Beaun

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This is my first every aquarium and the pictures are very new so please pardon the appearance. The pictures were taken about 5 days after the rock was in. It’s a 65 gallon AGA reef ready with; 20 gallon Eshopps reef sump, AquaC Urchin Pro protein skimmer w/Rio 1400, and a Mag Drive 9.5 return pump. I have added a black background since this picture was taken.


Currently there is just the Northern Puffer in there. I’m on my way to the LFS (Country Critters) on Saturday to get some Margarita snails, maybe some red foots, since I am unable to find any mud snails or periwinkles near shore this time of year. The idea of the tank is not necessarily a “local” only species tank, but a temperate tank. I would love to get some Catalina Gobies and other temperate species as well as collecting tropical strays in the summer time. The sand and water are both collected from Napeague Bay in Amagansett. The rocks and macro algae’s are from Montauk Point.


<O:pSo far the puffer is a ferocious eater. I rescued him from a 10 gallon tank, but he might be too aggressive against both inverts and other fish. I feed him frozen Bay Scallops I got from the grocery store. He eats about a half of a scallop twice a day and continues to search for more. Sometimes he nips at the macros but rarely does much damage and at night he rests in the front left corner, which he has carved a small crevasse.
<O:p

I still need to add more macros as its going to be a planted tank when finished. I would still like to add some Codium fragile and a few others (maybe more tropical macros like s shaving brush).

The temp is steady at about 68-70 degrees and stays fairly clean. The only issue right now is there is some brown algae growth on the sand bed, which is why I need to get to the LFS to get some snail. I would also love to get a purple sea urchin and maybe a horseshoe crab (although they get huge). We will have to wait and see how it evolves over the next few months. The summer will be the biggest time for change, depending on what I can collect locally.
 

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jhale

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G.V NYC
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that looks great, I'm interested to see how the codium grows.

one thing I notice is the local rock is not porous so there's not space for anaerobic bacteria to grow. You might have trouble keeping a balanced tank with fish that eat a lot. You could think about using bio-balls in the sump, with no coral and just algae it might be a good solution.
 
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Beaun

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I'm probably going to be adding/hiding some porous rocks A) for the reason you stated, and B) because I need places for things to hide. Thanks for all the tips though.

I'v never been to AquaHut (or Suffolk Reef and Fish), CC is a big drive for us out here on the east end but AH doesnt seem that much further so we might check it out. (my brother has a reef tank as well so shopping around while we are up there is a good to know about)
 

Beaun

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I will definitly check out Aquahut though, I didnt realize that one was where it is, I'll just hop on 495 and go north on 112 I guess. CC is just south on 112, so its really not much further. I need to look up where Suffolk County Reef and Fish is, any tips on their stock and prices?
 

Domboski

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SCF&R is right off of the LIE at Exit 59. Their prices are hit or miss depending on the item. You do get a discount for being a member and they are nice people to deal with. I find the health of their lifestock to be better than AquaHut.
 

Awibrandy

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Far Rockaway
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What is SCF&R?

Have you been to Pet's Warehouse in Commack right on the Sunrise Hwy. across from Big Lots? Not the best looking LFS, but you can find some decent livestock if you know what you are looking for.;)
 

Beaun

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Ill check out AquaHut first I guess, then maybe SCF&R after if i need to/want to look around. I think Im going to be getting some Margaritas, maybe some red foot snails, iron supplement, possibly an Azoo fan if they have one, and maybe a fish if they have anything that ends up being a tropical stray...although one of my co-workers says he knows someone that might have a blue tang ( and a few other cool carrabian strays) that he caught last summer and its too big for his tank, so I might be able to get my hands on it. I also added a porous rock to my sump and a rock to the tank behind the large Fucus marco, and moved some others around to make some hiding places for when I add other fish. Might also get out to montauk this weekend to get a few other rocks. I'll post pics when I finish.

Also, what exit is Rt. 112 off the LIE, I always take 27 so I have no idea which exit it is...I'm sure I can find it, but I'd rather not have to pay attention if I dont have to. thanks!
 
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Beaun

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Saturday morning I went out to Sammy?s Beach to get some water for a change and also picked up a small group of Codium, Agardhiella, and another long macro algae I can?t ID. After that my brother and I decided to head up island to go to Aqua Hut, Suffolk County Fish and Reef and Country Critters. AH has good prices, but overall the store felt cramped, under stocked, as far as livestock is concerned, and the employees did not seem accessible. The first thing you should have in a fish store is employees who are easy to find and talk to. They had a lot of fish tanks set up but they did not have a large selection of fish in them. Many of the tanks had one or two fish in them and some of the others had lots of one kind. Josh, my brother, was looking for a 6 line wrasse, they had one at AH but half its tail was missing! I purchased a few items (Iron supplement, siphon tube, test kits and some krill). They had a very small selection of corals and they didn?t look very good either. Overall, I would give AH a 3 out of 5, and 3 is only because they had good prices.

Next we went to Suffolk County Fish and Reef,they had a huge selection of fish that looked very healthy and were very good prices. They did not have a lot of corals but to be fair they are named Fish first and Reef second. Josh found his 6 lined wrasse here for $24 and it was a good looking specimen. They had a small room dedicated to supplies and tanks, but nothing as impressive as their fish room. The employees were easy to approach and had a good knowledge of what they were talking about. The one guy we were talking about advised us that the LED lights they had set up and we were talking about were not good and should not be bought (this is a product they sell). He also talked about the pros and cons of the LED's and Metal Halide lighting. It was a very well lit room and easy to see most tanks (some you had to bend over to see well). I would give them a good score of 4 out of 5, one point off for coral selection and small supply room.

Finally, we headed to Country Critters (our normal store) to look around. I got my margarita snails here (12 for $30) and their last red foot snail ($2.99). While CC?s prices are higher I can see why they have to be. CC?s runs metal halides on all of their coral/frag tanks (14 in all I think) while the other stores did not. CC?s running costs are simply higher and their prices need to be higher. CC?s is definitely the place to go for a wide selection of fish and for great corals. The employees are easy to approach and know us there now so they always ask how the tanks are coming and genially are interested in our questions. They have a good selection of supplies and their selection of aquariums is unbeatable. They score 4 out of 5 as well, one point off for price.

In the future I think we will be going to SCFR for fish and to CC's for corals. I was really turned off from Aqua Hut and so was my brother. Neither of us was very impressed with the store.

Sunday was a trip out to Montauk Point to get some more rocks, since I cut the large Fucus plant off the rock because it was not looking good. Before we went out to Montauk, Josh had finally caught his Pacific Blue ?Hippo? Tang (with a hook and food) and we acclimated that in my tank to keep it for a while to sell/give away when he gets bigger (too big for the tank). He acclimated well and to my surprise the puffer was afraid of him at first. I?ve never seen the puffer burry himself so far so fast as when the tang was introduced. Both were wary of each other at first but got accustomed to each other after a while. In Montauk we got a few rocks with various macros on them; one of which was very large and had lost of Chondrus, ?Irish Moss?, on it. I also spotted a fish while out there and we picked it up along with some snails. The fish turned out to be a small cunner, about 2.5-3 inches long.

After acclimating everything for a very long time (50 degrees to 70 degrees!) we dumped it all in the tank. The cunner disappeared into the rockwork within a few mintues and I haven?t seen him since. The puffer, however, attacked any snail that was placed on the sand. He hasn?t touched any of the snails I bought at the store (they are from the west coast), nor does he touch the snails on the rocks, just the ones on the sand. So as long as the margaritas are taking on the sand, I?m ok with him attacking some local mud snails. Overall, it was a big change for the tank this weekend. Now there is a lot more rockwork in the upper right side and the macro population has changed significantly too. With all that rock in there now it looks a lot bigger. Pictures to be coming soon!!! (Hopefully)
 

Beaun

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Here are some updated pics. The cunner is the fish picture, he is coming out a lot more now and is a very fun little fish. He likes to hide in the rocks like a wrasse. As you can see it has gone through some changes. I think the rocks make it appear to be bigger now. I am happy with the way it looks now.

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