90 Gallon Mixed Reef

[JusMeJim]

DAY 19 UPDATE: Received 45# of live rock and 25# of live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater on Tuesday 12/9. After having my other order of rock and sand in the tank for two weeks it seems to have "cycled". Honestly not sure if that was actually a cycle or not. Just before adding the new live rock and sand, the ammonia had been at 0 (zero) for seven days, nitrite at 0 (zero) for four days, and nitrate had been mostly between 20 and 40.

After adding the new rock and sand, ammonia spiked to .25, and nitrite spiked between .25 and 1.0 for about three or four days. Both have been zero now for a couple of days. Nitrates have mostly been 80, and I'll be doing a couple of 30 gallon water changes in the next couple of days.

We're starting to see more "life" from the live rock. The two mantis shrimp have been caught and are now in their own tank. Various snails and limpets, a slight case of brown algae (diatoms?), and even a couple spots of bubble algae.

Two of the most interesting hitchhikers is the sea urchin which has been in hiding for a few days. It's decided to make an appearance today. We also found a fairly good sized orange crab this morning. We weren't able to get a real good photo, but got a few, along with a couple videos of it eating.

 

[Hadla]

Oh good, glad you’re keeping the mantises! I had messaged you about them last week

 

[Spartyon]

I love your grit, I am 65 and am starting my voyage into keeping a reef tank. The early 80's saw my first attempt fail due to a long power outage. I then went with a freshwater tank and ended up raising peacock cichlids which was cool until I flooded the local Detroit market. 40 years later I am looking at building a reef tank. After much advice from the community I have decided on a 50gal tank. I look forward to following your build