My First Adventure In The Salty Side!

[jameshughes1989]

Cool, is that t5s you are running? Ive got 2 blue and 2 white on this now. Ill keep an eye for that new stock then

What bmx you getting? I used to ride a little bit, not that I was good




Well my light unit turned up today, it was like an early xmas! Its got 2 Coral Blue t5s and 2 Sunlight 10000k t5s. Some pics:

Unpacking, and very well packed it was.

Fired up to test.

On the tank.

And just to compare:

Old light.

New light.

Please excuse the mess in the room in the background. With all this new set up being underway there is stuff everywhere

Ill update soon and let you know how the cycle goes.


James

 

[Harry1996]

Has that light unit got 4 reflectors? well you might get away with a few sps corals if placed hight up. i have a plating montipora and is growing great

yes im running t5s.

im getting a 2011 stolen wrap http/www.bmx.co.uk/BMX-Bikes/Stolen/2011-Stolen-Wrap-BMX-Bike.html

 

[jameshughes1989]

Yeah it has 4 reflectors, so I think that is quite adequate lighting. the plan was to start with just soft corals, get myself established at keeping a reef and see how we go from there.

Nice bike btw, you buying that yourself?

James

 

[Harry1996]

yes i am buying it myself but my mum and dad are putting money towards it because it will be a xmas present yer i started with soft corals but i kinda regret it for buying so much soft corals i would buy a few softies frags to start with and build your self up.

 

[seffieuk]

If you are going to mix soft and hard it would be best to start running carbon

Seffie x

 

[jameshughes1989]

yes i am buying it myself but my mum and dad are putting money towards it because it will be a xmas present yer i started with soft corals but i kinda regret it for buying so much soft corals i would buy a few softies frags to start with and build your self up.

Okay bud, well how many you got? I may have to have another read through your journal to get re-acquainted with your set up. Ill start with a few sofites, maybe frags and see how confident I feel at keeping them. Thanks for the advice.

Your a lucky lad, that bike looks like a fun bit of kit. You'll have to post some pics when you get it

If you are going to mix soft and hard it would be best to start running carbon

Seffie x

Okay thanks Seffie but for what reason? Sorry if thats silly, I just havent come across that before. Is it incase of chemical warfare?
I will definetely start on the soft corals as I said and see, no doubt ill want more straight away lol

Thanks for all the input, James

 

[Harry1996]

yes e.g. the toadstool coral produces this chemical that retards coral growth.
i have 6 soft corals and a few frags from them the soft corals are big! by the way they take up a lot of space up in my setup. but i have room for 1-2 more corals and 5 more frags
im going to get a huge hammer coral its like 6 inches

 

[jameshughes1989]

Well, im a bit proud of getting that right, go me!

Well if you need to get rid of any frags and feel like posting then give me a shout I'd be happy to take some off of you.
I love torch corals, they really are great. Where are you getting yours from and how much is it costing you? I feel like my tank may be too small for one though, which is a shame. Maybe ill look at what other corals take my fancy.

James

 

[Harry1996]

hi mate yer i might be able to get you some frags but i may sell/get store credit at my lfs
well many place online you can get them one very good one is this one http/fishmansfrags.co.uk/shop.html

atm they dont have torch frags in but you wont be getting frags anytime soon

and this is a ok place too.
http/coventrycritters.co.uk/shop.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=10
also it has cheaper shipping on inverts so maybe good place to order cuc? if you cant get what you want.

 

[GGtank]

Nice scaping! Liking the rockwork! Gonna get a deltec mce300 myself I think, how's it doing in your tank? Is it noisy?


Rhy

 

[jameshughes1989]

hi mate yer i might be able to get you some frags but i may sell/get store credit at my lfs
well many place online you can get them one very good one is this one http/fishmansfrags.co.uk/shop.html

atm they dont have torch frags in but you wont be getting frags anytime soon

and this is a ok place too.
http/coventrycritters.co.uk/shop.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=10
also it has cheaper shipping on inverts so maybe good place to order cuc? if you cant get what you want.

Okay cool, ill take a look at those places. I'd be willing to send some mhoney your way in return if you do ever want to get rid of some frags. Just let me know bud.

Nice scaping! Liking the rockwork! Gonna get a deltec mce300 myself I think, how's it doing in your tank? Is it noisy?


Rhy

Hey thanks, im pretty happy with the rockwork atm. I was trying to make it look good now but also considered coral placement for the future and I think it will work okay.

I love the skimmer, its pulling loads out already. The noise is a slight hummmmmm but its actually not too bad, especially considering its in my bedroom and it doesnt bother my sleep pattern Quite good thinking it is rated for tanks up to 320ltrs.

James

 

[jameshughes1989]

Okay guys, im not rushing into it yet, but im starting to think about CUC. What would you suggest and how many of what would be good on a tank this size?

Would this be suitable?

James

 

[sorgan]

hmmm personally i wouldnt bother with a mithrax crab as in a small tank your snails should be able to sort any algae out, that and they knock stuff over all the time.
my cuc in that tank would be to start

4 hermits (i like halloweens but blue leg are good)
3 turbo snails (mine are Astrea turbos they are good but you got to keep flipping the things over if they land on their back)
to start then later on look at getting a shrimp or two and prehaps some kind of sand sifting mollusk or sand sifting goby species (not a starfish!)

wait untill your sand is actually starting to look like it needs a clean before putting a sand cleaner in or the poor thing will need to be spot fed (this is something ive never had much luck with as most sandsifters dont seem to overly bright, hunting sand doesnt take to many smarts i suppose)

TBH mate your cuc is something you will tailor to your tanks needs and you will likely end up with all sorts of wacky things in your tank (look up tuxedo urchin for my crazy addition)

 

[rdp50734]

(this is something ive never had much luck with as most sandsifters dont seem to overly bright, hunting sand doesnt take to many smarts i suppose)

LOL now the mrs thinks I'm even crazier, I nearly spat my tea over the monitor!

 

[jameshughes1989]

hmmm personally i wouldnt bother with a mithrax crab as in a small tank your snails should be able to sort any algae out, that and they knock stuff over all the time.
my cuc in that tank would be to start

4 hermits (i like halloweens but blue leg are good)
3 turbo snails (mine are Astrea turbos they are good but you got to keep flipping the things over if they land on their back)
to start then later on look at getting a shrimp or two and prehaps some kind of sand sifting mollusk or sand sifting goby species (not a starfish!)

wait untill your sand is actually starting to look like it needs a clean before putting a sand cleaner in or the poor thing will need to be spot fed (this is something ive never had much luck with as most sandsifters dont seem to overly bright, hunting sand doesnt take to many smarts i suppose)
TBH mate your cuc is something you will tailor to your tanks needs and you will likely end up with all sorts of wacky things in your tank (look up tuxedo urchin for my crazy addition)

I think ill start with 4 hermits and 4 turbo snails and see how it goes from there. I think I would like a peppermint shrimp too, especially as I have a couple of aspistia. Ill also leave the sand sifter for a while and I read to stay away from starfish. I think ill have to do some more research on sand sifters first.

(this is something ive never had much luck with as most sandsifters dont seem to overly bright, hunting sand doesnt take to many smarts i suppose)

LOL now the mrs thinks I'm even crazier, I nearly spat my tea over the monitor!

Haha, my mrs always thinks im mad when it comes to the fish, although she is enthusiastic about the hobby. The rest of my family think im weird!

James