30 gallon hex in northern MN

Swanwillow · 12-01-2006, 09:36 PM

it WAS my seahorse tank, I added rock, and things happen. I just stripped it down on November 30th. The rocks are cooking, so by Feburary, the tank will be started, other than just being empty.
this pic is from a year ago, almost to date of the tank, but right now its- EMPTY!!!

planned inhabitants: a poor coral beauty, midas blenny, couplea snails, tube anemone, large feather duster, and zoanthids!!! GALORE!
right now, lighting is 2x64 watt pc, hopefully upgrading at tax time we'll see how it goes

Swanwillow · 12-08-2006, 06:29 PM

ok, so I've been thinking and thinking and thinking of what to do... so its going to be a *drumroll*
octopus tank. More details to come, but it will be after Feb when I get it, PVC pipes supporting the rockwork, etc.

so, theres a coral beauty for sale, and my ten gallon will stay set up!!!

Swanwillow · 12-19-2006, 09:33 AM

update:
everything is growing well in the ten gallon, I might need to upgrade lighting..

good thing taxes are coming!

blennieluvr · 12-21-2006, 03:17 PM

Hey, I'm in Bemidji too. Have a 55gal tank that just started adding some zoo's and ricordea to. Home Depot is also from Bemidji. Maybe we'll have enough folks to start our own reef club. LOL

Koddie Doo · 12-21-2006, 03:20 PM

my sig has a link to my 30 gall hex build

Swanwillow · 12-21-2006, 05:08 PM

well, I like the 30 gallon OTHER hex

it looks good, Although I AM using a TON less rock. Maybe 40 lbs. CPR backpak though also.

I have three or four different types of zoanthids, I am fairly sure ones a orange people eater (silly thing, right!) if not, its orange with a white mouth. Its hard to tell in my lighting, which is underpowered for the depth of the tank.

my showpeice is my orange an green tube anemone though. WOW does it POP
yeah, we should get together.
ya want a coral beauty angel

Koddie Doo · 12-21-2006, 05:14 PM

got one in my 75 i'll take you zoa's though!!!!!!

Swanwillow · 12-29-2006, 04:50 PM

ok, rock cooking is BORING
so, I kinda took the rocks outta my closet, put them in the tank, set the tank up in a new spot, put my angel, and no-light needing animals in there-the featehr duster, and tube anemone.
the bare bottom looks awesome. the rock is CAREFULLY stacked; and I have a wish-list
for new years (aka, tax time is coming-falalalalaaa, lalalala):

2 more maxi jet powerheads, at least 600
5 more types of zoanthids
a 250 watt MH, pendant style, like the one I used to have.
my GSP to take over the bottom of the tank, once I get my MH

and a clam in a pear treeeee

tims · 12-29-2006, 04:53 PM

were they finished cooking?
got pictures of the new set up?

Swanwillow · 12-29-2006, 05:15 PM

no they aren't finished. There isn't any hair algae left on them (I can compare between the one rock I kept out and them-its amazing) but theres other algaes-the little bristle green kind-that are left. I'm not putting the light on the tank for another, month maybe. Thats why I put only animals that don't need light in there, I'd LOVE to get my midas blenny out of my ten gallon and into that tank, so I can get some mollies to help clean off the last rock with HA. Lenny the Blenny likes to eat them, I found out last night. So does my Angel.
whats odd that I have found, although the zoanthid COLOR is better close to the lights in the ten gallon vs 24 inch deep tank, they multiplied faster with less light.

edit: I've more or less decided against the octopus, they cost too much for the short lifespan, and in the middle of nowhere its going to be hard to find food for it...

but a mantis shrimp... nope, bare bottom.
we'll see what ends up in there..

Swanwillow · 12-29-2006, 05:30 PM

heres pictures of my hair algae forest (and a pair of babies looking at it)

the bottom picture, you can see just about everything except the big red algae in the left corner of the first picture, but...

from left to right, feather duster, just to the right of the clam shell is a rock anemone, if you look through the thermometer, you can see blennys head, my 3 different types of zoanthids are all in the lower right hand corner, the tube anemone-well, if you can't see the orange anemone, its your own problem!!
the far left hand side, lower corner is my green star polyps. on the same rock as big red is a green/yellow sponge.

the child on the right is mine

oh, did I mention I have hair algae? didn't I? well, I do...

I keep editing this, for no real reason.. The tube anemone is now in a much bigger 'house' with black sand instead of white.

tims · 12-29-2006, 06:23 PM

sweet kids!
ya know the Zoa thing sounds like a neat expirment for you to do...

Swanwillow · 12-29-2006, 07:31 PM

sorry, I'm not a polyp counter

I say it cause in the lower light of my taller tank (same light, farther distance, by about 8 inches) they colonized the rocks near them, where in this tank they aren't at all... I was hoping to get my clam shell covered in my orange maybe-people eaters.
which you can see in the first pic: I have 2 different blues (ones a paly instead of zoo) and the ones that look brown in the pic are really orange

Swanwillow · 01-06-2007, 04:03 PM

new pics, going farther

you DON'T want to see my green hair algae tank! its horrible.

I'll be moving corals out of it in another month to this tank (the hex), just fragging. Then the blenny and whatever else hitch-hikes on the rock into darkness can live in darkness for a while

oh, and yes, its only half full for now.

Swanwillow · 01-20-2007, 05:43 PM

ok, so update time

my tank still looks the same. BUT, I have some new tankmates in the HA tank, trying to reduce it to managable levels
three mollies (two females, one male) the blenny and angel are really aggressive at them, so I finally fished blenny out.
and a crab- oh, whatchamacallit, sally lightfoot. its neon blue/green