u/joethesiskin

sooo i can finally show of my first ever tank livestock!!! i posted here a while ago - now my tank is fully cycled, parameters are stable and after some consultations with PROs in saltwater tanks i introduced these guys to their new home! i also added another live rock, because i wanted to provide my shrimpy fellas with more place to hide, as well as creating space for possible corals in the future. i gave names to my saltwater friends (ik it might seem childish, but i got a bit attached to the rescued shrimp and their new tankmates hah) - the big shrimp is bobo, the small one is lobo, snails are nascar (they’re fast af boy, all i can see them doing is either chill in the sand or run around like crazy) and well, tectus is just tectus lol
i thought of adding more shrimps - i have sweet-water mentality, where it’s recommended to have even a tiny group due to social nature of the most of species. however, i’m aware it’s not similar with marine tanks, and if so, i’d have to have at least 100l (~26,5 gal) and i didn’t want to get tank of that size :ccc
a my main concerns behind volume were mostly the weight of the aquarium (as it weighs more than i do) and spacial arrangements + i just wanted to make bobo happy and well lol.
as of now, i’d be keeping these 4 fellas in total and see how they interact with each other. which other animals could i possibly introduce with time? do you think it may be okay to add another durban dancing shrimp? i found out that they need more space, but idk maybe if there were 3 in total, it wouldn’t hurt?
i’m open to your suggestions and advices as it’s still the beginning for me! i also want to know others pov and experiences, so feel free to comment!

i added myself here a while ago and i’ve been peeking at all of posts and updates of yours, cuz i wanted to gain as much informations as possible!
i’ve always loved aquariums, and working in a pet store chain gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more and finally turn that interest into a hobby. ik it might sound weird af, but pne day a customer unexpectedly gave me a dancing shrimp, and i decided to take it as a sign that it was finally time to start my own (saltwater) tank lol.
since I’m completely new to reef keeping, i wanted to keep things simple. my plan is to build a small shrimp-focused tank with just a few hardy beginner corals rather than rushing into fish or demanding SPS ones.
i’m really excited to learn, so i’d love to ask: how did your saltwater journey begin? what was your first tank like, and is there anything you wish you had known when you started?
i’m sharing my tank specs as well, but please, keep in mind i’m from Europe (Poland to be specific), so you might not know certain brands.
my current equipment:
• 12 gallons (45l cuz i don’t speak American metric system um-kay…?)
• Seachem Tidal 35 HOB filter
• Aquael Leddy Slim Marine Duo 10W LED light (Polish brand) - ik 10W a lil too small for tank this size, but it’s just the beginning, so i’ll see if investing into greater equipment
• Reef Scorpionfish (another Polish brand, the absolute GOATs with saltwater destined products) dry aragonite sand
• ~2 kg live rock from kind PROS’ collection
• RO/DI water + one quirky barnacle cluster
• salinity: 1.026 SG (35 ppt)
• temperature: 24-25°C (75-77°F)
• cycling with Reef Scorpionfish RSalt and Reef Scorpionfish Reef-Quick Start bacteria
i also designed the lid with ventilation holes to allow proper gas exchange while still preventing jumpers and my cat.

i added myself here a while ago and i’ve been peeking at all of posts and updates of yours, cuz i wanted to gain as much informations as possible!
i’ve always loved aquariums, and working in a pet store chain gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more and finally turn that interest into a hobby. ik it might sound weird af, but pne day a customer unexpectedly gave me a dancing shrimp, and i decided to take it as a sign that it was finally time to start my own (saltwater) tank lol.
since I’m completely new to reef keeping, i wanted to keep things simple. my plan is to build a small shrimp-focused tank with just a few hardy beginner corals rather than rushing into fish or demanding SPS ones.
i’m really excited to learn, so i’d love to ask: how did your saltwater journey begin? what was your first tank like, and is there anything you wish you had known when you started?
i’m sharing my tank specs as well, but please, keep in mind i’m from Europe (Poland to be specific), so you might not know certain brands.
my current equipment:
• 12 gallons (45l cuz i don’t speak American metric system um-kay…?)
• Seachem Tidal 35 HOB filter
• Aquael Leddy Slim Marine Duo 10W LED light (Polish brand) - ik 10W a lil too small for tank this size, but it’s just the beginning, so i’ll see if investing into greater equipment
• Reef Scorpionfish (another Polish brand, the absolute GOATs with saltwater destined products) dry aragonite sand
• ~2 kg live rock from kind PROS’ collection
• RO/DI water + one quirky barnacle cluster
• salinity: 1.026 SG (35 ppt)
• temperature: 24-25°C (75-77°F)
• cycling with Reef Scorpionfish RSalt and Reef Scorpionfish Reef-Quick Start bacteria
i also designed the lid with ventilation holes to allow proper gas exchange while still preventing jumpers and my cat.

the inpo for this one were dealing with epilepsy, and lack of understanding i face at the uni. also this is, in a way, my tribute to ian curtis and his struggles with epilepsy and emotional toll it had on his mental health (which was perfectly materialized in his art)

first thing first - i’d deeply appreciate if you remain at least neutral about the subject i bring in, and the surroundings of fishes, as well as my own experience. apologies for the quality of certain pics, they were taken with phone we have at work lol.
me asking is odd and somewhat bold, but just to provide more context - i’m a massive aquascaping enthusiast and i work at the pet store, where we sell live animals, such as fishes (ik controversial), and i swear i can’t sleep because of those silly stinky water fellas. as i mentioned, fish tanks are my hobby (that’s why i work there lol) and i try to do as much research as i can - especially about water condition.
tanks range from 40l-100l and just to clarify, i’m aware we have waaay too many fish in said tanks, but bare with me man - these are their temporary conditions, we sell fishy fellas quite quickly + we clean tanks every week (not always w water 1/3 replacements).
i work in 2 of our stores (we’re quite big and respected brand), and problems documented on me pics occur in ONE MF SHOP and they drive me nuts, cuz i do what i can with my limited abilities. this stupid ugly ass water always gets a bit cloudy (what i know is somewhat normal, especially after partial water changes), and then in sum tanks it turns green. in one tank it constantly STINKS. water in gourami tank is always murky and it worsens over the week. just to clarify we have one BIG ASS external filtration in all of the aquariums. in contrast you have tetra smaller tank, which is crystal clean.

after we changes sponges in filters shit didn’t change much so i bought one of those basic 1500in1 water test (i added results) and i concluded several things. let’s call them conspiracy theories, cuz i don’t have 100% certainty soo yea.
a) theory no1: it’s due to amount of fish in tanks (shocking right), especially those big fellas (gourami, golden fish). their metabolic rate is fast AF so it would make sense right? but in similar tank in second store i work at this stupid water is definitely less murky. we made feeding less frequent but NOWT CHANGED - i added tests results (fish names are in polish, so it might be a little confusing)
2) theory no2 (pushed by management): protozoa. we did multiple resets and NOWT CHANGED (again), and trust me when i say those resets were spot on CUZ I CONDUCTED THEM with me very own hands with chemicals. we relocated fish and it was somewhat fine in those tanks, aquarium got ready and after some time we put them water fellas back to their places. WATER GOT UGLY AGAIN, sooo
3) theory no3: i constantly check parameters. like i swear i do this on each and every single shift. i suggested girlies from me workplace to do it and whenever we spot problems we need to CHANGE 1/3 water, no matter whether it was scheduled this week or nah. they cared for a moment, but they asked our BIG BOY professional AQUASCAPING MF and he said naaah just stop feeding them (as if we didn’t)
4) theory no4: filtration failures. idk maybe we should switch to different methods but higher ups are reluctant

idk fellow tank enjoyers, id be extremely thankful for any type of advice or even just expressing your opinions. i’m also curious whether any of y’all experiences such issues and how did you deal with them. i don’t expect one golden solution for this type of issue, but any suggestions would be appreciated.
🐠🐟🐡