launched the 20 gallon fowlr

[hc8719]

launched my fowlr tank today, got the 20 gallon going with 10-12 lbs of crushed coral, and 7 lbs of base rock.

and damn the crushed coral instructions "briefly rinse" turned into 20 gallons of excessively cloudy water.

i had the python pumping water in and the gravel vac pumping water out at the same time in order to elimate the coudiness, with no prevail. i have the penguin 330 going to town, in an attempt to get rid of the coudiness.

im thinking about getting an oclowns (i know they arent great friendly fish, but do they mind being together if their not mated). and a lawn mower blenny or a watchman goby

pet supplies plus is selling damsels, 3 for $11 so there a possiblity, but i hear their aggressive. any opinions?

EDIT: i found this article, but im thinking this is only for freshly dead LR and wouldnt apply to my base rock?

 

[DragonForce]

I think a pair of clownfish would do nice in a system that size

 

[melosu58]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

 

[hc8719]

i was hoping to do that tonight melosu, but as it would turn out, even after changing another 40 gallons of water, and individually rinsing off clumps of coral, i still cant clear up the water. and with the current from the penguin 330, it wont settle.

heres the plan, because regular filter media is too porous to capture this "dust" i stuffed it full of thick washclothes, i'll let you know how this works

 

[melosu58]

It will settle down in a day or two. Mine was the same way . It took two days for mine

 

[FloridaNewbie]

and darn the crushed coral instructions "briefly rinse" turned into 20 gallons of excessively cloudy water.

i dunno much about the Coral, but i remember even the bag was DUSTY at the store. Maybe you should try to rinse it again if it doesn't settle soon.

Just my 2 cents.

Also the 2 clowns are a cool idea, i am new and thinking the same way, maybe a watchman goby.

 

[roka64]

I would ditch the UGF and CC. I started mine w/CC and ended up removing it, in about two months. It was hard to keep clean and limited me on a clean up crew and sand stirrers.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Patience is a virture, my friend.

The cloudiness is completely normal. It will go away in a day or two. CC can cause issues, I agree. It will limit your livestock selection and vaccuming of the sandbed will ne neccesary, so you know. Since this will be a fowlr tank, the nitrates that may build up won't as big of an issue.

 

[hc8719]

i figured the cloudiness was normal, i just didnt want it to happen everytime i stirred up the tank with the gravel vac.

i wish someone had told me crushed coral was bad, knowing me i'll take it all out in a month. could you guys be more specific on what i inverts/fish shouldnt be in a CC tank

ohh and roka, i dont have a UGF going, the penguin 330 is a HOB, sorry for the confusion

and i did my first specific gravity test: 1.022 (the good area)

im going to use some crab legs to jumpstart the tank on the fishless cycle

and off topic, are clowns really a type of damsel?

 

[roka64]

Any kind of soft bellied critters might have problems, some snails, possibly stars, sand sifting gobies, conchs and I am sure there are others. Clowns are damsels.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Cushed coral just happens to get gunk under it, which can cause issues. It's not neccesarily bad, but there are better choices out there.

Raw shrimp is a good way to jump start a cycle, and I would imagine cheaper than crab legs, but that's just a guess. I like saving money.

Clownfish and damsels are both in the same family, Pomacentridae (sp?), which contains the anemonefishes and damselfishes.

 

[hc8719]

Any kind of soft bellied critters might have problems, some snails, possibly stars, sand sifting gobies, conchs and I am sure there are others. Clowns are damsels.

sorry if im confused, but snails cant live in CC? they do fine in fw aquarium with rocks, is CC just pointier?

sd far as sand shifting gobies go, would lawnmower blennies or watchman gobies be affected. im thinking yes, but im unsure if they really dive into the CC/sand.

and turtles, im not sticking too much crab in. just a shrimp sized peice

one more thing, if anyone is familiar with those live mussels they sell in grocery stores, would those be ok in an aquarium, just if i wanted to get some, or would they attached themselves to my glass?

 

[quixand]

It also helps to rinse the media first.

That cuts down on my cloudiness ALOT. Then, let it settle.

 

[hc8719]

It also helps to rinse the media first.

That cuts down on my cloudiness ALOT. Then, let it settle.

dont you think i did? believe me i did

 

[Devilishturtles]

sorry if im confused, but snails cant live in CC? they do fine in fw aquarium with rocks, is CC just pointier?

Some burrowing snails won't be able to, like nassarius, llynassa, etc. Your common snails like astrea and turbo snails will be fine. Not because of the shape, but because they like to hide in the sand during the day. With the bigger particles that come with CC, they might not be able to get under there with the ease that sand allows. Stick with Turbo snails and Astrea snails, and you'll be fine.

sd far as sand shifting gobies go, would lawnmower blennies or watchman gobies be affected. im thinking yes, but im unsure if they really dive into the CC/sand

The goby yes, the blenny should be fine. In my experience, they like to perch on the rock more than anything.

About the mussels, someone posted a link about those before, and I beleive the general consensus was that they wouldn't be a good idea. I'll see if I can find the link for you.

Edit: You were the one that posted that question... so nevermind.

 

[roka64]

The mussels, I believe live in cooler water, if I remember the post DT is talking about.

 

[hc8719]

Edit: You were the one that posted that question... so nevermind.

i posted that? where?

bought 7 more pounds of base rock, a sw param testing kit, and a heater today my lfs owner told me that if i just use bio spira when my pH is right (8.0-8.3) i wouldnt have waste my time with the jumpy params with the shrimp (crab meat). anyone try this, though bio spira is kinda pricey.

ohh and the tank cleared up

 

[Hara]

The single most important piece of advice I will impart to you is do not try to take shortcuts. It will come back to bite you hard.

 

[Esra]

Patience is the way to go.
Anything that is supposed to increase your cycle speed will cause problems later on.
No point spending all that money to ruin the tank for the sake of a week or so.

 

[Devilishturtles]

If you wanna spend money on the biospira, go ahead. I thought that stuff was pricey though too. The same thing can be accomplished with a raw shrimp (crab meat) and much cheaper.

Here is a link to the mussels question you posted a while back.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=86762&highlight=mussels