beginning of my tank

mullinsd2

Looks much more clear, although it is still a little cloudy.

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	rock 004.jpg (117.9 KB, 30 views)

conger

oh ok awesome, well yeah then just give the skimmer a week or so to break in.. and even after that, its production will be limited for the first month or two simply because there isn't that much organic material in the water to be removed. Once you've got it stocked with fish and inverts and corals or whatever you plan to keep, and the tank begins to mature, you will see an increase in skimmate.

mullinsd2

Just a note to anyone who is looking at getting an aqua c remora with maxi jet 1200: it is very loud at first, but it has gotten much quieter only after two days. Also, there is a cheap 5 dollar mod. you can do to it to decrease the noise.

wake49

I like your setup. What is that, a 45 high? What and when is your plan for stocking?

mullinsd2

thank you. Yeah, its a 45 high. Read a lot of negative review about keeping rock in them, but its perfect for what I am trying to do. I don't think I will be stocking anything for maybe another 2 weeks. (i still need to get use to testing and adding supplements at the correct time and what not). As of now, my stock includes: 2 clowns, one Fire Goby, one royal gramma. If i do not get two clowns, I plan on getting one pygmy angel (but i still dont know; i may want to do corals eventually so this would be a bad idea). Other than that, I will probably put some snails in there. Any reccomendations would be awesome! I don't really know that many types of fish, so I could be excluding a beautiful fish by accident.

wake49

I haven't heard anything negative about the 45 high. I kept a 46 bow for over a year. The two are very simliar in dimensions, the bow is just not as High, and bows to 15" in the center. I had no problem with rock placement.

Your stocking list sounds good. I think that instead of the Fire Goby, I would stock a Yellow Watchman or Polaris Goby; they are fun to watch and help keep the sand clean. I also love the 6-line Wrasse, but mine was aggressive towards my fairy wrasse and even my Fire Goby (both of which jumped from the tank). I've always been a fan of the Bangaii Cardinal, but they are best kept in pairs.

With the stocking list you have, you can also make an easy transistion to keeping corals and reef creatures, such as shrimp, crabs, starfish, etc.

I would hold off on the pygmy angel til you are certain you are never doing corals. Because once they go in...you won't want to take them out.

mullinsd2

Good advice on the angel. I will def. wait and weigh my options before purchasing one! I think I would rather go with corals anyway; they add so much life and color to the tank!! I must say that you have converted me from the Fire Goby to the yellow watchman! It looks great!! I couldnt find a pic of a polaris goby though.... could you give me a link? I already decided I would not do a wrasse (like you said they can be aggressive). I want a very peaceful tank! BTW those bangaii cardinals look great... to bad they need to be kept in pairs. So my list includes.... 2 clowns, one yellow watchman, and a royal gramma!! Seems to be a great variety of colors.

conger

since you're going to go with the watchman goby, you should try and pick up a pistol shrimp as well. no guarantee they'll pair up, but the pistol shrimp and watchman goby have a symbiotic relationship where they live and work together, I've heard its really cool to watch!

I guess the pistol shrimp digs and maintains a burrow in the sand where they both live, and the watchman goby keeps an eye out for "danger" and warns the shrimp (which has bad eyesight), maybe they share food, etc... I've heard that once paired up, the shrimp will keep one antenna touching the goby at all times

mullinsd2

That would be amazing to see that type of relationship in a tank!!
Supply update:
I purchased a 50 watt heater for my qt today.
Bought a top fin powerhead for my salt mixture; right now it is in my tank providing some flow to disrupt the stagnant bubbles forming on the top.
Also, I purchased an HK 3. Should be here by thursday! :)

wake49

The problem is that I use the name my LFS gives me, and that isn't always the common name. Diamond Goby is the fish I'm talking about. He is the same kind of goby as a yellow watchman; he's just white with orange or red diamonds covering him. But definitely consider the pistol shrimp. I have one on hold at my LFS.

And the Bangaii doesn't need to be kept in a pair, but they do better in pairs. They are relatively small, and I don't think that six fish would be overstocked (if you added them over the course of a few months, of course).