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Hello everyone


Jules

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I'm very new to the saltwater hobby, I love it a lot and have a hard time keeping my hands out of the tank and just letting it be.....(clap) I think I finally got it how I want it now though.

I have a 12 gallon bowfront eclipse (I know, I know, I didn't research tanks before I bought one) But! I love a challenge and so far it has gone really smooth. I Started the tank around the middle of Feb. and now have 2 bluegreen Chromis, a Bicolor Blenny, a peppermint shrimp and 4 snails, (my shrimp ate the hitchhiker stometella snail )(enforcer) and approx. 12lbs of live rock, and 1-2 lbs of live sand.

I live in Beaverton, Ore and am really glad to find a group that are local, I will more than likely become a paying member later, as I loveee to save a buck or two or three or more, AND wouldn't mind getting to know some folks from around here as well. :p Can't wait to snoop around check out the site some more. See ya around.(rock2)

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had a 15 gallon nanno tank with a full reef for two years with over 10 small fish and even had a pair of clowns lay eggs so whats up now! keep rockin Jules, those fish are small and do great in small reefs just make sure to do water changes and dont over feed! people on this site can be pushy with there opinions, here is an old pic

http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3621&d=1232490970

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It's fine, I have been told that before. The thing is, I hadn't really planned on the Chromis to actually survive, I was told they would probably die. They seem to all be doing okay and I keep a close eye on the water as well. LFS said I can take them in for a discount on something else if need be. Thanks for the welcome as well as the advice everyone. Here is my tank atm.

post-6292-141867753745_thumb.jpg

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Jules, pay no attention to drunkreefer, all he seems to do is cause drama. Putting 10 fish in a tank that size is criminal to say the least. I would suggest taking the chromis back to the store, and if you cycled with them, please don't do that again, it is extremely cruel to the fish and most definitely is NOT needed in this day and age.

 

Now, as to a stocklist, with your Eclipse 12, I'd personally suggest ditching the blenny, getting one of the smaller sand sifting gobies, a tonga fighting conch, and a pair of ocellaris clowns.

 

Now, as for corals, the stock lighting on that tank will not be enough for corals, but, it shouldn't be a big deal to upgrade your tank, there have been several biocubes and biocube look-a-likes up for sale here recently, some for really nice deals, so check out the classifieds and check into upgrading if you want corals.

 

I'll have more when I feel like typing more LOL.

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Thanks jgf in the beginning I wanted a pair of the ocellaris clowns but didn't want to chance them dieing and all, being my first fish. It does sound like a pretty good stocklist.

I have taken the stock filter off and added a HOB to add more light inside the tank, that is as far as I have gotten so far. Eventually I would like to add some type of corals, there are 3 button polyps growing in there atm. I don't really know what to do for them besides let them be, they were hitchhikers.

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It is was a very nice looking tank drunkreefer, I had done the same thing with a 55g fw tank, 27 fish in it although 12 were neons, didn't lose anyone except a shark to a bottom feeder. This is totally different and I don't want to screw it up.

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Jules, honestly, for corals, you are going to want to either a, upgrade tanks to a tank with better lighting, such as a biocube or aquacube or whatnot, or, set up a standard tank and go all out, including lighting LOL. The stock lighting on those little eclipses just isn't nearly enough for corals, there may be upgrade kits out there, but, I honestly don't know if it's worth upgrading the lighting on that tank when, if they're still available, you can pick up 12-15g cubes on here for 100 bucks roughly each.

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Thanks jgf in the beginning I wanted a pair of the ocellaris clowns but didn't want to chance them dieing and all, being my first fish. It does sound like a pretty good stocklist.

I have taken the stock filter off and added a HOB to add more light inside the tank, that is as far as I have gotten so far. Eventually I would like to add some type of corals, there are 3 button polyps growing in there atm. I don't really know what to do for them besides let them be, they were hitchhikers.

 

Ocellaris clowns are a great newbie fish. I bought a pair of babies and lived a long time without problems until I traded them out for my black and white ocellaris pair.

 

12 gallons is kinda small. I started with a 55 gallon and a few months later got a 29 gallon nano and then upgraded the 55 gallon to an 150 gallon reef and then upgraded the 29 gallon to an 150 gallon FOWLR (nutty)

 

Between you and me Jules... (Jgf's crazy(nutty) look at his signature....just kidding(laugh)

 

I'm fairly new too but have learned lots just from being on this site. The best thing I did in the beginning was buy things from people here and meet them face to face and look at their tanks. I learned a great deal that way but I still have a lot to learn.

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The biggest thing about stocking saltwater as opposed to freshwater is that the fish are generally a LOT more active and need a lot more swimming room, with a tank the size of yours, if you try to stock it too heavy, you can run into some major problems with aggression, no matter how peaceful a fish you pick out, if they're kept in a cramped environment, they will eventually turn aggressive.

 

And yes, Kim's right, I am a little mental LOL.

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Upgrading the lighting isn't too difficult. I had a 14.5 cube that I upgraded by taking apart a 26w spiral compact flourescent bulb. I.E. I took the ballast from the CF bulb and installed it in the hood of the cube. Even without doing this there are still a number of corals that don't need much light. It just limits the selection quite a bit.

 

Mick, thanks. Through no intention of yours you just inspired me and I have now decided what I'm going to do with that frag tank. It will hit the market as soon as I decide on a price. In the meantime I'm starting a new spiral bulb experiment. (I'm going to integrate them into my MH pendants for supplemental lighting)

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Jules' date=' honestly, for corals, you are going to want to either a, upgrade tanks to a tank with better lighting, such as a biocube or aquacube or whatnot, or, set up a standard tank and go all out, including lighting LOL. The stock lighting on those little eclipses just isn't nearly enough for corals, there may be upgrade kits out there, but, I honestly don't know if it's worth upgrading the lighting on that tank when, if they're still available, you can pick up 12-15g cubes on here for 100 bucks roughly each.[/quote']

 

I have found 2 good retro-fit kits that will work, one better than the other but suitable for corals, it seems like they are a lot of light 96w. All boils down to money right now and being as patient as I possibly can. (whistle) I like the biocubes those are really nice, should of bought one in the first place.(sad)

 

With a stock tank that size you will be limited for sure but there are a ton of fish well suited for that size tank! check this site out! http://www.nano-reef.com/

I am actually a registered member there, after going thru a couple forums the nano site was more suited for me. Here is my tank page there. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=232494

 

Ocellaris clowns are a great newbie fish. I bought a pair of babies and lived a long time without problems until I traded them out for my black and white ocellaris pair.

 

12 gallons is kinda small. I started with a 55 gallon and a few months later got a 29 gallon nano and then upgraded the 55 gallon to an 150 gallon reef and then upgraded the 29 gallon to an 150 gallon FOWLR (nutty)

 

Between you and me Jules... (Jgf's crazy(nutty) look at his signature....just kidding(laugh)

 

I'm fairly new too but have learned lots just from being on this site. The best thing I did in the beginning was buy things from people here and meet them face to face and look at their tanks. I learned a great deal that way but I still have a lot to learn.

 

Good to know about the clowns, they are really cute and funny fish. I can see me having a wayyyy bigger tank the next time around, I really love this hobby. (clap) And aren't we all just a little bit crazy?(laugh)

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It's not so much about the quantity of light as it is the quality of light, but, yes, 96w of PC's should be more than enough light for that tank.

 

But, again, it may be a better use of the money to spend it on a full tank upgrade instead of the lighting on that tank lol.

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From a Newbie to a Newbie my advice would be to stock lightly and try to go bigger. (looking back the 55 gallon was way overstocked. I had more fish in that than I do the 150 gallon and for the most part they did great) I did lose one firefish because the other one did pick on it. If you have the room, now is the time to buy. Here and on craigslist there are so many good deals.

 

Bigger tank means less swings in temperature, ph, etc and less and the less fish the less problems you are going to end up having.

 

It's not about winning the guiness book of world records on fish stocking. It's about having fun and dead fish and corals are no fun!

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did you read lgreen's Ultimate Guide To Nano Fish? might help out! http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=74703

I will check it out, thanks!

 

It's not so much about the quantity of light as it is the quality of light, but, yes, 96w of PC's should be more than enough light for that tank.

 

But, again, it may be a better use of the money to spend it on a full tank upgrade instead of the lighting on that tank lol.

Yeah that might be true, but I don't mind making it better, it will be a learning experience all the same and when I do upgrade to a bigger tank, this one will be "My first reef tank" :)

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From a Newbie to a Newbie my advice would be to stock lightly and try to go bigger. (looking back the 55 gallon was way overstocked. I had more fish in that than I do the 150 gallon and for the most part they did great) I did lose one firefish because the other one did pick on it. If you have the room, now is the time to buy. Here and on craigslist there are so many good deals.

 

Bigger tank means less swings in temperature, ph, etc and less and the less fish the less problems you are going to end up having.

 

It's not about winning the guiness book of world records on fish stocking. It's about having fun and dead fish and corals are no fun!

 

I like the idea of getting a pair of clowns in there, but I haven't intended on adding any more fish than what I have in there now, they seem to be doing very well there are lots of places for them to go to get away from one another, if they need to and I like the idea of a sand goby and the clowns, so that may be what i want to do. Hate to send these ones back though, they are like, my pets.....and if it ain't broke don't fix it right lol

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