Im about 4 months into this tank, This is my first saltwater tank ! I am aware that i am a little behind on this post but better late then never !
After visiting my LFS to acquire some sword tails for my 40 gallon freshwater I ended up walking out of there with a 40 gallon cube all in one setup by aqua top (https://www.aquatop.com/products/recife-eco-40g-tank-stand-combo?variant=8723321520227)
The cube is actually pretty nice and for the price i couldn't beat it. (The saltwater hobby is not cheap !!) Any way Im aiming for a heavy reef build I like a lot to be going on in my tanks as for my freshwater they are very heavily planted. I like the look of softy coral gotta love the way they flow in the current. Currently my tank is filled with saltwater made from my RODI system by liquidgen. I use instant ocean reef crystals for my salt.
About 2 months into the tank cycling i decided to add two Ocellaris Clownfish.
About 1 more month later i added 20 hermit crabs and 2 emerald crabs and 1 scarlett cleaner shrimp to help battle the red algae that was growing everywhere! Within weaks of adding the clean up crew to the tank the algae was GONE !! Sand and all even on the rocks the clean up crew worked !
So jumping to today 4 months later after several water changes and sever testing with both the reef kit and saltwater test kit by API i figured i would add in some more life into the Tank ! After a trip to the LFS (obviously i should not go to this place since i always buy way too much) I walked out of there with 4 Corals (sun coral, duncan coral, pulsing xeina, and zoanthad) and one green bubble tip Anemone. The LFS said i should upgrade my light for the Anemone so they sold me a Fluval marine 3.0 24" long led light.
Turns out after a week of the new inheritance inside the tank my tank had a outrageous bacterial bloom!!! I thought the tank was cycled but turns out i was wrong! The anemone found a cave to hid in and will not come out or open up ? Im very concerned at this point!! So now my tank is cloudy and my anemone isn't happy. Turns out the fluval light for marine coral and animals sucks ! so i moved it to my fresh planted tank for more accent lighting. I recently have installed one willis aquarium light and i have ordered a Kessil A360WE Controllable LED Aquarium Light that will arrive Tomorrow so i will have both the willis and the kessil installed on my tank.
After installing the willis aquarium light and removing the fluval i noticed my anemone starting to emerge from the cave and actually open up and extend its tenticals. Turns out there was a crab hiding inside the anemone and looks to be hosted by the darn thing ? DOES THIS MEAN MY CLOWNS WONT HOST IT if the crabs in it ?
Any how it still seems to be stuck in that cave but its starting to come out so we will see. Ill keep this thread updated as the tank progresses. I also purchased a UV light sterilizer to help clear up the water and have remained keeping a eye on the chemical levels of the tank. Water changes every sunday for now ! I added a hang on the side refugium that loaded with pebbles and sea lettuce. Oh yea I also added about 20,000 Copepods to my refugium 4 different types and fed them zoeplankton for a week. They seem to have multiplied and now are all through the tank. Maby one day i can introduce a dragonet ?
After visiting my LFS to acquire some sword tails for my 40 gallon freshwater I ended up walking out of there with a 40 gallon cube all in one setup by aqua top (https://www.aquatop.com/products/recife-eco-40g-tank-stand-combo?variant=8723321520227)
The cube is actually pretty nice and for the price i couldn't beat it. (The saltwater hobby is not cheap !!) Any way Im aiming for a heavy reef build I like a lot to be going on in my tanks as for my freshwater they are very heavily planted. I like the look of softy coral gotta love the way they flow in the current. Currently my tank is filled with saltwater made from my RODI system by liquidgen. I use instant ocean reef crystals for my salt.
About 2 months into the tank cycling i decided to add two Ocellaris Clownfish.
About 1 more month later i added 20 hermit crabs and 2 emerald crabs and 1 scarlett cleaner shrimp to help battle the red algae that was growing everywhere! Within weaks of adding the clean up crew to the tank the algae was GONE !! Sand and all even on the rocks the clean up crew worked !
So jumping to today 4 months later after several water changes and sever testing with both the reef kit and saltwater test kit by API i figured i would add in some more life into the Tank ! After a trip to the LFS (obviously i should not go to this place since i always buy way too much) I walked out of there with 4 Corals (sun coral, duncan coral, pulsing xeina, and zoanthad) and one green bubble tip Anemone. The LFS said i should upgrade my light for the Anemone so they sold me a Fluval marine 3.0 24" long led light.
Turns out after a week of the new inheritance inside the tank my tank had a outrageous bacterial bloom!!! I thought the tank was cycled but turns out i was wrong! The anemone found a cave to hid in and will not come out or open up ? Im very concerned at this point!! So now my tank is cloudy and my anemone isn't happy. Turns out the fluval light for marine coral and animals sucks ! so i moved it to my fresh planted tank for more accent lighting. I recently have installed one willis aquarium light and i have ordered a Kessil A360WE Controllable LED Aquarium Light that will arrive Tomorrow so i will have both the willis and the kessil installed on my tank.
After installing the willis aquarium light and removing the fluval i noticed my anemone starting to emerge from the cave and actually open up and extend its tenticals. Turns out there was a crab hiding inside the anemone and looks to be hosted by the darn thing ? DOES THIS MEAN MY CLOWNS WONT HOST IT if the crabs in it ?
Any how it still seems to be stuck in that cave but its starting to come out so we will see. Ill keep this thread updated as the tank progresses. I also purchased a UV light sterilizer to help clear up the water and have remained keeping a eye on the chemical levels of the tank. Water changes every sunday for now ! I added a hang on the side refugium that loaded with pebbles and sea lettuce. Oh yea I also added about 20,000 Copepods to my refugium 4 different types and fed them zoeplankton for a week. They seem to have multiplied and now are all through the tank. Maby one day i can introduce a dragonet ?