toadstool/frogspawn

[Cruella]

which would be better for my tank? I have zoo's and mushrooms in there now??

 

[Toyota Guy]

neither at this point....... Take the advise everyone is telling you, SLOW DOWN.

Patience is very important in this hobby. Everyother day you are posting questions with problems you are having and the next day you are asking about new livestock to add.

Slowdown, take your time and let the tank get going on it's own.... I know how hard it is at first but if you want a succesful tank, listen to waht we are all telling you. It's not like you are getting 30 different answers from 30 people.......we are all tell you the same thing.

Chris

 

[reefD]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7117968#post7117968 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Toyota Guy
neither at this point....... Take the advise everyone is telling you, SLOW DOWN.

Patience is very important in this hobby. Everyother day you are posting questions with problems you are having and the next day you are asking about new livestock to add.

Slowdown, take your time and let the tank get going on it's own.... I know how hard it is at first but if you want a succesful tank, listen to waht we are all telling you. It's not like you are getting 30 different answers from 30 people.......we are all tell you the same thing.

Chris

best advice youll ever get! seriously! you did just post issues a few weeks ago. that seems like a while ago but in salt tanks thats nothing. focus your efforts for now on maintanace. get some thermometers(digital).....keep temp stable..no swings....figure a good top off schedule......keep salinity stable...no swings........drip is good solution for fresh top off or kalk......also focus on the hardness of your tank....establishing all of these things and working on an everyday schedule or automated schedule is what will help in the future. not saying that your not paying attention to these things but get religious about it cause that type of boring equipment/ water stabalizing stuff is where success is found......remember it takes 30 days (straight) of doing something before it becomes a habit. so focus on this stuff for this waiting period and youll have one less thing to consider cause by habit you keep everything stable..no flux...no spikes....nothing..just stability!
i know it sucks i just finally got a green flag with a tank i started in january.....my levels have been stable or zero'd for a month now so i feel safe to add some jawfish 2marrow but then ill wait another 2 months before adding anything else. even if things are going good. why mess with it when things are happy. my philosophy is if its happy keep it happy. when you cant remember the last time things where not happy then maybe then its time to add something.
bets off luck

 

[reefD]

when you are like " heck things are happy "dont add nothing ..keep things happy for as long as it takes 4 you to forget the last time you had problems...this is stable happiness now... and not just a few days thing.......thus you establish stability of the "happiness" of the corals. if you think things are going well dont add anytrhing else let it go well! what your missing is that this "happy" time is not a sign to add but just let be and establish a well balance tank. the longer the tank stays happy and the bioload is not increases the bacteria hits a complete Balance and becomes well populated and thus able and willing to take on a bio load (new fish/coral). this takes time the longer the better ...the sooner the worst. i want a great tank so i waited since january to add anything other than a damsel...and now in april i think...(very careful) in may be ready for one addition! thats it! sorry for all the chat but hope you take the clubs advice and just giving you my experience and my knowledge as help .....dont want to see your tank crash every 6 months due to your not waiting to establish your tank.
a cycle ( with saltwater tanks) in the best conditions take about 4 weeks...normally more like 8 weeks. ive watched and timed many cycles and they rarly occur in 4 weeks in a new tank (no old established water or substrate or rock) . more like 6-8 weeks and even then a cycle can take months or never happy if you keep interupting it.
another thing you can do is test test test. really watch for spikes you may have none ..good...but just keep watching ...once levels stay at zero ...i mean totally everyday zero for a month of more yopu can be sure that the tank is good for additions. zero levels not for a week or 2 weeks or three...a month. and any spikes reset this time. dont neglect that! reset your wait time with any issues.

 

[Cruella]

well my tank has been up for almost 6 weeks. I took most of my live rock from my old tank(85lbs), bio-media, 2 skimmers. I test about every two-three days. the other day was the first time I had a reading that wasn't good. amonia-o, nitrite-0 nitrate was 20. I did about a 25% water change last night and about a 10% today.. I am kind of a drama queen. I hate to see fish die, (I have had all my fish now for over two years. I have only ever lost two fish(knock on wood)

 

[reefD]

ok but youve had some issues recently so somethings amiss....in any case something that i would say is that doing too much water changes will disrupt the cycle. try to let the tank go with only top offs for a month. when levels spike do a small water change but nothing major so the bacteria can feed on the amonia and establish.
in any case the reading was bad yesterday so that is an immediate halt. fix it and make sure it doesnt spike a few weeks after. this will address the problem of the level spike. that should be your main and only concern for the next few weeks. then we can move on.

 

[reefD]

by the way this spike could be a good sign if your other levels dont spike in the next 4 weeks your tank has cycled. the trates are the last part of the proccess and will rise until a water change is done. get it down and wait a few weeks to see if an=ything else rises. if the trates rise again then your safe to say the tank is established cycled and ready to slowly add stuff. keep us updated

 

[Cruella]

cool, I have a few fish in my tank. I am not adding any more fish. I want just coral. right now I have a clown,yellow tang,royal gramma,bi-color blenny, two dime size damsels. I don't want any other fish. the wrass is in there but not for much longer

 

[reefD]

remember coral is an animal and thus does contribute to bio load. some not as much as fish but the point is that adding coral will also contribute to unstability of levels.
live rock is also like adding fish......the gamble is if you add a coral and it is not happy it starts to die and thus adding to increase "poo" in your tank. i wouldnt add anything until that spike is lowered and then wait a few after that.

 

[Rainer Feyer]

Cruella,

I strongly agree with the comments made and suggest to place your enthusiasm into low gear. You have weay too many problems still. Just my 2 cents hoping to save you money and the need for Valium,

 

[xian]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7128250#post7128250 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cruella
cool, I have a few fish in my tank. I am not adding any more fish. I want just coral. right now I have a clown,yellow tang,royal gramma,bi-color blenny, two dime size damsels. I don't want any other fish. the wrass is in there but not for much longer

One thing you may want to consider is that a majority of the best reef tanks carry a small fish load. You may not want to add any more fish than you have if you intend this to be a reef.