Live Rock Additions...

Now, I have added some cool live rock. I originally bought two pieces of live rock at Petco last Saturday that was from Fiji. It is actually the cheaper type of rock, although it would have been really expensive if I traveled there myself to get it!!!! Anyways, later on in the day we then migrated over to a saltwater specialty store called Bay Area Aquariums where I got a great deal on lots of live rock from a girl with "Clubbing Hair" who looked like she just got back from the club the night before, x's on the hands and everything. She gave us a great deal on some more live rock because we think she was a little inebriated still and couldn't add correctly. Nevertheless, we decided we will only buy from her on Sundays from now on.




We also talked to the store owner named Jimbo, who gave us some great advice on how to setup a reef or fish only tank and I added a heater for my tropical fishes so they can feel right at home like in Fiji!!

Stirring up the sand....

Ok, so Kari and I thought we needed to mix up the sand and sea shells we bought and in the process we created a cloud storm in the tank. It will take probably about 24 hours to settle. We have been shopping around in the area for places that specialize in the hobby and found a really cool place called Bay Area Aquariums right off the highway. I bought some more live rock that is already cured and now we will just wait around until all of the levels in the water cycle out. I also bought a power head pump that will circulate the water over 180 gallons an hour and provide a strong current so that my fishes can get their exercise just like in the real ocean.
Kari cleaned up and rearranged the live rock today, and checked all of the water levels. She amuses me because I did not think at first that she would be really interested in this. However, she has taken over the duties of checking the water levels and seems antsy like me to start adding some fish. I think if all goes well, we will add the cleanup crew later this next week. I will probably purchase them online. The cleanup crew comprises mainly bottom feeders including snails, crabs, shrimp, sea cucumbers and other invertebrates. There is this one really cool bumble bee snail which I want to buy. It's shell is black and yellow. Stay tuned for more!!!

In The Beginning...

I bought a 30 gallon tank at Petco to set up my first Marine Aquarium. It has been cycling now for one week. (Mom stop reading! ha ha) I purchased live rock and some live sand that is rougher and made up of small seashells to begin the cycle process. Live sand helps provide bacteria and sets up the foundation for the tank. Live rock provides bacteria as well and provides a nice area for corals to attach and grow if I choose to include those in my tank later on. Right now, I plan on only having a few fish and invertebrates to start out with and then based on how much I get into the hobby, I will decide on corals later on. Pictured here is the tank without the live rock sitting on top of my bar area. At first, I didn't know if I could get away with placing a tank here in the middle of the apartment, but after a little sweet talking to Kari, she came around and now I think she is becoming really interested in the tank and all of its possibilities.
I'm a really impatient person, so it just kills me that I cant place anything in the tank right away, but according to everything I've read the tank will need to cycle until the Nitrite and Ammonia levels reach 0.1 or less ppt. along with a pH reading of 8.1 or higher. So for about another week I can only stare at my empty tank and daydream about all of the exotic creatures that I could add.