Hello reefers! Newbie here, just 5 weeks into starting my first 10 g tank. I'm using it for a frag QT (my display tank will be 90 g but it's not installed yet). Decided I might as well try to make the little tank look good too! So far this hobby is fascinating, challenging, frustrating (don't get me started on pH...) and thrilling all at the same time. And since I'm not at all DIY, I'm adjusting to the expense.
Here's what I'm celebrating so far:
1. A brittle star came in on my very first piece of live rock (scared the heck out of me); he then disappeared and I was sure he was dead. Showed up 10 days later waving his arms looking for food and I've been feeding him ever since.
2. The nerite snail I named Darth because he storm troops all over the tank is still alive, even after I found him climbing halfway up my bedroom wall. He went out of the tank, in/out of the sump, down the leg of the tank stand, across the carpet and upward. Nuts!
3. The high alkalinity I've been fighting can be tweaked by using a different salt. Yep, learning.
4. I have a beautiful ricordea and read that they like to have company, so I bought him a friend. When they reached out and touched each other am pretty sure I heard angels singing. It was SO COOL.
5. Green star polyps. Nothing seems to kill them.
6. The peppermint shrimp I thought was dying is probably just molting. Looks pretty dramatic!
7. Ordered two dwarf cerith snails in a "reef cleaners" package and apparently one was pregnant, as when the bag arrived it had 75 baby dwarf ceriths in it. It's a clean up MOB.
8. My LFS told me to watch the BRS160 series on YouTube and it's been a HUGE help.
9. I am so glad to have this community - every question I've had has been discussed on here somewhere. Really appreciate you all helping everybody, especially us newbies! Thank you!
Attached a tank pic, will get better at taking pictures, promise! Mine is a 10 gal Innovative Marine Evolve tank (it's two 10 g tanks side by side - I'm going to use the other side for fish quarantine and this side mostly for frags). Hope everyone's having a great Labor Day weekend! - Linda
Here's what I'm celebrating so far:
1. A brittle star came in on my very first piece of live rock (scared the heck out of me); he then disappeared and I was sure he was dead. Showed up 10 days later waving his arms looking for food and I've been feeding him ever since.
2. The nerite snail I named Darth because he storm troops all over the tank is still alive, even after I found him climbing halfway up my bedroom wall. He went out of the tank, in/out of the sump, down the leg of the tank stand, across the carpet and upward. Nuts!
3. The high alkalinity I've been fighting can be tweaked by using a different salt. Yep, learning.
4. I have a beautiful ricordea and read that they like to have company, so I bought him a friend. When they reached out and touched each other am pretty sure I heard angels singing. It was SO COOL.
5. Green star polyps. Nothing seems to kill them.
6. The peppermint shrimp I thought was dying is probably just molting. Looks pretty dramatic!
7. Ordered two dwarf cerith snails in a "reef cleaners" package and apparently one was pregnant, as when the bag arrived it had 75 baby dwarf ceriths in it. It's a clean up MOB.
8. My LFS told me to watch the BRS160 series on YouTube and it's been a HUGE help.
9. I am so glad to have this community - every question I've had has been discussed on here somewhere. Really appreciate you all helping everybody, especially us newbies! Thank you!
Attached a tank pic, will get better at taking pictures, promise! Mine is a 10 gal Innovative Marine Evolve tank (it's two 10 g tanks side by side - I'm going to use the other side for fish quarantine and this side mostly for frags). Hope everyone's having a great Labor Day weekend! - Linda