About to Panic

[twomccormicks]

One more thing....I do my 10% water changes every week with prepared salt water from the LFS (comes in a 5 gal box). Is this good? It's like $11 per 5 gal. Not to aweful bad. Wonder if the other LFS (mom and pop) would sell me RO water???? Hmmm.....

Wondered if the prepared water was okay. Seems to be working well so far aside from my salinity being a little low.

 

[Vinnie71975]

Sounds like your getting it What was the Phospate at btw>

 

[twomccormicks]

Vinnieeeeeeeeeeeee...don't tell me I have to test for THAT too!

I think when I got to the LFS I am going to take a water sample and see what his readings are. Then I'll compare. I must concur that I think I'm cycling because I didn't see a lot of changes upon first set up. I introduced LR and thought that I just did a good job of getting it home safe and w/o killing all of the lil goodies on there. I sure go that Antipistae home safe and sound...LMAO.

I'll wait for the weekend to get more LR and do a full sample at the LFS. For now I'll use my new $45 kit that takes care of ph, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites and Alkilinity.

Any other suggestions???

 

[dileggi]

Hey Two...definitely sounds like you're off to the right start. Don't worry too much about micro managing your tank! I for one, still find myself doing that, and I'm sure there are many others as Kermit also stated.

It definitely looks like either diatoms or cyano...some of the sand looked a little "jelly-like" to me in the pic.

As for adding the live rock, you'll be perfectly fine to add it now, as long as it's cured. If it's completely cured, you can surely put it directly into the tank.

If it's not cured, then you won't want to add it right away, but rather let it cure separately in another bucket so that you won't experience another cycle.

As for API test kits...the API stands for American Pharmaceuticals Inc. That's the test kit I use.

Is your tank a fowlr or reef? If it's only a FOWLR, I would think that you would probably be OK with that salinity level. If you'll have a reef, or some inverts, then you may want to raise it up. It seems the general thought is to bring it up to 1.025.

As for the pre-mixed salt water. I think you'll get a variance of opinions, but most people seem to prefer to mix their own water so they know the source of the water, and so they can control the salinity level better. But, that is just my opinion as I've never tried to use pre-mixed.

Also, as Vinnie stated, your phosphates may be a little high...that usually leads to brown algae (diatoms).

 

[dileggi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11667415#post11667415 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by twomccormicks
Vinnieeeeeeeeeeeee...don't tell me I have to test for THAT too!

I think when I got to the LFS I am going to take a water sample and see what his readings are. Then I'll compare. I must concur that I think I'm cycling because I didn't see a lot of changes upon first set up. I introduced LR and thought that I just did a good job of getting it home safe and w/o killing all of the lil goodies on there. I sure go that Antipistae home safe and sound...LMAO.

I'll wait for the weekend to get more LR and do a full sample at the LFS. For now I'll use my new $45 kit that takes care of ph, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites and Alkilinity.

Any other suggestions???

Depending on what you're going to keep in the tank, this is what I test for:
PH
Amonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Phosphate
Calcium
dKH
Salinity

Hope this helps!

 

[twomccormicks]

Hey Philly-Eric,
Yes that does help a lot. Yes my dank is a FOWLR. The LR that I have gotten in the past and plan to get is cured. LFS has it all in one big tank and they won't sell me rock that isn't cured. I don't have sand in the bottom of my tank, it's substrate. Not jelly-like at all. Might just be the pic. Looks like I'll need to test for phosphates too. You'd think all the reading I did before I even set this up I would have retained some stuff. I feel sometimes like I don't know a darn thing! Thanks for the help and if you have any more suggestions I'm sure open to all the help I can get!

Hope y'all beat those Penguins on Thursday!!

 

[dileggi]

Hey Kate - Not a problem at all. Glad to help some and that's great that it's cured. That won't be a problem in just adding it then. Reading is great for this hobby, but I have the same problem. It all sounds good on paper, but as soon as you're faced with the issue, you completely forget. LOL! I seem to retain more info from what I've learned on here. Although, I'm still a newbie by all accounts!

Thanks! I'm hoping for it to be a great game, although I'm sure it won't be anything like they're last meeting. Plus, the Pens won't have Crosby! We shall see!

 

[risin]

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anyone comment on the filtration/flow. In my opinion your filtration/flow are way under par.
Here are my suggestions.

- get a skimmer. I would suggest getting a skimmer that will work with your setup(hang on) and in sump setup so you can use it later if you upgrade.

- that 300 gph filter can work, but it needs to be cleaned often 2x a week I'd say, you should be able to tell when the filter media is getting filled with junk

- Get a couple powerheads that are 300-450GPH each, I recommend the new hydors (korlia?) or the good old maxi-jets. The Korlias are great cause they don't blast a stream of water, it's more spread out, and they are very affordable compared to similar pumps (tunze).

The way your system is setup right now, water changes need to be weekly and at least 10%. A hang on refugium would be beneficial as well, but you may want to save the cash and put it towards a drilled tank with sump/fuge later on.

My team, lightning, took care of Crosby for you and shut them out. It was upsetting though cause I'm from Pittsburg and I'm a long time Pens fan.

 

[audio101]

You didn't let your tank cycle long enough before it was safe to add any type of livestock, the bio load it obviously too much for your tank to handle at the moment (since you never saw a full cycle).

Risin is right about the flow, you need to add a lot more to get all the dead spots.

That substrate of yours will cause nothing but problems down the road, switch it out for regular live sand.

 

[dileggi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11668429#post11668429 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by risin
Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anyone comment on the filtration/flow. In my opinion your filtration/flow are way under par.
Here are my suggestions.

- get a skimmer. I would suggest getting a skimmer that will work with your setup(hang on) and in sump setup so you can use it later if you upgrade.

- that 300 gph filter can work, but it needs to be cleaned often 2x a week I'd say, you should be able to tell when the filter media is getting filled with junk

- Get a couple powerheads that are 300-450GPH each, I recommend the new hydors (korlia?) or the good old maxi-jets. The Korlias are great cause they don't blast a stream of water, it's more spread out, and they are very affordable compared to similar pumps (tunze).

The way your system is setup right now, water changes need to be weekly and at least 10%. A hang on refugium would be beneficial as well, but you may want to save the cash and put it towards a drilled tank with sump/fuge later on.

My team, lightning, took care of Crosby for you and shut them out. It was upsetting though cause I'm from Pittsburg and I'm a long time Pens fan.

I'm just a bit curious about what you stated, and mainly because I'm thinking of possibly changing my 75g into a FOWLR. Everything you mentioned definitely made sense for a reef. Is this what is needed for a FOWLR as well?

They certainly did take care of Crosby! Lecavalier is having an MVP season. The Big 3 have been solid, although I think Richard's numbers are slighty down, aren't they? But Prospal is up there too! They really miss Boyle on D. At least Ranger and O'Brien are contributing. Kuba has to step up a bit! But hey...they have a cup! LOL!

 

[risin]

Well, as far as what you need for FOWLR, i don't know, I only have a reef tank. However, i would think that having good flow to keep waste suspended, out of the rock/sustrate, and get it to the filter/skimmer would be good no matter what the setup. I'm not implying he needs 40x turnover, just enough flow to keep water moving to all parts of the tank.


The lightning are so frustrating to watch this season, really up and down. Richards isn't putting up the numbers he should be in my opinion, but he still stands out. If Boyle gets back to 100%, I think him and Ranger on separate lines would really help out the offense. Sorry I don't have anything to say about your Flyers, I only watch the lightning games .

 

[dileggi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11668821#post11668821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by risin
Well, as far as what you need for FOWLR, i don't know, I only have a reef tank. However, i would think that having good flow to keep waste suspended, out of the rock/sustrate, and get it to the filter/skimmer would be good no matter what the setup. I'm not implying he needs 40x turnover, just enough flow to keep water moving to all parts of the tank.


The lightning are so frustrating to watch this season, really up and down. Richards isn't putting up the numbers he should be in my opinion, but he still stands out. If Boyle gets back to 100%, I think him and Ranger on separate lines would really help out the offense. Sorry I don't have anything to say about your Flyers, I only watch the lightning games .

No problem. I was wondering what was needed, flow wise for a FOWLR, and that does make perfect sense. Although, I'm sure if I convert the tank, it will end up a reef and not just a FOWLR anyway! LOL!

I follow all the teams. It's sad to say I'm a hockey junky! I have the NHL Center Ice Package, as well as season tix for the Flyers. It really is sad, if I'm not at the games or watching the Flyers, then I'm watching other games. I enjoy watching the Lightning because I like watching Lecavalier. I remember his fight with Iginla during the post season - it was great.

 

[Sk8r]

It's not too bad. Limit window exposure: daylight makes that stuff worse. SKimming helps. A lot of bottom-critters help. And up to 2lbs live rock per gallon would help a lot. A refugium also helps in the nitrate/phosphate battle. Don't use a chemical cleaner: it does as rough a number on your good bacteria as anything else. You can beat it without.

 

[twomccormicks]

Sk8r....darn it, I let some sun light in on it over the weekend and darn if the brown creepies didn't go a little further around the tank. I have a skimmer on order and I do need to get a few more bottom crawlies. As for the comment about taking my substrate out and switching to sand.....any thoughts? I'd sure hate to put my finned buddies through some trauma switching everything out. The LFS where I bought the tank set up told me not to get sand and directed me toward the substrate. I think the live sand they had may have been there awhile and he didn't want me to buy it. Nice guy, even directed me from the big named LFS to a smal mom and pop to get fish. Anyway, your thought on switching out substrate for sand would be helpful. I just don't want to cause harm to anything that I already have.

I'm sure I committed the sin of adding my finned youngsters in before I should have.

Thanks for the advice all!!

 

[dileggi]

I'm sure I've missed this as the thread got longer, but what type of substrate is in there now?

As for commiting sins, don't sweat it! It seems that's the best way to learn! I've commited so many sins on my tank, I thought I would have to start carrying Gideon's Bible with me every time I went near my tank!

 

[twomccormicks]

I have aragonite reef substrate. Looks like some very small white shells and white rocks. It was not live when I placed it in the tank. Might be why I'm just now starting to cycle. My LR was cured when I added it. Now I read that I need to take all my substrate out!!?? Are you kidding me? If that's the case I might as well start all over.

 

[Sk8r]

No, no, you're ok with the sand: it all starts dead: you ARE supposed to have cycled before adding fish, however, and to have increased fish load very slowly---and when you put in a large predator and a bunch of fish it stressed your system: also, with filters, it's an endless case of feast and famine for the sandbed. Watch for ammonia. Run carbon if that happens. Keep your filter clean. Use test strips daily to check for ammonia, remediate with carbon if it happens, don't overfeed, and see if some bristleworms and hermits can survive in there to help out with detritus-breakdown. If you get tired of changing filters, you might look into an additional sandbed: a remote sandbed and rock can add filtration power via an auxiliary tank and, with cheato, [a refugium in other words] can [if large enough] take up so much nitrate and phosphate you can edge out the filter. Mushrooms can help a bit too, I think. They grow easily, don't mind a little nitrate within reason, and will help sop up detritus. At that point you're a reef...but it might help you out.

 

[killagoby]

Tagging along...

 

[twomccormicks]

I use to see a bunch of bristle worms. I haven't seen them in quite some time. I also had some little brittle stars in there too but haven't seen any tiny arms waving from crevices in a couple weeks either. Could my fish be eating them? I don't have any "large preditors". I have two small damsels, a small snowflake eel and a lawnmower blenny. I thought my parameters looked fairly good. My pH is a little high at 8.6. I have not changed my filter media though. I suppose I'd better do that. I might see a pretty good drop if I do that. I was afraid of killing off the "good stuff". Oh I have 6 hermits in there and they are happy clams.

I hear the words "you need a refugium" and I freeze. That's WAY over my head at this point. Sure it would help everything but OMGosh, not yet. I'm SO not comfortable with that though. YIKES!

 

[dileggi]

I don't have any experience with the eel, but I'm thinking it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the eel to graze on the worms in the tank. The worms come out at night, and I believe the eels feed at night, right?