New Member Tank Pics!

[Aquatic Dreams]

Hello ... just joined the forum and wanted to share some pics. I was given a fully setup 46 gallon bow last summer. I've been learning a lot since then but there's still some work to do. I definitely need new lighting and some new powerheads.

First here's a pic of the tank. I know ... not pretty. LOL Sorry about the baskets but they're necessary right now. Rose BTA top left and several Flame BTAs top right.




I guess next would be the fish. I have 2 ocellaris clowns and 2 blue sapphire damsels. I also have 2 peppermint shrimp that were being very secretive.







Now for the leather corals. First my nice big green poylp leather and then the little one with no polyps that doesn't grow much.






I recently got a little mini-maxi carpet nem that I think is pretty cool.



For mushrooms I have a couple brown/orange yumas that I couldn't get a good pic of. But I also have this cool red/purple one with light blue speckles. The second pic is the one I just got at FragFest. It's wrapped around a piece of rock that it was attached to and I glued that to a larger rock. I'm hoping it flattens out at some point so I can see it better.





I have some xenia next to the duncan frag I got at the show. And I also picked up a small sunset monti and a very small piece of I believe watermelon favia.








And finally my avatar pic ... Gary! Conch snails are so cool!!




I look forward to any feedback or suggestions you may have!

Dave.

 

[Joshbrookkate]

Looks like you inherited a cool set up!

 

[heath]

I think its a beautiful tank...don't sell yourself short...

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

Yup I got a good deal. LOL Although I've probably spent AT LEAST $500 since I got it. I guess that's still a good deal though. The only original inhabitants that I have are the anemones. There Rose was HUGE and is still rather large after splitting a couple times. And the Flame has also split several times. I traded one of the flames a while back for the mini-maxi carpet. And I actually just captured another one. It was at the back of the large rock and in a crevice. After a couple months there it finally decided that wasn't a good spot so was venturing around the side. It's not large and somewhat bleached but it's now in a small basket getting more light and can be easily fed.

I think its a beautiful tank...don't sell yourself short...

Thanks and yes I quite like the tank but I find the algae and diatoms unsightly. It looks great for a while when I clean it but doesn't take long to come back. I believe I have some nutrient issues going on. That and the bulbs for the light are very old. I'm looking to get a nice LED lighting system in the VERY near future! I'd like to get a couple Jebao RW4s as well.

Currently the hardware is as follows. Coralife Aqualight Lunar with very old bulbs, Koralia powerhead, Tunze Nano Wavebox with 6091 controller and a Reef Octopus BH-2000 Skimmer. It also came with a canister filter that I've just kept running to help with flow. I'm thinking of replacing everything except for the skimmer with a couple AI Primes or Hydra and a couple RW4s.

Anyways ... it's a work in progress. I'm learning lots along the way though!

 

[nathan]

Haha to awesome I call my conch snail gary too...

 

[heath]

Its always a work in progress..I think that the issues that you are having with the algae is just the tank maturing..and old bulbs won't help either...try reducing your lights a bit...every tank gets it...

 

[Shooter000]

Tanks looking good, keep up the good work, patience patience and more patience in this lovely hobby of ours, did I mention patience??, looking forward to seeing that leather grow and become your centre piece...

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

Thanks guys!

.... looking forward to seeing that leather grow and become your centre piece...

HA ... I thought it already was! I was actually thinking of trimming it back a bit. I am going to re-arrange the rockwork at some point to try and give it more space. It's just such a HUGE job but I'll likely do it after I get the new powerheads.

BTW - Any advice on the little bleached BTA that came out from behind the rocks? It's still got some colour in the tips of the tentacles. I currently have it at the top in a little basket. I'm assuming give it a good amount of light and food to help it colour back up?

 

[Shooter000]

+1 above

 

[yveterinarian]

I think your tank looks very good. Tanks are always a work in progress and algae is sometimes a response to the tank being moved and stirring up detritus on the bottom. New lights, as you have suggested, will help. Keep cleaning up any algae and look at your phosphate and nitrate levels. Sometimes these levels can have a bearing on the amount of algae in the tank. Diatoms always show up with new tank setups and generally clear up as it matures.

 

[benzzzz]

Great looking tank! Welcome to the wonderful world of salt water. Keep us posted on your progression. Cheers!

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[scubasteve]

about time. more people need to stop being so shy lol.

 

[scubasteve]

looks good tho

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

Thanks fore the comments. Yeah ... I'm hoping the lights will help a bit. I am due for a water quality check though. I hope that one day there's an easy way to check ALL the water parameters at once!

about time. more people need to stop being so shy lol.

... I'm confused? Shy?

 

[scubasteve]

Thanks fore the comments. Yeah ... I'm hoping the lights will help a bit. I am due for a water quality check though. I hope that one day there's an easy way to check ALL the water parameters at once!



... I'm confused? Shy?

Alot of people dont post tank pics i dont get why its great to compare later for growth records and to track your progress

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

Alot of people dont post tank pics i dont get why its great to compare later for growth records and to track your progress

Ah ... I see now. Although I sort of understand why. I'm sure many are embarrassed about a messy or unsightly tank. And some forums like to bash those just starting out. Thankfully this forum does not seem like that at all. I figure that we all gotta start somewhere and everybody's had these issues at some point so why not post pics and get some (hopefully) constructive feedback.

This tank was previously running for years before I got it. I've had it up and running since around August. So I'm a bit embarrassed any annoyed with the algae and diatoms. I did have some hair algae for a while and I usually get a bit of cyano before my SCRUB and water change. But it's the short brown/orange/dark green algae that seems to grow over EVERYTHING right now. I'm fairly certain that a lot of it is due to the lighting. The bulbs are LONG overdue to be changed but I don't want to buy new bulbs as that money will go towards some nice LED lights. I will hopefully have a new lighting system in the next few weeks ... that's the plan anyways.

I'm sure there are some nutrient export issues that I will have to look into as well. I don't dose or run phosban or anything. I do have some carbon running in a small HOB filter to help with toxins etc. I also recently switched from IO salt to Kent Marine. Well actually right now I'm mixing 3/4" IO and 1/4 KM to finish up the IO and slowly adjust everything to the new salt. Not sure if that would be a factor or not though.

BTW - I do have several little yellow sponges growing in various places. I've been reading that these feed on the silicates that the diatoms use so hopefully it will all even out at some point. As long as the sponges don't overtake my tank.

Dave.

 

[scubasteve]

Ah ... I see now. Although I sort of understand why. I'm sure many are embarrassed about a messy or unsightly tank. And some forums like to bash those just starting out. Thankfully this forum does not seem like that at all. I figure that we all gotta start somewhere and everybody's had these issues at some point so why not post pics and get some (hopefully) constructive feedback.

This tank was previously running for years before I got it. I've had it up and running since around August. So I'm a bit embarrassed any annoyed with the algae and diatoms. I did have some hair algae for a while and I usually get a bit of cyano before my SCRUB and water change. But it's the short brown/orange/dark green algae that seems to grow over EVERYTHING right now. I'm fairly certain that a lot of it is due to the lighting. The bulbs are LONG overdue to be changed but I don't want to buy new bulbs as that money will go towards some nice LED lights. I will hopefully have a new lighting system in the next few weeks ... that's the plan anyways.

I'm sure there are some nutrient export issues that I will have to look into as well. I don't dose or run phosban or anything. I do have some carbon running in a small HOB filter to help with toxins etc. I also recently switched from IO salt to Kent Marine. Well actually right now I'm mixing 3/4" IO and 1/4 KM to finish up the IO and slowly adjust everything to the new salt. Not sure if that would be a factor or not though.

BTW - I do have several little yellow sponges growing in various places. I've been reading that these feed on the silicates that the diatoms use so hopefully it will all even out at some point. As long as the sponges don't overtake my tank.

Dave.

Well all i can say is all those forums suck then lmao. You wont get heckled here for things. If your bulbs are that old then yes it is contributing alot as your bulbs move more to the red spectrum ( red great for algae, blue great for coral). Diatoms always form in a new tank once they remove all the excess sillicates they will be gone. Just dont stir up alot of sandbed just get the surface and let nassarius or conch snails clean it for you as stirring it up too much will cause diatoms as well.

Just keep testing to make sure your levels are good and keep up your water changes religously so nasties dont buildup. Theres lots of things you can do for nutrient export like a refugium or algae scrubber. You could also go the media route and use things like phosban, bio pellets or gfo but whagever you choose to use research the crap out of it first and make sure your lifes schedule will allow it as some are more work than other.

Just remember majority of us have had algae at one pount or another. There is a fix to everything.

And yes keep those sponges they are great for nitrate and phosphate removal. If they take over your tank sell them lmao. For the most part they will stay in moderate to low flow areas with dim or no lighting

Looking forward to watching this thing grow out and fill up. Whatever route you decide to take dont forget pica haha.

(Fyi the maintenance skills of the previouse owner could cause algae issues depending how the live rock was handled as well)

 

[Aquatic Dreams]

OK ... Thanks for all the advice Steve. I will definitely be posting pics as the tank progresses. I like posting pics ALMOST as much as you guys like to see pics. LOL

Dave.

 

[sunnykita]

Beautiful tank!

 

[heath]

maybe I misunderstood, did you say that you are running a HOB filter, you could maybe try filter floss to catch some of the stuff and keep it from returning back into the tank.. you will be super surprised the crap that it catches...