So the tank has been set up for exactly a month. In it is now about 15 lbs live rock, 15 snails of various types (astrea and nassarius), and 2 peppermint shrimp (although I haven’t seen them in a couple days). The caulerpa I added quickly takes over and needs to be pruned every couple weeks. The corals I added are doing well.

With the rock, I got a couple interesting things. The first thing I saw that seemed alive scared the whatnot out of me. It was in a large hole in the rock, and it looked like one of those water mines, except it was brown. This was when it was still in the box before I added it to the tank. I was at an LFS and saw one and I found out it is a pencil urchin. It took 3 weeks for him to come out of hiding, and when I got back from my Portland trip I saw him coming to the front.

There are also a handful of anemones, 2 brittle stars, some type of mollusk, other types of snails, an unknown hairy-legged crab, at least one type of tube coral (3 colonies that I can see), like 10 feather dusters, and a few other unknown items. I’m hoping they will develop more so I can tell what they are.

So far, the only type of fish I’m sure I want is a pajama cardinal. Possibly a 6 or 4 line wrasse too. But no fish for at least another month.

The news of the day is my cyanobacteria bloom. I came home from Portland and couldn’t see through most of my tank walls. There was a nice thick carpet of the stuff on the sand too. I’m not sure how it happened so quickly (I was only gone for 4 days), but I have to take care of that. I’m going to try to let it run its course while doing water changes and sucking some of the stuff out. I hear this is a natural occurrence, but it’s sure annoying. It’s growing on everything.

-j

I just dropped some money on 10 lbs live rock from Liverocks.com. They’re going to send me 5 lbs Keys and 5 lbs Gulf rock. I hear that’s a good combination to have. LR.com is a really great retailer, and everyone on Aquarium Advice who has purchased rock from them says it’s the best rock they’ve had. I’ll talk more about it when it comes. They aren’t making any more shipments until the 15th, and I told them to send mine on the 16th so I can be home when it arrives.

I also purchased 10 nassarius and 5 astrea snails. I found out after I bought them that the astreas can’t right themselves if they get flipped over, so I probably won’t get them anymore. Next week-ish I’ll pick up some peppermint shrimp, and we’ll see what I get from the live rock in terms of crabs. Usually crabs can be found hitch-hiking in the rock because it’s pulled straight from the ocean farms and shipped. There could be lots of goodies in there. I think I want some scarlett crabs and a couple scarlett-tipped crabs. And then…the fish!

I took a pic of the reef last night. In the photo, the lights are strictly from the tank itself. Right now there are only 2 pieces of live rock in the tank, but I will be getting more in a week or so (I have to pay some bills first). I may be getting a fish today (perhaps a yellow goby) and perchance a snail or shrimp. I want something that will sift through the sand. Let me know if you have any ideas.

-j