first saltwater tank

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Well you should be good because you don't seem to have any yet. What you have is different, but if you see any aptasia I recomend you get rid of them. There is a thread I started a while ago all about it. Its called, how to get rid of these things, I'm pretty sure. Search for it and if that name doesn't work tell me. But right now I don't think you need to worry.
 
I just read through the thread. I don't think I missed it, but maybe someone already warned about the use of shells instead of sand for a substrate?
The higher chance of old food to get stuck in the sand, abnd maybe even some limitation of the sea life that likes to live in sand. I don't have any crush coral or shell substrate in either of my tanks, but have heard some not so nice things for those who have had experience. Not to mention I like to see all the little tentacle type life that is living in my sand, not sure if they take to CC as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
BTW, like the rock setup, very nice. My tanks seem to be crowded with LR, so its not as pretty. Then again the coral has taken over which helps the look. Good luck, keep up with the updates.
 
Kelso said:
Well you should be good because you don't seem to have any yet. What you have is different, but if you see any aptasia I recomend you get rid of them. There is a thread I started a while ago all about it. Its called, how to get rid of these things, I'm pretty sure. Search for it and if that name doesn't work tell me. But right now I don't think you need to worry.
Click to expand...

beleive it or not i think i crossed your thread some time in the past, i will look for it again. thank you!

nxb161 said:
I just read through the thread. I don't think I missed it, but maybe someone already warned about the use of shells instead of sand for a substrate?
The higher chance of old food to get stuck in the sand, abnd maybe even some limitation of the sea life that likes to live in sand. I don't have any crush coral or shell substrate in either of my tanks, but have heard some not so nice things for those who have had experience. Not to mention I like to see all the little tentacle type life that is living in my sand, not sure if they take to CC as well. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
BTW, like the rock setup, very nice. My tanks seem to be crowded with LR, so its not as pretty. Then again the coral has taken over which helps the look. Good luck, keep up with the updates.
Click to expand...

yes i have heard about the shells not being ideal, but what you said about the food getting stuck in the substrate makes sense.

i redid my LR set up so it looks much better, i am away from my tank atm for school so i will get pics asap of the new set up.

you know how much of a PITA it is to change the substrate, can i scoop out as much as possible with a cup and just cover the rest with sand?

im sure this isnt preferred but can i put sand on top of my 1" shell bed now and be ok long term? keep in mind that i will be moving my tank in maybe 3-4 months :( . my parents just got divorced so im sure you can imagine my situation.
 
sorry to hear about your parents... if you are planning on moving the tank anymore, I'd just wait and swap out the substrate then. My guess is it'd be easier to change out crushed coral, then it would to remove sand. Just be aware that there will be 3-4 more months of hidden stuff in there decaying. A hoard of hermit crabs will help to come degree.
 
^^^ thanks i will look into the crabs.

i have a turbo snail in the tank now, he is doing great and there is plenty of food for him on the rocks. im sure the crab will get everything in the small cracks.

correct me if im wrong but removing this algea and "hidden stuff decaying" helps to remove nitrates...? which will help my cycle
 
any of the uneaten food will decay, and cycle into the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate (so almost acting as a fish adding to your bioload) Which is why we use a raw shrimp to cycle the tank instead of fish.
You can also control that just by making sure you don't feed your fish too much either. For the most parts the CUC (crabs, shrimp, snails) are just that a clean up crew and you won't specifically feed them. The less they have the harder they'll look for food, and find that hidden "stuff"
 
i am starting to think that my cycle hasnt started up until now...

Ammonia - .5 ( wtf)
nitrite - .1
nitrate - 0

what could cause my ammonia to rise like this? the only bio load i have on the tank is the turbo snail. i dont put any food into the tank.

im happy and sad at the same time. happy because if my cycle did just start now, my ammonia is higher then it was when i first started the tank... this will result in a stronger cycle. correct?

sad because i was hoping for results i am more familiar with and more waiting :(.
 
todays test results:

Ammonia - .25
Nitrite - .1
Nitrate - between 20-50

i THINK i am on the right track, can anyone put there 2 cents in?
 
even though my cycle isnt done, all the patients needed is very self gratifying. every day i look at the tank something new is developing.

there are a coupe more Pseudocorynactis starting to form, another small one on another LR and many more on a larger piece of LR. the way the light hits there testicles is amazing, very attractive.

i do not want a reef tank because of the extra costs/maintenance. i understand they are not "safe" with fish from what i was reading, and of course i can not have a lot of fish due to my tank size, for how long or what size should i allow these to keep growing.

here is what i found about it,
The Caribbean species, Pseudocorynactis caribbaeorum mainly opens its tentacles at night, and closes rapidly when it senses light. The Indo-Pacific species remains open both day and night, and is not sensitive to light. The presence of food smells (dissolved amino acids) in the water stimulates either species to open up and extend the tentacles, and the caribbean species can be trained to open in the light by feeding it during daylight hours. The mechanism for its apparent memory is not known.
Click to expand...
 
^^ ok thanks, good to know.

little over 5 weeks into my cycle now and todays tests are...
pH- 8.2
Ammonia-.25
Nitrite-.1
Nitrate- between 20-50
 
^^ yea i guess it wasnt as "cured" as the previous owner stated. oh well, learned my lesson the hard way, now i know what to look for in the future.

so is that the reason why my nitrates are so high? will it go down on its own? or once my ammonia/nitrite is at 0 and my cycle is done, than do i keep doing PWC until it gets to 0?
 
ok thanks, im glad i have a bunch of school work to do to keep me preoccupied, haha.

sorry to bombard you with questions, its all a new learning experience to me. :) but thanks again
 
my test results are still the same :(
i am starting to think i didnt feed the cycle with enough ammonia in the beginning possibly?

Ammonia- .25
Nitrite- .1
Nitrate- 20-50
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
First aquarium setup - but worried!
Replies
5
Views
467
Rev G
R
T
Setting up an Indian Tank
Replies
8
Views
779
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
X
Guppy Tank Dying
Replies
2
Views
402
XxHatredAngelxX
X
N
Thinking of switching from salt to freshwater tank
Replies
6
Views
573
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
M
Hi! New here with some newbie questions
Replies
9
Views
393
Colin_T
C

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom