Newbie Here!

First SW tank! We set it up Memorial Day weekend. It's been a blast and a money pit but it looks great!

We started with a small (25g) tank and simple filtration system to get our fingers wet the first time, eventually the 25g will be our isolation tank and we'll go larger (probably in a year or two).

I know I need a better filter eventually but the one we have is working for now (aqueon, cheapie that came with the tank and stand).

For the rest of the set-up, we have a 100W submersible heater, two koralia 1 pumps for cross current, 25 lbs of LR, 20 pounds of crushed coral and 20 pounds of LS. Oh and I almost forgot the lighting, we have a coralife lunalight that runs on a timer for 6 hours a day. We only use RO/DI water and premixed SW that we buy from the LFS (awesome BTW and has walked us through every step in the process) and we have our water tested at the LFS every week (plus have a home test kit). I'm doing weekly 10% water changes now that we've cycled and everything LOOKS great!!!

We completed the first ammonia cycle pretty quickly, with all that LR in there, and the algae spike (it looked like the turf on a baseball field for a few days).

We have added 5 scarlet hermit crabs, 3 astrea snails (had 6 but took 3 back when the algae got under control and they were starting to clean the hermits), an emerald crab and a royal gramma that we added on Friday.

Our hitchhikers include several bristleworms (1 white and 3 pink, that I've counted so far), one tiny starfish, one peanut worm, lots of copepods and the roly-poly looking things that I can't remember what they're called. We also have some zoanthid coral popping up, 10 or 12 polyps and lots of coraline algae, that came on the LR and some that's growing in. Our snails and hermits have it growing on their shells when the emerald crab can't get to them to clean them off. I'll upload a picture as soon as DH gets home from work with my camera.

Anything different I should be doing?

Ginny

 

Welcome to 3Reef>>>>>

 

Welcome, sounds great, right on track

 

Welcome to 3reef and sounds like you guys are on your way. Got any pics? Luna

 

Welcome to 3reef! who is DH??? DaHubby?

 

I hope it stands for something like that, I know if it were my wife "DH" would stand for something entirely different.

 

welcome and congratulations on the tank

 

Funny! DH is Darling Husband on some days and Doody Head on others!!!!

Gin

 

I'm uploading them now! I got some good ones and found a feather duster :2thumbsup when I was taking them!

Ginny