Where is the problem?

[Matt Sable]

I've been sitting on this question for 2 months and I think its time to ask{BEG!!} for some advice. Here's how it all started, 3 months ago I set up a 40g. tall tank with I think about 60lb.s of larger grade aragonite sand{ giving my tank a depth of 6in.}, whisper 40 with bio foam in it{ mainly for circulation until I get a skimmer},a 175W. MH pendant, and 10lbs of LR. The large grain and depth of the sand was because I wanted to keep a jawfish. I figured I would not do any testing and just let it cycle out for about 1 month{ I stupidly didn't do any water changes during this time}. The tank went through all the algae blooms but the first half inch of the sandbed was "glued" together from the red algae and diatom blooms. The ammonia was still at .25. At this time I asked an lfs employee why the ammonia was still so high. His first question was where did I get the LR. It turned out that where I got the "cured" LR didn't properly cure it but only let it sit in a tank for a week before selling it. He said lots of people came to them with problems and they alot got their LR from this place. He also told me I should vacuum off the sandbed to get rid of the "glued" first half in. I vacuumed the sandbed off and started doing 25% water changes about every week. The sand bed "glued" up about three more times but has since cleared up. The rocks have various types of algae{ Neomeris, maybe C. taxifolia and maybe C racemosa} and tubeworms and the glass is covered with pods and such but the ammonia is still .25 though I've never tested any nitrites or nitrates. I asked Ron Shimek if there were any problems with my kind of sandbed. He said that there was and I should discard it and use his method. I don't know if the problem is the sandbed, LR, or I just need a skimmer{ or if it is a combination of all of these}. I would like to keep the sandbed for the jawfish, but would get rid of it if it is adding to the problem. I'm sorry to be so looong-winded, but I could some help. Thanks!

 

[NicoleC]

Your patience and endeavors to set up a tank designed for a jawfish are to be applauded.

I would consider a new ammonia test. I suspect that .25 is a false reading. While it's quite possible the rock was not cured -- if fact, very probable -- you should be well cycled by now. (That kerplunk cound you just heard was me hitting the floor in astonishment that your LFS employee has some knowledge... I wouldn't have vacuumed up the "glued" parts - I'd have broken it up -- but getting rid of it is a common and acceptable answer.)

Dr. Ron would say that a jawfish will destroy your DSB (his style). He would also say that you are unlikely to keep a healthy Shimek-style DSB in a tank as small as a 40g. He may be totally right on both counts -- which would defeat the purpose of trying to set up a Shimek-style DSB, IMO.

If it were my tank, I'd use the sand you have and the tank just as you have it and continue with the plans for the jawfish. You may want to seed the sandbed now with sand from a couple of established tanks so that you get some good life going in the bed. Also, I think a skimmer would be a big plus to help keep nutrients from sinking into that sand bed -- but without a skimmer you are going to be able to do large water changes and export that caulerpa to help with nutrient control. Better water flow will help a great deal in that department, too.

Please be sure to QT the little guy so you can get him eating well and 100% healthy before going into "HIS" tank. By that the time QT is over, any nasty critters that arrived with the sand you seeded the tank with will probably certainly die off without a host.

I'm guessing you know to secure the rocks from the jawfish digging under them, and to be sure you have a good lid on that tank, but it bears repeating.

 

[Matt Sable]

Thanks alot NicoleC,
You could be right about the testkits. Though I didn't think about securing the rocks, I got the lid covered. I was thinkin' eggcrate with a couple 20 lb. weights should hold'im in.{Just kidding!}. Again, Thanks Alot!

 

[NicoleC]

For securing rocks, I have seen people do some pretty nofty stuff drilling holes and using plastic rods to stack rocks together, or using cable ties.

Eggcrate depends on the fish size. You may want something finer if he's small, at least until he grows up some. I had a bicolor blenny get right through eggcrate, and I could have sworn he was fatter than the holes... alas, poor Buddy, we hardly knew ya'.

I've also heard that sometimes they don't make it all the way through the eggcrate. :eek1:

 

[newb]

i think nicole is dead on with all she has said. with a high-light on the larger regular water changes. thats gonna be one happy jaw fish

 

[rustybucket145]

I have an adult jawfish and I recently came across a partial bag of small/ medium sea shells for x-tra cheap at the LFS I added a handful to my display tank for the hermit crabs and to my surprise the jawfish robbed all of these shells to fortify his hole. It was really cool to watch him sort through the shells with his mouth to find just the right one. I have since added more of the shells to the display and I would highly recommend this to any jawfish owners it is a hoot to watch him build with bigger substrate than sand.

 

[Fred_J]

Did I misread it or did you say you have 10lbs of LR in a 40g tank. I think you need quite a bit more LR. That along with the above recommendations should clear things up.
Fred