# 30 gallon



## Abner

About time i post some pics of my saltwater tank...doesn't have a lot of corals and might want more LR but i like what it looks like for now and i have a lot of patience( had that tank at my house for a year almost with LS and water). I'm open to suggestions for corals and a couple more fish(two peaceful small ones) although what i would really like to do is add a flame angel because that is the fish i had in mind when i started this tank. These pics are either with my iphone or my crappy finepix (fujifilm)...my buddy is gonna hook me up with his nikon so some better pics will come soon.


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## ruffyruff

welcome!!! very nice tank!! 

What kind of lighting do you have, that will help us identify corals for you...

Love your 2 black clowns!


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## Abner

Lighting is nothing special....they are T8 power glow and actinic that fit the hood that came with the tank...was talking to my buddies at fragtory about getting better lights for better coral but short of getting another hood they didn't know if i could get better lights...but this is the reason i joined GTAA!!! new ideas seem to be popping up all over this place


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## ruffyruff

You have come to the right place !

Your T8 is good enough to power most corals, what type of corals is your interest? branchy? softies? polyps? favias? acans?

Infact if you do not intent to keep SPS's you just need to add a simple fixture to your original setup... since your tank is a 30, one would assume it is a 36x12x16... a 6 bulb T5HO independant reflector will give you SPS corals, a 4 bulb T5HO independant reflect will give you SPS in the centre and up high.. if u can keep SPS.. u can keep pretty much anything =)


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## Abner

now this is the point i ask where i find this simple fixture and how much is it gonna run me cuz i would like to have any and everything that is gonna be compatible with what i have started off with...next is some mushrooms probably next week..it takes me a while to add stuff to my tanks but in the end i know i want a crowded tank with tons of corals growing everywhere which is why i have a skimmer(prizm...no problems yet) and aquaclear filter on there. the fish are mostly for my girls to have something catching their interest but i really want that flame angel....anybody think the two banggai and the clownfish will be ok if i add it ??


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## ruffyruff

well to keep mushrooms in your tank, your lighting is enough.

Your prizm is fine, it just wet skims, I dont see any problems from it. Your Aquaclear filter, what size is it? Perhaps you might want to invest in a hob fuge (about 100$) which will increase your water capacity, ability to grow macroalgae for pods, deep sand bed (6 inches), keep live rock there to culture stuff =) and throw evil crabs in there =)

If you plan to keep the basic stuff, even leathers, I dont see how your current fixture cannot handle, they just wont grow as fast nor open as wide.

A new lighting fixture could range you from 200 to 400+... try looking in this forum or aquariumpros classified forum, you will find great deals, even if you dont mind WATTAGE, they have one for i think 200$ 36" HQI w/ 2 actinic PC bulbs..

I Dont see why you cannot add a flame angel, its a small gamble tho, since they MAY nip at your corals... afterall, still an angel 

IF anything, you can sell me your black and white clowns =)


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## Abner

aquaclear 50 i think..and i was thinking about a HOB FUGE but was thinking maybe i shudn't go all out on this tank and mayeb wait till i can get a 65 gallon or so....but will keep and eye out for a good price on a fixture (cash isn't flowing as well as the current in my tank right now ). i just want my ank to be happy which is why i'm worried about the space for the flame angel, the clowns and the bangai cardinals..that would be 5 fish plus all the corals that i'm gonna want but the flame would go in last is what i think. funny story with the clowns...went to big als in scaberia and the clowns were like $12 each so i picked out the two i wanted (darkest ones) and instead of getting more orange the got darker so read up on it and lo and behold it says black and whites do come with an orange mouth sometimes so hopefully they mate and everyone on here can get some clowns.


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## ruffyruff

HAHAHA... aquaclear 50... should be fine really, but it seems u need a bit more flow in the tank...

thats true, cuz if u plan to get a 65, u can use the 30 as your sump...

Sell me the 2 black clowns!! =) 

How long did they turn black like that? and when did u get them?


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## Abner

yeah i was planning another powerhead in there just haven't figured what direction it shud be facing yet lol...i have a 20 gallon that i was thinking about using for a sump or at least a QT( well just to have another tank with rock and stuff living in there lol) i got them about a month ago really small and like 2 weeks they were the colour u see them now....don't think they are gonna be up for sale anytime soon but if they mate i will set up for raising fry and everyone here will be having black clowns lol


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## ruffyruff

What are your current powerheads, what I like to do when I dont have enough power is, put them on the back wall, angle them to hit the front wall towards the centre, that way you get recirculating flow.

Now I have too much and I need to rearrange my powerheads. 

Use the 20 as a QT =) or grab a 5-10G and run it 24/7.... until you decide that you wont be adding nething else in the tank...

I cant wait to get my 2 black clowns =(


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## conix67

I've never dealt with these guys, and some positive and some negative comments about their stuff, but these guys carry HOB refugium+skimmer at very low price

http://www.aquatraders.com/protein-skimmers/hang-on-back.html

The $200 fixture for HQI plus PC is an awesome price IMO. It's a coralife brand too. Too bad I have no need for it, as my 36" 46G has a wide centre brace on it.


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## Abner

thanx conix prices seem to be very good there....have to do a little more research on setting things up with the space i have before i jump feet first lol...i have two aquaclear 30 powerheads in there right now and i have a 20 in with my venustus in his tank that doesn't need to be so that can go in the 30 gallon...just have to figure out the setup for a new fixture because i really want my tank to be brighter and with tons of coral


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## ruffyruff

Abner, before you go forward with corals, what is your nitrates?

I think its better to get everything at once, you'll get better results.

1. HOB Fuge (contact lloyd, he can custom make one for you and very good price and design)
2. Lighting... checked the used market because you'll get the best deal (I prefer going with T5HO's


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## Abner

i've never had any problems with nitrates...i test every week but i think it's attributed to me having the tank running with sand and salt for almost a year with a filter and a heater. then i added the rock and waited for a while whilst i was figuring out which way i wanted to go with it..will contact lloyd(most likely he will read the thread and jump on lol) he probably will have some advice too. the T5HO is the way i wanted to go just didn't know how i was gonna go about it with a fixture and i gues i would have to get a glass cover....it's a lot to do plus have to minimize cost


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## tropicalfishlover1220

Abner said:


> went to big als in scaberia and the clowns were like $12 each so i picked out the two i wanted (darkest ones) and instead of getting more orange the got darker so read up on it and lo and behold it says black and whites


OMG!!!! you do not know how jealous I am!!! I was there too and almost got two but the stupid salesperson said they had brook (clown fish disease) and were on meds blah blah blah so I didn't get them and when I went back just three days later they were all gone  you're so lucky.......! 

edit: oh, and did you know they were tank raised too? siiiggghhhh.... wish I got them

btw, did they get sick after you got them?


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## ruffyruff

I wonder when will they bring in more tanned orange clownfish.. hahaha... i go scoop them all home!! =)


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## Abner

lol..yeah that is exactly what i thought cuz i don't really like the bright orange clowns....i was there on the weekend and they had none if i see i will definitely let u know..no tropical they never were sick or got sick, guess i'm lucky better to be that than good sometimes lol


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## Abner

Thanx Brian for the YCG...seems to have fit in nicely i just put him in right now.Disappeared for a little bit then came out, banggai didn't seem to like him but not really bothering him..just thought i'd let you know he is doing good.


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## ruffyruff

abner, make sure the yellow little guy eats... i never had any luck with them


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## Abner

i had some frozen krill that i thawed out and took 15 minutes to chop really small and put in there and he was out and about so i figured he was interested i just got home so i will try mysis to see if he will peck at that but this weekend maybe sunday will be in scaberia at big als picking up a whole bunch of different foods for my the fish in the saltwater tank and the nimbochromis venustus in my FW. In this hobby i figure you need a lot of patience and love for it which makes you able to sit and watch for hours( ask Brian he had to kick me out of his place)


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## Abner

*new additions*

Got a blue zoa frag and an anthelia frag from ameekplec and a coco worm from conix. These ara not really good pics just took them with my iphone..just wanted to show them in my tank..thanx again guys and for brian YCG is doing fine.


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## Abner

*update*

just got a couple frags from fragtory...couple of great guys who give some great deals.got like four mushrooms that i'm gona give one to my bro and some zoas and a finger leather yaaaa!!


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## Katsafados

Nice wheres the factory? I need another place to buy corals. My lfs sucks soemtimes.


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## Abner

Katsafados said:


> Nice wheres the factory? I need another place to buy corals. My lfs sucks soemtimes.


They just joined on here and justed posted in general market place discussion
u should check them out...I'm cheap I always get them to give me a deal, I'm sure they will do the same if u buy a few items. I think the site is fragtory.blogspot.com tell em Abner sent ya


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## Abner

Soo...guess it's been a while since i posted anything about my tank. Well this is whats going on i got a koralia 4 ( figured i could use it when i upgrade)..not a good idea..is there such a things as too much current and flow in the tank ?? cuz now i have huge holes in my sand as well as sand all over my rockwork..haven't figured out what to do so back to the Aquaclears.

Moving along i fragged my Kenya tree..well don't know if i can call it fragging more like cut off a branch about the length i got the original tree so just waiting to see how that goes..looking well for now just have to get it to attach to the rock. It was looking good couple minutes ago even looks like it was stretching out.

Now for the exciting news..my Banggai Cardinal is holding!!! woohoo don't know if its gonna happen but been watching the two of them hiding away in the back for like a week now and tonight lo and behold when he opened his mouth i saw them. I am very excited although i wouldn't know what to do probably gonna just let nature take it's course cuz i don't have the space ( not really my wife is not allowing another tank) but u never know i may become a breeder lol..


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## Ciddian

Congrats!!!  How are the additions going from frag factory too??

Good luck on working with the flow, I had that problem too. lol


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## Abner

Ciddian said:


> Congrats!!!  How are the additions going from frag factory too??
> 
> Good luck on working with the flow, I had that problem too. lol


They are doing good, that leather i have in the pic is pushing out these little probes looks a little like a pincushion and the zoas are opening really nice although the mushrooms don't always open up wide but i think it was the current in the tank bothering them..waiting to see plus i also think it's cuz i don't have enuff light but that will be rectified soon enuff right eric!! lol..the thing with fragtory is they give all this free stuff lol i have all these tiny brittle stars and snails all over my tank. Not too sure about the number of brittle stars but the snails will do me good i just had an astrea fall off during the night on its back and died...i been trying to get some good shots but don't have a good macro lens and still trying to figure out the D70.


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## Abner

*Pics*

 couple pics of some of the new additions and the banggai..cant get a shot of the eggs in his mouth but u can see his mouth and gills all puffed out.


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## Ciddian

oohh goodie look at that! 

Great pics too btw


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## Abner

Ciddian said:


> oohh goodie look at that!
> 
> Great pics too btw


thank you..i keep trying different settings on the camera to get it right.anyone have ideas on what i should do short or getting rid of the koralia for flow in my tank ? even just running it on it's own straight across makes the sand go flying around...


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## conix67

Abner said:


> thank you..i keep trying different settings on the camera to get it right.anyone have ideas on what i should do short or getting rid of the koralia for flow in my tank ? even just running it on it's own straight across makes the sand go flying around...


Have you tried pointing it up toward the surface of water? Keep the power head as close to the surface as possible?

Otherwise, you'd have to try getting heavier substrate, one that won't be easily picked up by water movement.


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## shark

still i like the pics nice tank^^


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## UnderTheSea

Congratulations on the cardinals, you must be doing something right


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## Abner

UnderTheSea said:


> Congratulations on the cardinals, you must be doing something right


yeah for all the time i spend in front of that tank i better be lol....but yeah thanx learnt a lot from being on here



shark said:


> still i like the pics nice tank^^


thanx took my a while to get it to this point..going at it really slow plus have tons of other responsibilities that come first



conix67 said:


> Have you tried pointing it up toward the surface of water? Keep the power head as close to the surface as possible?
> 
> Otherwise, you'd have to try getting heavier substrate, one that won't be easily picked up by water movement.


i have it at the very top and having it running on it's own...yeah was thinking about heavy substrate but my brother has that and i don't really like the look of it i like this fine sand cuz it reminds me of snorkeling back home..i am gonna work it out though no worries or maybe just but another koralia 2? 3? cuz will need a couple more for when i get that big tank.


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## Abner

*hitchhiker*

Saw this little guy in my tank on sunday..looked pretty cool so took a pic think it's a sand sifting starfish probably gonna need to get him outta there soon tank too small for those guys


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## ameekplec.

Nope - it's an asternia star  Usually, perfectly harmless little guys - they multiply by fission - so you'll occaisionally see one with 3 or 4 arms - they grow back then then split apart again.


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## Abner

Thanx eric..did a little bit of research on them appraently they are good in small numbers in your tank...and is also a sign that your tank is doing well. Have to thank fragtory for all my little hitchhikers.


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## Abner

*Update*

The male cardinal still has the eggs in his mouth and the two of them spend most of their time hiding in the back being sneaky lol..don't remember if i already asked but should i remover the male from the tank ?? probably have to take most of my rock out to accomplish this but i think i want as many fry to survive as possible. i was thinking i could setup a couple little 10 gallons to house them for a little bit..anyone got any advice on what i should do?


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## Abner

Soooo don't know if anyone was wondering but no luck with the cardinals..couple days ago i looked and he had nothing in his mouth and was eating again and i have no little guys swimming around my tank. Really sucks cuz i was so excited about the whole thing but you never know they may try again as they are still hiding in the back of he rockwork..


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## Abner

*ID please*

So today i was looking at my tank and noticed these bubbles growing on the shell of my trocchus snail..does anyone have an idea what they are?? I also posted a pic of my first attempt at fragging lol...my kenya tree and the anthelias i got from ameekplec in which case is not really fragging they are just growing so fast i just add rubble around them and they hop on. The last pic is a finger leather got from fragtory..


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## ruffyruff

the bubbles are bubble algae, you could remove them =)


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## Abner

i suppose not all that harmful...kinda looks like the caulerpa that is why i was asking. will it spread uncontraollable all over my tank ?


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## ameekplec.

Valonia can spread and become uncontrollable. Try to remove it by hand, or get an emerald mithrax crab to eat it.

Package is in the mail, your upgrade is on its way


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## Abner

ameekplec. said:


> Valonia can spread and become uncontrollable. Try to remove it by hand, or get an emerald mithrax crab to eat it.
> 
> Package is in the mail, your upgrade is on its way


Woohooo i'm really excited now all i have to do is sell three cars today and this will be the best day ever lol...Thanx eric. Yeah i been looking into getting a crab but just don't know which one i should get yet cuz i was only looking for one just to have one now i actually have a purpose for having one in the tank. I'll look into the emerald mithrax then.


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## KnaveTO

I know Menagerie had some Emeralds on the weekend, got a real nice quarter sized one, although I think that was the last of the large ones.


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## Abner

KnaveTO said:


> I know Menagerie had some Emeralds on the weekend, got a real nice quarter sized one, although I think that was the last of the large ones.


How much?? well i guess it's about time i visited menagerie after so much talk about the place in this forum..i'll look into it


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## KnaveTO

Abner said:


> How much?? well i guess it's about time i visited menagerie after so much talk about the place in this forum..i'll look into it


Under $10 for the crab. Call first to verify they still have some. But it is a great store to pop into and just peruse.


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## Abner

KnaveTO said:


> Under $10 for the crab. Call first to verify they still have some. But it is a great store to pop into and just peruse.


exactly waht i intend to do...i like just going in and looking around and listening to the staff seeing if i like the place you know. I will buy from a place where i don't like the way staff are but most likely if i know that is the ony place to get what i want...like Big Als Scaberia i hate the staff downstairs man but they always have what i want .


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## Doctor T

Nice looking tank! I can totally appreciate how you're taking your time with this. Sorry about the Cardinal eggs, good luck with them.


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## Abner

yeah man thanx i really thought i was gonna have fry but maybe he ate them i read they do that on the first batch sometimes. My tank area is my little sanctuary after work i come home relax, have a drink look at whats going on in there and read post on here till it's time for bed. The tank really reminds me of home


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## TriggerMAN

wow that is some patience buddy,

I had everything going with fish im under 2 months 

I could not see myself staring at bristleworms on my rockwork all day lol


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## Abner

TriggerMAN said:


> wow that is some patience buddy,
> 
> I had everything going with fish im under 2 months
> 
> I could not see myself staring at bristleworms on my rockwork all day lol


Well you did your tank for you and I did mine for me. We have different paces and different ideas as to how our tanks would turn out...I'm really happy with mine never had any real problems and no livestock dead. Oh and I don't have bristle worms in my tank as I never bought rock from the LFS got it almost dry from a guy so had to get it back to where you see it now..everyones experience is different I was more patient but aren't we both happy with our tanks?


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## bigfishy

TriggerMAN said:


> wow that is some patience buddy,
> 
> I had everything going with fish im under 2 months
> 
> I could not see myself staring at bristleworms on my rockwork all day lol


it took me over a year to think about starting a salty setup or not.. and still thinking currently! 

Nice fish tank.. so hows your nano quarantine tank is doing??? everything works great?!?


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## Abner

I set it up with some rock from my brother and and some live sand with just water haven't reallly made sure everything is working properly i just cleaned it and put water and the rock and sand it...i was just checking for leaks not really ready to set it up don't even know where i'm gonna put it.


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## Abner

*Update*

Got my T5 retrofit this morning(thanx ameekplec) and did it in about 2 hours. the lights amazing it's like night and day going from T8 to T5. I also got two Rics from him too and the green one seems to be doing great just waiting to see the orange one open up..i'm trying to post pics but having trouble uploading files. Will keep trying so you guys can see how it went.


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## ameekplec.

Good to her the upgrade went well. Did it take any modifying of the hood to get the reflectors in?

Can't wait to see pics!


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## Abner

ameekplec. said:


> Good to her the upgrade went well. Did it take any modifying of the hood to get the reflectors in?
> 
> Can't wait to see pics!


trying to post the pics but system is not letting me...when i get home tonight from work will try again. I had to drill a larger hole to get the power cords to go through so everything looks the same as before other than that it was simple as driving in a couple screws to hold the brackets for lights and voila plug and play.


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## Abner

Hopefully third times a charm lol...here are the pics of my little DIY retrofit. Lol I guess i figured it out files were to big...


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## Abner

*New pics*

The Corals and of course a full tank shot..most of the corals are closed as i just fed the tankbut i'm sure you get the idea what it looks like.


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## Abner

So in the first pic above there is worm thing that has this long stringy thing it keeps letting out i would like an ID if anyone can please. In the 6th pic you can see my little hitchhiker mushroom he looks kinda purple with some green flecks..noticed him couple weeks ago but wasn't sure but now that he has grown mos def a mushroom. Oh i got the the Koralia 4 adjusted just right so the sand doesn't fly about leaving huge holes...all powerheads are running now and everyone seems happy...will report as it progresses!


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## conix67

Looks good! OMG you have 4 power heads and one of them is Koralia 4? You must have more flow than my 75G! You may not need all other power heads if your Koralia 4 is running well. 

If your retro lights working good, you should try some easy SPS!

I get lots of hitchiker polyps and mushrooms but usually I try to get rid of them, don't look very good once you get better ones


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## KnaveTO

Great looking tank there guy! Love the aquascaping


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## ameekplec.

Retro looks great.

Knave posted tis link over at AquariumFans.ca for worm ID:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchworms.html


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## Abner

conix67 said:


> Looks good! OMG you have 4 power heads and one of them is Koralia 4? You must have more flow than my 75G! You may not need all other power heads if your Koralia 4 is running well.
> 
> If your retro lights working good, you should try some easy SPS!
> 
> I get lots of hitchiker polyps and mushrooms but usually I try to get rid of them, don't look very good once you get better ones


Lol yeah got a lot of flow in there but i think i have it just right with all 4 of them running...gonna look great when i put some pulsing xenia and maybe hammer or frogspawn. not sure if i really like sps although some of them look really cool. my little hitchhiker mushroom looks better than the ones i bought lol.



KnaveTO said:


> Great looking tank there guy! Love the aquascaping


Thanx man i appreciate it...work in progress though


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## conix67

Abner said:


> Lol yeah got a lot of flow in there but i think i have it just right with all 4 of them running...gonna look great when i put some pulsing xenia and maybe hammer or frogspawn. not sure if i really like sps although some of them look really cool. my little hitchhiker mushroom looks better than the ones i bought lol.


It could be that I have way too much rock in my tank, but all my pulsing xenia, hammer, frogspawn get thrown around a little too hard. Can't see much of the pulsing action from my Xenia! The pulsing action is most obvious when I turn off all powerheads


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## Abner

I have to agree with you there conix...after some experimentation i realise my corals look a lot better without the koralia running. There is enuff flow with the prizm skimmer, AC50 filter, 2 AC30 and 1 AC20 powerheads. Got some sad news the Rics i got from Ameekplec have officially passed on to that big ocean in the sky...didn't do a good job placing them in my tank and the hermits kept flipping them and tumbling them down the rockwork. Not gonna try again till i have some better spots and better prepared to keep them down.Other than that there is some hair algae growing on the back wall but not really getting out of hand, snails are really going at it...Everything else is doing great although my kenya tree seems to be all bleached out and no longer pink but i figure it just hasn't adjusted to the new lights i am monitoring.


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## Abner

*update*

Here is a FTS taken tonight...i will admit that i have been neglecting my tank as of late because of the hours i was putting in at work so it seems i have algae growing on the back wall..my main concern tight now is my kenya tree, since i put in the T5 it has looked white like it's bleached and has started drooping..what do you guys thingk i hope it's not dying


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## Abner

*cool pics*

here are some pics that i took that i think were cool!!


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## conix67

cool pics! The kenya tree appears to be happy in this one.


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## Abner

yeah those were taken a last week so he looks fine but he is droopy as of 3 days ago....but anyways woohoo got some new stuff in a bucket right now but i guess u already know that conix since i just came from your house lol...will post pics after they get into the tank..thank again man always a pleasure dealing with you.


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## conix67

Same here. It was pleasure meeting with you as usual. Good luck with those frags!


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## Abner

*because we all love.....pics!!*

these are pics of the new corals in my tank...pulsing xenia, green star polyps and a hairy mushroom and some pics to show the growth of some of the others like the anthelia...and zoas that i have taken the habit of letting some move onto my rocks and then moving the the frag...everyone seems to be doing just ok except for my kenya tree but i've reduced the time period for my lights and weekly water changes because it could be the brighter lights or the new corals like the xenia...feel free to lend some advice


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## conix67

Looking good Abner! In a few months, when those fast growers begins to fill up the tank, it will look a lot better! I can already see how it would look. Give GSP a little more light (looks like it's under a shade slightly). If you like zoas, you can use some colorful ones too..

By the way, the water level appears to be a little low..


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## Abner

Thanx Yuri getting there slowly but surely...yeah i was thinking about moving that rock to allow some more light but i just haven't had the time to do it( yeah i know i could do it now but i started reading all the stuff i missed this week) yeah i really like zoas i want a carpet of them over the sand bed....yes the level is a little low just did a top up...weird how u noticed that from the pic...


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## ameekplec.

Looking good there Abner! Glad to see everything is doing great (well, except the kenya tree, but hopefully it comes around).

Pretty soon you'll get into colourful sticks (SPS)


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## conix67

Abner said:


> weird how u noticed that from the pic...


I'm sure other people have noticed it too.

I'll leave it to you as a puzzle


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## Abner

*New Arrival!!*

Went down to my boys at the Fragtory today cuz he got a RBTA yesterday and well i've been wanting one and i haven't been down there in a while. RBTA wasn't looking too hot from the trip but i know it will in a couple days or so but he had two green ones there and i figured $25 was a good deal so i figured what the heck! i'll get one. So i picked up a couple snails and peppermint shrimp(for my brother) and the BTA...got home did the acclimation thing and just put it in an hour ago...This is where things get a little hairy i don't know why but i tried to see if it would eat a piece of silverside which attracted my peppermint shrimp who then proceeded to try to eat my BTA...yes he was eating him i watched him literally tear off a tentacle. I kept chasing him for about 10 minutes and now he seems to have forgotten about it but i will keep watch cuz i can still seem him close by with the chunk of silverside i gave him. Anyways BTa doing great looks awesome in my tank..i know you guys want a pic but the battery is dead on my camera so i can't show you guys how it looks and i also took out some rock....hope u guys can make do with an iphone pic..


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## Abner

I forgot to say how i mounted it..easiest ever but i guess it was cuz it was in really good health. I put in a piece of rock during the acclimation, kinda just put it right next to the foot of BTA cuz it was on it's it's side abd after an hour or so it looked like the foot had taken hold so i righted it left it for another hour and a half and it was ready to go in the tank. just about 3 hours or so. man he is all bubbled up and looking great!


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## conix67

Congrats Abner! All bubbled up? That sounds good!

I'm sure the peppermint shrimp found something interesting on one of the BTA's tentacles, I doubt he was eating the tenticle itself.


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## Abner

oh no i knew someone whould tell me that cuz i researched it before posting that he was doing that...i witnessed him pulling at the tentacle then ripping a shred off and eating it. the piece was green kinda florescing, i just stood there in horror for a few minutes then grabbed my net to shoo him away well to net him but no luck but he has since let the BTA alone...thank goodness!


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## Abner

*update*

figured i would do a little picture update..no FTS maybe tomorrow

The Anemone seems to have found a spot he likes so had no problem with him moving around. The mushrooms are splitting so that rock may be covered soon. I took a shot of the Banggais cuz they seem about ready for another brood third one to date but no luck yet but i guess it's cuz i'm not really doing the things needed for them to successfully keep a clutch of eggs.Oh! there is no attempt at hosting in the anemone by the clowns.

On another note i am looking for an emerald crab and also thinking about a twinspot goby any thoughts on the goby? i already know about the sand bed digging....give me some suggestions as to what other livestock i can add bearing in mind i am gonna add a flame angel in there at some point. Also thinking about selling my pair of cardinals and just going with one and adding two more chromis....anyways yeah run your ideas by me, i know conix and ameekplec will but everyone else feel free to join in cuz right now i can see the corals i want in the tank but i can't seem to be able to envision the fish(except the flame angel) that i want in my tank.


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## ameekplec.

The only thing I can caution with the flame angel is that it may eat all of your coral, as all centropyge (dwarf angels) are to some extent coral eaters. But you may end up with one that won't touch your zoas and LPS corals, so you never know. The trick apparently is to keep them very well fed and then they won't decide to snack on your coral.

An emerald crab will be fine. Got algae issues?

The twinspot might not be a good pick - they're sandsifters and they can be tough to keep well fed in a small tank with limited sandbed to sift through. I had some success in putting mysis just below the surface of the substrate and getting it to sift it out and eat it, but lost that fish to ick. I think Conix is keeping a pair now - maybe he can chime in on that.


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## conix67

ameekplec. said:


> The twinspot might not be a good pick - they're sandsifters and they can be tough to keep well fed in a small tank with limited sandbed to sift through. I had some success in putting mysis just below the surface of the substrate and getting it to sift it out and eat it, but lost that fish to ick. I think Conix is keeping a pair now - maybe he can chime in on that.


I think the twinspot will be a tough call. Everyone I talked to, even LFS owner, admits they are one of the toughest to keep..

I have a pair, but can't tell if I still have a pair. They don't sift sand too much anymore, but I believe that's because of my sixline wrasse bullying the little ones. The twinspots dug few dungeons, and they stay there mostly. Once they are out sifting sands, sixline would come right after them and twinspots disappear into the holes they dug.

I try to prove more food for them by squirting food into their homes. Only time will tell how things will go for them...


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## Abner

Well the main reason i want one is cuz i want something to sift the sand in my tank...after watching the ones you have i was thinking about it. Has anyone seen an emerald crab around?? As for the flame angel i'm waiting to add him in last and i'm doing research on him everyday. So any ideas on another sandsifter? and any thoughts on a firefish??


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## ameekplec.

Sand sifters suitable for small tanks are hard to come by - do you keep any nassarius snails? They would eb good candidates for sand sifters.

If you're looking for Mithraxes, Menagerie ususally has them, and at the best price in the city too


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## Abner

*I got it*

Yeah i just got two nassarius snails from the Fragtory and although they are tiny they seem to be getting around and doing the job just slowly.

My brother went to big als this week and saw the emerald crab about 12 bux minus 25% i think so about $9 so he bought me one, have it going about my tank now. It has taken a couple snips at my zoas though but i think it was more out of curiosity. Posted some pics.


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## Abner

*woohoo!!*

I am a little sad today after losing my venustus but i looked into my SW tank at the Banggai cardinal and guess what i saw? He opened his mouth a little and i saw at least 2 sets of eyes so i think i have banggai fry..still not sure yet but gonna keep monitoring. The circle of life eh!!


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## Abner

*Been a while*

hey been a while since i posted on here.. have been reading though. thought i should post some pics of my tank just let everyone know that it is still doing ok.New inhabitants are a royal dottyback and a black and gold chromis(probably won't last long he and the female clown don't seem to get along).Emerald crab still there but peppermint shrimp just disappeared one day no clue what happened.Other than the hair algae i would say that my tank is doing fine.


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## Abner

Sorry forget to say i got a new light fixture, it's this one....http://www.aquariumsupplies.ca/aqualight-double-strip-p-2689.html


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## cablemike

nice coraline algae growth on you LR.. system is looking stable.. your tank has come a long way.. time to add some more corals


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## Abner

yep..you got that right in the next couple months i'm gonna start adding corals like crazy till it's full like yours(really like the look of your tank).


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## Abner

*Update*

Funny how the last person to reply to this thread was cablemike telling me to add some nice corals..well he helped me out there!! here is an update of my tank and the corals i got from him. Next week i'm gonna add another light fixture so gonna have 4 t5's over my tank so should be able to keep anything, who knows i might even venture into pretty sticks. enjoy.


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## cablemike

its nice to see the sun coral happy again.. and the brain is slowly recovering as i can see.. the acan is coloring up and should inflate soon.. glad there doing better in your tank then mine..


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## Abner

*update*

Just some quick photos i took tonight after moving some stuff around..mike i'm sorry to say that the green Monti cap dip not make it but you can see the acan, brain and red Monti are coming along nicely. Also i bought another coralife 30" t5ho fixture. i really like the look of it so i have 4 31w bulbs over my 30 gallon. I'm excited about what i can put in there now. So now i'm gonna start adding more corals...the wife wants to go blues, yellows and greens so everyone post one coral that you know of in that colour that would look nice in my tank.I also posted a pic of my black and gold damsel in his nano..hes is my favorite. OK so here are the pics enjoy.


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## Abner

Can anyone tell me what is that thing growing around my acan
? sorta just fused the rock that the acan is on with the rock already there..i'm just worried that it will grow over the acan and kill it.


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## Ciddian

that looks like a type of sponge to me. I used to have some in my cheato 

It was harmless for me, this one looks more delicate than mine and I am not sure if it would cause any harm but I would watch and make sure it doesn't over grown the other coral.


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## Abner

Ciddian said:


> that looks like a type of sponge to me. I used to have some in my cheato
> 
> It was harmless for me, this one looks more delicate than mine and I am not sure if it would cause any harm but I would watch and make sure it doesn't over grown the other coral.


yeah it is kinda delicate..i removed a few chunks that were really close tot he coral a couple days ago, was pretty easy to just rip it off. Oh if anybody watches their tank it's me. @ least 2 hours a day spent doing that.


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## cablemike

i would try removing as much as possible.. those sponges are agressive and will over grow the acans in no time.. ive lost polyps and mushrooms to that damn sponge.


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## Abner

cablemike said:


> i would try removing as much as possible.. those sponges are agressive and will over grow the acans in no time.. ive lost polyps and mushrooms to that damn sponge.


Well tonight i'm gonna go commando on em....with a snip snip here and a snip snip there, here a snip, there a snip everywhere a snip snip. soon no more sponge to bother my beautiful acans. thanx mike


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## cablemike

just noticed what looks strange about your tank, how come you dont have a background? it would me your colors pop alot more.. all i see is the skimmer and wires when i look at your tank. but its your tank and maybe you prefer that look.


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## Abner

yeah i have thought about it for a while now but i don't think i want one of those paper thingys...i want to paint the back black. Have any ideas how i should go about doing that without taking everything out? Now that you brought it up i'm gonna get on it right away though cuz now it's going to bother me lol. did you see my lights?? 4 T5HO BABY!! corals here i come.


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## cablemike

well i would cover the tank and the roll it on.. you want to use a flat black or blue. apply light even coats and wait 30 minutes between coats. i would recommend and exterior latex paint. just make sure to cover your tank well to prevent paint and fumes getting in..


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## caker_chris

nice tank, i am currently building my very own 30 gallon. I noticed you like taking pictures of your corals and tank with just the actinics on for the glow. Can I make a suggestion to you? Check this out http://cgi.ebay.com/Moonlight-Aquar...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5886e60169

You will love taking pics with just these on, they shimmer and your corals will glow so nice. I am so happy with the end result, just brilliant addition to the tank.


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## Abner

caker_chris said:


> nice tank, i am currently building my very own 30 gallon. I noticed you like taking pictures of your corals and tank with just the actinics on for the glow. Can I make a suggestion to you? Check this out http://cgi.ebay.com/Moonlight-Aquar...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5886e60169
> 
> You will love taking pics with just these on, they shimmer and your corals will glow so nice. I am so happy with the end result, just brilliant addition to the tank.


Do you really have these lights in your tank? i've been looking into moonlighting but haven't put much effort into it which is why i don't have any. Sorry i gotta add that your post sorta seems like one of those scammer generic virus type email to everyone on the list type post. send me a pic of these lights in your tank.


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## caker_chris

Abner said:


> Do you really have these lights in your tank? i've been looking into moonlighting but haven't put much effort into it which is why i don't have any. Sorry i gotta add that your post sorta seems like one of those scammer generic virus type email to everyone on the list type post. send me a pic of these lights in your tank.


lol yes i really do have those moonlights in my tank, I just installed them yesturday and believe me I am not selling these or have any thing to do with the people that are. I just was looking for moonlights and came across those on ebay one day and decided to give them a try and last night after installing them on my t5's, when the t5's went out for the night, my frogspawn tips were glowing, my zoas were glowing and the shimmer that you get from them is awsome.

I just noticed that you were taking alot of pictures of your corals and tank with only your actinics on and thought that this would be a great product for you and they are dirt cheap compared to other products and I find them better than others. They are also very easy to install.

Tonight I will take some pics and a video and post them for you to see.

P.S. I have lots of other threads on this forum pertaining to lots of other stuff to prove this is not spam.


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## Abner

caker_chris said:


> lol yes i really do have those moonlights in my tank, I just installed them yesturday and believe me I am not selling these or have any thing to do with the people that are. I just was looking for moonlights and came across those on ebay one day and decided to give them a try and last night after installing them on my t5's, when the t5's went out for the night, my frogspawn tips were glowing, my zoas were glowing and the shimmer that you get from them is awsome.
> 
> I just noticed that you were taking alot of pictures of your corals and tank with only your actinics on and thought that this would be a great product for you and they are dirt cheap compared to other products and I find them better than others. They are also very easy to install.
> 
> Tonight I will take some pics and a video and post them for you to see.
> 
> P.S. I have lots of other threads on this forum pertaining to lots of other stuff to prove this is not spam.


Oh i know you are not a spammer as i have commented on post after you did just that the way you worded it sounded like an ad so maybe someone is using your account for spam. Anyways would love to see them in your tank and also your install. And the pics you are referring to is from when i just started playing around with the settings on my camera, at that time i wasn't able to use just actinics...as a matter of fact still not able to those lights definitely peaked my interest. lets see your pics and video and maybe i get some too.


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## Abner

*some pics*

my wife was in the hospital and i really did not have time for my tanks the past couple weeks. She is home now and my life is slowly returning to normal and after a clean up on my tanks here are some pics. Oh yeah my wife is recovering ok but if someone knows a lawyer who specializes in sueing hospitals feel free to drop me a link.


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## Abner

The last three pics are of my 8 gallon saltie. very simple setup...sand, rock, powerhead built in light and filter and my nicest fish, black and gold chromis who doesn't get along with anyone in the 30 gallon.


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