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Here we go

C

Candi

Wow sorry to hear about your health issues, glad you're on the mend! Tank looks great and I agree it's hard to tell from the photos but it looks like shrooms of some sort? Are they soft?

Oh and I'm a firm believer that the longer you stare the faster it cycles and the more critters that will pop out hehee

Love the updates :D
 
J

JerseyWendy

Thank you everyone - very, very much. :)

Here comes a big update.
The good news are I haven't quenched my thirst with saltwater anymore. ;D (<-- joke)

I have "life" in my tank - found a bristleworm in my sump and a little ruby brittle starfish. I also added some cleaners (not nearly enough yet...but I will keep on adding them), AND looky here:

Zoos:
Zoos1.jpg


Zoos2.jpg


Zoos3.jpg


Zoos4.jpg


Kenya Tree Coral:
KenyaTreeCoral1.jpg


AND, last but not least, 2 little captive bred false Perculas and a Haddoni Carpet:
AnemoneClowns.jpg


HaddonsAnemone1.jpg


I also have a gorgeous turqouise (sp.) mushroom, which is hidden in the rocks right now because my flow/current was blowing it all over the place. :(

I am aware that I am taking a HUGE risk by adding the Haddoni. I honestly can't tell you why I chose to put one of the hardest creatures to keep alive in my first reef tank (or so I've read). My water parameters are as follows:
Temp: 81 (during the day, 79 at night)
Salinity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Alkalinity: 10
Phosphates: non detectable, but I know I have some because I have a little bit of hair algae
Calcium: 410

Now it's literally impossible for me to stay away from the tank. Who needs TV when they have a fishtank? ;D

One last thing: Ever since adding livestock my appreciation for these creatures has increased so much more than I could possibly put into words.

---
Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

It's been way too long since I updated this, so here we go. It'll be picture intense.

The tank is doing great, and no, I'm not trying to achieve the "jungle" look with all the hair algae, I just haven't gotten it under control yet. :( Even though my phosphates continue to read 0, I added PhosBan, in hopes it'll do some good. I've also added many more snails and another Emerald Crab. I am planning on adding even more snails, but I'm waiting for payday first, especially since Wendy doesn't seem to know her limit when it comes to spending money on/for the tank. :eek:

So, take a look at my jungle:

Tank4-25-07.jpg


Tank4-25-07-1.jpg


Here is a picture of my Frogspawns and Hammer (many, many thanks to Phyl, John, and Ralph)
FrogspawnsHammer4-25-07-1.jpg


FrogspawnsHammer4-25-07.jpg


Here is a picture of my green Polyps/Zoos (THANK YOU Phyl :))
GreenPolyps4-25-07.jpg


More Zoos:
Zoos4-25-07-1.jpg


Zoos4-25-07.jpg


This is the (in)famous fisheater/beauty:
HaddoniCarpet4-25-07.jpg


Here's a mushroom that has doubled in size since I've had it:
Mushroom4-25-07.jpg


This is the Kenya Tree Coral which is growing really quickly, too. There's even a wee tiny baby developing on the underside of the rock that it's attached to:
KenyaTree4-25-07.jpg


Here is a brand new Purple Nana Frag (thanks so much, Ralph):
PurpleNana4-25-07.jpg


And lastly a picture of the new Neon Green Acro Frag (thanks a million, Ralph ;))
NeonGreenAcro4-25-07.jpg


Well, that's it - for today anyway. :)

---
Wendy
 
C

Carlo

Wendy don't go to crazy on adding snails to your tank. Remember that your tank can only support so much of each kind of animal. Once the snails take care of the problem at hand they can run out of their food source and may start to die off.

Beautiful pics btw.

Carlo
 
J

JerseyWendy

cayars said:
Wendy don't go to crazy on adding snails to your tank. Remember that your tank can only support so much of each kind of animal. Once the snails take care of the problem at hand they can run out of their food source and may start to die off.

Beautiful pics btw.

Carlo
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right, Carlo, that didn't even dawn on me. I will be patient - and eventually my cleaners will nip the problem in the butt. Every morning, when the first set of lights come on I notice that the cleaners were quite busy the night before. Thank you for the heads up. :)

I spent literally all morning glued in front of the tank and discovered many new things. Among those are 2 tiny little brittle stars, 1 little bristleworm (inside an empty shell), and a hermit crab that I certainly didn't buy. Researched him profusely and decided to put him in my refugium, just to be safe. He had hairy legs, greenish striped legs, and wore a shell. Couldn't just "dispose" of him, and hopefully he'll be all right in the fuge. :)

THEN I noticed these super tiny (less than 1mm) critters on the glass. They are whitish in color, and I hope they are "good" guys.

---
Wendy
 
C

Carlo

JerseyWendy said:
<snip>
THEN I noticed these super tiny (less than 1mm) critters on the glass. They are whitish in color, and I hope they are "good" guys.

---
Wendy
Click to expand...

Those would be some type of copepods or "pods" that you see mentioned every so often here on the boards. They are good guys to have. People buy starter cultures of them for their tanks so consider yourself lucky.

If you really want to see how many pods you have break out a flashlight when your tank lights are off and you'll see how many are on the glass. For every one you see on the glass there are many, many more in the rock and substrate.

BTW, if you've never seen your tank at night try the flashlight trick (use a small light if possible - not super bright) and you'll probably discover a lot going on in the tank after the lights have been out for an hour or so. It's a whole nother side of the tank that many people don't experience that often.

Carlo
 
J

JerseyWendy

cayars said:
Those would be some type of copepods or "pods" that you see mentioned every so often here on the boards. They are good guys to have. People buy starter cultures of them for their tanks so consider yourself lucky.

If you really want to see how many pods you have break out a flashlight when your tank lights are off and you'll see how many are on the glass. For every one you see on the glass there are many, many more in the rock and substrate.

BTW, if you've never seen your tank at night try the flashlight trick (use a small light if possible - not super bright) and you'll probably discover a lot going on in the tank after the lights have been out for an hour or so. It's a whole nother side of the tank that many people don't experience that often.

Carlo
Click to expand...

AWESOME. Thanks again, Carlo. :) I realized with the lights on there were SO many of them copepods (I googled them and confirmed that's what they look like using a magnifying glass, lol.)

I figured out what I want for Mother's Day from my boys: A moonlight for my tank. ;D Are there any that are super easy to install into an existing canopy? Possibly clip-ons/screw ons or such?

I know what I'll be doing tonight: Tank-gazing with a little red flashlight. :)

---
Wendy

PS. Thank you for the compliments, everyone <blushes>.
 
J

JerseyWendy

Candi said:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12760&N=2004+113544

I bought one of those for my 30g, it's very small but very bright... you can link numerous ones together depending how long your canopy is and how many you'd need. No wiring or anything complicated, just screw then in and run the one wire/plug out :)

Remember to use the coupon code DODGE I posted to get 15% off too :)
Click to expand...

Terrific, Candi. Thanks so much for the link and the coupon code. <happy dance> ;D

---
Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

IrradiatedReef said:
That crab you mentioned sounds like a Tonga hermit crab. They can get bigger then the regular scarlet or blue leg and do a great job at cleaning.
Click to expand...

Now I feel guilty for putting him in the fuge. :eek: Poor fellow - all by himself. I wish I could have taken a picture of him, but he was so secretive. As soon as I approached he'd hide in his shell. If I ever see him again I'll try to get a shot.

---
Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

For anybody who needs to tell me: "I told you so", please go ahead. :-[ My anemone ate yet another tank inhabitant - my brand new Queen Conch, to be exact. So he had to go.

In his place I got a gorgeous Candy Cane, an orange Ricordea polyp, AND moonlights. Here are some pics of the Ricordea and the Candy Cane.

I'm in love with both of them - but most importantly, I can sleep easy now. ;D

Without flash:
OrangeRicordea4-29-07.jpg


With flash:
OrangeRicordea4-29-07-1.jpg


Candy Cane:
CandyCane4-29-07.jpg


My hair algae is ever so slowly getting better. I have a bloom of pods right now - but I won't complain because I don't have to feed my fish since they're going ballistic eating them up. :)

---
Wendy
 
J

jazzsam

I know that feeling of not sleeping well because you don't know what is going on in your tank! I hate to add something that I am unsure about and then go to sleep!
 
J

JerseyWendy

I honestly should have known better to begin with, but I couldn't resist. I feel really guilty about losing that pretty Bicolor Blenny and then the Queen Conch (+ at least 3 snails....I found empty shells once I was able to remove it from the bottom of the tank) At least I know I've found a great home (TONS of room), and ended up with something I've wanted all along. :)

---
Wendy
 
J

JerseyWendy

It's been ages since I updated, and yes, I have new additions. :)

Here are some pictures:
10 days ago I attempted my first "fragging" with a mushroom that had grown to about 2.5". Now I have 3 of them. ;D
FraggedMushroom5-18-07.jpg


LP leather:
LPLeather5-18-07.jpg


Orange Pocillopora:
OrangePocillopora5-18-07.jpg


Green Pocillopora:
GreenPocillopora5-18-07.jpg


Whole Tank shot:
WholeTank5-18-07.jpg


---
Wendy
 
C

Candi

Wendy the tank looks AMAZING! Love all the new corals, sorry about the losses but glad you can rest easier for now :)

I'm getting a new used tank in a couple weeks, no canopy... might be harassing you to help me build one ;)

IME those orange rics grow/split really nicely, I had one small originally that is a big mess of them now and has even dropped a few seperate ones.
 
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