I feel like a kid in da candy store.

[WatDatThing]

:dance::dance::dance:

I have always wanted a SW tank but never had the budget to take the plunge. I still don't have the budget to do it right, but what the heck :lol:

I converted my 55gal cichlid tank to SW. It's currently cycling. First week I mixed the salt in the tank. Second wk, I added CaribSea LS. Third week, I added 22 lbs of LR and 15 lbs of dry rock and a dead shrimp.

I currently don't have a sump and don't plan on one since my tank isn't drilled. No skimmer and I will try to get away without having one :lol:. I'll need more PH to increase water movement. I have a canister filter with pads because I wanted clear water. I'll remove the pads this week and add carbon. I also don't have the proper lighting for reef yet.

There are a few aiptasia, green long algae, and black mushroom on the LR. I'm seeing some super tiny creatures running around on the rock, some hair like worm(?) waving in the water and 1 tiny starfish that moved to the top of the tank and than disappear.

It is so much fun watching all these weird things happening.

Questions:
1) should I worry about the black mushroom? I don't want it eventually covers the rock.
2) is it OK to add a couple of shimps and snails next week? The lady at my lfs said I can add a few, but I worry about them starving since I don't have anything else in there yet. There are diatoms forming on the rocks. I know they weren't there the first day I put the LR in the tank.

 

[Denbf58]

[welcome] read this it will answer alot of quetions http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074
as far as adding anything wait til the cycle is finished are test for ammonia,nitrite & nitrate

 

[mcgyvr]

Yep...dont add anything till ammonia and nitrites are zero.. and yes ...research alot.... jumping in blindly is never a good idea...read...read...read...go slow

 

[Tooboot]

Given the limited filtration you have going on (no sump, skimmer....), I would add more rock.
and definitely test your parameters, should see Ammonia go up, then Nitrite, then Nitrate. each time one goes up the previous one should go down. I did a quick ammonia test to confirm I was cycled. added some store bought ammonia, tested the ammonia level, then 24h later tested again and also tested Nitrates. Ammonia should drop to 0 in the 24h period, and Nitrates will go up.

 

[hkgar]

Yup, READ. You need a least 1-2 lbs of live rock. Add more. There are no short cuts. For a sump, you can get siphon an overflow. there are HOB skimmers available if you don't want a sump.

 

[WatDatThing]

Thanks guys. I'll add more rock on Monday. I figure it is better to add more LR now so I don't have to worry about curing later. My current rock work is ugly. LR are so expensive.

Someone local posted on craigslist selling LR at $2.75/lbs. But I'm afraid it will come with diseases. Is it safe to buy LR on craigslist?

 

[homer1475]

Save some dough and buy dry rock. It will become live rock in time.

I personally would not buy rock off of CL, it could be full of unwanted pests, and it could not be the proper type of rock either.

 

[Tooboot]

I did all dry rock and sand, I seeded everything with a shrimp in a cheese cloth. No pests at the start and cycled in about a month. Chances are you will end up introducing some critters along the way, found a small white starfish in my sump the other day

 

[crawlerman]

You could go with the craigslist live rock and give it an acid bath. Just search acid bath on here and you will find out how. I'm always on a budget and find that quality used equipment is better than cheap new equipment. Once you have enough posts you will be able to access this sites classified section. Lots of good stuff there. You can make a sump out of a cheap 30g aquarium. You will just need an overflow and return pump. Skimmer is a pretty important piece of equipment IMO. But you don't have to do everything at once. My first SW tank was a my converted 75g fresh water. Guy at the LFS told me I could convert it for about $100. What a joke, with live rock, skimmer, pumps, overflow, sand, lights, fish, corals it was more like $1000. And most equipment was used. Good luck.

 

[dweber618]

You want to get rid of the aptaisia you mentioned in your original thread.... Now.

It will most likely become a problem down the line and way harder to deal with.

 

[WatDatThing]

Thanks for the advice guys. I will go with dry rock and add the necessary equipment as I go. My next priority is lighting. I'm thinking of getting a couple of those 165w full spectrum fixtures on Amazon.

Currently my params are
pH: 8.1
PO: 0.25ppm
NO: 20 ppm
CA: 440
Alk: .020 (I'll get it up to .025)

I didn't check ammonia or nitrite because it's cycling. I'll give it another week before performing a more complete test.

Is magnesium test important? I see reefers report Mg test?

 

[Tooboot]

You could go with the craigslist live rock and give it an acid bath. Just search acid bath on here and you will find out how. I'm always on a budget and find that quality used equipment is better than cheap new equipment. Once you have enough posts you will be able to access this sites classified section. Lots of good stuff there. You can make a sump out of a cheap 30g aquarium. You will just need an overflow and return pump. Skimmer is a pretty important piece of equipment IMO. But you don't have to do everything at once. My first SW tank was a my converted 75g fresh water. Guy at the LFS told me I could convert it for about $100. What a joke, with live rock, skimmer, pumps, overflow, sand, lights, fish, corals it was more like $1000. And most equipment was used. Good luck.

+1. I started on the cheep and bought a 46G bowfront for 80$ with stand, and a 20G converted aquarium as a sump (guy had already added the baffles and used it for his now broken down system, a bit of additional silicone and I was good to go). but then $100 here and there for other pieces of equipment and rocks and sand, and up to $1000 in no time. but this was over a 6 month period, keeping an eye on used items and sales on the web. glad I took my time, taught me patience which is needed in this hobby when you get to adding livestock. its a journey not a race.

 

[Tooboot]

Currently my params are
pH: 8.1
PO: 0.25ppm
NO: 20 ppm
CA: 440
Alk: .020 (I'll get it up to .025)

I didn't check ammonia or nitrite because it's cycling. I'll give it another week before performing a more complete test.

Is magnesium test important? I see reefers report Mg test?

mg will become important down the line. it is also good to test to when you see the Alk and Ca swinging. do a search for water parameters and you will see how all three affect each other, as well as how PH (a not overly tested parameter) factors into the mix. I am sure there is a sticky in the forums about this, if not there are definitely posts.

 

[thegrun]

1. I would remove the mushrooms and the aiptasia as soon as possible. Some mushrooms do not spread rapidly but many do, particularly the black and brown ones. You can either chisel them off the rock or cover them with a thick kalk paste to kill them.
2. Don't add snails or shrimp until both your ammonia and nitrites are at zero for a week, both are lethal to invertebrates.

 

[WatDatThing]

1. I would remove the mushrooms and the aiptasia as soon as possible. Some mushrooms do not spread rapidly but many do, particularly the black and brown ones. You can either chisel them off the rock or cover them with a thick kalk paste to kill them.
2. Don't add snails or shrimp until both your ammonia and nitrites are at zero for a week, both are lethal to invertebrates.

I found an old thread here back in 2009.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1634665

It looks just like that. Apparently it could be sponge and it is harmless. I'll keep an eye on it.

As for the aiptasia, I'll wait for the parm to be good and add a couple of peppermint shrimps to see it they will get rid of them.

At what point to I remove the dead shrimp? It's huge so I don't think it will dissolve by itself soon enough. There is a light brown layer of whatever covering the shrimp right now.

 

[thegrun]

You can leave it in the tank if you want or remove it once your ammonia gets to 2ppm.