Carressa
12/28/2010, 10:26 AM
I had been looking at the Solana's for quite sometime and had always managed to talk myself out of buying one. Flash back several weeks ago...I'm doing my usual browsing at the local fish store when what should my eyes see??! A beautiful Solana set up with a set of Marineland Reef ready leds. Before I knew what was happening I had my money in hand and was running to the register. Heck I didn't even know what I had done till I was at home lugging the boxes into the apartment (well the hubby did the lugging). So as I set watching the hubby put the stand together I began my planning. Now I'm not new to the reefing world but have always dabbled in softies always looking at those sps tanks with awe. Being an apartment dweller leaves limits my options on the size of tanks I can have. The Solana fits the bill perfectly! So after reading a zillion posts on the forums I set out to order my needed equipment online. And heres what I bought.
Solana 34 gallon tank with trim kit
2 x Vortec mp10 wes
40 lbs live rock.
2 x Marineland reef ready led fixtures
1 x blue stunner
1 x ultra violet stunner
Getting the Rock from my lfs allowed me to get it in the tank and get things cycling and also keep my mind off the goodies that would be coming in the mail. Finally the fixtures and pumps arrived! :bounce1:
So after getting everything installed I set back to admire the cloudy beauty of my new tank. Now lets flash forward two weeks later... The rocks are looking much better (sort of) and the water params are all where they should be...but my rocks seem to be growing some beautiful silky green hair...Heck I was just happy to see movement in the tank however this let me know it was time to add a cleaning crew. Heres what it looked like the day I added the crew.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010779.jpg
Now after seeing the miracles that a bunch of shelled critters can perform in a matter of days...I will never doubt the effectiveness of a cleaning crew. Here you have a picture of the tank 2 days later.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010856.jpg
And this is the full setup. Sorry for the darkness.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010843.jpg
Now I just need to set back and be patient another week or two and then the real fun can begin. As I want to be successful at raising sps I don't want to rush putting things in.. How many weeks should I wait if the water prams are holding steady?? This seems to be a very debated question.
Well next post I hope to have some pictures of newly acquired frags. Till then thanks for reading!
Solana 34 gallon tank with trim kit
2 x Vortec mp10 wes
40 lbs live rock.
2 x Marineland reef ready led fixtures
1 x blue stunner
1 x ultra violet stunner
Getting the Rock from my lfs allowed me to get it in the tank and get things cycling and also keep my mind off the goodies that would be coming in the mail. Finally the fixtures and pumps arrived! :bounce1:
So after getting everything installed I set back to admire the cloudy beauty of my new tank. Now lets flash forward two weeks later... The rocks are looking much better (sort of) and the water params are all where they should be...but my rocks seem to be growing some beautiful silky green hair...Heck I was just happy to see movement in the tank however this let me know it was time to add a cleaning crew. Heres what it looked like the day I added the crew.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010779.jpg
Now after seeing the miracles that a bunch of shelled critters can perform in a matter of days...I will never doubt the effectiveness of a cleaning crew. Here you have a picture of the tank 2 days later.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010856.jpg
And this is the full setup. Sorry for the darkness.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x305/mypurtypictures/Solana%2034gal/P1010843.jpg
Now I just need to set back and be patient another week or two and then the real fun can begin. As I want to be successful at raising sps I don't want to rush putting things in.. How many weeks should I wait if the water prams are holding steady?? This seems to be a very debated question.
Well next post I hope to have some pictures of newly acquired frags. Till then thanks for reading!