Looking for some advice on my 15 gallon tank

Sk8r said:
They divide and multiply. A lot, when healthy. Corals in general reproduce by division. I introduced 3 'heads' about an inch each of hammer coral into my 52 gallon, and in a few years I had a coral the size of a basketball. I broke it up (for its own good) and within a year my formerly barren rock looked like a rose parade float. Soft corals reproduce even faster than hammer, given decent light and good water quality. Get an alkalinity test, and use it weekly. Use alkalinity buffer and water changes to keep it spot on, and you should have good luck.
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Ah ok. Thanks. Man, so much to learn, it's pretty exciting. I just want to get it going and be successful. I'll go ahead and get the alkalinity test buffer.

regarding the soft corals, i have looked at some online and see the waterflow required as "medium"

Currently i have just the powerhead and an air stone, though I could probably ditch the air stone.

Should i look into a pump or something to create some movement internally, like this?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Set-of-2-...H-Coral-Aquarium-Fish-Power-Pump-new/29608028
 
awexis said:
My LFS gave me awful advice and they continue to ask me every time I go to buy something if my tank is cycled even though I'm always there. I think they just try to sound intelligent by asking me. Like no it uncycled since three months ago when I started coming here. Lol. Anyway, because of this I bought my clownfish from Petco. The girl there seemed to know more about the fish than the guy at my own LFS that specializes in fish. Go figure. I think it really depends on which one you go to. I know the one a little farther from where I live has more fish but they all look awful. I would never trust buying one from there. My one clownfish has been around for a month now. I just recently added a second. Both are super active and healthy. Just putting my two cents in about the Petco thing. There's a few good ones out there. Lol.
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Yea, you're definitely right about that. This Petco maybe by me is just not great at it. I feel like they are smart, and have given some helpful advice. i know many times their tanks just do not look like they're maintained well, i see dead fish stuck in the filter or sick fish, etc...

I guess i should use my judgement as well and just make sure the fish look healthy when purchasing.
 
It has been brought up a few times here that the status of the tanks at PetCo reflect on the company not the actual employees. Multiple people here have posted about working in the salt water departments and being shot down on any attempts to un-fu** the displays.

I have a giant toadstool leather in my tank that my clowns live in. Thing is basically unkillable and I need to take a razor blade to it at some point since it has more than doubled in size.
 
BklynNewbie said:
Awesome, will do. Whatever will make the process easier. I didn't know what to put for a CuC but if they will take care of that stuff already, that's awesome.

I've looked here usually and from some of the feedback I've received, I'll make a decision. Thanks for the info.

BTW, I see you're in Brooklyn. I'm in Brooklyn too :wave: lol
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Seems like Brooklyn (Sunset Park) is the place to be! You will want more of a clean up crew then 2 inverts. Take a look at http://www.reefcleaners.org they have packages for all size tanks. You will off course need to wait until your cycle is over to add them in to the tank. As for powerhead/wavemakers depending on your budget wp-10/rw-8 is a great controllable option. I use a hydor nano in my 10 gallon QT that work we'll for me.
 
So my parameters after i added all the new live rock and sand and changed 50% of the water

Ammonia- somewhere between .25 & .50
NItrates- 0
Nitrites- 0
PH 8.0
S.G- 1.026 (would like to get this slightly lower, maybe to 1.025)

turbo snail is still in there swimming on the glass, haven't seen the bristle worm much.
 
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Odysi said:
Seems like Brooklyn (Sunset Park) is the place to be! You will want more of a clean up crew then 2 inverts. Take a look at http://www.reefcleaners.org they have packages for all size tanks. You will off course need to wait until your cycle is over to add them in to the tank. As for powerhead/wavemakers depending on your budget wp-10/rw-8 is a great controllable option. I use a hydor nano in my 10 gallon QT that work we'll for me.
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Ha, I grew up in Park Slope, which is of course not far from Sunset.

I'll check into that site too. Definitely want to get a cleanup crew in there. And that wavemaker seems like what i'm looking for, thanks.
 
How long has the set up been running? You don't need to do a water change if you are still cycling the tank. Only once the cycle is complete.
 
Odysi said:
How long has the set up been running? You don't need to do a water change if you are still cycling the tank. Only once the cycle is complete.
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It's been running for like 4 months now, but i changed some before i added the rock and changed the sand. So now those are the parameters. I don't plan on changing anymore now, but i'll feed the tank and keep testing.
 
I guess maybe you could be going through a small cycle from redoing things. Yea i guess keep an eye on the water para until everything is 0 again.
 
When linking pictures, if you use the picture icon (image tag), then they will display in the thread.
Any you may want to make them a tad smaller.

2u6370o.jpg


1znwep3.jpg
 
Mark9 said:
When linking pictures, if you use the picture icon (image tag), then they will display in the thread.
Any you may want to make them a tad smaller.
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Thanks.. Yea i figured i would just link them, but i'll start embedding them in the posts. I'll resize beforehand :) too
 
Odysi said:
I guess maybe you could be going through a small cycle from redoing things. Yea i guess keep an eye on the water para until everything is 0 again.
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Yea that's what I figured. Should I expect to see nitrates jump up as well? Or just wait for the ammonia to drop?
 
I would imagine you would see nitrates go up a bit, but I'm not sure. Just keep track of it for a week or so and see. I would think if ammonia and nitrates stay at 0 for a week or so you should be ok.
 
Odysi said:
I would imagine you would see nitrates go up a bit, but I'm not sure. Just keep track of it for a week or so and see. I would think if ammonia and nitrates stay at 0 for a week or so you should be ok.
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Ok sounds good. I'll wait then look into some softie corals to add. I appreciate the advice.. I'll test again in a couple days and see where it stands
 
I am just happy to have seen this and gotten the idea for corals first, as I'm building a 15XL this weekend (36x12x8) for my desk at work. Gives me time to finalize a fish queue too.
 
Odysi said:
Yea those or the soft coral pack they have are all easy too keep, but keep in mind with the right conditions these corals will cover your tank lol.
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Ah... I don't think I'd want that lol. (not quite ready for a larger tank yet, hopefully in a couple years :) ) Any suggestions on some that would no t cover the tank??
 
Anyone have experience with Petco's real ocean water? Thinking of buying that for my water changes since i don't have RO/DI available. I was wondering if it's better than and/or comparable to either of those or distilled
 
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