24G, First tank.

[silentcivilian]

I suppose since I noticed I can keep a journal, I figured I should.

Here it is, everything was donated from a friend, all I had to by at start up was a power head, filters, cleaning supplies, salt and 8lbs of rock. The rest was a ghost tank of my friends that had been hosting bugs in his basement in the back corner. So, in it came, and here it landed.. this is my tank starting its cycle.



After 2 weeks, I started to see life, here is the first signs of life that I found.


One snail that I was told is a evil snail and it should be relocated to a place of death. The other is the lone feather duster.

I added some more rock.. and here came the final set-up.. I tell myself, dont touch it, I sometimes cant help it.. but im doing ok, this is still where it is at today.



Im going to add one more photo hoping some people can look at it and say, ya, dont worry, its harmless... here it is..



Note the wheat looking stuff on the rock, this also grows on the glass too... is it bad? Should I try to control it?? Also. Is the green powder algae just a by-product of my green hair algae?

[silentcivilian]

Here is the updated livestock.. and the newest photos of each that I have.

here is my Lawnmower Blenny:



My scooter Blenny:



My Clown #3:



My Zoa's :





My fresh green star frag:



My intentional grown green hair:



Also have 1 hermit and 2 snails at this time.. need to pick up a few more of the clean up crew tommorow.

[silentcivilian]

So, what is this snail?? I was told they are bad.. but I dont know why? Ive already taken two out of the tank, so just curious before I get rid of this albino one.



Second, the updated greenstar shot, Im happy to see some growth, as a new guy here... im sure im just over excited over this tiny bit of growth.



Also, I know have two of the spiral shell snails, and I picked up 5 of these guys. Bumble bee snails, I was told they primarely clean sand.. but they are everywhere and seem happy.. not to mention have a cool color scheme to them.. general vote on these guys are good??



And lastly.. I want to watch my tank for the next while, see growth, and make sure everyone can stay happy for some time. More so, see some frags grow up and out and be happy. But.. where would you recommend growth.. I think one thing that my tank will need is a better light. The single bulb 65watt coralife I just dont think will aid the coral as well as somthing a bit more proper. Other than that, I have the Rio nano skimmer, the aquaclear 70 filter... Where would one want to improve things down the road.

I know bigger will likely be the best vote, but till I find out about possible moving around the country, I have to stay small, so this tank price of free was good enough to suck me in, to get me started.. one day bigger, for now.. 24 it is.

[ScubaSteve]

Those snails you keep refering to look like stomatella (at least the in the first pic of your last post). In my opinion, they are awesome. They probably do a better job at keeping the micro algae at bay than my other snails (exept for my Strawberry Top snail) and the best part is they came free on my live rock. Oh, they're probably the fastest damn snail you'll ever see...

[muck]

1st pic looks like a stomatella snail. Definitely keep these guys. They are good to have.

Im not a huge fan of bumble snails as they have been known to go after other snails if there is not enough food for them. Though they are usually peaceful, keep in mind that the Bumble Bee Snail is essentially a carnivore.

Here is a couple good links for you to ID some hitchhikers you may come across.


http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchhikers.html

[silentcivilian]

Thanks guys, found what I was looking for, even more.. explained some other little things about my tank.