Malawi August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 This one is my first saltwater tank after a long time with freshwater. The tank itself is a JBJ 24 gallon, with about 30 pounds of live rock. I have had quite a bit of help from this club, both with rock, live sand to start things up, the tank itself, and a temporary home for the mushrooms and coral frag that came with the rock. Thank you all so much. And because the thread is always better with them, photos! The empty tank, right before I added the rest of the saltwater: The house has this nice alcove under the stairs that faces the living room, which is where the tank is located. Here's the tank after the sand was added: The live rock has taught me more than I wanted to know about aptasia. Joe's and lemon juice are doing the trick, and some new additions should help also. The rock itself is gorgeous and it had some nice mushrooms on it. The mushrooms and a coral frag that also came with the rock are living with Jan at the moment while the tank gets settled. I couldn't resist arranging rock today, just to get ideas. I'll continue to post updates as things progress. The last one is a full tank view with my partner in crime, who's had his nose in things while I've worked on the tank. This morning, I knocked over my Joe's Juice, and he decided to have a taste. Joe's Juice doesn't stain carpet, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capsfan August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 (edited) The tank is looking quite good so far. Your dog reminds me of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyal. EDIT: Although he looks quite a bit more friendly. lol Edited August 28, 2009 by capsfan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 YAY!!! Everything looks so good. I love your aquascape. Your partner in crime is adorable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 Malawi?? As in Blantyre?? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 Love the rockwork! Your partner sounds like my old dobie - everything has the potential for being edible....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi August 28, 2009 Author Share August 28, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the comments! It's definitely still a work in progress. My freshwater tank is African cichlids, which is where I got my screen name from. Griffin's definitely more friendly than the Baskerville hound, even with the laser eyes in the photo. I'm going to have to be careful with my saltwater things, because if it looks like it might be edible, he'll go for it. He's around four, and I've had him for a little over a year. I think the aquascape is going to stay the way it is. There's enough ledges and caves to make things interesting and give a space for coral. I wasn't sure what I was going for, but I knew I wanted some sort of arch. The rocks fit together just right for it. Edited August 28, 2009 by Malawi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Camaron August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 cool nano, looks like its on its way to being packed with some nice corals. welcome to wamas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla August 28, 2009 Share August 28, 2009 Nice rockwork. Plenty of nooks and crannies for strategic coral placement. Have you decided on what type of reef you'd like to set up (All Softies, Mixed), fish, inverts, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi August 28, 2009 Author Share August 28, 2009 Nice rockwork. Plenty of nooks and crannies for strategic coral placement. Have you decided on what type of reef you'd like to set up (All Softies, Mixed), fish, inverts, etc? I like the idea of mixed. The tank has the stock lighting, which will limit some things (SPS and clams, I think). I'm still in the research part of figuring out what sort of fish are going to go into the tank. Someday, I would love to have a mandarin, but I'm a long way from that with such a new tank. For now I'll start slow with some corals, the mushrooms that came with the rock, peppermint shrimp, and a blenny of some sort. There's still plenty of time to look into fish, since I want to wait another couple of weeks before adding any to the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi September 2, 2009 Author Share September 2, 2009 Some updates: The shrimp have done their job, and I added some snails, an emerald crab, and some blue leg hermits today to handle clean up. The mushrooms and coral frag came home last night. Here's the hermits and snails: The mushrooms. They did some growing while they were away. And a full tank shot. The two new frags are on the left side of the tank, one on the sandbed and one halfway up above the emerald crab's cave. I tried for a few of the emerald crab, but they came out blurry. The crab has excavated a spot under the ledge on the left, and when he comes out, I'll try to get a few pictures. All he's doing right now is sticking a claw out to grab things from the rock to eat. A half hour in the tank and he's already eating. Good sign for him, but a bad sign for the algae that's still in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi October 4, 2009 Author Share October 4, 2009 I've been meaning to post updates for a while. Things are going well, the algae blooms are mostly under control. I'm headed out of town for the next week, and haven't added any fish yet. The ricordea on the left has doubled in size and so have the mushrooms. I think I'll be more than ready for fish when I get back. If I have time tonight, I'll put up some photos, if not, it'll be done when we get back from the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla October 4, 2009 Share October 4, 2009 Have a safe trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi October 13, 2009 Author Share October 13, 2009 We had a great time, and I came home to a happy aquarium. The algae's gone. I mean, gone. When I left, there was still enough hair algae that I was worried I'd come home to a forest, but I did my water change right before we left and removed some of it by hand. Apparently that, and my cleanup crew got things under control. One of the mushrooms is moving onto the sand bed, and a second floated loose and is now attached behind the rock wall. It gets to stay there if it's happy. But everything else is just fine. Why do I feel like I dodged a bullet? Photos tomorrow, I promise. I'm going fish hunting, and hopefully coming home with a neon goby or some sort of blenny. There's still no fish in the tank, but I feel better for having waited the two months. It's probably longer than I needed to, but I knew we were going away for the last week (trip was planned a few months ago) and I wanted to wait until afterwards to add a fish and to make sure the tank was well and truly cycled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 14, 2009 Share October 14, 2009 (edited) I really like your aquascape. Can't wait to see a fish swimming around in there. Good work Rachel! Baptism by fire is a good thing sometimes. You've become somewhat of a pro at aiptasia and hair algae removal. J Edited October 14, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanls5 October 14, 2009 Share October 14, 2009 Nice aquascaping! and kudos on the patience before adding fish! looks like you are on the right track nice start good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi October 15, 2009 Author Share October 15, 2009 Photos! There's two fish there now, a lawnmower blenny and a royal gramma. The gramma doesn't mind having his photo taken, but the blenny's still camera shy. The mushrooms aren't happy because I messed with the aquascape a bit and moved their rock. The ricordea's getting bigger: A full tank shot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 15, 2009 Share October 15, 2009 (edited) Niiiice. Wow, that hammers taking of, isn't it? Is that a hammer? Photos! There's two fish there now, a lawnmower blenny and a royal gramma. The gramma doesn't mind having his photo taken, but the blenny's still camera shy. The mushrooms aren't happy because I messed with the aquascape a bit and moved their rock.full tank shot: Edited October 15, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malawi October 15, 2009 Author Share October 15, 2009 Thanks! I think it is. It can extend out a bit further too, but I took the pictures right after messing with things in the tank. I'll see if I can get some close up shots after things have settled down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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