Guest malkier22 July 31, 2005 Share July 31, 2005 Hello all, I set up a FOWLR tank about 9 months ago in a 55G. Waited my two months for the cycles to finish up and dropped 15lbs of live rock in (all i could afford at $6/lbs). Purchased a couple fish and cleaning crew off salwaterfish.com and been rollin ever since. The tank is beautiful (comparitively speaking, i had freshwater previously). Couple of weeks ago i noticed some "new" inhabitants in the tank. There is an anenome, some clams, and some tube worms now growing from the LR that i purchased from a LFS in Richmond. I was looking at what i needed in order to start playing around with corals and/or "frags" which i am not entirely sure what they are but i assume they go into the tank =). Ill list what i have below and see what you guys can offer. I am also looking at alternatives to flake food. And some possible base rock or live rock at a decent price. I live in south stafford. Tank equipment: 55G all glass 20G sump w/ skimmer 2x maxi-jet 1200 2x maxi-jet 900 phosban reactor 400w heater 4x 110 vho with actinic and day light bulbs refractormeter TDS meter 5 stage 100gpd ro/di unit Tank Inhabitants (purchased): 1x sailfin tang 2x yellowtail damsels 1x yellow damsel 1x bicolor blennie 1x percula clownfish 1x fancy serpent sea star 10x astrea snails 10x scarlet reef hermit crabs 1x emerald crab 1x monkey shrimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav July 31, 2005 Share July 31, 2005 You have lots of light and it seems like good flow. Tell us about the skimmer. "Frags" are fragments of coral. The act of fragging involves slicing, cutting, trimming, breaking or otherwise dividing a large coral into 2 or more smaller coral and may then include glueing, sewing, pinning, or otherwise attaching that smaller frag to a rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar August 2, 2005 Share August 2, 2005 I was looking at what i needed in order to start playing around with corals and/or "frags" which i am not entirely sure what they are but i assume they go into the tank =). 35678[/snapback] I recommend the following: 1. A capable skimmer (which you may already possess) 2. Additional pest-free live rock 3. A quality reef aquarium book or two. The first coral that dies because you didn't know something would've paid for the book that would have taught you what you needed to know. 4. Some time lurking online at WAMAS (of course!) and Reef Central 5. Plenty of patience I am also looking at alternatives to flake food. And some possible base rock or live rock at a decent price. 35678[/snapback] There's a lot of alternatives to flake food. An easy route is to buy frozen foods like mysid shrimp or enriched brine shrimp. You can also make your own food using a concoction of seafood from the grocery store. Herbivores like nori, which is the same dried algae used to wrap sushi rolls. An inexpensive route for live rock is to order online and cure it yourself. You can find base LR at the big internet sellers for as little as $130 for a 45lb box. It will take a month or more to fully cure, but in the end it will be just as good as the expensive stuff. Finally, you're welcome to come check out my setup for ideas. I live between Fredericksburg and Stafford off route 17, so it sounds like we're geographically close. I'd also be happy to look at your reef and give you an honest critique as well. Regards, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeon August 2, 2005 Share August 2, 2005 I think my primary objective in your situation would be more rock. Your best bet might be to join and catch someone selling live rock in the for sale section. It is a member only forum. Locally the Reef Tank is probably the "cheapest". On the net, you can probably find some for ~$4/lb., but shipping is an added cost. If you time it, Dr. Mac has brought rock to meetings for delivery, which saves you a bundle on shipping. Not sure if he would do this in conjunction with MACNA or not. He's so close, he could probably ship via ground also... not sure if he drop ships though. For base rock, check out reeferrocks.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns August 2, 2005 Share August 2, 2005 If you have more time than money- then base rock will eventually become live rock- and like has been mentioned adding a bit at a time from people tearing down tanks also helps. SOft corals would be easily added to your tank for some color and neat growing shapes. Most of us have soft coral that we are willing to share as it grows rather prolific with time- Welcome to the club- Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malkier22 August 3, 2005 Share August 3, 2005 My wife got pulled over last week while i was reading a dr fosters mag. turns out the cop lives right down the street from me and also does saltwater tanks. i stopped by last night and he gave me a few "frags" of soft coral/shrooms. now i am understanding why you call it frags. he ended up giving me 15 purple zoos, 10 green zoos, a green ricordea, and something he called a "tree" (it looks like a pink tree). he told me how to put them into the tank in little dishes with no flow. he also gave me some zooplankton/photoplankton that he grows and told me to go buy some frozen brine shrimp from the LFS. he did not however, tell me how to attach the "frags" to the rocks that i would like them to be on other than to hope they grow attachments themselves. he said they will in about a week. my skimmer came installed in the sump. it was purchased from an ebay store, globalpetscom. here is the link http://cgi.ebay.com/75-GALLON-AQUARIUM-WET...oQQcmdZViewItem to jon i live off 218 and town and country rd in charlestown commons, not sure how close you are. I would like to concentrate on some base rock fist since the rock in the tank has been in there since the beginning. i was told that the base rock will become live rock in the micro organisms have a chance to grow on/in the rock. i am a high school teacher on a limited income. i understand i am not after a "reef" tank but i would not mind a few inhabitants other than inverts and fish. to try my hand at it. i tried to price out what my neighbor gave me and it was astonishing. especially if they dont make it. jon your welcome to stop by and/or i would love to see your set up. thanks all for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pez August 3, 2005 Share August 3, 2005 Is anyone else concerned about the "anemone" that is growing from the LR? Sounds like it might be aiptasia? -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake August 3, 2005 Share August 3, 2005 check Chewie70 member post, he is selling lots of LR for $3/#, also keep an eye for other members selling their stuff as well. One consideration you may want to start looiking at in the future is some MH lights this stands for Metal Halide. They are necessary in order to keep hard corasl like SPS and some LPS. This MH due draw lots of amp therefore your light bill may come up a little or a lot depending on how many bulbs you buy. I can help you with this issue if you need assistance. I did my own lights set up and wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar August 3, 2005 Share August 3, 2005 Lots of ways to attach frags. Your new zoos are probably mounted on a bit of rock, right? Set the rock in a suitable place, and eventually the polyps will overgrow the rock and expand onto the surrounding structure, anchoring the original rock in place. For the leather/tree coral, set it where you want it, and pin it in place with a small piece of live rock, or push a toothpick through the base, and wedge the toothpick into the rock so the bottom of the coral is firmly up against your live rock. In several days the coral will attach to the rock. Keep an eye on the frags though; sometimes they'll get knocked before they can attach by fish, your cleaner crew, starfish, etc. Phytoplankton is super easy to grow on your own, and will really boost your 'pod population. Just don't feed too much or you'll overload your skimmer. If you have the bioballs in the sump, you'll want to gradually remove them to prevent your nitrates from accumulating. Sorry to hear you got pulled over, but glad you found another helpful reefer. Happy reefing, Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar August 7, 2005 Share August 7, 2005 Live Aquarium is running a sale now on live rock. $90 for a 45lb box will be less than $3 per pound, including shipping. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mirosh August 11, 2005 Share August 11, 2005 Live Aquarium is running a sale now on live rock. $90 for a 45lb box will be less than $3 per pound, including shipping. Jon 36198[/snapback] You still have to pay shipping on it, don't you? Once shipping is accounted for, that would bring the total to $3.29/lb...still a good deal, but the 45 lbs costs about $150 after shipping... The site is www.liveaquaria.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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