36 gallon bow front

I decided to show off my tank because i got bored today lol. But I'm pretty proud of the wa it is looking so far since i am new to the hobby. It has only been running for about 4 months.
Stock:
6 blue hermit crabs
4 Red legged crabs
5 nassaians snails(i think thats the name of them)
1 fire shrimp
1 3 stripe damsel
1 green emerald crab (just got him yesterday)
2 sand Sifting snails.
I have 40lbs of live sand and 20lbs or so of rock and im still getting more. I had a diatom outbreak like a couple of weeks ago. Now it is turning red/ maroon color:-/ i hope that is fine. But my parameters are perfect. I also have a Koralia 750 powerhead. I also have a 2 light T-5 nova extreme with aquablue and blue special. I will be adding coral in January and i will be adding 2 black saddleback clownfish sometime soon and i will remove the damsel since they can be aggressive

 

Congrats on the success. My tank went through much the same with the diatom outbreak followed by a semihard maroon encrusting algae that then was replaced by coralline. If it is stringy and easily blown around it is a cyano outbreak, normal in a new tank just dont let it get out of control.

As for a CUC try adding some cerith and drawf cerith snails they do great! Nassarius dont eat algae but instead leftout food and the hermits eat algae but not off the glass. Good luck catching the damsel when its time they can be a PITA!!!

Overall sounds like you have a good thing going. I would put a black backround on the tank to hdie the cords and help make the equipment less noticable, itll do wonder for the overall look of the tank. Also think about another powerhead, 1 large powerhead provides very direct predictable flow patterns and makes it hard to eliminate deadspots and create the random flow corals thrive in. The aquascape and everything looks good though, what kind of corals do you plan on adding and why wait to janurary?!?!

 

Nice.

Kudos for going the slow route.

My fire shrimp used to be one of my favorites, he would greet me everyday when I came home from work.

 

I just want to make sure my tank is stable and i'm going to be in and out in december so i want to be around while the coral is getting adjusted just in case something goes wrong. But im looking at getting soft corals and leather corals. I dont know which ones yet.

 

Thanks and yea once i saw the fire shrimp i had to get it. I love it.

 

Most of the softies and leathers you would have a hard time killing! I placed xenia in my tank a month after I set it up only a few weeks removed from the cycle under a single strip T5NO light and it grew slowly, once I added the dual T5HO light its growth exploded. They do not require optimal levels of calcium, mag, or alk since they dont build a skeleton. They get the majority of what they need from the water column and water changes. The main problem with softies is they can overrun your tank because of the quick growth and ability to shadow neighbors, they are not really all that toxic nor do they have a sting to other corals. Many people suggest growing them on their own little island but I prefer to grow them on the main rock and keep potent lps near them to keep their borders under control. Xenia, GSP, cluvaria polyps, all great choices.

Leathers are also very easy and should do great. They are more toxic and release chemicals to inhibant growth of other corals but do not string. Running carbon in your filter can balance that out and many reefers have leathers in the same tanks as lps and sps. Toadstools are one of the most common and easy to care for.

If you rather wait than that it ok too but I know what it is like staring at a tank every day thinking about what you can add and it always killed me to wait and wait and wait. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

ok thanks!

 

looks good, i would also recommend a background of some sort... will make your tank look deeper..

good luck with the tank and keep us posted on progress!

softies are great...

i personally love mushrooms and very easy to frag.. zoas are really cool but grow a lot slower leathers are also cool good luck w/everything!

 

Thanks! And i will get something for the background as soon as i can.