Hi all, I am from Australia if my units are a little weird 
This is my first marine tank and I work at an aquarium, so I'm learning fast.
About 3 months ago I decided the best way for me to learn the salt side of the hobby would be to start my own. I haven't looked back since.
I started off with an Aqua One Minireef 150, which is a 55x55x55cm display and came with all Aqua One branded gear: skimmer, RO reservoir built into the the sump with an auto top up unit to match (so glad I have it), return pump, heater and light.
I filled it up with ocean water as we sell it at work.
Added 40kg of the salt and pepper (I wanted straight black but couldn't get my hands on it) argalive live sand which made around 2.5 inches of sand bed. I then got some premium live rock.
**A warning: I love most things considered "pests" for the average reef tank and frequently bring home all sorts of critters from the work live rock tank. Strange and unknown grabs at me.
Shortly after I added more live rock and then some more, choosing rocks with the most life and rescaping as I went. My scape plan was lots of caves ad hidey holes, but a way to see into as many as possible.
My cycle went smoothly and pretty quickly.
Then came CUC. 2 hermits and a Nassarius snail. The hermits quickly outgrew their shells and I gave them 6 new ones to choose from, but they liked none of them of course. So I got 2 new hermits in hope that the competition would cause them to grab the shells so the others wouldnt. The others being smaller could then have their old shells. It worked a treat.
Then came more live rock.
Then I caught a trio of some kind of Glass Perchlet sp. and 3 saltwater Macrobrachium of some kind from the slatwater reaches of the river near my house. They settled in well and I still have the perchlets to this day. The shrimp weren't so well behaved and were extremely aggressive to any new additions. So they became food for a mantis shrimp that I will get to in a later post
Along my journey I have bought a few fish and they have died mysteriously. No visible signs of disease/parasite/anything. They were:
twin/two spot goby
a black and white + regular ocellaris clown pair that I was hoping would work out
I had a coral croucher that was quickly a huge character and ate well plus always sat at the front of the tank which I think I may have a bobbit worm in my sand somewhere which ate it :/
At one point I bought 20kg of "oolitic" sand to increase my sand bed. I added about 6kg of it with a funnel and hose to the front of the tank and have been letting the tank life mix it slowly.
I occasionally do a trip and catch "white glove shrimp" and whatever else is interesting from a nice spot in a bay about 45 min from my house.
So far that hasn't been eaten by other inhabitants and is doing well includes:
Some kind of goby that was tame within the first day of being put in the tank *caught (forgive me if photos aren't lined up)
A Barchin Scorpionfish, Sebastapistes strongia. *bought
A tiny copperband butterfly *caught
Some peppermint shrimp *caught
A helicopter shrimp, Urocaridella sp. *bought
Snails galore *caught and bought
At least 25 brittle stars *freebies from work lr tank
A squat lobster that I occasionally see *freebie from work lr tank
I'll add more to the details tomorrow after work. Any inputs are welcome. My tank is very unconventional, but that's the way I love it.
This is my first marine tank and I work at an aquarium, so I'm learning fast.
About 3 months ago I decided the best way for me to learn the salt side of the hobby would be to start my own. I haven't looked back since.
I started off with an Aqua One Minireef 150, which is a 55x55x55cm display and came with all Aqua One branded gear: skimmer, RO reservoir built into the the sump with an auto top up unit to match (so glad I have it), return pump, heater and light.
I filled it up with ocean water as we sell it at work.
Added 40kg of the salt and pepper (I wanted straight black but couldn't get my hands on it) argalive live sand which made around 2.5 inches of sand bed. I then got some premium live rock.
**A warning: I love most things considered "pests" for the average reef tank and frequently bring home all sorts of critters from the work live rock tank. Strange and unknown grabs at me.
Shortly after I added more live rock and then some more, choosing rocks with the most life and rescaping as I went. My scape plan was lots of caves ad hidey holes, but a way to see into as many as possible.
My cycle went smoothly and pretty quickly.
Then came CUC. 2 hermits and a Nassarius snail. The hermits quickly outgrew their shells and I gave them 6 new ones to choose from, but they liked none of them of course. So I got 2 new hermits in hope that the competition would cause them to grab the shells so the others wouldnt. The others being smaller could then have their old shells. It worked a treat.
Then came more live rock.
Then I caught a trio of some kind of Glass Perchlet sp. and 3 saltwater Macrobrachium of some kind from the slatwater reaches of the river near my house. They settled in well and I still have the perchlets to this day. The shrimp weren't so well behaved and were extremely aggressive to any new additions. So they became food for a mantis shrimp that I will get to in a later post
Along my journey I have bought a few fish and they have died mysteriously. No visible signs of disease/parasite/anything. They were:
twin/two spot goby
a black and white + regular ocellaris clown pair that I was hoping would work out
I had a coral croucher that was quickly a huge character and ate well plus always sat at the front of the tank which I think I may have a bobbit worm in my sand somewhere which ate it :/
At one point I bought 20kg of "oolitic" sand to increase my sand bed. I added about 6kg of it with a funnel and hose to the front of the tank and have been letting the tank life mix it slowly.
I occasionally do a trip and catch "white glove shrimp" and whatever else is interesting from a nice spot in a bay about 45 min from my house.
So far that hasn't been eaten by other inhabitants and is doing well includes:
Some kind of goby that was tame within the first day of being put in the tank *caught (forgive me if photos aren't lined up)
A Barchin Scorpionfish, Sebastapistes strongia. *bought
A tiny copperband butterfly *caught
Some peppermint shrimp *caught
A helicopter shrimp, Urocaridella sp. *bought
Snails galore *caught and bought
At least 25 brittle stars *freebies from work lr tank
A squat lobster that I occasionally see *freebie from work lr tank
I'll add more to the details tomorrow after work. Any inputs are welcome. My tank is very unconventional, but that's the way I love it.
