Pearls Of The Antilles... Llj's Planted Marine

[lljdma06]

How big again is the tank? Arrow crabs need at least 75g, Majidae's grow quite big too.

It's a 36g, but I've seen both species in nanos. Again, lit says no, and I'm always inclined to believe the lit, but I listed them just in case the lit is out of date. Sometimes that happens.

 

[ALW]

Have you had a look at some of the smaller Gorgonians? Like Leptogorgia miniata. A few Zoanthids are caribbean.

 

[lljdma06]

No, not interested in either the Gorgonians or the zoanthids for this tank.. This is primarily a planted Marine with some accent corals. I liked the way Ricordea & mushrooms grow. They'll serve the scape well.

Llj

 

[ZoddyZod]

I thought sea slugs were a massive no-no? Almost all are highly specialized eaters and once the food source vanishes they starve to death.

(turns page in a back copy of PFK to try to pretend he knows about marine creatures...)

 

[lljdma06]

I thought sea slugs were a massive no-no? Almost all are highly specialized eaters and once the food source vanishes they starve to death.

(turns page in a back copy of PFK to try to pretend he knows about marine creatures...)

They are tricky, which is why I listed some of their specialized diet above. I've been reading. I also have to cover the intake tubes for my powerheads if I want one, which I don't want to do while the tank is young, so if I do Elysia crispata, it's when the tank is mature and well after any compeititon photo shoots, as it'll enjoy my halimeda. Also, entirely possible my chalk bass will say "oooo, let's pick on this squishy thing."

Lima lima is also another possibility for the mature tank, but they require specialized feeding and again, bored chalk bass.

It's an odd system, I know, not a lot of diversity.

 

[lljdma06]

My order, by the way, has shipped.

 

[ALW]

My order, by the way, has shipped.

What did you order. Salt, Sand?

 

[ben1987]

Just read back through everything i missed!

love the stock list, this is going to be a really different tank. Like it a lot

 

[lljdma06]

Got the RO/DI installed & running. Need to fix a minor leak with some water-proof tape or something. But...

Initial TDS: 224 (Welcome to liquid rock)
After RO/DI: 6

Not perfect yet, as I've got to fix the leak & I'm running the system into crudely rinsed buckets from my FW setups. But quite a difference after only 10min or so running. Ratio looks good so far. Will construct a little area near my kitchen & shaded area outside to run the unit. Will be buying large trash bin to hold water & some smaller lidded buckets for now. Jerry cans will come later.

Evidently the Seachem Pinnacle+ is an RO/DI unit designed just for dummies like me. No extra hardware required. Just gotta fix that wee leak. It doesnt seem to need a lot of pressure to run well either.

Didn't document the installation very well, though. May take it apart & do a full install write-up later. Not hard.

Llj

 

[lljdma06]

TDS - 0ppm



Making RO as I type. Produces pretty fast too. Go me!

 

[ChilliPepper]

Was my post any help at all?

 

[lljdma06]

Was my post any help at all?

Actually, yes. But, when you see the install thread, you're all going to laugh at me. This is how DIY-challenged I am. This is probably the simplest RO ever created & I let it intimidate me. I'm almost embarrassed, that's how easy it was to install.

 

[lljdma06]

I am sooooooo sore. Drained the 36g yesterday. Cleaned it really carefully and dried it.

Drained, only need to remove the substrate... 5 years of sand and muck.

After about 2 hours with a garden hose, sponge, and rinse repeat, rinse repeat. Explains why I cannot move my arms today. I'm not a big person, this was very hard work. You've all seen me, I'm very girly girly!

My RO/DI is a crazy RO/DI. Makes a lot of water... Needed a place to store it... Well, I've got this tank here...

With one CF on...

Just actinics... Sweet...

Daylights & Actinics. May play with a 50/50 I've got lying around. I'm liking the cooler look.

I hooked up the powerheads to keep the water moving. I don't like the look of the Marineland and will get another larger Koralia. I like the look of the Koralia, but I want more power. So off to my lfs to remedy the issue. I like the idea of three. I'm just waiting for the salt and sand from Marine depot. Should come this week. Then I order my LR. I think I'll be using Sea life inc.

Video for you...

Thanks for looking, it's starting to come together. Patience is a virtue.

llj

 

[ALW]

Looking good L Koralia's are very good highly recommend them. Patience certainly is a virtue in the marine world.

 

[lljdma06]

Looking good L Koralia's are very good highly recommend them. Patience certainly is a virtue in the marine world.

I am finding, however, that they lack some umph! At least with the pico. On the flip side, they nanos have a wonderful design and cords designed by people who understand that you need cord length to place these things. Will probably get either the larger nano or even step up to a regular Koralia. I forget that with this tank, I'll also have a skimmer, so that'll produce movement at the surface.

I swapped one of the 65W 10k for a 50/50. I like the look much better.

llj