My 46g Bow Front Tank by Sakura2282

[Sakura2282]

Cycling Process.

I bought 40 pounds of Fiji Pink Arag Alive live reef sand for my tank because it was the one that they recommend me in the LFS. I used it to cycle my tank I did not use the raw shrimp method. The water got a little cloud, but it cleared really fast. I do not know the exact time it took. I did this late in the afternoon and the water was crystal clear the next morning. :D

My sand bed is like 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.

Fiji Pink Arag-Alive! Live Reef Sand - Bulk Reef Supply

 

[Sakura2282]

Refractometer.

This is a must have for anyone who wants to give it a try to this hobby. It was one of the first things I bought, and an excellent purchase. It's very accurate and easy to use. I did have to watch a video on Youtube to learn how to use it though. The instructions were a little confusing for me lol :frustrat:.

I bought mine from BRS, and as is mention on the box label to not calibrate it to zero, I didn't. I've never used the screwdriver that came with it to calibrate it to 0. But I do use the calibration fluid that came with it before I take any readings.

Refractometer for reading salinity w/ Free Calibration fluid - Bulk Reef Supply

 

[Sakura2282]

Heater.

I have a 300 watts heater in my tank that works pretty well, it does the job no complaints about it. But I do have a bigger one that I bought from my neighbor for $3 bucks, just in case I need it. :mrgreen:

 

[Sakura2282]

This is a picture of my tank from 08/18/13,but before I post more pictures of it in this thread. I have to tell you guys what I did to get my aquarium looking like this so far. So be patient please, it wasn't easy. The incredible people that I have found in this forum, that are willing to share their knowledge and experiences have help.ed me a lot, and I'm very grateful for that.

Thanks! to all you Living Reef Community. :D

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[buddy08]

Might want to top off with some freshwater :)

As that water line lowers, your salinity increases. unstable salinity leads to stressed fish and can effect some corals.

 

[Sakura2282]

Might want to top off with some freshwater :)

As that water line lowers, your salinity increases. unstable salinity leads to stressed fish and can effect some corals.

You're right! And I was about to do that when I took that picture lol.

 

[Aquarian]

So where's the updates?

 

[Sakura2282]

So where's the updates?

Sorry about the delay. I've been a little busy lately hehehehehe. .

 

[Sakura2282]

After my not so long absence I'm back again folks :D

Test Kit:

Since the beginning I started using API Test Kit for measuring my parameters. By the way, they're really good. It may take some time to get use to them, specially the reading part of the results, but I've learned with practice.

This is the one that I have:

 

[Sakura2282]

These are some pictures of my test results so you can see how my parameters are. Sorry about the pictures quality not the best.

 

[Sakura2282]

Cleaning Up Crew.

My CUC is a team of three astraea snails. I'm going to add some nassarius snails too, but the last time I was in the LFS they didn't have any. I need them to keep my substrate clean.

The astraea snails were the ones who help me with my brown algae, but I don't have to much of it in my tank to add more of them now. And I'm not a fan of the hermit crabs. But, I've been thinking in adding a brittle star too.

This is a picture of one of my astraea snails. I totally recommend them. :mrgreen:

 

[Sakura2282]

Inhabitants:

These were the first couple of fish I added to my tank, but they died a few days later. I didn't know they were sick, I thought it was my tank who kill them, maybe my cycle wasn't really over. But it wasn't that, now that I have other fish I found out that these fish were sick since the beginning they never ate and apparently they had parasites. I bought them in a Petco store so I decided not to buy my next fish there.

These was really sad for me, but I learned to be more careful wish the fish and the places where I buy them too.

R.I.P. my little clownfish.

 

[Aquarian]

Sorry about the Clowns. Most people I know in the hobby refer to petco as deathco. They just don't have the knowledgeable staff that you would expect. I have found that the best places are the mom and pop pet stores. They have the hands on experience and that is worth the extra money they need to charge in order to stay open. Plus when they get to know you they give you great deals.

 

[ErinCahir]

It varies from Petco to Petco, just like it varies from LFS to LFS.

 

[Sakura2282]

Sorry about the Clowns. Most people I know in the hobby refer to petco as deathco. They just don't have the knowledgeable staff that you would expect. I have found that the best places are the mom and pop pet stores. They have the hands on experience and that is worth the extra money they need to charge in order to stay open. Plus when they get to know you they give you great deals.

You're right I guess some places just don't care too much about what they sell, they just want to make money and that's a shame.

 

[Sakura2282]

It varies from Petco to Petco, just like it varies from LFS to LFS.

I agree, we cannot say that all them are the same, some stores are better than others that's all.

 

[Sakura2282]

amphipods and copepods

These are really great creatures to have in your tank, my fish love them. They are hitchhikers in my tank I never put them there, but I'm glad they are in it now.

By the way, they are the black dots you see on that piece of rock. Believe it or not they are alive.



Not the best quality video lol 20130909_1347001_zpsbd80ed4b.mp4 Video by sakura2282 | Photobucket

 

[Sakura2282]

Coralline Algae.

These are some shots of how my tank is maturing and my coralline algae has started to grow, not like crazy I'm afraid. There are only a few purple and pink patches here and there, but this is good I believe.

If you have been following my thread since the beginning you know I used dry live rock in my aquarium and that it was really bleach and without any live, but now after three months it has started to look like live rock, which is nice. I'm happy I decided to use dry rock instead of live rock, main reason is cheapest and second even when you have to wait to see your rock become alive, this is a very beautiful process to watch.

Here are some pictures of how my rock looks now.






This is the biggest of the two live rocks I used to seed my tank.

 

[AnthonyTheNewbie]

I don't bash petcos anymore. Any time I've ever lost fish, they've refunded me my money. Also, a trick to dealing with Petcos if you are going to continue to use them, only pick up fish that have been there for a while already. If I see a fish, I wait a week or two before I'll pick it up. Also, ALWAYS ask them to feed it before you take it home. If it isn't eating, it's usually not a good sign, and I've never had any luck with getting them to eat. Petcos are great because of their pricing (sometimes). When they have sales on clowns, how can you go wrong? Like 12$ for a Occ clown. Nothing wrong with that :mrgreen:. Considering wholesale is like 8$ for it lol.

 

[Sakura2282]

I don't bash petcos anymore. Any time I've ever lost fish, they've refunded me my money. Also, a trick to dealing with Petcos if you are going to continue to use them, only pick up fish that have been there for a while already. If I see a fish, I wait a week or two before I'll pick it up. Also, ALWAYS ask them to feed it before you take it home. If it isn't eating, it's usually not a good sign, and I've never had any luck with getting them to eat. Petcos are great because of their pricing (sometimes). When they have sales on clowns, how can you go wrong? Like 12$ for a Occ clown. Nothing wrong with that :mrgreen:. Considering wholesale is like 8$ for it lol.

You're right, the fish were very cheap, but I didn't ask them to feed them before I bought them. I must say that was my rookie mistake and this Petco here doesn't do refunds on livestock. I wonder why? :grumble: