
Hitchhiker crab (freebie)
When I got home I took the time to place my rock. The water was still cloudy but I tried my best to work with it. I knew I could always come back and rearranged it when the water cleared. I placed the big pieces on the bottom and pushed them into the sand so they just about touched bottom of the tank. I heard critters would burrow under rocks so it was important to place the rock deep in the sand. I fooled around with a couple of shapes and found one that I'll stick with for now. I threw the crab in there and he crawled under a rock. Not sure if he'll live or not or if he's a good or bad crab to have but we'll have to see. I think thats what makes part of having a tank fun. Something that Forrest Gump may say, "Life is like a saltwater aquarium, you never know what youre gonna get".
I turned on the powerheads and the water began to circulate. I positioned the korailia 1 to a spot I think would work for now. There seems to be a counterclockwise flow in the tank right now, we'll see how that goes. I turned on the actinic lights for now so I could see the work I did.
About 30 mins later I definitely notice the water slowly starting to clear. I also saw the feather duster out of his hole. I have the rubberband around his rock for now so I know which rock he is on when I'm arranging.
Feather Duster
After about an hour I turned on the daylights so I could get a better look at the tank. Still cloudy but a little clearer.
FTS
Moonlights
So far, this is only really the first day. Tomorrow I'll be taking my first tests and will post the results then. For now, enjoy the pics and thanks again everyone for helping me get started!!!
Woot! Here we go! My LFS has a sale this weekend on LR and no sales tax, so I jumped on it and decided to start the tank a week early. It was deal I couldnt pass up and would save me about $60. I took the time yesterday to buy 25 gallons of saltwater and let it circulate and warm up overnight to a nice 78 degrees. I tested the gravity of the water @ 1.024 with my refractometer. I also bought a 20lb bag of Nature's Ocean Live Sand and added it this morning before I went to the store. I heard decent things about this brand and the substrate was the right kind of texture I wanted.
As suspected the water got cloudy when I added the sand and this would make it hard to aquascape. Hopefully it would clear quickly.
I then headed to the LFS to pick up a net, some RO water, and the Live Rock. I was in no rush and I took my time picking out some pieces from their large bin. I knew that I wanted some big pieces at the bottom for foundation, with flat tops to them so I could place other rock pieces on it. I grabbed about 3 big ones, a few medium ones and a couple small ones. The owner of the store pointed out a small rock with a feather duster on it so I grabbed that too (FDs are one of my favs. Not sure if it will live or not since the tank is just starting but if its free, worth a shot). When I was placing the rock in the box, a small crab fell off. Seeing the crab and feather duster gave me a good feeling these rocks were not duds and they were full of crazy goodies!!! After I was done selecting, it came out to 26lbs of LR.
Live Rock
Hitchhiker crab (freebie)
When I got home I took the time to place my rock. The water was still cloudy but I tried my best to work with it. I knew I could always come back and rearranged it when the water cleared. I placed the big pieces on the bottom and pushed them into the sand so they just about touched bottom of the tank. I heard critters would burrow under rocks so it was important to place the rock deep in the sand. I fooled around with a couple of shapes and found one that I'll stick with for now. I threw the crab in there and he crawled under a rock. Not sure if he'll live or not or if he's a good or bad crab to have but we'll have to see. I think thats what makes part of having a tank fun. Something that Forrest Gump may say, "Life is like a saltwater aquarium, you never know what youre gonna get".
I turned on the powerheads and the water began to circulate. I positioned the korailia 1 to a spot I think would work for now. There seems to be a counterclockwise flow in the tank right now, we'll see how that goes. I turned on the actinic lights for now so I could see the work I did.
About 30 mins later I definitely notice the water slowly starting to clear. I also saw the feather duster out of his hole. I have the rubberband around his rock for now so I know which rock he is on when I'm arranging.
Feather Duster
After about an hour I turned on the daylights so I could get a better look at the tank. Still cloudy but a little clearer.
FTS
Moonlights
So far, this is only really the first day. Tomorrow I'll be taking my first tests and will post the results then. For now, enjoy the pics and thanks again everyone for helping me get started!!!
nano-newb1983
Active Member
WOOT WOOT!!! ITS STARTED
Looking good man
Looking good man
whisk
Active Member
Originally Posted by NaNo-NeWb1983
http:///forum/post/2821956
WOOT WOOT!!! ITS STARTED
Looking good man
thanks dude! It has begun!! crazy sheit!!!
http:///forum/post/2821956
WOOT WOOT!!! ITS STARTED
Looking good man
thanks dude! It has begun!! crazy sheit!!!
subielover
Active Member
Very exciting, it is looking great. I know it is going to turn out great for you, you took your time and did some research and now I am sure it will payoff for you in the way of a beautiful tank
Good luck.
miami_reefer
Member
Love the rock work. Hope everything turns out fine. Congrats on your new addiction!!! lol
funkysean5
Member
Good luck!
subielover
Active Member
+1 for canning the crab. I hate crabs
whisk
Active Member
November 2, 2008
Today the first thing I noticed was the water had cleared up a lot and I decided to rearrange the rock a little bit, but not much. I also did my first tests with some temporary test strips until my test kits arrive on Tuesday. Here are the readings.
Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.024
ph: 8.2
Ammonia: .25
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Here are some new pictures. The one rock that had the feather turns out to have like 5 feather dusters in it, two big and 3 small.
Feather dusters (black and striped)
Brown feather duster (on a different rock)
FTS
Some of the LR I got had some mushrooms on it, nothing special, but will at least give me something to look at until the tank is ready for zoas and other soft corals.
LR with shrooms
After I was done arranging my rock, I came back like 20 mins later to take a look and someone came out to say hello. Can you spot him?
Here's a hint.
He's very, very small. The good news is the LR I got was definitely loaded with critters. I wonder what else I'll see. I saw the crab again last night crawling around on a rock. I'll keep him for now until he becomes a problem. I'll be testing my paramaters again on election day (go Obama!) and will update if anything new arrises.
Today the first thing I noticed was the water had cleared up a lot and I decided to rearrange the rock a little bit, but not much. I also did my first tests with some temporary test strips until my test kits arrive on Tuesday. Here are the readings.
Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.024
ph: 8.2
Ammonia: .25
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Here are some new pictures. The one rock that had the feather turns out to have like 5 feather dusters in it, two big and 3 small.
Feather dusters (black and striped)
Brown feather duster (on a different rock)
FTS
Some of the LR I got had some mushrooms on it, nothing special, but will at least give me something to look at until the tank is ready for zoas and other soft corals.
LR with shrooms
After I was done arranging my rock, I came back like 20 mins later to take a look and someone came out to say hello. Can you spot him?
Here's a hint.
He's very, very small. The good news is the LR I got was definitely loaded with critters. I wonder what else I'll see. I saw the crab again last night crawling around on a rock. I'll keep him for now until he becomes a problem. I'll be testing my paramaters again on election day (go Obama!) and will update if anything new arrises.
subielover
Active Member
Looking good, I think that is an asterina star, but not positive
Tank is looking nice