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Chappy
Feb 12, 2002

wooom wooom vroooom ksh ksh vooom
I think the old thread fell into the archives, but I've got some pictures to post. Let's try to keep this one alive.

We went to the fish store last weekend, and I wanted to bring this home so badly:

MOTHERFUCKING MANTIS SHRIMP!


But I don't have a tank ready for him :(

I also wanted to take this guy home, but I don't have a large enough tank for him, he was also 149.99



Here's a few pictures of our Mandarin, who we have had for a year this month. I think that's pretty good considering I was told time and time again it's going to starve to death in a few weeks.







Our clown making a rare appearance out of his 'shrooms.



We got a nice looking Coral Beauty, but he runs whenever I try to get a picture. Same thing with the Yellow Tang.

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Tethyis
Dec 13, 2006

The happiest fish..
I have gradually increased the salinity of Chucky's( my green spotted puffer) tank as he has gotten older. So it started freshwater went through the brackish stage and is now at full on saltwater stage. I've added my first live rocks, a green star polyp coral, a feather duster and a cleaner crew. Onto the pics!
Chucky


green star polyp coral, just now starting to open up


tonga branch

feather duster worm

the yeti
Mar 29, 2008

memento disco



I've always thought the featherdusters were awesome looking little things. Does anyone actually keep those as a focal point of the tank?

Morbank
Mar 19, 2006
What do you feed your Mandarin Goby?

Chappy
Feb 12, 2002

wooom wooom vroooom ksh ksh vooom

Morbank posted:

What do you feed your Mandarin Goby?

He eats live food that grows in the live rock. We get a "kit" full of them every 3 months or so from the fish store. He also eats some of the wild mysis shrimp that show up in the tank.

They normally don't eat prepared food. He did look intently at a piece of frozen mysis for a few seconds, and I thought he might take it, but instead hovered away.

Morbank
Mar 19, 2006
Cool, glad to see you're able to manage one. The kits, are they those squeezetubes of live food? I think I remember another goon from another marine thread posting them. Like tons of critters in a liquid solution.

Chappy
Feb 12, 2002

wooom wooom vroooom ksh ksh vooom

Morbank posted:

Cool, glad to see you're able to manage one. The kits, are they those squeezetubes of live food? I think I remember another goon from another marine thread posting them. Like tons of critters in a liquid solution.

No, it's a big bag of water with pods in it. They culture them and make you buy at least one when you buy a mandarin. One of the many reasons I love this store and drive an hour to get there. Their stock is great and they are just as concerned with the fish living as they are with selling them.

MoCookies
Apr 22, 2005

My Flame Angel got stressed and sick pretty quickly after we moved to our new house. :( He finally kicked the bucket on Sunday. I'm totally dejected about it, and I'm wondering if I even want to keep my tank going anymore. I was waiting until after the move to get any more fish, but now the only one I had is a goner. I also managed to kill my 2 clownfish back in January because I was stupid and let my tank get too cold during my Christmas holiday trip.

On the other hand, I love it when my tank looks really nice, and I was excited to find some baby snails yesterday. Apparently I'm better with snail husbandry. I just don't know what I want to do, and the guys I live with are pushing me to sell the tank. It would be nice to have a little money in my pocket too, since we're having some cash flow issues due to the move. Advise me goons? Should I just sell the drat tank?

Hypnotized
Nov 2, 2004
Here are some pics from my 14 gallon tank. I have had it up and running for about 9 months now.



bicolor blenny

blenny getting a cleaning

Morbank
Mar 19, 2006

MoCookies posted:

Should I just sell the drat tank?

You could stock your tank with all kinds of snails, and buy more fish when you dont feel so lovely about your fish situation.

Edit:

VVVVVVVVVV aww drat Chappy sorry to hear.

Morbank fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Jun 6, 2008

Chappy
Feb 12, 2002

wooom wooom vroooom ksh ksh vooom
I miss my blenny. He jumped out of the tank :(

Lazy Bastard
Aug 23, 2004
Laziness is an art
I love showing off my reef tank!



That was from exactly 1 year ago. Had all the live rocks, fishes, and clam for about 6 years. Lost almost all my corals about 3 years ago due to flat worms and red bugs which really bummed me out. Then I was moving into a new house and everything kind got of neglected. So after taking that pic, I started cleaning everything up and got my tank back into order, upgraded to some new lights and other gear also. Then 6 months ago, I bought a load of new corals and got back into the game. Here are some pics of the tank from last month.





Papaya
Apr 4, 2005

I'm a creepy furry who feels entitled to other people's babies, but only if they are white. Yiff!
Good lord that's so beautiful. I wish I had the time and money to invest into a saltwater. I barely keep my freshwater in good conditions sometimes though. Maybe someday :)

Aphelion Necrology
Jul 17, 2005

Take care of the dead and the dead will take care of you
I was hoping a new saltwater megathread would pop up.

My 6.6 gallon is coming along nicely, I'm almost at the 3 week mark, waiting for my levels to go down. I'm having brown algae and some purple growth on my liverock that's very pretty.

No pictures, though. :(

fanaglethebagle
Sep 5, 2007

by angerbot
My old softy 29 gallon:


Currently I am in the stages of setting up my 180+90+40breeder+27clam+180sump/refugium setup

Dances with Daisies
Jan 8, 2007

I'm having a bellis of a time.
Argh, I envy you all so much. Mind you, I think I might take the plunge into saltwater sometime soon. I'm thinking of upgrading my freshwater tank to twice the size, which will leave me with a nice spare 90l (20 US gal) tank spare. I also have a smaller 30l tank I could use as a refugeum. If I ever get my arse into gear and get around to it, I'll post pics, I promise.

therapy
Jun 12, 2001

Living the dream
I have a question for you guys - what's that purple stuff on the glass/sides of the tank? Is it a purple algae? Is there any way to control it?

Do you have to clean the viewable side of the tank all the time?

Hypnotized
Nov 2, 2004

therapy posted:

I have a question for you guys - what's that purple stuff on the glass/sides of the tank? Is it a purple algae? Is there any way to control it?

Do you have to clean the viewable side of the tank all the time?

It is coraline algae and it is beneficial, and also a sign of a healthy reef.

fanaglethebagle
Sep 5, 2007

by angerbot
It's a bitch to scrape off the front though.

Adleran
Jun 9, 2008
lol thats so cool... i have a big fishtank of my own, i should go get pictures.

TooLShack
Jun 3, 2001

SMILE, BIRTHDAY BOY!
Hey Fang, is that GSP growing on your magfloat?

Dances with Daisies
Jan 8, 2007

I'm having a bellis of a time.
Can people tell me what equipment they're using to keep their reef tanks going? I want to go reef, and the arrays of different kit different people use seems baffling. I'd be interested in knowing your various techniques.

Lazy Bastard
Aug 23, 2004
Laziness is an art

Ophidia Snaketongue posted:

Can people tell me what equipment they're using to keep their reef tanks going? I want to go reef, and the arrays of different kit different people use seems baffling. I'd be interested in knowing your various techniques.

Look at Reef Central and some other reef sites for more detail but here are the basics:

Live Rock, high water flow, protein skimmer, water change, strong lights, calcium + alkalinity for coral growth.

Now a days, propeller type pumps are the way to go, I use maxi-jet pumps with sureflow mod.

Protein skimmer, almost any type will work, look for one within your budget and your tank size. I use Remora for my 60 gallon.

Lights - Metal Halides are the standard, I use a Lumen Bright reflector with 12k reeflux bulb (again, all these stuff you can google for more detail). I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my lumen bright mini reflector, that poo poo turns your whole lighting system into a flood light and your corals will love it. Set it up high though, like at least a foot away because your corals will get burn.



With my old spider reflector, my MH would light up the whole room but now with the LB mini, it is like 10 times darker because all the lights are being focus into the tank.

T5 lighting is also becoming more common, thats another type to look into.

Cal and Alk - must keep these up for coral health and growth, lots of reading for this subject. Calcium reactors or 2 part dosing are pretty standard. I use 2 parts myself because of price and I get good results from it.

Lazy Bastard fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Jun 9, 2008

Aphelion Necrology
Jul 17, 2005

Take care of the dead and the dead will take care of you
^^ I agree that metal halides are the best lighting out there, but for most beginners I would suggest Power Compacts, simply for the cost factor.

I'm doing well with my 6.6 gallon nano tank so far. At just over 3 weeks, my ammonia is finally at 0ppm, just waiting for everything else to follow. Lots of brown algae growth.

Here's my equipment:

6.6 Gallon Acrylic "Bookshelf" aquarium - from PetCo :downs:
Taam Rio Nano Protein Skimmer - 110 gph
Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead Mini - 240 gph
Coralife 20" Single PC fixture with 28w 50/50 - 4.2w per gallon
Coralife Aqualight 3/4w Lunar LED - Planning to upgrade later.

My tank contains:

10 pounds of assorted live rock
20 pounds of live sand
100 pounds of BROWN ALGAE :3:

I don't think my LFS has live pods or such for Mandarins, is there a place to get them online? I'm really interested in keeping one, but so far everything I've read about them terrifies me.

Aphelion Necrology fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Jun 16, 2008

fanaglethebagle
Sep 5, 2007

by angerbot

TooLShack posted:

Hey Fang, is that GSP growing on your magfloat?

Yes, I just superglued it on and it did great.

Supernaturalist
Sep 25, 2007

Forum Rat
Speaking of Motherfucking Mantis Shrimp, I finally got one! Still no name yet, but it's a female, believed to be a G. Chiraga.




right now she's hanging out in her rock pile in the Eclipse 12. I'm hoping soon I can get the hitchiker pistol shrimp out of my main display tank (Nano-Cube DX 12) so that she can go live in there. Any name suggestions?

unprofessional
Apr 26, 2007
All business.
For people who have the money, but are intimidated by starting out, you can always use GARF's bullet proof reef system. All you have to do is put in your tank size, and then it tells you exactly what you need to buy, and when to do stuff.

http://garf.org/bulletproofreef/bulletproof.asp

Aphelion Necrology
Jul 17, 2005

Take care of the dead and the dead will take care of you

Supernaturalist posted:

right now she's hanging out in her rock pile in the Eclipse 12. I'm hoping soon I can get the hitchiker pistol shrimp out of my main display tank (Nano-Cube DX 12) so that she can go live in there. Any name suggestions?

Pearl. :3:

Mesonychoteuthis
Apr 10, 2008

Supernaturalist posted:

Any name suggestions?

Colt :c00lbert:

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦
This brings back memories of my dad's 150 gallon tank. He had a peppermint shrimp that would find these little blue and pink worms in the liverock and tear them into segments. It was like he was eating those little sour gummy worms. :3:

Eifert Posting
Apr 1, 2007

Most of the time he catches it every time.
Grimey Drawer

Supernaturalist posted:

Any name suggestions?

That shrimp is Nero.

Supernaturalist
Sep 25, 2007

Forum Rat
Thanks for the name suggestions guys, I really love Nero and Colt as names, but since the mantis is a female, Pearl works best. I'll have to see how it works for her as she becomes more used to her surroundings. I'm still taking suggestions though!

Vitae
Apr 12, 2004

MECH VITAE is already stupid.

Hood Ornament posted:

Pearl. :3:

Seconding this name, sounds very fitting for a pretty Mantis like yours!

Desert Bus
May 9, 2004

Take 1 tablet by mouth daily.

Hood Ornament posted:

I'm doing well with my 6.6 gallon nano tank so far. At just over 3 weeks, my ammonia is finally at 0ppm, just waiting for everything else to follow. Lots of brown algae growth.

I don't think my LFS has live pods or such for Mandarins, is there a place to get them online? I'm really interested in keeping one, but so far everything I've read about them terrifies me.

I may be wrong here, as my SW knowledge is nowhere near as firm as my FW, but don't Mandarins need bigger tanks that a 6.6g? Did I miss a post somewhere where you stated you had a larger tank? Sorry if I simply missed some information.

Aburke27
Aug 2, 2004
HEaoheah
If I wanted to get into starting a reef tank and know next to nothing about the equipment would this tank (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~aquarium_tanks_red_sea_max_complete.html)be overpriced? Is it made with good parts and adequate equipment to start out with?

fanaglethebagle
Sep 5, 2007

by angerbot
Please don't put a mandarin in a 6.6 unless it has been trained to eat frozen, even then, please don't.

Aphelion Necrology
Jul 17, 2005

Take care of the dead and the dead will take care of you
That's what I get for believing the guy at my LFS when he said Mandarins would be fine in anything 5 gallons or bigger. :downs:

Supernaturalist
Sep 25, 2007

Forum Rat

Aburke27 posted:

If I wanted to get into starting a reef tank and know next to nothing about the equipment would this tank (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~aquarium_tanks_red_sea_max_complete.html)be overpriced? Is it made with good parts and adequate equipment to start out with?

If you're willing to pay that much, the Red Sea Max is highly regarded as the best AIO out there. Personally I prefer the look and price tag of the Current Solana http://www.jtdiscountstore.com/servlet/the-396/CUR-SOLANA-34-GAL/Detail Other sites offer it at the same price as the RSM w/ the stand and hanging HQI light. The only thing I don't like about it is the "disco ball" style light, I would use a nice sunpod or similar lighting, it looks much sleeker that way, I would order the tank and stand separately and then also get a sunpod to put on it if you want to go with the solana, unless you like the hanging light.

TunaSpleen
Jan 27, 2007

How do I say, "You're the grossest thing ever" without offending you?
Grimey Drawer
For longer than I've been alive, my home has always had a freshwater tank or two in it. Over 25 years of fishkeeping, we've had almost everything--piranhas, gouramis, livebearers, goldfish, bettas, barbs, tetras, loaches, frogs, the whole gamut. I can keep anything freshwater alive.

My question is, how do you keep a saltwater tank clean? Every fish store or display I see has the three non-viewing walls covered in some sort of algae, the water in half the tanks looks gritty and weird little invertebrates leave their shells caked on the filter pipes. You don't get the convenience of dechlorinating tap water and using that right away, and I can imagine extended vacations are a nightmare because of all the chemicals needed to simulate the ocean. How do you keep that tank beautiful down to the last coral polyp?

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fanaglethebagle
Sep 5, 2007

by angerbot
You get fish and snails to clean up for you, plus you have a lot more beneficial bacteria that helps as well.

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