- Joined
- Dec 8, 2017
- Messages
- 1,273
- Reaction score
- 1,705
Hi guys! I haven't had any kind of saltwater tank in many years, but I am interested in getting back into the hobby. I have been carefully planning and acquiring equipment for a 40-80 gallon reef tank build, and for that tank, I want to take the slow and (reasonably) sanitary approach, doing my best to carefully cultivate the dry, base rock, adding select beneficial microorganisms, and quarantining all inhabitants as best as I can (fingers crossed, right??). At my age, I feel like I have a great deal of patients, and want to embrace this "low and slow" paradigm.
That said, I have for years been really interested in the aquacultured rock offered by Tampa Bay Saltwater. I have always wanted to try their rock, but have been put off by the high cost of air-shipping, the fact that I have to pick it up at the airport, which for me is an hour away, and the thought that many of the live organisms I may receive might not make it long term in an aquarium, and may well lead to die off. Not to mention the thought of bringing every ocean pest imaginable into my tank.... Green hair algae, Great White shark..... Gasp!
I don't know if I just missed it all these years, or if it's a new thing for TBS, but I just recently noticed their "Treasure Chests", which are small packages of their rock and other critters, shipped by USPS to your door. Again, I may be slow to the show, but I'm excited!
Add to the excitement the recent Amazon Prime Day deals that typically don't apply to items I want, but this last week I made some purchases at a great Prime Day discount:
I got:
I thought I'd try Tampa Bay Saltwater's Pico "Treasure Chest" package that comes with a few pounds of base rock, premium rock, sand, and a couple critters for this pico tank.
My thought was to get the bare tank and filter going with some bio media and a fishless cycle using Dr. Tim's One and Only as well as his Ammonium Chloride. Once the bare tank was well cycled, I thought I could then place an order for the TBS Pico "Treasure Chest".
If and when this system stabilizes, my thought was to make this an RFA dominate tank, Caribbean themed, with maybe some macro algae.
What do you guys think? Am I on the right track here for a little desktop pico with some RFA's and maybe some sexy shrimp? Could someone recommended a place to order the RFA's inexpensively? I'm not looking for super high-end varieties, just some nice animals that will be happy in a 2 gallon pico.
Any advice would be much appreciated
That said, I have for years been really interested in the aquacultured rock offered by Tampa Bay Saltwater. I have always wanted to try their rock, but have been put off by the high cost of air-shipping, the fact that I have to pick it up at the airport, which for me is an hour away, and the thought that many of the live organisms I may receive might not make it long term in an aquarium, and may well lead to die off. Not to mention the thought of bringing every ocean pest imaginable into my tank.... Green hair algae, Great White shark..... Gasp!
I don't know if I just missed it all these years, or if it's a new thing for TBS, but I just recently noticed their "Treasure Chests", which are small packages of their rock and other critters, shipped by USPS to your door. Again, I may be slow to the show, but I'm excited!
Add to the excitement the recent Amazon Prime Day deals that typically don't apply to items I want, but this last week I made some purchases at a great Prime Day discount:
I got:
- A 2 gallon, low-iron, rimless tank (about 8"x8"x8") that also comes with a 0.8 gallon tank that I thought might be good for an ATO reservoir, possibly.
- A Sicce 12w picco heater that's set to 78 degrees F.
- An AC30 - I am a huge fan of AquaClear filters, and if this works out I will get an InTank media basket and Etsy-made surface skimmer.
- A Most Aqua ATO that was $35, and *looks* just like many of the other more expensive ATO's available. I do have a Tunze 3155 if this cheap ATO fails.
- And, I'm going to try a very inexpensive Nicrew 12w reef light that I got for twelve bucks; can't beat that price, and if needed I will grab a Kessil A80 Blue.
I thought I'd try Tampa Bay Saltwater's Pico "Treasure Chest" package that comes with a few pounds of base rock, premium rock, sand, and a couple critters for this pico tank.
My thought was to get the bare tank and filter going with some bio media and a fishless cycle using Dr. Tim's One and Only as well as his Ammonium Chloride. Once the bare tank was well cycled, I thought I could then place an order for the TBS Pico "Treasure Chest".
If and when this system stabilizes, my thought was to make this an RFA dominate tank, Caribbean themed, with maybe some macro algae.
What do you guys think? Am I on the right track here for a little desktop pico with some RFA's and maybe some sexy shrimp? Could someone recommended a place to order the RFA's inexpensively? I'm not looking for super high-end varieties, just some nice animals that will be happy in a 2 gallon pico.
Any advice would be much appreciated