Diary of my Saltwater setup

[ade]

Hi Leanne,

Just a quick question regarding your live rock. How colourful was it to start with? Every LFS I've been to has live rock there, but it never looks very live. I've read about how it should be colourful etc, but have never seen colourful live rock for sale, the only colourful stuff I've seen has been in their display tanks.

Any ideas?

Cheers

Ade

 

[leanne]

Ah... This is from their display tank!! They have a live rock display tank that is about 7-8 ft long (with a beautiful angel and a gorge coral beuty that I want but they cant catch...) with lots of mature live rock. It is dearer than the normal stuff (£13 kg instead of £10) and seems to come with tons of freebies...

The rock I have has bright purple, red, maroon, bright green, yellow, blue, peach and white algae on it. I have got a couple of free blue mushrooms along the way and a crab (oh and those two pesky bristle worms). Its really colourful. Not all of their live rock is like that some is just "normal" but I have got some of the good stuff (and some of the normal too). Would love to put photos on but my computer that my camera talks to doesn't talk to the net... hope to change that soon though...

 

[leanne]

Well I have a couple of pics.

Here is the rather skew-wiff pic of my tank


and here is a pic of Hercules by one of my brighter pieces of live rock

What do you think???

Oh an update is. I have found another stowaway. I now have a limpet.

And one of my snails has died. My nice crabs are in the middle of cleaning him up. I think the hermit crabs are in a race for the shell....

 

[leanne]

ok that didn't work...

Have to post on my ow forum as the board doesn't seem to support its own images - well I suppose it does take quite a bit of room...

 

[spanair]

Good to hear leanne, i like reading your diary 8). It just needs the pics asap now

 

[leanne]

I know I want pics too!! Just got to find time to put them on my own forum (www.horse-rider.net for anyone interested in horses...).

What's happened since - nothing everything still the same (and alive - bar the snail that my hermit crabs murdered!).

Oh Hercules has seemed to have adopted a piece of rock. Must be a sort of substitute?...?...?

 

[Feline]

Hi Leanne! Wow u r doing really good!!! What LFS did u go to to get all the wonderful stuff?

 

[Doggfather]

keep up the good work with this diary!

i enjoyed reading it

 

[leanne]

Feline - I went to South Manchester Aquatics. It is absoultely huge and fantastic. If you carry on instead of turning off the A6 for pets at home you get to Stockport college. On the left is a Texaco garage, turn left there and then turn into the car park with blue railings. It is well worth a vistit! They must have about 100 tanks! And ever so much marine too. Thanks for the tank too Karen it is looking superb! Can't wait to be able to post pictures...

 

[leanne]

Over the past week and a bit I have added my fish gradually. I now have a beautiful coral beauty (unnamed), a psycadelic fish, not sure what but it looks like the khaki ones in the books but it is green, blue and orange (called Adele - get it?), a scarlet hawkfish (unnames but its a psycho so anyone any ideas), and a dotted box fish (about 1/2 inch across) He's called Cubix. The LFS have said if I have any probs with him I can take him back for a swap - ie if (or when) he gets too big.

I have tested my water morning and night and ith only one water change mid week (one due tomorrow too) my nitrate has only got to 5 (less than 1 now) and there has been no nitrite or ammonia spike.

I know that my scarlet hawkfish isn't technically compatible with Wayne, my dancing shrimp but the shrimp is a big b*gger and very quick so I'll let him take his chances.

What else has happened? Found an empty hermit crab "skin". George must have shed before he nicked the shell of Pinky the turbo snail he murdered! Wayne has also shed - that was a freaky sight - ghostly!

 

[ChriX]

I so want to see pics of your tank - can you put a link to your forum so we can see? Or upload to the members gallery?

Your setup diary makes me want to get marines again soo bad!

 

[leanne]

Here goes...

Here is my tank pre adding fish

Can't get tank one to work - grrrr

Here is Hercules

Hercules

 

[leanne]

I have got names for the last of my two fish. The coral beauty is Amythyst (or Amy for short) and the Scarlet Hawkfish is Mad Sally (Olivers mum in the Dickens book)

 

[spanair]

Looking really good leanner, the pic is ever so small though, I need a magnifier to view it .

If you dont know how to minize the size of the file without making it so small send them to me and I will gladly do them for you and host them on my free thingy which is 100% up running time .

[email protected]

(edit: forgot to add the email ) )

 

[Feline]

Thanks Leanne! Sounds a good place to visit!

Yay more pics more pics!!!