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

[bae1994]

Well I had a rio180 with just two 36w t5's and had tons of soft corals aswell as a anemone and they did great ( had the best coral growth out of all my tanks and I've had halides t8/t5 combinations so I'd say you should be fine but it would also be easier to see with clearer water

 

[lljdma06]

Well I had a rio180 with just two 36w t5's and had tons of soft corals aswell as a anemone and they did great ( had the best coral growth out of all my tanks and I've had halides t8/t5 combinations so I'd say you should be fine but it would also be easier to see with clearer water

Yeah, sorry, I had just gone in there to harvest some plants and everything got mucked up. We'll never get a clear picture until I remove the wood and clean the tank. The tanks' been setup since 2006, that's almost 5 years of tannins and gunk. I'm loathe to remove the wood right now. Just found out that one of the pieces has a nice little colony of fissedens frontalis growing on it. I'll have to clear my little tub out side first and then add that wood to keep the moss alive.

Liz

 

[fishy55599]

I love that yellow water (that is water right )
i cannot wait untill you get this up and running im sure this is gonna be great, especially since others seem to know your good planted tanks

im sure you will have a hard time choosing your fish, i know i have

 

[lljdma06]

It's water! Tannic water from Mopani wood.

Actually because I'm limiting myself to Caribbean & FL species, picking fish that are suitable hasn't been too bad. I like...

Chalk bass
Neon gobies
Royal gramma

I imagine like 6 fish maximum? Based on what I've read about stocking marine tanks. Especially since I won't be skimming. Will have macro algae in the main tank so no refugium either. Lolol, this setup is going to be interesting. Very simple. I do think I can grow more than softies, though.

Read about Ricordea, very pretty, but like I said, I think I can have more different types of corals. The other inverts & clean-up crew will be more challenging to pick.

Liz

 

[fishy55599]

im going with mostly softie tank, with a sun coral and the odd sponge
in my 125l i can have 5 fish but when i get a skimmer i might try a 6th
inverts shouldnt be too hard

 

[lewiss]

I did not see one in any of the stores I went to today. I went to 4 stores to check their supplies and the condition of their stock. In case I have an emergency and need equipment in a pinch. I think I saw most of the other fish, though. I really like the look of the Royal Gramma and the Chalk bass. The neon gobies are cute to. Definitely a smart idea to read about the fish before I went.


My concern is that the Swissguard, being more predatory, will eat a goby. I got mixed views on the Chalk bass when I asked about them. I guess chalk bass aren't especially popular since I got a couple funny looks when I mentioned them. Like "why would you want those?" or "why not something more colorful like these damsels" A couple people got it, though, and actually liked me favoring the chalk bass. I was told to get the goby first, and get a larger one. Then get the gramma and get a small one, and then if I get chalk bass; a small group of very small individuals. Then the chances of the goby being eaten are lessened. Otherwise, the serious LFS workers actually liked what I was considering. I still got funny looks when I mentioned macro algae in the main tank. They are very "coral" oriented in Miami.

Yep agree, good way to introduce the fish. Bare in mind though, say you add all the fish in and then the neon goby dies in an unrelated incident, you may be stuck without one! But the way you descirbe is good. I don't think the swissguard is particularly well known for attacking and eating bigger fish. If you bought a tiny neon goby then this might be an issue, but i think you'll be fine with an adult(ish) sized one!!

Thanks guys! I'll have a look at the thread & I got some books today.

I want to have a look at the gorgs in the books and their care first.

Good plan, best with gorgs to keep fish and parameters perfect first and when thats sorted look into adding a gorg, because the feeding causes your params to go crazy sometimes, especially when you first start feeding azoox.


Sorry i missed your reply!!

 

[lljdma06]

That's ok Lewiss.

Hopefully little goby won't die. But if one does, you could always quarantine the chalk bass, reintroduce a goby & then re-add the bass, or rearrange the tank when you buy the goby & then re-add everyone together. There are ways to minimize aggression. Hopefully the goby will do it's job & offer its services to the chalk bass. Everybody likes to be clean. Glad I have a 10g & a 20g at my disposal for quarantine.

Last book came in. Barring the field guides I'll get closer to when I get LR, this'll be the last book for a while.

During rehearsal, I'll be contemplating my inverts & corals. My mom wants something with tenticles. Shrimp freak her out.

Liz

 

[sorgan]

Tenticals hey? I believe there are carribean tube nems (like mine) that can be quite attractive.

 

[lljdma06]

Tenticals hey? I believe there are carribean tube nems (like mine) that can be quite attractive.

It's hard to please everybody isn't it? I'm liking the new book, by the way, a good read.

Liz

 

[sorgan]

It is isn't it!!! My advice Is this, stock what you want. When other people pay for stuff and do maintance they get a say

 

[lljdma06]

It is isn't it!!! My advice Is this, stock what you want. When other people pay for stuff and do maintance they get a say

Exactly! That's what I'm going to do. I think as soon as she starts seeing the tank, she won't care. She's going to love the cycling phase when the critters comes out of the LR. Actually, that interests me a great deal too.

Liz

 

[sorgan]

Pet rock watching I miss that

 

[bae1994]

Pet rock watching is very cool

But when you first get the fish you'll notice all the critters that were flying around in the open will hide more

 

[lljdma06]

Pet rock watching I miss that

LOLOL, I guess you can think of LR as a pet rock.

So this is what I have so far... It's good to repeat incase people don't read the first page of a journal. I say this because, sometimes, I know I don't... LOLOL

Tank: 36g corner bowfront, 21" deep, 21" radius
Lighting: Going with 2 x 65 CF fixture and 2 x 14W NOT5, so 158W. I think it's plenty for what I want. Will buy a moonlight or a red LED to watch nightime critters. Any recommendations on lights to watch the night time critters? Now, I no longer have space on the hood, so I'll need a clip on.

Skimmer: I'll get one. I think it's a good idea. Will be pricing them on Sunday
Substrate: Think I'll go with a DSB. I've been reading on them and the reef books I have tend to like them if they are done correctly, which is the plan. Beside, it'll be a sneaky way to get my tank less deep. A 21" deep tank becomes only 17" with a DSB! LOLOL
Live rock: I've made the decision to go with aqua-cultured LR.

Refugium: Still stubborn on this and will have macros in the display tank. I like them.
Sump: Don't think I'll need this either.

Heating: Now, I do have a question on heating. I live in FL and have central air. I know I'll need heaters in the Winter months, as we don't have heat and the house temp goes down to the 60s. On the other hand, when summer comes, ac kicks in and the house is at 76 degrees. But... See, we have a bit of a lemon AC, it crashes on occasion (like once or twice a year) and the house can spike to the high 80s. Or, I can opt to use smaller heaters all year round and keep the temperature a bit higher, like 78-80, to save myself incase the AC breaks and then the spike won't be as hard on the livestock. Last time the AC crashed, the house temp was like 87, but the tanks stayed at around 82, so I may be ok without a chiller. Sorry, I'm rambling, but it's good to bounce this off you guys now rather than deal with the consequences later. I know that what the reef needs is stability, whether you choose 75 as the temp or 80.

Fish List (so far):

Chalk bass
neon goby
Royal gramma

The assignment this weekend is to continue reading and come up with an invert list (clean up crew), a macro algae list, and a coral list. Also, to make a master list of all the supplies I'll need for this endeavor.

Liz

 

[bae1994]

I bought some corals from a planted marine a year ago and was a sight to behold it was amazing

But you may have seen it but pfk had a right up on one and the planted marine I saw was better looking than this one
LINK