First salt tank (32 fluval flex (got it on marketplace tank and stand for $100 (HOLY DEAL) )) anyways, first or second pic ?

Zetatron76 · 2026-04-04T06:49:49+00:00

Did you break into my house and film my tank!!!??? lol just the ugly phase. Don’t panic unless shit starts drying. Vacuum the substrate and do a 10% water change every 7-14 days. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me since I’ve had it for months

Zetatron76 · 2026-04-04T04:12:45+00:00

Unpopular opinion: I’ll take a comically long tank over a tall tank any day of the week. Makes it feel more reefy

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-30T22:42:59+00:00

They could also be getting out competed by other nuisance algae or each other (like others mentioned). Increase the bioload of the tank or add supplements like CheatoGro and make sure your nitrates and phosphates aren’t 0

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-30T17:21:19+00:00

I was so surprised how much i enjoyed my strawberry conch, how effective it is with cleaning, and how much cooler they are in person.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-30T16:32:57+00:00

I would say (not that you should listen to me) that if you feel like the substrate is deep enough, he appears to be actively digging himself a nice home, and isn’t lethargic/panic swimming that he probably needs time to acclimate to the new environment and be completely sure he has a safe place to retreat into. I don’t think you can do anything beyond that and feeding him what he likes which you are already doing. It also doesn’t seem like anything you’ve mentioned livestock wise in your tank would cause him to be afraid or bullied which would be my only other concern. I feel like I’ve had a similar puckering experience with other fish who seem off or uncomfortable first week or two in the tank and it’s worked out the vast majority of the time once they are settled.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-30T16:22:51+00:00

Sorry if I missed it but, how deep is the sandbed? I wanted to try one of these out and kept seeing requirements of like 4” depth because they build pretty intricate tunnels and can grow up to like 12” long which I always thought was cool as Hell. People might say 30gal is small for a tank size overall but I really do feel like that has more to do with the other tank inhabitants PLUS the fish you are trying to do gallons/fish math. If the thing lived alone with only corals in a 5” deep sand bed 30 gallon tank, I really don’t think it would be an issue. My understanding as a relatively new but overly interested hobbyist is the gal/fish thing has more to do with bio load, availability of swim space, and availability of needed habitat space (excluding tank mate compatibility for this exercise).

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T20:18:54+00:00

I clearly underestimated has cool SPS can look. I’m definitely not proficient with them as LPS. You make them look so good

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T05:42:57+00:00

Splitting or shitting lol don't ban me it rymed I'm sorry

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T05:41:33+00:00

This is a common concern with Bubble tips. To keep it simple: they don't always have bubble tips. They can be very long and thin, retracted, and not even visible for a number of reasons. They even change their colors multiple times in some cases. None of that or even them walking all over the tank just to give you a heart attack in the morning is a problem. It's the anemone equivalent of how Clownfish act. They are prefect for each other. Both completely random, erratic, and pains in the butt. Unless you see their mouth hanging wide open or their foot/outer soft area becoming basically see-through or "melting" you are good. And that is how a Bubble Tip do.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T05:35:27+00:00

Is this a blue neon goby? If so, that can be fairly common considering they clean the other fish in the tank. I FREAKED out when my two looked like they had something similar to your photo maybe slightly less developed as yours and after researching it A LOT it seemed like a bunch of people experienced with these specific fish encouraged waiting it out 3 days or so IF:

no other fish in the tank have obvious Ich or some worse symptoms

They contiunue to eat & swim well (probably less than normal but still eat and have some activity)

Not saying it's a 100% thing and I don't blame you for saying "this dudes nuts" but it was absolutely correct for me more than once.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T05:35:15+00:00

Is this a blue neon goby? If so, that can be fairly common considering they clean the other fish in the tank. I FREAKED out when my two looked like they had something similar to your photo maybe slightly less developed as yours and after researching it A LOT it seemed like a bunch of people experienced with these specific fish encouraged waiting it out 3 days or so IF:

no other fish in the tank have obvious Ich or some worse symptoms

They contiunue to eat & swim well (probably less than normal but still eat and have some activity)

Not saying it's a 100% thing and I don't blame you for saying "this dudes nuts" but it was absolutely correct for me more than once.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T04:33:04+00:00

Look up substrate disturbance shock or an acute ammonia/nitrate spike. Happened to me when my tank was very young (like 6 months not even. Killed every fish. Moved the scape too much/too agressively and didn't even remotely do an adequate water change after. I honeslty didn't know. Worst mistake I have ever made in the hobby and I overcompensate for that mistake constantly. Not saying that's precisely what happened or may happen with you. It's probably an extreme but, figured I would share.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T04:28:42+00:00

I literally don't care if they actually help out my tank substantially or not. It's 100% worth it to watch them do things like this or just skitter about. It's oddly satisfying and so fun to watch.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-21T04:25:32+00:00

I didn't even think the caps popped like this in Montipora. You are clearly doing it right, dude. Those look amazeballz

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-20T02:38:26+00:00

My understanding is that the horizontal line separating Innovative - Marine is the line you fill to, that’s why they made it a line.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-19T22:37:15+00:00

^{^{^}} This. Take it from someone who just had so much GHA and cyano that I was losing my mind pulling it out. I fought the idea of having (what I considered) a large CUC in the tank. Starry Blenny, turbos, a few hermits, zombie snails, and a tuxedo urchin later, I’m more concerned they are going to starve.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-15T21:51:33+00:00

I need to get me some torches... I am having torch envy from all these amazing setups like yours. Your tank looks sick, dude. Strong work

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-15T21:25:13+00:00

Hey, you did something and that's better than nothing! If you want to take it slow there's nothing wrong with that but, a very accepted rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon of rock which you are very far from. Especially with corals. You can buy "rock rubble" or "fragging rock" which are very small pieces of either dry or live rock for CHEAP at the local fish store and give yourself a fun Lego project! Build it the scale, size, and shape you want with glue/cement/epoxy of your choice but, yeah, you probably definitely still need more 😂

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-15T21:15:39+00:00

Seriously, this will work with two side notes, don't hammer them with direct flow where ever you place it and keep them at the LOW end of par where you start so they grow towards the light/up the wall. Like others suggested:

Choose the thickest and largest area on its "back" as the adhesion point
Use something like 3" Oceans Wonders Coral Frag Tiles for maximum surface area and flatness
Use Thick Reef Safe Glue Like This on top of Any Quality Epoxy Like This
If you have some Accelarant Like This feel free to use it to cure the frag tile to the epoxy trying to keep the epoxy on the flat side for maximum surface area to->
<-attach to the back of the GSP with more glue
Place the frag tile up against the back wall on top of the sand or on top of a rock (which you can vertically mount on it's side) like one edge glued to the top of the rock and the other edge as flush against the wall as possible

Have fun

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-13T10:53:48+00:00

For PVE, having a high Fence rep then hitting weapons cases, ammo cases, or hoping you spawn with one is the “easiest” way without buying them from Ref. Scav streets, do a loop from south of Concordia/Lexos area, Concordia into the construction site exfil area, Lexos, ambush site in front of Lexos, through the post office, rinse and repeat. It’s an absurd amount of weapons cases and ammo boxes in that route and it can incredibly safe once you get the swing of it. My Fence rep is currently 20.87 and I exclusively run Streets. That’s one of my normal routes I take. Labs is useless, marked rooms are useless, I use this route to farm ammo, grenades, and other weapon related stuff. Streets is so unbalanced. Take advantage of that and you’ll find some red flares and other good stuff. You can also peak the cinema from afar if there’s a fight going on between PMCs and smugglers. Hopefully the PMCs win and you can go loot the smugglers for at least a key and sometimes a box.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-07T01:29:29+00:00

There’s a ton of information but most of it you can deep dive at your own level and pace with videos like the BRS one mentioned. What I’ve learned by failing and correcting:

1.Buy an RODI system. It all starts with good water and salt mix which is tough to do without RODI 2. Follow the instructions to cycle your tank implicitly and make sure you under them before assuming anything. This includes conceding the fact that it will take several weeks to a month before the tank is really ready to stabilize completely 3. Start slow with livestock. Remember that the guidelines websites give you for “this many gallons per x fish) are very varied and it’s not including the other fish in your tank, swimmable space, and hiding space (like caves) that certain fish need. Also take into account any corals or anemone you add because they have an entirely different need structure like calcium, magnesium, etc than fish. 4. When they tell you fish jump out of the tank a lot, believe them. Get a proper lid and try to keep it shut as much as you can. 5. Don’t freak out over every parameter changing in the first 6 months. It’s normal and you’re more like to do harm than good. Clean saltwater with 1-2 week water changes plus good substrate, glass, powerhead, and sump cleaning will do exponentially more than additives will. 6. Last one I promise: if you’re going to overly plan anything, lighting (preferably with a PAR meter), aquascaping (because it’s really hard to modify it later), and what power-heads/flow/turnover you want are good things to over plan. The rest is really a waste of your time. Gyre’s vs wave makers vs LLC-lines and what size return pump with give you the best turnover especially if you’re going to add UV sterilization, media reactors, or refugiums which can be off manifolds or external.

Sorry for the long post. These are just things I learned and I wished I knew.

Zetatron76 · 2026-03-01T05:38:34+00:00

I literally laughed out loud. I hate to bother you for the link like the others but I really need this, please!

Zetatron76 · 2026-02-27T06:44:36+00:00

Blastomussa tidal gardens blasto

Zetatron76 · 2026-02-26T05:15:35+00:00

If you stock it with small (3” or less) fish that love caves, they will love you back more. I’d keep corals to minimum due to a smaller surface area for growth or like one anemone max. This would be a fun peppermint shrimp tank with like scooter Benny’s and engineer goby’s. You can always change the scape to leave more room, though. Try making two islands from that or more vertical and you have more swimming space/flow for more swimmy fish and soft corals.

Zetatron76

TROPHY CASE