i need a little help please with tank upgrade

[bigford84]

did your test kit expired...??? it might because of expired...

where do i find the manufacture date?? its an api master saltwater test kit
only date i can find is .. well there is a c inside of a circle then says 2008 mars fishcare north america,inc. then there are lot #s on all the bottles that dont match except the last 2 numbers are 10

 

[abdhalim2]

i think u can ask your LFS for more information...

 

[mr_X]

that says you are at the end of the cycle. no detectable ammonia or nitrite, and the nitrate is low enough.
i would drip everything and transfer.
usually i don't drip anemones, but since you are dripping the fish anyway, what can it hurt?

 

[bigford84]

ok so im gonna put all the fish,crabs,nems,snails in a rubbermaid contaner and drip them for about an hour.. sound ok??

and since the fish and water are not from a lfs,but my own tank,can i just add the drip water back to my tank? or is that a bad idea?

and whats the limit for stocking a 55 gal fowlr with a 30 gal sump??
with a 30 gal sump,isnt it like having an 85 gal tank?? or no?

fish i have are...
2 clowns about 2 inch
1 clown gobby about 1 inch
1 wathcman gobby about 1 inch
1 lw blenny about 3 inch
1 garden eel about 7 inch
1 turbo
2 hermits..had 10 but they dissapered
2 snails.. name starts with an N cant rember
3 nams,1 is a carpet golfball size..1 rose bubble same size,, and a condy about twice the size as the others.


is that too much fish?? can i have more in the 55 gal?

 

[mr_X]

no. it's not like having an 85 gallon tank, because the limits are gauged on territory and swimming room, not on water volume.

i don't think the garden eel is going to work for you, as they need 6" sand beds. maybe a snowflake might be better...but eels eat whatever they can catch and can fit in their mouths...

according to this chart-

gobies aren't 100% ok together. i've never kept more than 1 in a tank so i can't comment further. also, eels and gobies are not recommended either.

 

[bigford84]

1 ok i did it!!!!!!!!!! all the fish,nems,crabs,and snails are moved in to there new home.. they all made it and are happy.. except the condy nem, he will not anchor to anything. so i kinda blocked him in to a spot hopeing he will stay..

2 with the list of fish above... that i have can i have 1 or 2 more??
was thinking of getting a blue tang,but lfs guy told me they are ich magnets.. is that rite?

3 if i can have 1 or 2 more fish what would you recomend??

4 and the 30 gal that all the fish came out of... can i use that as a qt tank b4 i get rid of it??

5 question about the fuge.. should i have all the LR on one side and leave the other just open sand bed with the cheeto??

and ill post pics of the new tank soon... it looks great

 

[mr_X]

you mean a regal tang? i haven't had more trouble with them being susceptible to parasites more than any other tang. that said, i don't think a 55 gallon tank is a good place for any tang. if i was planning on a 6' tank in the future, then i might consider a small one, but if not, i'd have to pass.

yes, you can use the 30 as a QT.

it doesn't matter where you put the live rock in the refugium, as long as it's not in the return area and will be exposed to air from time to time with evap.

i don't know what to tell you about what other fish you should have. it's your tank and you'll have to look at it on a regular basis. jut research any fish you like until you find one that is pleasing to you and also compatible.

 

[bigford84]

ok so after transfering all the fish into the 55 gal everything was ok, now my nems are running around and will not stay in one place, and i stuck one of those ammo test stripes in to check the water,and it is showing that i have 6.0 ammo!!!!! i have not checked nitrite,nitrate yet as i would like to do a pwt rite now to help the fish and nems...

whats going on???

 

[iDream]

not quite sure but i love the rockscape!

ammonia test strips? if its the test strip kit it may not be accurate

 

[bigford84]

yeah i was using the api master test kit from the start. but after 2 weeks of it saying 1.5 ammo and nitrites/nitrates 0 , i had lfs test it and it was 0 for all. he used the test strips for all,so i got the strips for the ammo.

 

[bigford84]

ok i just tested again but with the api master kit this time..

ph=7.8
ammo=.25-0 hard for me to read the color but looked more yellow..
nitrite=0
nitrate=40

so the ammo is not 6.0 thank goodness!!!!! but im still doing a pwt.

 

[mr_X]

those test strips are bogus!
that said, i also like the aquascaping. at this point, i would continue doing water changes, and also take a sample to a store that actually uses fluid test kits to check water parameters.

 

[bigford84]

ok i did a 20% PWT all the fish look to be doing great..

i have 3 lfs in my area and all 3 of them use the strips.

#2 how much of a heat fluxuation is too much?? with the heater in my sump, it will go from 77.7 to 79 and 80 morning to night. is that bad?
should i put the heater in the dt?

 

[mr_X]

it's not the position of the heater that's the problem. turn the heater up to 80 then and keep the temp a stable 80

 

[kingman8610]

The ammo. prob is likely a spike from putting all the new guys in your tank. as far as temp goes, IMO I dont think a 2 or 3 degree variation in a 24 hr period would hurt anything but I may be wrong...

Also I as well Love the rock-scaping

 

[mr_X]

as far as temp goes, IMO I dont think a 2 or 3 degree variation in a 24 hr period would hurt anything but I may be wrong...

no, actually, you are absolutely right. for just fish i wouldn't worry about a 2 or 3 degree swing in a day.

 

[bigford84]

ok so i set the temp to 80. and ill see in the morning if it holds there..

and for the temp swing... from 77 to 80 morning to night for the past few days in a fowlr tank wont cause the fish to get sick?

 

[mr_X]

it should be ok over a 24 hour period like brett mentioned. even so, i would try to keep it at an even 80 just the same.

 

[kingman8610]

I agree with Mr. X...Its the same with homeostasis with our own bodies, the more consistently stable it is as a whole, the healthier and more efficient everything will be. But dont trust the temp. gauge on the heater, check your thermometer, b/c I set my heater that I just got to 79 but it kept the temp at 81-84, so I cut it down to 75 and now my thermometer says its consistently flux-ing 78-80... just keep that in mind

 

[bigford84]

how long will my 30 gallon live with no wish in it?? after transfering all the fish out of my 30 gallon tank, i left the heater,and fluval canister running. it still has the 4 inch sand bed,but no live rock..

too keep it alive should i put a damsel in it?

i want to keep in running cause i wand to hold snails in it for wifeys green spotted puffers. i think im gonna buy the 200+ snails for $18 free shipping. they are the snails that start with nass_____. somthing like that, they have the little snorkle looking things on them,yeah those snails.