a few questions in one post

[Beemo]

heres a description of my tank...10g, arag alive sand, 15lb live rock, satellite 2x40 light, skilter, maxijet 400 pump
the tank is one week old, i added 2 scarlet hermit crabs (please dont yell at me) they are eating tons of algae off the rocks

first question is about the lighting, am i supposed to turn on the lights in stages? like turn on the blue actinic first then after awhile turn on the daylight? then at night turn off the daylight then after a bit turn off the blue light?

now about pods, i have several amphipods (i finally id'd them thnx to a previous post)
what do they eat? they are all over the rocks, do they eat the stuff from the rock? should i buy a special food for them or just leave them be and not worry? i did find out they hate bright light lol...thats why i thought about the light going on in stages

last is when should i do my first water change?

 

[Pandora]

Hi pastina

lighting--You don't *have* to turn them on in any order, many people just turn them all on at once. Some people turn on actinics a little bit before and after all their lights together to give more of a "dawn/dusk" effect.

amphipods eat detritus. This basically means they are scavengers, and process a combination of uneaten food, algae, waste, dead things, and anything else they can find in the tank. You don't have to give them special feedings, though some people have them growing in refugiums with macroalgae, since this gives them a lot of cover and places to hide and breed. Yes, as you noticed, they are nocturnal. Go out at night with a flashlight if you are really curious about them, they are neat little animals.

water change--have you tested your water?

 

[One Eyed Bunny]

You should do a 10 - 15% water change at least once per week.

As for the pods, Pandora explained it best. They'll be fine alone.

And, why would we yell at you for adding two hermits? More than likely your tank has cycled in first two - three days with all that live sand and live rock.

 

[Beemo]

yes i tested my water but i was afraid to post it cause i got yelled at on another board lol
amonia 0.25
nitrates are 10ppm....i used RO water so im a lil baffled as to why i have a nitrate reading, could it be the sand? the sand says it was alive with bacteria to speed up the cycle
i havent tested for nitrites yet, i need to buy that kit
ph i think is either 8 or 8.5 its a tricky test i cant read it
spec gravity is 1.024
temp is 78

oo i did forget one more question about water top offs, since i dont have my tank covered water has been evaperating every day. i added some fresh RO yesterday (plain no salt) but today it seems like i have to add more, is it ok to top off every day with fresh RO water?

 

[i8chicken]

Yep, you can top off everyday. You should try to keep the water level as consistent as possible. That will help to keep your salinity level constant in such a little tank.

 

[Blown 346]

Your tank is probablystill cycling, I wouldnt add anything else. The inhabitants might not be able to handle the stress with the cycle.
During your cycle I wouldnt have the lights on, or if you do keep it to a minimum. Otherwise you will increase your algae situation.

 

[sequential]

Your tank is probablystill cycling

I agree with Blown 346, but you should know that even after your tank cycles, especially with such a small tank, you should be hesitant to add anything valuable or sensitive to the tank. The reason is that your new tank will now go through an establishing phase, which can vary a great deal from tank to tank. Essentially, the tank will go through some problems with algae production, bacteria production, pests, or a host of other potential problems, some related to hitchikers coming in on the items you've added to the tank.

It's important to understand that, during this phase, the inhabitants of your tank are at great risk of being stressed. Having a smaller tank will compound this. Keep a close eye on the tank, do weekly water changes, test the water weekly when your cycle is complete, more often if you notice problems. And the best advice I received during the establishing phase: be patient. With the proper care and some time, your tank will bring you an infinite amount of returns for this short period of investing extra time into it.

 

[Beemo]

no i wont add anything else for at least 6 more weeks
and then the only things i will add are a few mushrooms to start, then ill try some other types of corals. im going to add fish last, just a clown and goby maybe. i figure by the time im ready to add fish it will be may or june lol
as of now i dont have an algae problem of any kind, not even brown algae has started, i guess that will come next week?
the algae i was talking about was the algae allready on the live rock from the petshop. i added the hermits to keep it in check and eat it before it dies off and pollutes the tank (my own theory lol i have no clue if its right)
theres alot of corilline algae but it looks like its coming off in some spots

 

[Blown 346]

Some of the corraline will die and turn white, which is all normal during a cycle. The brown diatoms will show up as well as maybe hair algae and cyano. By keeping the lights on a low hour schedule it will help reduce the algae growth.