Update: 15gal Via Aqua

[Cichlid-Man]

Well i got it up and running. Stocked with only about 8-10lbs of LR at the moment.

Equipment:
15gal Via Aqua tank
PC lights - (1 Atinic 12k 18W, 1 Daylight 7.1k 18W)
8-10lbs of LR
Deep Crushed coral bed
AC 70 (Old 300) HOB filter for water movement (and its good flow believe me)
50W tronic submersible heater.

I started this past Sat, and so far so good. I see a few "goodies" (at least to me ) on the LR. I got some sort of tube worm/feather duster type thing, which is pretty cool. And what looks like the start of some polyps. And some other random Un-IDable things that i'll wait to get pics of.

Also starting to see brown algae, i know its common in new FW tanks but what can i do to get rid of it? Its an eyesore really.

But here is the tank as of 2 days after setup. Today i discovered the tube worm thing so i moved the rock and can't get it back how i like it *SICK* so i'm working on doing that now.....tank doesn't look as good anymore lol. Hope the pics are good enough to see....

Tank D-day +2 (I am now on D-day +5)

Accurate ID?

Another ID?

*PEACE!*

 

[1979camaro]

1) definitely a duster of some sort...pretty common to find

2) unicellular organisms...can't remember the name right now, but ive got them to...most people do...they aren't harmful or anything, they wont get much bigger than those you have

3) i hope your possible polyps arent majanos or aiptasia...just keep an eye on em

4) the diatoms are gonna show up...be patient and they will go away in a week or so only to be replaced by some hair algae which will also go away. once your cycle is complete (if you have one at all) it will be time to move in the clean up crew

5) all looks well overall...have to agree with you on the rockwork...the mesa isn't doing it for me either...im sure you will get it just perfect with enough fiddling

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Thanks, yes i am planning to pick up more on Friday-Sun (not sure when during that time) and that will give me more options and i can stack a bit better. I realized that the rock was cheaper than what i anticipated AFTER it was boxed up and paid for. Otherwise i would have gotten more that same day.

So...i'll see what happens in the next few days Thanks again!

 

[1979camaro]

i think you are well on your way to success...just remember to take it slow getting animals in there and you will be aok

 

[dbacksrat]

i had something similar to the things in the last pic on my LR, but when i upgraded to my PC's, a wave of nasty green algae smothered them
pretty nice looking rock--what fish are you planning on?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Thanks, planning on 2 perc clowns and a shrimp as livestock. Of course later on down the road. Some mushrooms or polyps or something on down the line too.

Gonna pick up some more rock in the next 2 weeks.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Saw the tail end of a small bristle worm today. Didn't pursue it because it was already to late and he isn't harming anything just yet.

Also noticed a few more of the "Wtf slugs" and a bunch of stuff growing on the LR. Still to small for me to ID so i'll see when it grows a bit.

Feather duster is growing or extending its tube, looks good.

Just a few "updates" i noticed in the past few days.

 

[1979camaro]

cool deal

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Am i correct calling it a bristle? ID plz

Simi horrible pic.

 

[1979camaro]

you are correct

 

[aresgod]

yea it is a bristtle, not always negative, depending on what specific worm it is some are much worse than others, I have one thats about 5" long and he leaves me alone so I leave him alone

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Tank is cycled. Ready for some stock! I'll get a pic of the tank soon, just a bit brown algaed up....any way to get rid of the remaining stuff?

 

[1979camaro]

do you have a cleanup crew in there yet? if not, that should be your first purchase

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Yep cleanup crew is coming first. A few hermits and a shrimp. Would i be safer just getting one shrimp or 2? I like either the fire reds or the Scarlet cleaner shrimp.

 

[1979camaro]

the stripey ones are better than the red ones...the red ones come from deeper water and so tend to hide in the shadows a lot...but, i think i would go for the crabs and some smaller snails and hold off on the shrimp until you see that the others are doing well...the snails should take care of your diatoms

 

[Cichlid-Man]

K awesome. Snails and crabs it is then. Maybe i'll get em this weekend.

 

[1979camaro]

hey cman, just wondering what you paid for the tank and lights...if you don't mind letting me know i would really appreciate it. looking to set up a nano for my classroom and im torn between a couple different options...really leaning to the 24g JBJ though. if you don't want to post it perhaps you can hit me up with a PM

 

[transmittedlove]

Hey could you let me know where you got that tank? I googled it and came up with nothing but I love the way way it looks.

 

[1979camaro]

bump

im betting he missed this due to the recent site problems we have been experiencing

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I did indeed.

Well as i was told by the LFS that sold me this tank, that this model is no longer availible. But Via-aqua has many more similar. Not real sure..

This was an old LFS conter top show nano that was setup. Because of the recent demand of nanos they took all of their's down and replaced them with new nano cubes. My LFS is not a big JBJ lighting "fan". They say the ballasts are crap, so they usually mod their cubes up. But thats the only time i've heard that about JBJ so....marketing ploy maybe?

I bought this from them, the LFS, (Tank + Lights) for $100.