Magic Kiwi's Tank Journal Thread

[Dearth]

Hard to tell with the anemone but its looks like a rock flower as to the crab can't help you

[Magickiwi]

Yeah rock flower looks right. Didn't want to miss special care instructions by forgetting the name. The crab went into my sump with the other fella I found n


Shawn

[Magickiwi]

20% water change tonight while watching a Kung-Fu movie. Slight bump to salinity to put it in the 53.5mS. This salt is very hard to gauge correctly. I've rolled the bucket, used the formula right on the bucket, and the water winds up more saline than I can account for. And I always lowball the math when starting water. Can't figure it out.

[Magickiwi]

Originally Posted by Magickiwi

20% water change tonight while watching a Kung-Fu movie. Slight bump to salinity to put it in the 53.5mS. This salt is very hard to gauge correctly. I've rolled the bucket, used the formula right on the bucket, and the water winds up more saline than I can account for. And I always lowball the math when starting water. Can't figure it out.

Also a picture of my green and white Torch Coral. Six heads and getting bigger.

[Magickiwi]

Well I added two cleaner shrimp because they are beautiful and because my daughter loves them also added two nudibranchs to help out with the algae. Next additions will be corals and a few astrae snails if I can find any. Golds didn't have a lot in today. Big Al's was very well stocked but those prices...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[thmh]

Thanks for a detail progression write up! Definitely worth following this thread, thanks Shawn!

~Tony

[kien]

Good to hear that everything is trucking along! Where is that FTS at??

[Magickiwi]

Originally Posted by thmh

Thanks for a detail progression write up! Definitely worth following this thread, thanks Shawn!

~Tony

Thanks for the encouragement! I wish I had followed a more scientific method in evaluating the ozone but it's hard to find the time and energy after a long day to do a proper write-up etc. I try not to be a fan-boy for any particular product but I've been amazed so far.

Originally Posted by kien

Good to hear that everything is trucking along! Where is that FTS at??

I dunno, where's your's? lol

[kien]

Originally Posted by Magickiwi

I dunno, where's your's? lol

OH SNAP! touche. haha.

[Magickiwi]

It was a big night for livestock for my tank last night. Did a refresh on some of my cleaning crew; 20 nassarius snails, 5 turbos, and 3 emerald crabs (one male and two females). In addition I added a RBTA to my daughter's tank and a plate coral to mine.

Also I'd like to talk about my ambitions as a reef keeper. When I was six years old my parents gave me my own fish tank, since I am allergic to cats and dogs (I love my two dogs now though) and my mother is terrified of snakes. The first fish I asked to put in it was a yellow tang... Of course being six I didn't know that there were essentially two environments that fish are found in: freshwater and saltwater. Naturally my heart was broken because I only had a freshwater tank so I left with a few guppies and the good old flying fox algae cleaner. As the years went on I wanted to make the jump to saltwater but didn't have anywhere near enough money to do it on my own. So I planned to set up my first marine tank the "right" way. Meaning I would have to wait until my finances were such that I wouldn't have to buy low quality gear and that I could keep whatever I want (within reason).

Last night I finally got my yellow tang... I fell asleep in my chair watching him swim so gracefully and slowly. I really got an excellent specimen too, his yellow color is deep and rich and there are no flecks of other colors. His fins are all intact with no nips or tears. He ate twice for me last night and once at the LFS before I left with him. There were no problems at all acclimating him, I did the drip method just to ensure success, and as soon as he was released into my tank he started doing slow laps around the rock work. Within an hour he wasn't shy at all and wouldn't hide if I came to have a look. It's interesting that even though he is just about flourescent yellow his skin does not react to the purple night lights; he's black as coal under them.

For me this was an event that closes the loop on a lot of my ambitions in aquaria. I have a thriving reef tank done my way and my yellow tang "Maui" to enjoy it.

Livestock list as of now:
- 2 green (blue) chromis
- 2 pink skunk clownfish
- 1 hippo tang (Dori; my daughter picked the name)
- 1 yellow tang (Maui)
- 1 green brittle star
- 4 emerald crabs (three females and a male)
- 40+/- blue and red legged hermit crabs
- 3 peppermint shrimp
- 2 skunk shrimp
- 1 sand sifting star
- 1 black knobbly sea cucumber
- 1 spider conch
- 2 lettuce nudibranchs
- 1 green carpet anemone (Sarlacc The Magnificient)
- 1 RBTA
- 1 metallic yellow rock flower anemone
- 30 nassarius snails (give or take)
- 15 turbo snails
- 10 astrea snails
- 10 margarita snails
- 1 rock crab living in my sump

Coral list:
- 1 six headed torch coral colony (green)
- 1 metallic orange ricordia colony
- 1 daisy polyp coral colony
- 1 green star polyp colony
- six colonies of assorted zoas and palys (some are brand name some are beautiful no-name)
- 1 metallic green plate coral (started extending its feeding polyps within five minutes of being in my tank)
- 1 blue staghorn frag
- 1 ponape birdsnet frag
- 1 frogspawn frag (which seems to be growing like I'm giving it steriods...)
- 1 red, white and blue acan frag that is doing well but isn't thriving where it currently resides
- 1 blue mystery coral that hitchhiked in on my live rock

On a side note my ORP reading was 258 after my daylight cycle. The setpoint for my ORP controller is 250 so my ozone generator hasn't produced ozone in a couple days now. It's almost like my ORP hit a tipping point and is increasing on its own now.