Llj's 2.5G - I Swear, The Last One!

[lljdma06]

Added more LR...

Before...

After...

Hehehe, looks like a mountain range now.

 

[StandbySetting]

That looks awesome Liz, what's going in there?

 

[lljdma06]

That looks awesome Liz, what's going in there?

Right now, I'm about as far as a pompom crab and NPS coral, which is the route I should go because of my lighting. Now that I know now to make a fuge out of an Aquaclear, I may make a smaller one for this tank. Mod an Aquaclear 30, which I have lying around. I don't know.

llj

 

[bae1994]

Looks good with the extra rock that Cave in the 3rd picture would be perfect for a sun coral frag

 

[ian]

niiiiiiiiiiiice, i say add some Bolbitis to the back of the tank.

 

[lljdma06]

niiiiiiiiiiiice, i say add some Bolbitis to the back of the tank.

You funny! How bout a famous yellow wrasse??

 

[ian]

i have sent it over, it should be with you within the next 3 weeks.

 

[lljdma06]

i have sent it over, it should be with you within the next 3 weeks.

But I'll need more than one. I hear they like to be in schools of 6+

Give the other Salties a scare & post a pic of the yellow rasse.

 

[lljdma06]

While my tank does its thing, I thought I'd start to ponder its future inhabitants...

I'm not a fan of massive CUC, when they say 1 snail per gallon, or one crab per gallon, I don't like this. I heard that from another lfs, and I got crabby (pun totally intended). I want them to actually enjoy living in my tank and survive longterm. If my algae problems goes away more slowly, that's totally ok.

CUC

Cerithium litteratum (ceriths) - 1 or 2 max, but I think I'm fine with 1
Nassarius (sand snail) - 1
Calcinus seurati (Dwarf zebra hermit crab) - 1

Livestock

Lybia spp (Boxer or Pompom crabs) - a trio would be great
Hymenocera picta (Harlequin shrimp) - a pair (they only eat starfish, the plan is to either buy the starfish or raise them in the fuges. IMO, the price and labor is worth the complete coolness of the species.

No fish, at least at this time, I tried to figure out a fish that I liked and barring a Flaming prawn goby, a Trimma cana, a neon goby, or a yellow/green clown goby, I wasn't loving my choices for fish. Also, if the tank goes open-top, which it will if I add a fuge, I risk losing a goby. Granted it won't be a huge trauma-drama on a $10 neon goby, but on a $65 flaming prawn goby, I'd feel it hard.

The corals...

I'm going to take it very slow with corals, starting probably in this tank with shrooms that I can move to the 36g tank, but eventually, I'd like this tank to have...

Tubastrea (sun corals)
Diodogorgia nodulifera (Red gorgonian)

My dream coral - Acalycigorgia (blueberry gorgonian)- super hard to keep & for mature systems, which is why it is a dream.

Not a lot of species but I like the idea of just having a few, if a NPS catches my eye and it's not too difficult to care for, it goes in. The great thing is that I can basically get away with frags. I was inspired by the Pompom crabs and would like corals that sort of mimic the look of the pompoms, which means larger, flower-like polyps. Silly, I know, this is my planted aesthetic coming in. I see like a scape with gorgonian trees and little fields of Tubastrea.

 

[bae1994]

Sounds good

 

[lljdma06]

Almost a week in. I haven't bothered testing the water, only the sg. I do a top off every few days when the sg gets too high. I'm starting to get a rhythm for it.

Some pictures for you & video.

fts

I'm starting to get diatoms now and I see a lot of speghetti worms and pods of all kind... Speaking of pods...

Hehehe, watch it full screen and my iPhone camera is an HD camera, so looks best in HD, I think.

Thanks for looking.

llj

 

[NewbeeSteve]

Nice tank. Quick question, what light is that?

Thanks

 

[lljdma06]

Nice tank. Quick question, what light is that?

Thanks

Hi, I got the light at Marine Depot. I can't really keep much under it, but it looks great & it's really secure.

http/www.marinedepot.com/UP_Aqua_UA_F17_...TFILDFX-vi.html

I'm only keeping NPS and maybe shrooms in this tank, so I don't need much light. Most the animals I'm keeping also prefer lower light levels.

I tested for all the params and I don't have anything, so either...

A) cycle hasn't even happened yet

B) cycle already happened.

I've got diatoms, so I'm inclined to believe that whatever die-off that was going to happen has already occured. The rock was already cured and from a lfs, so...

I'm thinking it's time to add the CUC... Not that the CUC in this tank's going to be massive...

Cerithium litteratum (ceriths) - 1 or 2 max, but I think I'm fine with 1
Nassarius (sand snail) - 1
Calcinus seurati (Dwarf zebra hermit crab) - 1

Yep, that's it, 3-4 items max & all are really teeny. The 8g is ready for this stage too. Will combine the order if I go online, so people won't think I'm completely nuts.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

llj

 

[ALW]

Likely B, as you have cured live rock so i would expect very little die off unless the rock was out of the water for than an hour.


In that case an lfs near me must think i am crazy, i was after blue leg hermits for ages. I only took two when they finally got them in. Have you seen any movement in the sand yet?

 

[lljdma06]

Oh yeah, I see stuff out of the corner of my eye all the time, but because of all those caves, I can't pinpoint it. I also see trails in the substrate. And little pieces of rubble gets moved around. Haha, I think most of it happens at night.

I should put the reds on & observe.

Llj