alot longer then a month and really for the tank only being a month old some of the things i wouldnt have in there. this your first sw tank ? and where at in westchester ?
naples if i might make a suggestion, one more then likely the clam isnt going to make it nor the orange cap, those require high lighting either metal halide or t5. current makes a nice 6 bulb t5 for the tank, which i have on my ap 24g, dont rush in the hobby as much as a empty tank is boring to look at. it will benifit in the long run to let the tank settle, especially if you want a succesful and lasting system
...dont rush in the hobby as much as a empty tank is boring to look at. it will benifit in the long run to let the tank settle, especially if you want a succesful and lasting system
your design is great but some of that stuff-the clam especially, needs high output lighting. clams are considered advanced. beautiful layout but it would be a shame to crash a brand new system. maybe someone can house some of that for you until you upgrade the lighting at least. it took me months before i could put even a snail. patience.
in response to your question "so now what?" --- my 2c -
Find a reefer nearby with a tank that is established (quite a bit older than yours) who has the kinds of things you have that can't survive who can "babysit" them till your tank is ready for them.
In this case, "ready" is older and with stronger lighting. There are lots of us in Westchester!
The softies might be fine in the tank, but the stonies (anything with a skeleton) and the clam should not be in there yet. If you start a new thread asking for "help" and babysitting corals and a clam in Westchester, you might very well find someone who can help you. And added benefit is that you'll be making a new MR friend who is totally local and could help you with the process!
Best of luck!
(I would offer, as my tank is pretty old and I'm nearby, but I don't have metal halides and so can't babysit the clam )
ok i have to help out here.....
what naples forgot to mention was this rock came out of a totaly cycled system so there was no cycle period and if one it was done in under a week.... also his tank was seeded with pods.... and plenty of other goodies from my tank. i use my mushrooms as basically my test and thats it.... if they look like crap then some thing is wrong well in his tank they are just as big as in my tank well maybe bigger lol
another thing he also doses ESV 2 part that clam is super super healthy mouth isn't wide open which is a sign of stress and the foot is locked down but he did order and HQI sunpod today..... as for clams and hailides i have seen plenty of tanks with clams in them under PC's and T5"s and not 3" clams more like 6-8" clams.... i understand intensity is key for clams but when you get a clam thats small you still have to feed it phyto till it gets big enough to prosess the "light" you just have to be more careful with feeding phyto... then just turning on a light.... as for the cap well polyp extention is good and groth is also pretty desent..... that also comes from the water quality, flow, proper use of dosing, salt (sechem reef salt which in my opinion blows away many other salts with their higher levels of cal, alk strodium and mag) and husbandry