moovinfast Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 So first I bought a 55 gallon tank off craigslist. And then I found a bunch of base rock to help with the build. It also came with a few pieces of live rock. Found a neat hitchhiker hiding in one of the little holes. Trying to see if the guy I got it from wants it back before I claim it, but hes in the hospital right now. Started looking on CG again for some live rock and found a 72 bowfront with a bunch of live rock and some livestock. So we decided to upgrade to a 72 gallon tank. Didn't even have one up and running yet and we decided to upgrade. What am I getting myself into? The water quality in the tank was really bad. The nitrates were off the chart. The blue tang had nitrate burns and spent most of the time on the bottom of the tank when I got it home. So I took the fish to a LFS and emptied the tank. Kept about 10% of the water and put it in my 55 gallon. Cleaned up the live rock put it in the 55 gallon and filled it the rest of the way with freshly mixed saltwater while I cleaned the 72 Bow. Left it in there with a heater, light and a few powerheads while I went camping for a week. this is what It looked like when I got back. Finally set up the 72 bow. Bought about 110 lbs of sand and cleaned off the brown algae from the rocks. Also bought a new light but it had issues, so had to mail it back. But this is what it looks like today. Checked the water quality: Nitrate: 0-5 Nitrite: 0 Ammonia: 0 Phosphate: 0 PH: 8.2 Salinity: 1.025 Going to pick up some peppermint shrimp this weekend when we head into town and maybe a new powerhead Tank Specs: 72 gallon bow front 4x54w t5s 120ish lbs sand 30ish gallon wet/dry w/ built in skimmer (going to use it for 6-12 months then change it to a fuge) Lots of Live Rock. (never weighed it. How much does it look like? I did a solid base of rock before I put the sand in.) 300 watt heater Overflow Box Return pump (unknown brand and GPH) Powerheads 620GPH and one K4 Live Stock: 11 Turbo Snails. 1 unknown anemone hitchhiker 2 Baby false percs 1 Jewel Blenny 2 peppermint shrimp 1 cleaner shrimp 2 xenia frags 2 pink polyp frags 2 digitata frags How am I doing so far? Also, where is a good place to get some good starter frags for cheap? I live in Longview Wa but we go to Portland on occasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 (welcome) Looks like you have thought it through carefully. Nice start. The live rock will spread to the base rock over time. The anemone looks like a Rose Bubble Tip although it looks a bit pale. Over time it should get darker as long as it is eating. If the maroon clown starts hosting it then it will likely take care of feeding it. If your going to keep corals you might think twice about the turbo snails. They tend to bowl them over knocking them into the sand. (I have 2 myself but they work in the sump now instead of the display) For cheap frags you have a couple of options. First you can either browse the classifieds regularly or post in the want to trade/buy area. I know a couple of members are in your general area that sometimes have frags available. The other option is going to a few LFS and check their cheap frags. Many will do a deal on 3 or more for about $10 each. Not sure about up there but both Saltwater Fanta-Seas and Seahorse are just across the river. Davy Jones Locker is a little way up the river (Not too far), a couple in SE Portland (Rosecity, Soutas) and then there are 2 or 3 (Waves, Upscales) over in the Beaverton/Tigard area. Check the sponsors forum here for locations. The first 3 I suggested are the ones close to the Oregon/Washington border and are where I end up shopping more often than not. When I get out to the others they are great places to shop as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 looks good nice to see another longview native has made it on here. If you need any help on anything let me know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 You have a very good start there!! What do you plan on stocking in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Very nice start, you are going to get addicts :-) If I were you I will talk to Stylaster (Roy) he is in Longview. He is a very generious guy and maybe he can hook you up with some fragssssss. I know he have lots of fragsssss :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 What kind of lights are you running? The Anemone looks a little bleached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 very nice start. the 72 bowfront is very popular, especially in this club. you will be happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 Lighting is 4x54w HO t4s. The anemone is now on the top of the "rock wall". Hopefully he will do ok. As for livestock I think we're going to trade in the 2 large turbo snails, the blue tang, and the maroon clown. So we want to stock it with 2 peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, some crabs, snails, 2 clown fish, 1 chromie, a blenny and maybe one other small fish. I want to do mostly soft corals and maybe a frogspawn and an anemone or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Picked up 2 peppermint shrimp today and moved some rock around... Also got another powerhead..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 How about an update? I see that you got some clowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 The corals I got from you are doing great. And Ive also added some more livestock. Livestock: 2 xenia frags 2 pink polyp frags 2 digitata frags 1 small bubble tip anemone 11 turbo snails 2 peppermint shrimp 2 very small clowns (false percs) 1 Jewel Blenny Im also picking up 2 cleaner shrimp tomorrow when I head into portland. Need some ideas on what to put in the tank next. We arent really sure what else we want yet. Thinking 1 or two more fish but don't know what yet, more corals ( I know I want a hammer/frogspawn ), some crabs and maybe a sea slug. Probably wont be able to get anything else until my old tank sells, but what are some ideas of what to get? This is my first saltwater reef tank so I dont want anything thats really hard to keep or thats too spendy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 For a hammer or frogspawn check with Dennis (Dsoz here). For fish there are a lot of options. Blue/Green Chromis are pretty cool and get along fairly well with others if you get an odd number of 3 or more. (Keep an odd number to help keep down aggression from them) They form shoals and can often be seen swimming as a school. They are not actually a school though as they feed etc. independently. Some people think they look a bit plain though so you may or may not like them. You could get a Dwarf Angel which are pretty hardy as well. (Potters, Coral Beauty, Flame) Keep in mind that they are one to a tank unless you have a really big tank. (Hundreds of gallons) So figure out which one you want first if you get one. You could put a tang in there as well however you want to try to make it the last fish into the tank as they can get pretty aggressive with any new fish added after them. You might browse through both of these websites and look at the care levels, reef compatibility, and aggressiveness of a variety of different fish and to get a ballpark cost on them: http://www.saltwaterfish.com/ http://www.liveaquaria.com Keep in mind that the local LFS will usually cost a little more but your not paying shipping (which is expensive since they are shipped overnight) and they will also give you a higher level of customer service. (I also like to see the fish I buy first) Also keep in mind the information there is good for getting a general idea but is not always fully accurate. (I've seen a couple rated easy to care for on one of those sites when they actually have a very high mortality rate in captivity and just the opposite as well) Therefore if you see something in particular there that you are unsure about ask about it here and someone here can probably let you know how well it may do. Most of the LFS will provide information on reef compatibility and compatibility with other fish as well but keep in mind they are trying to sell fish which will often sway their suggestions. (I've been burned by making impulse buys a few times after LFS suggestions so I am leary of getting anything without further research anymore) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Make sure your wife likes them before you buy! My wife doesnt like our chromis. She thinks they are too plain looking. But Im stuck with them until they kick the bucket. They are practically impossible to remove without tearing apart the tank. Stay away from damsels for the same reason, they are also mean little buggers. I use the sites that Rick posted quite a bit. They have very good photos and decent information. From there you can research further. Live Aquaria has a beginner fish section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 wetwebmedia.com is also a really great resource as a beginner. If I could offer the most valuable advise I got in the beginning: 1. ALWAYS research everything BEFORE you bring it home. Every fish, coral, and even crabs 2. Go slowly introducing things to your tank, it will need to adjust to the increased bioload I learned the hard way on both of these Also, until you have your tank really established I'd recommend not getting more shrimp. If they don't have enough food they can start snacking on your corals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I would apply the last comment above to all of the cleaning crew. Initially it will take them awhile to catch up to the algae blooms from the initial setup but give them a few weeks. I think I still have 4 or 5 hermits and about 20 snails in my display. Most of the snails are small nerite or nassarius with a few being astreas. I also have a cleaner goby, one peppermint shrimp and 2 red fire shrimp. I had more hermits and snails in my display (about double that) but as they caught up I slowly distributed them between the 85 gal. display, my sump, and 2 other small tanks. Between them and plenty of water flow they do a good job of keeping everything clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Well I ended up getting 1 cleaner shrimp while I was in Portland. Think thats it for a while for clean up crew. I think next will be a fish and some corals. But not sure what ones yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I do have a lot of hammer and frogspawn that I am trying to sell. I used to have more than 120 heads of 20+ different colors. I became allergic to the stings, so I have been trying to sell off most of it. I live in Oregon City. If you want to, come look at what I have left (30-40 heads), or I can just bag some up and meet you somewhere. Send me a PM if you are interested. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Dennis, if he wants to get some and doesn't need to see it in person I can probably arrange to get it up to Longview from my place. Roy will be bringing me a reflector on Aug 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 Thought I'd put up some new tank shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Looking good! Those pink zoas opened up nicely. You will have double the amount before you know it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Dennis' date=' if he wants to get some and doesn't need to see it in person I can probably arrange to get it up to Longview from my place. Roy will be bringing me a reflector on Aug 1st.[/quote'] Rick / Dennis, If you setup a trade with moovinfast, let me know. I would like to get some hammer corals also. I could trade some of these zoas: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 ended up with some more corals. Picked up 2 yumas, a candy cane frag, a neon green star polyp frag, a AOG frag, an an alien eye? frag. Not sure if I can do a hammer or frogspawn. Think I have too much flow in the tank for one. Looking around to score another deal on a K4 to match my other one. But we want more fish. Still not sure what we want yet. Maybe another sand sifter and 1 or two more non aggressive fish. Wife doesnt really like the Chromis. More suggestions on fish? Also, anyone want to make an estimate on how much rock I have? I don't really know as I never weighed it. The rock is resting on the bottom glass and I have 2-3 inches or sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Whatever you do don't listen to me, or do what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moovinfast Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 And why would that be? Whatever you do don't listen to me' date=' or do what I do.[/quote'] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 How much flow do you have? I have quite a bit (somewhere between 3400 and 3900 GPH) and I have a frogspawn and I will eventually get a hammer as well. Frogspawn are primarily a filter feeder so I think they need moderate flow to keep food coming to them. Mine has always been in the path of an 1100 GPH power head (3 or 4 months now) and it seems to be doing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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