So you got a new fish tank Newbie

[WaterKeeper]

Hi kmercado,

The only rule on water changes is that the more the better. I like to do a 10%-15% weekly change. Of all method of nutrient/toxic export, there is not a surer way to accomplish it than to change out some water. That said, there are many reefkeepers who do them less frequently with good results. With only a 20 gallon replacing 3 or so gallons each week is neither expensive or time consuming so why not do so?

I agree with Alex that housekeeping is not a major issue. If you have a DSB just siphoning off the gunk at the top of the bed and cleaning the glass should do. If you go the barebottom route then overall cleaning of the tank bottom should be a frequent practice.

 

[kmercado]

Thanks alot WaterKeeper, dastratt and, nicholasvilppu that answers alot of questions! You'll be hearing from me soon i'm sure with more questions!

 

[BadOleRoss]

Where's the bloom?

Where's the bloom?

First I want to start by saying great thread. It has taken days to get throught it but great information. I am currently in the process of setting up a 110 gallon tank with 135lbs of live rock and 140lbs of sand, 80 of that was live sand. The tank has been running for about 3 weeks, my ammmonia is at zero, nitirite are zero, but the nitrates are sitting in the 15mg/l range. The live rock has lots of new coralline algae on it but there has been no true algae bloom. I got a very small amount of green algae on some of the live rock a week ago but that is long gone. There are also 70+ assorted hermit crabs and snails in the tank to keep things clean along with a sea star or 3. Am I going to miss the bloom or may I see it now that my nitrates are up? I am also running a sump/skimmer and have had the lights on 12 hr/day for the past week. It just seems like the cycle went very quick.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Ross
[welcome]

Sorry Dastratt, I should have left the greeting to you.

Sounds like you got some really good LR to me. The less die off on the rock the less nutrients enter the water column and that translates to less of an algae bloom. That is one of the reasons I tell people to cure rock in separate vats rather than their tank. Pouring the contaminant laced water down the drain in far better than letting it accumulate in their new tank water.

My guess is that your bed has not developed, which is why you are seeing the nitrates. I also would think it is a bit shallow with only 140 lbs in a 110 gal tank. I always like to see at least 3" and 4" is better. At this point in time I would try some frequent water changes for nitrate control. About 20% every five days should lower them and as the bed stratifies it may be able to help in this process.

Everything else seems fine. I was wondering what type of starfish you obtained. Some can cause problems. Read Starfish for details.

If things stay as they are I would think you can add your first fish in about 2 weeks. If you don't plan on a tank with fish then make sure your nitrates are lower before adding corals. They are far more sensitive to nitrate than fish.

Other than that I would things are going pretty well. :thumbsup:

 

[BadOleRoss]

I guess they are more sea stars then they are star fish if there is a difference. I am still learning and there seems to be plenty to learn. Anyway, I picked up a cleaner kit and an algae attackpack waiting for the algae bloom and that included a Fancy Serpent Sea Star (Tiger-striped), Sand Sifting Sea Star and a Sea Cucumber (Tiger Tail) Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs, Turbo Snails or Margarita Snails, Dwarf Red Tip Hermit Crab. About 75 total in the mix. My sandbed is actually 5-6" deep andI added a detritivore kit to that. There did not seem to be much life in the live sand.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Best time to view LS is after dark and with a flashlight with a red lens. Also look at the sand next to the glass there should be worm trails visible. Kinda like on these in my tank-

 

[BadOleRoss]

That is the very reason I decided to seed the sand bed. No signs of life anyplace. I checked at night and watched for signs of life along the glass but saw nothing. Thats when I decided to add the detritivore kit. One mistake I did make that I will have to correct with water changes is I did not use RO/DI water. Mine is simply treated tap water and I am not willing to empty the tank and refill it when things appear to be going fine. I am in the process of researching RO/DI units and replumping a space in my utility room to have a permanent location for the unit and prepared water in the near future.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Well, in actuality using tap for a short period is not a big concern. It is the long term use where the evaporation concentrates the harmful metals and such in the tap over time. Some water supplies do add large amounts of phosphates or silicates for corrosion control. That water can be more of a problem, even in the short term. Glad to hear you are making the switch.

 

[Acreagedad]

Tom,

Well, it's week six in 125g mania. Since, I had to upgrade my pump because me Mag 9.5 did not seem to have enough power to fill my fuge and have enough for return. I could get some return, but it trickled. Now a Mag 18.

I got the skimmer fixed. It operates with a Mag 7 and I had to add a venturi piece to it to allow air. Without minutes, you'll be surprised at all the junk that started coming out.

I've been turning on my MH's a little longer each day. I'm at about 4 hours now. I'm starting to get evaporation, about 1 gallon a day. Still looking for the right chiller.

Big concern! I have in total about 250lbs of LR. The tank LR that I tranfered over from my 40g has developed a green grass-like algae on a couple of rocks and it's spreading. The rest of the rock has purple color but is now being overtaken by a dark brown color that is all over the sand as well.

1) What's the best way to clean this junk up! What fish are best to eat the green stuff.

2) I need to add a sufficient clean-up crew. What should I get to cover me. I hear too many stories and the LFS will sell me the store if they could. I have two clowns in the tank and a wrasse and a couple of frags. Not much!

Carlito

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Carlito,

It looks like that LR you transfer released some nutrients trapped in the pore structure and it is feeding an algae bloom. The brown stuff, diatoms most likely, goes away on its own but most snails will eat diatoms. Tangs, Blennies, Rabbitfish or any other herbivore will eat most algae but not all. Often these algae outbreaks will go away on a new tank if one just does water changes.

Clean up crews are always a subject of debate. Snails, a variety is best, are almost always welcome. Crabs, on the other hand, are not welcomed by all. The claim is they prey on the smaller sandbed critters. A few in a tank your size is probably fine as there is sufficient area to sustain a couple. Sea cukes also are debatable. The large ones eat most beneficial bacteria and stir up the sand too much. If you get the micro cukes, often present in good LS, then there is not a problem.

All in all, I don't see any of the things you are seeing as a major problem for a 6 week old tank and all should come into line in a couple more weeks.

 

[HowieB]

Hi Tom, great thread, read it today at work. I have a question about water changes. Do you keep your pumps running while doing your changes? If the recirc pump is off, then removing the water from the main tank until you reach your "mark" on your glass is OK. Do you turn it back on while you add your replacement water to your sump?

 

[cinder]

Along the cleanup crew line... I went down to the beach yesterday (or rather a rocky intertidal zone I guess), and the whole place was covered in snails. Which made me wonder if it would be safe to put them in the tank - after an appropriate quarantine.

Apart from the potential of picking up ones which want to crawl above the waterline, are there any other problems with doing this, if I quarantined them for a month before putting them in the display? I live in Hong Kong, which is just inside the tropics.

Thanks

 

[Zaphod]

It may be illegal also the water is most likely too hot for them and they would die. IMO just buy them you can find good deals online.

 

[Percman]

Hi youall,

I saw your post about Hong Kong. Nope the water is not too hot. I just got back from duty there. The only thing I know is it is hightly polluted. So I would be wary about that point, not the temp. Keeping them for a month is good.

Cause I travel a lot for our Uncle, I really don't have time to have a tank the normal way. I have a storage bin full of skimmer, fluizided beds, and everything you could think of. When I would return from duty, I would most likely find my tank just about wiped out from the guys who were suppose to be taking care of it. I even higher a tank maintance guy without any luck.

Then one day I stumbled on All About Salt Water Aquarium and logged on their form. It was interesting and I met a few good people. I told them about my problem and the guy Stan told me about a different system. Well I was about ready to give up the hobby but thought I would like to take a chance. He told me about the products, and I said I was in the Air Force so where could I find the products. He gave me the phone number and I called the guy. We talk for about an hour and it seemed too simple. Well, he gave me more phone numbers and I got in the stuff, but he mentioned a five gallon tank with only a box filter with his carbon. I knew I was going to be shipped out for a little while so I dicided to try his way.

I got a five gallon bucket, and a box (inside) filter. Filled the sucker up with that carbon and then got the sea mix at the right salinity. Then got the tenp up to 80 degrees and had no air stone in the bucket. Then I dripped in two percs and added the drip water back into the bucket. Then I put in the fish in and then I put in the bacteria. It clouded up for 24 hours and then was crystal clear. My readings I remember were A .01 Nitrite .01 Nitrate .02 Three days later I checked and everything was zero. I got two more fish watchman gobies and put them in. I added trace elements and a week later I had to leave for three months. When I returned, the only thing that was done to the tank was, feeding, trace elements and adding fresh water. They did not change any of the water like I asked them too. Well It has been three years and the same fish are still alive in the bucket with only a light bulbe avove them and I do water changes when I am home. I am going to set up a 75 gallon and take photos of it on a daily basis and post when I return from my next juant.

Have a good time reefing - I sure do.

Percman

 

[Acreagedad]

Thanks Tom!

How do I know what's too much of an amount for a clean-up crew. Would 30 variety snails, 10 blue hermits and 5 emerald crabs be too much or too little? I'm thinking about adding a few shrimp too.

What is the best Tang to buy to help eat the algae. I'd like a Tang and might as well get one that I could put on my payroll.

Carlito

 

[WaterKeeper]

First off to you
Newcomers
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Percman,

Glad to hear things are going smoothly in you FOIB (Fish Only In Bucket).

I was somewhat wondering why the trace additives? Fish don't have much demand for trace elements in the water but get what they need from the food they eat. You may save some $$$ by skipping the supplements.

Cinder,

I'm not sure what type of snails you can collect in Hong Kong but if you Q-tank them they are probably worth the try. Test that water temp in the area. If it is only a few degrees below that found in most reef tanks 25-28Ã"šÃ‚° C then they should adjust to the higher tank temps. Local fish would probably be more of a challenge as they are usually more sensitive to temperature differences.

Carlito,

The snails sound fine but I might be tempted to go a little lighter on the hermits and emerald crabs. I know they are cool but, as I said before, they sometimes have a habit of eating good things in the sand bed.

Tangs depend on your wallet and tank size. Yellow Tangs are cheap and one can be easily kept in a 100 gallon or larger tank. Another popular one is Zebrasoma desjardinii , which is the Red Sea variety of the Sailfin Tang. It is smaller are requires less swimming room than the more common Z. veliferum. If you like blue Tangs then Zebrasoma xanthurus, Purple Tang, is probably the best and least demanding. The Desjardinii and Purple Tangs do fetch a pretty good price however when compared to the yellow.

Howie,

I leave the pumps on and add water to the sump. I had an auto-topoff but it went amuck and wiped out my tank.

 

[Percman]

Dear Waterkeeper,

Thanks much for your kind reply. The type of trace elements I use are the Trace Element Blox. Have been using them for years and there is no hassle. I just drop a nugget or two in and forget it. If you want, I can take a flick of my "massive set up" and send it to you. The fish don't grow much, but eat like starving hogs. Feed them twice a day when I am here, but they are lucky to get fed once a day when I am gone. By the way, I have no sand in the bottom of my bucket so it is a bare bottom. Easy water change.

2 Percs
2 Watchman Gobies
1 Freshwater bubble up filter (Lee large one)
Used 5 gallon white plastic bucked given to me.
5/8 pound of their carbon
Their bacteria
Trace element Blox
and any cheep sea salt I find on sale.


Saw the type of filter Im goin to buy. It is the Red Torpedo. It's gonia hold 12 pounds of their carbon, and I can back flush it with a garden hose. Also when I wrote them, they said I should use their pH rock in another Red Torpedo to keep the pH high with no sweat. Well, since I gonia go whole hog with it, might as well do like the mad says. So far in 3 years no deaths.

This one is goina have corals and the whole shabang. I have to set it up in the time I have at home. Don't want to mess things up by flying overseas in mid way part of it.

I'll sand flicks also if you want. Just tell me.

Good to find people who like the same thing.

Ridin the coral range!


Percman

 

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

Next thing you know Perc you'll have a tank with clear plastic or glass sides so you can see those fish.

 

[Percman]

Dear Tom,

I'll take some flicks for you this week. Gee, it will be different viewing from the side instead of down like in the ocean.

Percman

 

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

Not if you keep flounders.