Carynn's 4ft X 2ft X 2.5ft

[Kelmen]

The water flow was TOO strong.. Which was why I drilled tiny holes to break the current..

Suggest instead of doing holes, why not make a T, to got another outlet pointed at a different angle. More dynamic of water flow.

[cityofangels]

Hi Frd

Realised tht its setup for less than 2wks and u already introduced the fishes and corals. Dont yu need to run in the tank for the bateria to form??

AM new myself and goin to start mine soon. So am just curious.

Thanks

There are several ways in which one can set up a tank.. I've followed the steps which my marine-keeping friends told me and at the moment, it seems to be pretty successful.

[barnacle]

good choice of fishes and corals. monitor water parameter..

[subxero]

There are several ways in which one can set up a tank.. I've followed the steps which my marine-keeping friends told me and at the moment, it seems to be pretty successful.

I agree.. There are many ways to set up a tank.

Just that some reefers would recommend longer cycling time to "play safe"..

[shoelevy]

I think I need to get an anemone for the Tomato Clown.. It decided to dig a crater in the DSB at the right-hand corner of my tank.

i advice you don't buy anemone...recipe for disaster in my opinion.

many keep clown without anemone. and my clown digs just like yours...just let it be

saw that you added damsel.... ...beware of these notorious "gangsters"...soon you will see their true colours...

don't mind i ask u did you cycle your tank?....has your tank gone through the ANN or ammonia, nitrite and nitrate cycle?

[kokhui]

Hi sis,

Really nice to see you setting up your tank liao. Remeber to be patient, ok? That is usually the key to success, just sharinf some of my thoughts. I was impatient at times and that resulted in several mishaps BTW, enjoy your setting up!

And more pic!

[iceman]

Imho, u need to get more LR for ur tank. it better for u to have more LR now than the coral n ls.

Stronger return is better. More water circulation is better for ur tank. That y ppl r geting extra power head for their tank.

[cityofangels]

My new toy! Connected with the help of my friend, Flame-Tail! He even did the beautiful landscaping of my tank.

[cityofangels]

i advice you don't buy anemone...recipe for disaster in my opinion.

many keep clown without anemone. and my clown digs just like yours...just let it be

saw that you added damsel.... ...beware of these notorious "gangsters"...soon you will see their true colours...

Yeah! I heard about Damsels' notorious nature! But so far, this Zebra Damsel seems to be behaving itself.. And I intend to keep it as the smallest fish in the tank! Hopefully, this will curb its "gangster behaviour".

don't mind i ask u did you cycle your tank?....has your tank gone through the ANN or ammonia, nitrite and nitrate cycle?

I am guilty as charged.... I did not let my tank fully cycle through ANN. It only cycled to Ammonia..

[shoelevy]

I am guilty as charged.... I did not let my tank fully cycle through ANN. It only cycled to Ammonia.. 

i tot you said u had marine-keeping friends guiding you step-by-step?

they didn't tell you about cycling or you were impatient?

in my experience, not cycling tank properly is gonna be scary and problematic...careful...

[cityofangels]

i tot you said u had marine-keeping friends guiding you step-by-step?

they didn't tell you about cycling or you were impatient?

in my experience, not cycling tank properly is gonna be scary and problematic...careful...

Half of my friends did not go through the entire ANN cycle and their tank is running perfectly..

[shoelevy]

Half of my friends did not go through the entire ANN cycle and their tank is running perfectly.. 

then i think you're in very good hands

[cityofangels]

then i think you're in very good hands

I heard of soooooo many conflicting ways of setting up a marine-tank.. I hear until

Can be so confusing at times.. Don't know which method I should follow.

[cowgum]

Hi!! Glad to know your chiller is working fine.... THink you should add more life rocks. They provide hiding spots for your fishes and i like them as they are an all natural supply of bacteria. Get biGBig ones!!

I suggest a small amt of Rowa too in a cheap FR like resun.....

[cowgum]

[decentkid]

I heard of soooooo many conflicting ways of setting up a marine-tank.. I hear until

Can be so confusing at times.. Don't know which method I should follow.

sis, there are many ways to set up a tank indeed..but i doubt they are conflicting...

the purpose of the ANN cycle is to culture a population of bacteria to take on the bioload of the tank...it will not just do good to the tank...it will do good for u too...future increase in bioload without the ANN cycle will really cause u a big headache with high nitrates...

u have only went through the ammonia phase...which means u do have a esthablished population of nitrifying bacteria capable of converting ammonia to nitrite ...but lack an established population of nitrifying bacteria to change nitrite to nitrate...and also denitrifying bacteria to remove nitrate, coverting it to nitrogen...

u have added a relatively deep sand bed...and i doubt it is for aestetic purposes only....its main purpose is to create an area where the bacteria can multiply and populate...so as to provide nitrifying purposes and the depth for denitrifying purposes...skipping the ANN cycle would defeat the purpose of the sand bed also...

you also do not have much live rocks...live rocks is where the bacteria comes from...

starting your tank without the ANN cycle, little live rocks would mean little bacteria to cope with the current bioload in an unestablished tank....

ANN cycle can be and preferbly be started by use of a small shrimp to provide a source of ammonia which then bacteria which changes ammonia to nitrite can grow..then with high nitrite, those changing nitrite to nitrate can grow..and the cycle goes on....

i believe the common method u heard from lfs would be using fishes...its the same thing...but fish acts as an ammonia source but the fish is put through the stress of high ammonia, nitrite and nitrate....and thats not very nice

so everything almost boils down to the same thing

so currently...since u already have your livestocks...u can either give them away or keep them...but i believe u will keep them...

try not to stock up now but rather check your water parameters to ensure that nitrates dont get too high...u currently lack the bacteria to remove nitrate and hence there will be a build up...stop stocking and allow the bacteria to establish themselves till a population where they can cope with the current bioload...which means a low nitrate reading...

u too are adding live rocks...during addition of live rocks ..there will always be die offs especially those from lfs as stress and water parameter changes do stress the critters out...those from other reefers will have lesser die offs...

however...these die offs will rot and hence cause an ammonia spike...adding too much live rocks in a go will result in too high an ammonia spike and may kill alot of live stocks (ammonia is poisonous)

the ANN cycle will also allow critters to reproduce and establish a population to keep your tank clean...like pods and bristtle worms which are detritivours...and other critters which burrow in the sand...allowing better oxygen exchange and preventing clumping of sand...these of which are very vital to the health of the sand bed....

so now..try to stop stocking up and add lesser liverocks at a time...

my 2 cents

[cityofangels]

Wow, looks like I got HEAPS to learn!

[blueheaven]

I heard of soooooo many conflicting ways of setting up a marine-tank.. I hear until

Can be so confusing at times.. Don't know which method I should follow.

Like what I have told many reefers who asked me

Do not try to follow a certain methodology as most people do not post the background work needed.

Its just like saying "I do not need any filter other than filter floss but I do change water everyday and use ultrapure lab grade water"

Therefore, its best to read up, talk to people and understand how things work and then apply what you have learnt into practical use

[cityofangels]

blueheaven: Yeah, I have been reading quite a few books.. I'm trying to buy a copy of the book, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". My friend loaned me his book and it is a really good Beginner's book!

[cityofangels]

Just a general question...

Is it true that certain species of blennies eat diatoms? If so, which species?

[jackal]

IMHO, too many rock to landscape your main tank will make it too pack. I jz set up my 2nd tank and this time I make it spaceous....jz like the enviroment you find in the sea. I get my ideas from looking at ppl tank and diving pictures in books. I put lots of rocks in my sump instead. Your landscaping look fine now, maybe a little bit more. Remember you have not add many corals yet.

Congrats on your new tank

[minsmarine]

NO2 , NO3 won't harm slatwater fish. So u r in right track which I had gone.

If u don't mind reading about NO2 and others stuffs

Chemistry

[damienkee]

i advice you don't buy anemone...recipe for disaster in my opinion.

many keep clown without anemone. and my clown digs just like yours...just let it be

saw that you added damsel.... ...beware of these notorious "gangsters"...soon you will see their true colours...

don't mind i ask u did you cycle your tank?....has your tank gone through the ANN or ammonia, nitrite and nitrate cycle?

i agreed with bro "shoelevy". is better not to keep anemone. coz they r high demand! wish u all the best...

[yooyoo99]

i have started with 2 anemones when i first got my tank...wow they are my precious then...housing 2 clarke clown. then when i moved on to corals, i realised that anemones are a bit of a problem if they move around and if they grow too big...in the end, need to remove them. (i am quite successful with anemone though, they were with me closed to 1.5years, one of them even spilt to 3)

as for clown fishes, try not to go for them early unless you are decided on them. my 2 clarke grew too big, they became the bullys of the tank...another regret

i prefer true percula clown

[cityofangels]

My tank as of now..