Shrooms - a beginers journey

So, our new reef tank has begun to take shape. We got our tank up and running, and because we threw in some old substrate and used natural saltwater it took less than the normal amount of time to cycle (meaning: the Ph is the right level, our salinity has been worked out and our nitrate/nitrite levels are good)and we were ready to get some live critters for our tank this weekend.

We researched and researched to see if it was better to put coral in the tank first or if it was better to put fish in the tank first and we came to one firm conclusion. In the fish world everyone has a different idea of what is best, and everyone is right. What works for some people wont necessarily work for everyone.

We went for a clean up crew first and they have been in our tank for a few days. I adore this snail and it's sweet little mouth.


And today we got our first corals. We bought Two mushrooms and two came along for a ride, the fish store was kind enough not to charge us for our hitchhikers.




Our only problem thus far to tackle is that we are having a hard time regulating the temperature in our tank and we don't want to stress out the life inside. Our nano cube is so small and our house is so hot that the water inside the tank with out a heater hovers around 90 degrees. So, we have been leaving the feeding lid open and using a fan to blow hair across the surface which keeps the water at ~78-79 degrees. The only problem is keeping the tank at a stable temp with out constantly baby sitting it. Any fish/nano people out there who have and tips on regulating the temp with a fan?

I am looking forward to the winter months!