[Nikki]

Originally Posted by knight

so your's actually disintegrate after you use that joe juice deal?

are pep. shrimp even affective against those things or are they just a waste of money?

ours have always disintegrated except once when my boyfriend didn't really get it in the mouth. the peppermint shrimp didn't really do anything for about a week but then they both killed ganged up and killed them.

[knight]

Originally Posted by Nikki

ours have always disintegrated except once when my boyfriend didn't really get it in the mouth. the peppermint shrimp didn't really do anything for about a week but then they both killed ganged up and killed them.

im sorry, and im sure you've probably mentioned in the threads, and that is a lot to go thru...

but i was wondering that green device was in your tank? and i was wondering how big your tank is and what kind of filters you are using...

i was trying to go for the bio filter and just with one protein skimmer...but the skimmer seems like it just doesn't have the power any more and after awhile, i finally decided to buy an regular tank filter, but i don't use that any more just because the way the water flowed back into the tank...it kept spashing the water on the surface it salt would just get stuck on my lights

and with all the help you given me so far, i haven't even thank you yet...
so thank you

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by knight

im sorry, and im sure you've probably mentioned in the threads, and that is a lot to go thru...

but i was wondering that green device was in your tank? and i was wondering how big your tank is and what kind of filters you are using...

i was trying to go for the bio filter and just with one protein skimmer...but the skimmer seems like it just doesn't have the power any more and after awhile, i finally decided to buy an regular tank filter, but i don't use that any more just because the way the water flowed back into the tank...it kept spashing the water on the surface it salt would just get stuck on my lights

and with all the help you given me so far, i haven't even thank you yet...
so thank you

we have a 29g. the green thing is an eheim aquaball powerhead with filtration. we have an aqua c remora protein skimmer with a preskimmer box. we also have a penguin 1140 powerhead with a fiilter. you're welcome, if you have anymore questions, let me know.

[knight]

Originally Posted by Nikki

we have a 29g. the green thing is an eheim aquaball powerhead with filtration. we have an aqua c remora protein skimmer with a preskimmer box. we also have a penguin 1140 powerhead with a fiilter. you're welcome, if you have anymore questions, let me know.

wow...29g...maybe i should have started small, i have a 46 gal...

powerhead WITH filteration eh?..
how much did that cost? i think i didn't place my powerheads in the correct position the first time...didn't seem like i was getting the proper waterflow in my tank

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by knight

wow...29g...maybe i should have started small, i have a 46 gal...

powerhead WITH filteration eh?..
how much did that cost? i think i didn't place my powerheads in the correct position the first time...didn't seem like i was getting the proper waterflow in my tank

for the powerheads? the eheim is $25-$30 and the penguin is $10-$15. You need about 3 or 4 powerheads in a 46g.

[knight]

i have two...fish shop said it would be good enough because they were meant for bigger tanks...but that eheim sounds interesting...i might go check that out when i get the time...

sighs...all this cost...i wonder what else i've could have spent it on....a new kit?

why most both of them be such an expensive hobby?

[Nikki]

here are the newest photos of our 29g reef and some of our new 29g clown tank and all of our fishies.

[longtran]

dang, so nice nikki...congrats. so far everything is going good with my tank. no coral have died since i had it. but for some reason no fish can survive a week in my tank except for that damsel. so far these are the victims, 2 clown fish, 1 died and the other missing, a yellow tang, and last week my puffer fish. i dont get it. everything is good. ph level, salt level, water temperature. the damsel is healthy. any clue???

[yellowg555]

Are you running power compacts with the reef tank?

Do you have trouble keeping the water clean with the small tanks? I had a 140G tank that had 100 pounds of sand which resulted in a 4 inch deep sandbed. With all the anaerobic bacteria to convert the excess nitrates into nitrogen gas, I rarely had water problems. That isn't to say it could've used better filtration anyways though.

Edit: That angel looks cool, and the shot of the maroon clown with that coral (? or is that an anemone?) is awesome.

[javajaws]

Nice pics Nikki. Here's some new pics from my tank as well...some Lyretail Anthias and a clam...








An another note...I've had alot of time to play with the tank the last month since my 325 has been in the body shop getting some front end damage fixed. Not fun, but the repairs look like new.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by longtran

dang, so nice nikki...congrats. so far everything is going good with my tank. no coral have died since i had it. but for some reason no fish can survive a week in my tank except for that damsel. so far these are the victims, 2 clown fish, 1 died and the other missing, a yellow tang, and last week my puffer fish. i dont get it. everything is good. ph level, salt level, water temperature. the damsel is healthy. any clue???

how are you acclimating the fish? you should be floating the bags or dripping water into the bag for about 2 hours.

as far as the fish, clowns if they are tank raised should be very hearty but if they are wild caught can be a little tricky.
tangs are very hard to keep, and i've never been able to keep one for more than a few months plus they should be in a 100g or larger.
puffer fish we had one and it lasted a coupel days, i wouldn't suggest them.

you should probably get rid of the damsel if you want to add more fish especially since it was the first fish added to your tank because they get very territorial and aggressive. a goos tarter would be one or two tank raised clownfish and then go from there. some other good fish are listed on liveaquaria.com here
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/s...fm?pCatId=1926
but just because they are listed there doesn't mean they are right for every beginner. some of them are better in larger tanks, some are not reef safe, and not all of them will get along together. you should pick a group of fish that you like the best and then ask your local fish store, a forum, or you can ask me if they will all be compatible.
here are some i recommend from the beginner list:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p....cfm?pCatId=66
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=168 or http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=173 or http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=171
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=228
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=375
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=438
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=755
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=455

not that the dwarf angelfish may nip at corals though ours has not.
a general rule for compatibility is that most species don't get along together. for example, you can only have one dwarf angelfish in a tank unless it is 100g or larger, you can only have one tang per tank, most wrasse only one per tank, etc.

[yellowg555]

Wow what is that purple fish? Looks awesome!

Now I really want to get back into this really really expensive hobby lol.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by yellowg555

Are you running power compacts with the reef tank?

Do you have trouble keeping the water clean with the small tanks? I had a 140G tank that had 100 pounds of sand which resulted in a 4 inch deep sandbed. With all the anaerobic bacteria to convert the excess nitrates into nitrogen gas, I rarely had water problems. That isn't to say it could've used better filtration anyways though.

Edit: That angel looks cool, and the shot of the maroon clown with that coral (? or is that an anemone?) is awesome.

yeah 2 x 65. we don't have a problem with the levels as long as we do regular water changes, 5g once a week of 4g salt and 1g r/odi.

which angel? Thanks, the purple/blue angel is a Coral Beauty and the white one with red stripes is an Eibli angel. The maron clown is in a hammer coral.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by javajaws

Nice pics Nikki. Here's some new pics from my tank as well...some Lyretail Anthias and a clam...








An another note...I've had alot of time to play with the tank the last month since my 325 has been in the body shop getting some front end damage fixed. Not fun, but the repairs look like new.

awesome photos, especially of the fish! you must have a nice camera. very pretty fish and photos.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by yellowg555

Wow what is that purple fish? Looks awesome!

Now I really want to get back into this really really expensive hobby lol.

it is a purple fire fish. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=173

there are also regular ones http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=168

and pink ones http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=171

[yellowg555]

I was referring to javajaws hehe. I should've quoted.

Firefish are cool too! The purple ones look better than their more common color that you can get (forgot which color exactly).

As for your comment about puffers, I don't think puffers should be in any tank smaller than 100G, but to be safe I'd think you need a 125G tank. They need a big area to swim in.

[longtran]

how in the world am i gonna get that damsel out? i gotta remove all my freaking rocks...nah, he will stay.. i let the bag float on top with a hole poke in it. i guess that tank is for teh damsel...:bellyrol:


btw: why didn t you just get a bigger tank????

[yellowg555]

Originally Posted by longtran

how in the world am i gonna get that damsel out? i gotta remove all my freaking rocks...nah, he will stay.. i let the bag float on top with a hole poke in it. i guess that tank is for teh damsel...:bellyrol:

I had a damsel that I used for the test fish when my tank was up and running for a couple weeks. He survived but was really mean to the other fish, so I ended up hauling up all my rock (a big pain) and cornering that little bastard into a corner and netting his ass.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by longtran

how in the world am i gonna get that damsel out? i gotta remove all my freaking rocks...nah, he will stay.. i let the bag float on top with a hole poke in it. i guess that tank is for teh damsel...:bellyrol:


btw: why didn t you just get a bigger tank????

haha yeah our first fish was a damsel and we had to take out all the rock to get him out but it was worth it. damsels really don't get along well with any fish, especially if they were the first fish in the tank and established dominance. i guess if you want to just keep the damsel as the only fish then you'll be fine.

as far as acclimating, did you add any water? if not then that is the problem. you need to let the bag float for about 15 minutes and then you have to add water every 15 minutes until the amount of water in the bag is doubled and it has been about 2 hours total time. an easier way is just to get a plastic tube and and bucket, put the fish in the bucket and drip down water from your tank into the bucket for 2 hours.

also remember, do NOT put the water from the fish bag into your tank because it has copper in it.

we had a 55g tank for cichlids and then got a 29g for saltwater because we couldn't fit any larger tank. then we got rid of the cichlid tank because they were eating each other and just kept the 29g. we didn't want to transfer everything into the 55g because that would mean adding a lot more expensive live rock and sand and corals to make it look nice. we just got another 29g because i wanted some clownfish and the maroon clownfish doesn't get along with clownfish, and this way we can put our frags that were getting too big for our reef tank into the new tank.

[javajaws]

The purple fish in my photo is a male lyretail anthias. The orange one is a female. Anthias are usually kept in a group of 1 male and 2-10 females (I've got 5). If you don't have a male, the dominant female will morph into a male.

[Nikki]

well i brought home a new fishy for our reef tank, a McCosker Flasher wrasse, and here are new shots of the tanks:

[Nikki]

UPDATE: Ok so I have been freaking out about how to transport my fish for a year now anticipating my move from Florida back up north and I have come up with a solution.

I will have my boyfriend get this 12g nano:
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=JB7133

And set it up with water and sand so it can cycle for 3 weeks and then I will take 2-3 of my fish from my two 29g tanks and some of the coral and put ti in a bucket, drive up in 2 days, and then plop it into the cycled tank. Everything that won't fit in it I will sell down here ahead of time. If any florida people are interested, let me know.

And here are some pics from before my cruise. Since then I have had some corals die on me because I was gone for 10 days