first saltwater tank
- Thread starter tnice17
- Start date
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mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
no, it's not a bad price at all. congrats. you're on your way. i would test the water a few times this week and see if those numbers get any better.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
na..give it a couple days and see is the ammonia leaves on it's own.
what a wonderful way to come home from work to see that the mollys i left in the tank have clownfish disease(Brooklynella)... i think.
ones tail is frayed, white stuff on both fish ( or from what i was reading is the open scales?), and one fish has a mucus hanging off its tail.
i immediately took them out of the tank and into another.
is my live rock still going to be ok?
is my entire tank infected now?
with all do respect to the fish, my main concern is the tank since i put much more time/money into.
ones tail is frayed, white stuff on both fish ( or from what i was reading is the open scales?), and one fish has a mucus hanging off its tail.
i immediately took them out of the tank and into another.
is my live rock still going to be ok?
is my entire tank infected now?
with all do respect to the fish, my main concern is the tank since i put much more time/money into.
hye tnice....if u took them out of tank, where did u put them..??
with no pic, i assume it might be ich....u can either quarantine it or soak some food with garlic...if your mollys act normally, and eat normally, u can just feed them with some fish food which is already soak with garlic...
yes...definitely your tank is infected but your LR is doing fine...the ich bacteria will need fish to be their hosts....once u have took your mollys out of tank and quarantine, 6-8weeks of time that bacteria in DT will die starving...but quarantine fish would only make them stress....fish have their own imune system....try to feed them with garlic+food and let them fight for it....do some frequent water change would also help....JMO
with no pic, i assume it might be ich....u can either quarantine it or soak some food with garlic...if your mollys act normally, and eat normally, u can just feed them with some fish food which is already soak with garlic...
yes...definitely your tank is infected but your LR is doing fine...the ich bacteria will need fish to be their hosts....once u have took your mollys out of tank and quarantine, 6-8weeks of time that bacteria in DT will die starving...but quarantine fish would only make them stress....fish have their own imune system....try to feed them with garlic+food and let them fight for it....do some frequent water change would also help....JMO
i put the fish in a 2.5gal tank i had laying around.
from reading the symptoms online im pretty sure its Brooklynella.
would raising the temp to mid 80 degrees F help kill the bacteria like it does for freshwater?
6-8 weeks
from reading the symptoms online im pretty sure its Brooklynella.
would raising the temp to mid 80 degrees F help kill the bacteria like it does for freshwater?
6-8 weeks
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
i don't think raising the temp to the mid 80s will work.
just cycle the tank without any fish, which should take about a month.
just cycle the tank without any fish, which should take about a month.
Little update for test results today
Ammonia - between 0-.25 ( hard to tell with colors)
Nitrite - .1
Nitrate - 20 low range ( 100 high range)
with my nitrate being at 20ppm, i believe my cycle is doing quite well, correct?
my water level in the tank went down from evaporation, would it be safe to fill it back up to the correct level? i dont want to disturb the cycle process though...
Ammonia - between 0-.25 ( hard to tell with colors)
Nitrite - .1
Nitrate - 20 low range ( 100 high range)
with my nitrate being at 20ppm, i believe my cycle is doing quite well, correct?
my water level in the tank went down from evaporation, would it be safe to fill it back up to the correct level? i dont want to disturb the cycle process though...
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
yes, keep the tank full.
you've got some time yet before the cycle is over. still have ammonia present.
you've got some time yet before the cycle is over. still have ammonia present.
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
Agreed, time is the key. Went through same thing you are as most do, my nitrates took about 3 months to hit zero and stay there. Added a yellow tang at somewhere around 3-4 weeks in, he died in the first week. As did my camel shrimp I got with the tang. He lasted about a week longer, but you don't want to waist the money and the poor fishes lives. As said time is the key, time and patience.
. As said time is the key, time and patience.i dont mind waiting. it is giving me time to do some research, and with school starting up in 2 weeks i will be preoccupied and time will fly.
if i decided to go with a canister filter, will i go through another mini cycle?
i was going to get a few powerheads, but i figured.... if i have to spend around $50 on the powerheads, i might as well spend the extra few bucks and get a canister filter. craigslist has some cheap ones, i will go with no other brand besides Fluval.
is it possible to get a to powerful canister filter? i will be getting the one with the best deal, either if its a 305 or a 405.
if i decided to go with a canister filter, will i go through another mini cycle?
i was going to get a few powerheads, but i figured.... if i have to spend around $50 on the powerheads, i might as well spend the extra few bucks and get a canister filter. craigslist has some cheap ones, i will go with no other brand besides Fluval.
is it possible to get a to powerful canister filter? i will be getting the one with the best deal, either if its a 305 or a 405.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
the display tank is a 20 gallon.
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
How much LR did you say you have in there? If you have the right amount of rock per gallon then you may not need the canister. Putting the powerheads in there will give you more movement around the rock which should help in filtering. If you do decide to get a canister, know that you will have to buy the media for it.
They require cleaning as well, though you can take the filter pads out to help.
Fluval is good, I have a fluval 303 on my 55 gal reef. Do you have any other filters on that tank? And no I wouldn't worry about a mini cycle, your tank is still cycling, now would be the best time to put one in.
They require cleaning as well, though you can take the filter pads out to help.
Fluval is good, I have a fluval 303 on my 55 gal reef. Do you have any other filters on that tank? And no I wouldn't worry about a mini cycle, your tank is still cycling, now would be the best time to put one in.
just a hair more than 25lbs, its a bit crowded in there but function over form for now.
i dont have any filters rather then my 2 HOB filters, rated at 100GPH each.
will a canister filter help if i decided to over stock the tank slightly? im assuming yes...?
if i cant get around to maintenance for the tank ( with school/work) the canister filter will help keep things more stable too correct?
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update on the tank...
i have green algae starting to grow on some of my live rock, shows that my set up/water quality can start establishing life!
Kelso
Aquarium Advice Freak
With a 20 gal fowlr tank you should be good. If you ever want to add coral, which is a hardthingto resist with salt water, you need about 30 lbs of LR. I would go 35 for good measure. I would get rid of those two hang on power filters and get a canister. This will help with the water quality while your away if you fill it with the right stuff. They need cleaning as well and are no excuse for not doing water changes. You can either do more rapid partial water changes, or you can do large monthly changes. In your case you should go with
monthly.
Sounds like your off to a good start hope everything continues to go well.
monthly.
Sounds like your off to a good start hope everything continues to go well.
mr_X
Aquarium Advice Addict
i would not try overstocking the tank. just learn with this one, and then move up to a larger system once you've got it down.
algae is hard to kill. during the cycle, you don't need to run your lights, and in many cases, it could be detrimental running the lights, since the nutrient level during the cycle is high. it's a perfect environment for algae to thrive.
a cannister might be better than what you have. what HOB filters are you using currently?
algae is hard to kill. during the cycle, you don't need to run your lights, and in many cases, it could be detrimental running the lights, since the nutrient level during the cycle is high. it's a perfect environment for algae to thrive.
a cannister might be better than what you have. what HOB filters are you using currently?
