Lchi’s Saltwater Build- 10g To Im25 Lagoon!

[Dch48]

Sorry to hear that. He was cute. How long did you have him?

 

[DioAquatics]

Sorry about Blenjamin But congrats on the new nano tank! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

 

[DarkOne]

Sorry to hear about Blenjamin. New tank looks great.

 

[Lchi87]

Sorry to hear that. He was cute. How long did you have him?

Thanks, he was my first saltwater fish so he’s been with me over a year and a half. He had such personality and was so much fun to keep.

Sorry about Blenjamin But congrats on the new nano tank! Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Sorry to hear about Blenjamin. New tank looks great.

Thanks guys! I am glad to have something to keep me busy.

 

[xiholdtruex]

Guys, Blenjamin is gone

I found him sitting on the sand last friday but otherwise looking normal and eating and Saturday morning, found a crab picking on what was left of him.. I am shocked at the sudden loss and am bitter because our time together was too short. He weathered my newbie mistakes like a champ and was always ready to greet me at the front of the tank. I will miss you Blenjamin, you’ve joined the big reef in the sky way too soon.
View attachment 586938

I’ve got a new nano build I am keeping busy with though; I won a 5 gallon Aquatop at a reef store party so here’s what I’ve got so far. tfreemawe can build our 5 gallon tanks together now
View attachment 586939

Pico tanks are so yummy lol Sorry about Mr Blenjamin it always hurt when our buddies pass. only thing I will say is picos are so much easier bare bottom other than that looks nice!

 

[Lchi87]

Pico tanks are so yummy lol Sorry about Mr Blenjamin it always hurt when our buddies pass. only thing I will say is picos are so much easier bare bottom other than that looks nice!

I wasn’t actually sure what the cut off was for pico vs nano I guess anything less than 10g? What about the substrate makes it more difficult? And thanks, I miss him a lot . I still catch myself glancing at his favorite hidey hole expecting to see him there..

 

[xiholdtruex]

I wasn’t actually sure what the cut off was for pico vs nano I guess anything less than 10g? What about the substrate makes it more difficult? And thanks, I miss him a lot . I still catch myself glancing at his favorite hidey hole expecting to see him there..

5.5g is the cut off for pico which is what most follow, I feel like anything under 10 gallon is pico. Main issue I had with substrate is once you start to get decent flow it would blow around. I removed it in my 3 g and made husbundry easier. In my 5.5 I left it out and all I do is once a month siphon out the small dead spot where detritus collects. Here is what it looks like bare bottom. Also have two snails in that keep my glass clean. In this tank I have a lot of turn over. If you do not plan to have too much flow you ahoukd be good.

 

[tfreema]

Oh no! I am so sorry you lost Blenjamin! That is tragic. :-(

I love the looks of that tank! It looks so much bigger than the 5 gallon I have. Mine is taller. I have to say, I really do like the more square rimless look. Maybe that is what makes it appear so much larger??

 

[Wild Bill]

Sorry to hear about Blenjamin Lchi.

 

[Lchi87]

5.5g is the cut off for pico which is what most follow, I feel like anything under 10 gallon is pico. Main issue I had with substrate is once you start to get decent flow it would blow around. I removed it in my 3 g and made husbundry easier. In my 5.5 I left it out and all I do is once a month siphon out the small dead spot where detritus collects. Here is what it looks like bare bottom. Also have two snails in that keep my glass clean. In this tank I have a lot of turn over. If you do not plan to have too much flow you ahoukd be good.

My substrate is pretty chunky ( I had a bag of crushed coral laying around and didn’t want to waste it..) but do plan on keeping things lower flow. Hopefully they won’t blow around too much!

Oh no! I am so sorry you lost Blenjamin! That is tragic. :-(

I love the looks of that tank! It looks so much bigger than the 5 gallon I have. Mine is taller. I have to say, I really do like the more square rimless look. Maybe that is what makes it appear so much larger??

Thanks, I miss the little guy

I do prefer longer tanks vs taller, footprint is a little bigger for corals!

Sorry to hear about Blenjamin Lchi.

Thank you

 

[sipec]

What're your plans for the 5 gal

 

[Lchi87]

What're your plans for the 5 gal

I may stick to softies for now as they’re easiest but maybe work up to something more challenging if the zoas do well

 

[Dch48]

You should get another Blenny. As much as I love my Betta, if he died, I'd have another one that same day if PetSmart had a nice one. Hi

 

[Lchi87]

You should get another Blenny. As much as I love my Betta, if he died, I'd have another one that same day if PetSmart had a nice one. Hi

I do miss my blenny very much. I will consider another one in the future!

 

[JLeeM]

I don't know enough about the salty side to know if it's an option, but maybe a different type of blenny would be neat too. Somewhere along the way I lost track of this thread and I just now saw about Benjamin. I'm so sorry, and I'll miss seeing his videos.

 

[Lchi87]

Life has been so busy lately that I’ve neglected this thread But I will do my best to catch up now!

First of all, we’ve moved into our first home! Knowing that homeownership would be putting more demands on my time, I’ve downsized pretty drastically; I went from 5 freshwater tanks and 2 saltwater tanks to just ONE freshwater tank (my new 75!) and my 25 gallon reef. The pico tank turned into an algae farm due to my neglect so I decided to start fresh with new rocks:


And added some new friends too!



The lagoon has been running smoothly aside from the loss of a clownfish. I’m not sure what happened to her as I never found a body but there’s a decent chance she was eaten by a rock flower anemone :/ I had no idea that was something that could happen but goes to show that there’s always something to learn in this hobby. Some photos:


The one in the pink skirt is who we think ate the clown






Jawbreaker and its baby


Full tank shot:


Home sweet home

That’s all for now!

 

[tfreema]

I love them!!

Good to hear from you.

 

[sipec]

How's it doing?

 

[Lchi87]

How's it doing?

Not bad all things considered... I made some mistakes in the last few weeks that caused me to lose some SPS: using something called Vibrant to help the removal of some bubble algae that I have been struggling with. A lot of folks used it with success but there were some who caused a tank crash with it.... let’s just say I didn’t have a great experience :/

Lesson learned and I am moving forward and I am grateful that it wasn’t worse. I still have the majority of my corals intact. I’ve started a new cube though so I’ll be moving everything over to this new tank slowly but surely

Thanks for checking though Hope all is well with you with all the craziness happening in the world.

 

[saltwater60]

I totally want to do the 25 gallon cube tank. I love it. Looks great and nice job.

 

[sipec]

What lights are over the cube

 

[Lchi87]

I totally want to do the 25 gallon cube tank. I love it. Looks great and nice job.

Thanks! This cube is closer to 40 gallons I think, not counting the sump volume but its been a challenge to scape since this is my first cube tank. It's been a lot of fun putting it together, its my first sumped tank too!

What lights are over the cube

They are 2 Kessil A360X !

 

[saltwater60]

Thanks! This cube is closer to 40 gallons I think, not counting the sump volume but its been a challenge to scape since this is my first cube tank. It's been a lot of fun putting it together, its my first sumped tank too!

They are 2 Kessil A360X !

I had a 60 gallon cube and I hated scaping and maintaining it. My arms were too short to reach the bottom and I just felt it had no floor space. My wife and kids wanted it. It was the worst mistake I ever made.
I think I’ll like the 25 gallon cube though. Also though I do t think I’ll do it this year. I use my landscaping money for my hobbies and since I’m in NYS and in complete lockdown I’ll make a fraction of what I normally will. I’ve already had over $2,000 cash in my pocket jobs canceled due to timing and people losing their jobs. I can’t even get materials delivered like normal. I have a few small jobs coming up but no where near enough.
Keep me posted and maybe I’ll change my mind. Looks awesome though.

 

[Lchi87]

I had a 60 gallon cube and I hated scaping and maintaining it. My arms were too short to reach the bottom and I just felt it had no floor space. My wife and kids wanted it. It was the worst mistake I ever made.
I think I’ll like the 25 gallon cube though. Also though I do t think I’ll do it this year. I use my landscaping money for my hobbies and since I’m in NYS and in complete lockdown I’ll make a fraction of what I normally will. I’ve already had over $2,000 cash in my pocket jobs canceled due to timing and people losing their jobs. I can’t even get materials delivered like normal. I have a few small jobs coming up but no where near enough.
Keep me posted and maybe I’ll change my mind. Looks awesome though.

Sorry to hear of your hardships its a tough time for a lot of people right now but I hope we’ll see the end of it soon.

 

[saltwater60]

Sorry to hear of your hardships its a tough time for a lot of people right now but I hope we’ll see the end of it soon.

Thanks. Overall it’s minor and I don’t use the money to put food on the table. Safety is number one. I’m just bummed since I had plans and I get aggravated when my plans don’t work out. That’s life.

 

[Sputnik]

Lchi How awesome! I am deeply intimidated by salt water, but dream of trying when I have more free time, and your build is small but mighty (and elegant)! I’ll be referring to this thread when I finally muster the courage to follow you into the deep ( and salty) end of the fishkeeping pool!