Adam's Finnex 30 M-tank of doom!

[adamrose]

So here it is ladies and gents. My first saltwater adventure!
It is thirty gallons of splendiferous water and not much else...

The only life is a red sponge and some cheato in the refugium.

Here are the specs:

Tank: Finnex 30 gallon
Powerheads: (2) Hydor Koralia 1's
Lighting: Current USA Sunpod 150 watt HQI
Skimmer: Tunze 9002
RO/DI: Aquasafe 100 Gallon Per Day

As of today the water parameters are:

Specific Gravity: 1.025
Ph: 8.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Ammonia: 0.50

I'm not sure how accurate my API Test kit is, as i have heard that they might not be all that accurate. Any idea's about the ammonia? I'm thinking it could just be a bad test kit.


Here are some pictures of the tank

 

[adamrose]

More Photos

:cheers:

 

[EmilyT]

nice start! what are you planning on using the tank for?
no fish yet=good sign of patience :biggrin:
are you planning on adding some more live rock?
the bacteria in the sand and lr will start the famous "cycle" which in general turns your ammonia into nitrite into nitrate (nitrate is easier to remove from the system than ammonia)

 

[adamrose]

So far the only fish i want (and think that i have the necessary sized aquarium/skills to take care of) are:

A pair of clowns:
Either Onyx or True Percula (perhaps an anemone is a possibility in the spring if my param's stay consistent)
Clown Goby
A Blood Shrimp
Some Clams (ultra crocea and maxima)


and of course corals, my interests are mainly LPS, standard softies and certain easy to keep colorful and "non limited-edition" SPS.
So i'm mostly interested in these corals: Acans, Favites (Favias?), Lobos, Tracs gonoporia, fungias and enchinos, green bali slimer, blue tort, tri-color acro, orange cap, Riccordia Yuma and Florida, and perhaps a yellow Fiji Leather.

I won't be adding any corals until at least December 9th . I should be getting 30 - 40 lbs of cured live rock from House of Fish next week. I like to take things slow so i'll probably get a riccordia or the yellow fiji leather first and try and keep that alive for a few weeks, and then slowly add things from there on.

I am thinking about purchasing an auto top off, and a reefkeeper 2 (with PH and Temp probe). My tank stays pretty stable in temperature never reaching above 82. with the metal halide on. I have noticed however, that i evaporate close to a half gallon a day.

I'm going to order some matching black buckets (excuse my OCD) from : http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/gamma_seal_lids_gamma_lid_products.aspx
and try to always have 5 gallons fresh/ 5 gallons salt (mixing) at all times.

I'm going to post a video of the water movement from the Koralia's, and the Skimmer in Action in just a minute

 

[EmilyT]

wow looks like you've done your share of research!
yeah tanks tend to evaporate quickly with lighting like that. i think the top off would be a good idea.
yay! i love videos!

 

[adamrose]

It seems like there is always more research to be done unfortunately....

If anyone has any suggestions as far as books to read, feel free to tell me .

Here's a video of water movement, i'll post the skimmer later tonight/ tomorrow.

Thanks for looking!

 

[ellebelle]

Aww, cute little sponge.

 

[sweetsop]

i have the same tank, it's my first too & i love how easy it is to take care of!

here is a picture.....

 

[ellebelle]

FYI - yellow fijis are not as easy to take care of as some leathers.

 

[adamrose]

FYI - yellow fijis are not as easy to take care of as some leathers.

Oh and thank you Lissa for helping me set this bad-boy up!

I guess I will have to rethink my first coral.

The only thing i care about is color, and shape/proportion - i'm not really into "designer" or "rare" stuff. If anyone has any suggestions.... post em here!

Skimmer is finally working, it's pulling out some dark looking tea.

 

[EmilyT]

The Conscientious marine aquarist is a must-read. However ignore that Fenner says nanos are impossible. they certainly are more challenging, but definitely not impossible.

 

[EmilyT]

i think rics are manageable, but they are quite pricey for a starter.

 

[ellebelle]

Do you still need chaeto?

 

[adamrose]

Some Rocks...

Added some rocks a few days ago, i have the pieces i didn't think were nice enough for the display tank in a bucket with saltwater.

I'll post the water parameters after work tonight.

 

[EmilyT]

nice rocks!!!!

 

[adamrose]

Do you still need chaeto?

yeah i do!
the stuff i have doesnt really seem to be growing super fast.

nice rocks!!!!

Hey thanks E!

I did my params today on my lunch break and after almost 4 days of having live rock, pretty much nothing seems to be happening in my tank....

PH: 8.2 - 8.3
Ammonia: Looked kinda like 0.25 - 0.5
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0

(I need to get better test kits i think, or some digital readers -as sometimes this seems like a little bit of guesswork).

Suggestions?

 

[nikkibabee]

I did see your thread before Adam! How are your new purchases doing...if it were me I would have probably been watching them all night!!

 

[adamrose]

I did see your thread before Adam! How are your new purchases doing...if it were me I would have probably been watching them all night!!

I was watching them for part of the night!

I really should have updated this before....
but in the last few weeks, i had the algae bloom - had the ammonia fall, the nitrites fall and the nitrates rise. I did a water change and got a clean up crew from House Of Fish. Turbo snails, Astrea Snails and Blue legged hermit crabs. I let them clean up the tank, and i watched the nitrates closely, i did another water change and they are almost undetectable.

Yesterday at the frag swap i purchased my first corals and fish.

here's the fish:
Short Video: http://www.vimeo.com/427283 edit* the embedded videos seemed to be crashing some browsers, it should work as a link - just click

 

[evik]

Very nice Adam, I'm kind of newbie too, my first fish were also pair of clown, I just love to watch them, so cute, they really have personality. But get a bubble anemone for them, they are like lost without it. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[adamrose]

Very nice Adam, I'm kind of newbie too, my first fish were also pair of clown, I just love to watch them, so cute, they really have personality. But get a bubble anemone for them, they are like lost without it. Good luck and keep us posted.

Hey thanks Evik! :biggrin: - the next thing i am going to buy is some sort of host coral for the clowns... or possibly a nem - i don't want to jump the gun tho.

Here's some of the corals:

Short Video (i can't get a good pic of the Ricordea or the Monti Digi)
http://www.vimeo.com/427509
edit* the embedded videos seemed to be crashing some browsers, it should work as a link - just click