how it started and how it’s going!

ellismac · Jul 8, 2021

Hey all! So excited to share my new tank! I was able to acquire a fully established 72g bow front! Got it for a steal of a price and I’m finally making one of my dreams come true!!
So from the bottom up:
-He had course gravel in it and I wanted to add more of a sand bed to it cause I really like gobies. So I used a mix of Fiji pink live sand, regular sand, and some of his gravel.
- all the live rock I could ask for, actually ended up taking some out cause it was little crowded and not enough hiding spots.
-it came with a relatively newish sump system and protein skimmer so I was pretty happy about that.
- 2 10yr old damsels! The have lived far past their live expectancy. Unfortunately one of them did not make it past the first week, I think the move stressed him out too much but the other is doing great!
- over time I have added some fishy buddies! 2 tomato clowns, a red head Solon fairy wrasse, a stripped blenny, a coral beauty dwarf angel, and a sixbar wrasse. *** I know what everyone’s going to say about the wrasses but the I was being rookie and didn’t double check my knowledge for fish and the guy at the LFS didn’t know what he was talking about and said it was something else… but magically they are getting along just fine so I hope it stays that way. They actually have chosen rock spots next to each other. And my clean up crew consists of: a coral shrimp, 5 hermits, an emerald crab, and a spiny sea urchin.

everyone’s been getting along great for 2 weeks now since the last addition, chemistry has been stable, and I’ve been starting to think about corals. Any suggestions for a beginner in the coral world and any tips for successful reef keeping??

thanks for the advice and taking a look!

IKD · Jul 9, 2021

Very nice!!

Pico bam · Jul 9, 2021

Interesting fish! You could start with some softies for coral. kenya tree, toadstool, sinularia, zoas, palys, maybe a bubble coral, forgspawn. Easy lps, looks good! Good luck.

ellismac · Jul 9, 2021

Pico bam said:
Interesting fish! You could start with some softies for coral. kenya tree, toadstool, sinularia, zoas, palys, maybe a bubble coral, forgspawn. Easy lps, looks good! Good luck.

Thanks!! I’m really attracted to zoas. I like the fact that they come in all different colors and price ranges and from what I read up on seems to be a good beginner coral.

ellismac · Jul 14, 2021

Small update/question! I found a ball anemone on a rock! I’m super excited about it, it’s been doing well the last week and I think I’m ready to start adding corals but still on the fence. I have coralline algae, and sponges growing. All the fish and inverts are doing well. But I’ve been hearing about copepodes and how they are good for corals. Should I be adding them? And if I should… do I do it before coral additions or after?? The research I’ve done hasn’t been very specific for them.

Sump Crab · Jul 14, 2021

ellismac said:
Small update/question! I found a ball anemone on a rock! I’m super excited about it, it’s been doing well the last week and I think I’m ready to start adding corals but still on the fence. I have coralline algae, and sponges growing. All the fish and inverts are doing well. But I’ve been hearing about copepodes and how they are good for corals. Should I be adding them? And if I should… do I do it before coral additions or after?? The research I’ve done hasn’t been very specific for them.

Take a look at your glass really carefully and see if you can find any. They kind of look like nearly microscopic piece of rice that randomly move across the glass. I bet you already have them!

ellismac · Jul 15, 2021

Jrain904 said:
Take a look at your glass really carefully and see if you can find any. They kind of look like nearly microscopic piece of rice that randomly move across the glass. I bet you already have them!

Thanks for the tip! I also heard about the flashlight trick where it’s really dark they will swim towards the light. So I’ll give it a try!

ellismac · Jul 16, 2021

Guys!!! My shrimp molted last night!! Scared the bajeezus out of me! I thought he was dead. Now he looks like super shrimp! I think I need to get him a cape I’m sure I am WAY too excited about this but it’s the little victories to tell you you’re doing something right ya know?!