First SW attempt - 5.5g Pico!

[andsoitgoes]

Okay - I figure I can't do any worse with SW than I have with some of my FW tanks, and the price was right so here it is!!!

Main tank shot!



Pipes:



Kenyan Tree:



The sexiest of shrimp - a sexy shrimp!!



Trumpets:



Polyps:



Green Zoo:



Spotted Mushroom (I doubt he's in the best position, I need to move him =/)



Striped Watermelon Shrooms:



There's a wide selection 'o other stuff in there, I just hope I can keep it alive, it's so perdy!

I just need to keep my powerhead from tipping and get a bit more water to top this lil' gal off!

[Farrmanchu]

Not bad! That spotted shroom should be fine where it is, you don't want to subject it to alot of flow, or it won't fully expand. Light is not a big issue with reg. shrooms. You'll like the Trumpet, super easy Coral. Don't be surprised if those star polyps don't open for a while, they're best when left alone, once they start opening, they'll do well. The Shrimp is HOT

[andsoitgoes]

Thanks! I'm really thrilled so far. I'm just concerned about getting the salinity and water "kosher" - thanks to Seahorse_fanatic who set me up with an AMAZING little tank system for dirt, DIRT cheap!!

I can't wait to get those LED lights and I may jump on at least one 50/50 20w bulb to really make the tank pop I can imagine what some of the polyps would look like in that lighting!

Any other tips on placement of powerheads and such to make sure the tank is as stable as possible? I'm glad I got the rotating powerhead especially now!!

[marie]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

- thanks to Seahorse_fanatic who set me up with an AMAZING little tank system for dirt, DIRT cheap!!...

Sure, you thank Anthony now, but will you still thank him when you have 500g of salt water in the house, the floor boards are creaking, the spouse is threatening to leave and you found a really great deal on another 300g system

Nice looking little tank.

[andsoitgoes]

hahahah - as long as he gives me a deal, I'll not only thank him, I'll KISS HIM!!

Although this would happen minutes before my wife kills me =/

[andsoitgoes]

Here's a few more pictures of the tank the day after! The Kenyan tree is doing incredibly well, and the star polyps are starting to really show their stuff!

I'm loving the Sexy a LOT more than I even thought, the coloration is STUNNING!!!









SO happy - and yes, now I want MORE =/

[GrimReefer]

cool. how long have you had it set up for??

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by genix

cool. how long have you had it set up for??

LOL - a day and a half?

Never realized SW could be SO addictive, my wife isn't as interested in it as me (she likes FW tanks stocked with fishies, rather than tanks with corals and such) - but man, I can see this turning out very, very bad. hehe, glad my wife doesn't frequent THIS forum!!

[GrimReefer]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

LOL - a day and a half?

yeah i thought that was about right from the cloudy water. way, way too soon for corals or inverts. you want to wait for your live rock to cycle, and then a good week or so (at the very least) before adding inverts. too many toxic compounds and dramatic shifts in water chemistry to support anything sensitive. a little late for that advice now, but now you know for next time!

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by genix

yeah i thought that was about right from the cloudy water. way, way too soon for corals or inverts. you want to wait for your live rock to cycle, and then a good week or so (at the very least) before adding inverts. too many toxic compounds and dramatic shifts in water chemistry to support anything sensitive. a little late for that advice now, but now you know for next time!

that's odd - the LR, Water and Sand was all cycled prior to me adding anything in (Anthony made SURE that everything would go smashingly well when I started it up ) = I'm making sure to keep a close eye on all params during this period