I started my 29 gallon tank after months of research (watching the whole BRS 52 weeks of reefing), reading (EVERY blogpost/groupchat/Facebook page I could get into), and preparation.
I'd previously tried to start a saltwater tank at age 13 (back in 2007/08) armed with nothing more than a copy of "Saltwaterfish for Dummies." I was less than successful; oversized fish kept dying, inexpensive corals melted, relatives nuked everything on short vacations... it was a disaster and I was ill-prepared. So this time, I planned a little better.
I've kept a spreadsheet/log of all things Saltwater here, so you're welcome to take a look at that for a concise and organized view of everything that's happened with my tank since I started it!
In December of 2019, I started with a petco $1/gallon tank, some live rock from petco, and some bottled bacteria to begin the cycling process. I was patient and let the tank cycle for about three weeks before adding in a blue chromis and some CUC. A few more weeks in I added a small yellow watchman goby (so small and pale that I wondered if he'd make it), and then after a while, a royal gramma. At about 2 months in I added a clownfish pair and a pistol shrimp, who immediately paired up with the YWG.
About 3 months in, I started adding what I'd hoped would be "easy" corals: mushrooms, a feather duster (who my clowns decided to host), green star polyps (isolated so they wouldn't take over the tank), and various zoas and palys.
At 5 months, having kept the rest of the "easy" corals alive and looking well, I decided to try some more difficult items, adding in a duncan, an acan, a "frammer", a ricordea mushroom, a rainbow montipora frag, some cyphastrea, leptoseris, lepastrea, and a gorgonian. Of these, I ended up losing the rainbow monti, my pistol shrimp took the acan frag from the sandbed and hid it somewhere, the gorgonian frag was so small it ended up breaking and I tossed it, the frammer melted (polyp bailout), and the ricordea has shrunken to very small.
Since then, it's been a battle of algae/nutrient overload, zoa color loss, etc.
Here's my current livestock list:
I'll be posting my water parameters later today after taking updated measurements so I can show you where we're at as of now. Happy to have joined Reef2Reef!
I'd previously tried to start a saltwater tank at age 13 (back in 2007/08) armed with nothing more than a copy of "Saltwaterfish for Dummies." I was less than successful; oversized fish kept dying, inexpensive corals melted, relatives nuked everything on short vacations... it was a disaster and I was ill-prepared. So this time, I planned a little better.
I've kept a spreadsheet/log of all things Saltwater here, so you're welcome to take a look at that for a concise and organized view of everything that's happened with my tank since I started it!
In December of 2019, I started with a petco $1/gallon tank, some live rock from petco, and some bottled bacteria to begin the cycling process. I was patient and let the tank cycle for about three weeks before adding in a blue chromis and some CUC. A few more weeks in I added a small yellow watchman goby (so small and pale that I wondered if he'd make it), and then after a while, a royal gramma. At about 2 months in I added a clownfish pair and a pistol shrimp, who immediately paired up with the YWG.
About 3 months in, I started adding what I'd hoped would be "easy" corals: mushrooms, a feather duster (who my clowns decided to host), green star polyps (isolated so they wouldn't take over the tank), and various zoas and palys.
At 5 months, having kept the rest of the "easy" corals alive and looking well, I decided to try some more difficult items, adding in a duncan, an acan, a "frammer", a ricordea mushroom, a rainbow montipora frag, some cyphastrea, leptoseris, lepastrea, and a gorgonian. Of these, I ended up losing the rainbow monti, my pistol shrimp took the acan frag from the sandbed and hid it somewhere, the gorgonian frag was so small it ended up breaking and I tossed it, the frammer melted (polyp bailout), and the ricordea has shrunken to very small.
Since then, it's been a battle of algae/nutrient overload, zoa color loss, etc.
Here's my current livestock list:
- Fish
- Gladiator Clownfish
- Oscellaris Clownfish
- Royal Gramma
- Yellow Watchman Goby
- Neon Blue Goby
- Lawnmower Blenny
- Inverts
- Pistol Shrimp
- Emerald Crab
- 4/5 Hermits
- 15+ Snails (Astrea, Ceriths)
- Corals
- Candy Cane Coral
- Varied Mushrooms (Red/Green)
- Varied Zoas
- Green Palys
- 2 Rock Flower Anemones
- Feather Duster
- GreenEye Cyphastrea
- Hulk Leptoseris
- Outerspace Lepastrea
- Red Gorgonian
- Blue Duncan
- Green Star Polyps
- Hammer Coral
- 29 Gallon Tank
- Tank Stand & DIY Mesh Lid
- Fluval Marine Light
- 2 Powerheads
- Fluval Powerhead rated for 15gallons 265gph
- Hydor Koralia Nano 240 Water Circulation Pump, 240 gph, 3.5 W
- AquaClear 50 Aquarium Power Filter
- Thick & Thin Sponge
- Carbon
- Auto Top Off Unit (with low levels of Kalkwasser)
- AQUATIC LIFE 115 Mini Internal Protein Skimmer/Filter, 30-Gallon, 10-5/8"H x 3.5"W x 3.5"D
- Aqueon Preset Aquarium Heater, 50W
- Water Changes
- Aquatic Life Twist-in 100 GPD 4-Stage Ro Unit (Sediment, Carbon Block, Membrane, Deionization) RODI Unit
- Red Sea Salt
- Salinity Refractometer 0-100 PPT with Automatic Temperature Compensation
I'll be posting my water parameters later today after taking updated measurements so I can show you where we're at as of now. Happy to have joined Reef2Reef!
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