protein skimmers?

Jimmy H.

New member
I just got a caribean brown octo. it is set up in a 30 gal. tank. Do I need a protien skimmer and why...
 
I always recommend skimmers but it may be tough to octoproof one.BTW you can call me at the shop if you have any other questions.Did he eat for you yet.
In case you didn't know i'm the guy who sold it to ya :)
 
Skimmers are highly recomended. Octos put out 3 times the amout of waste as the same weight fish.
Do you have a sump?
 
sumps?

sumps?

ok I'm no expert.. This is what I have 29 gal tank with good cycled H2O, fluval 204 with 2 bags carbon and poly filter as well, 2 bags of bio noodles and a 100 watt heater with heater guard in place. do I need anything else because I really don't want to loose this guy! p.s. he hasn't eaten yet as far as I can tell.
 
Ok
I need more info.1.How long has the tank been up and running, 2.what are your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, spacific gravity readings readings. 3. Whats your temp? a heater is not used on most species unless there from a tropical zone. 4. Whats in the tank? ie. live rock? sand bed? 5. where did your water come from? Tap, ro/di, ro? 6. Did your test your tank for copper before octo was added? Copper kills cephs. 7 was the tank cycled?
 
thanks for getting back to me... I retested the water and I was surprised to see an alarming increase in amonia levels. I did a partial water change to try to get the level down here's the results. Ph 8.2 specific gravity 1.021 NO3 <5 NO2 <.05 NH3/NH4 ~.15 Cu 0 alk. 3.0 temp 76* F. It was initially tap H2O cycled with fish approximatly three months.. The octo seems to be doing ok moving about and such but this is my first so I wouldn't know the signs to look for.. If the water really becomes bad I can always contain him in my community tank in a critter cage temporarily... I await your wisdom....thanks:confused:
 
A octo tank should be up and running and cycled for 3-6 months to be fully aged and cycled. Its not the water that need to be cycled its the bacteria in the tank, live rock, sand... You are biulding a eco system. Also if your useing tap water with out going through a ro/di unit your octos days are numberd. Copper and heavy metals will take its toll on it. You can get ro/di water at most reef stores for 50 cents a gallon. Just bring some 5 gallon buckets and lug some water home. Specific gravity should be 1.025.
1.021 is way too low, cephs need salt it will slowly die at 1.021.
Cephs are nothing like fish, they have no scales to protect them. They are very delicate and need special care. They are a advanced aquarium animals. 99% of the pet stores out there know nothing about them or what they need and why.
Its very tempting to see one and buy one on impulse, but if your not prepared the animal will suffer. By doing lots of reading and reseach you can have good luck with them. It takes time though. I hope this helps you under stand the challenges you face.
 
doing better

doing better

well things are doing better... Raised the salinity to 1.025 and the ammonia level is down so I hope that things are on the up... any way If you have anymore suggestions please let me know
 
The most important thing is to get rid of that tap water!
You really should have ro/di water. It not the water that needs to age 6 months, its all the sand and rocks and filters so they can have a strong biological cycle time and build up apropriate levels of good bacteria. This is what will handle your bio load the octo puts out. If you use tap water no matter how long you cycle it, you will be putting all that copper in the tank that the tap water runs through.
A slow death for your octo. Copper kills them!
 
My first skimmer was a seaclone too :mad: But i fixed it up a bit by following instructions on a site and it works okay in a small tank.
For the cuttlefish tank i am now running a aquamedic turboflotor5000, unbeleivable the ammount of crap that pulls out!

They have stopped inking so much now. I think they are just getting bigger and more confident.
Wish they'd stop spitting water out the tank though:D
 
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