Dreamer/Nightmare 135 gal. Tank Diary(3.12.07 update)

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Mike469 said:
You could start doing some research on the net. There are alot of tangs. You have a good size tank for most of them. Only a few require larger like 180. If you want one so do your research and ask here.

Here is a place to start:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/search/default.cfm
Click to expand...




I adore the Naso tangs, too, but I've read conflicting advice on what size tank they require. I was sure they needed a 200+ gallon tank, but LiveAquaria says the minimum is 125. MarineDepotLive says they need a minimum of 150. I suppose I'll err on the side of caution and forego having a Naso.

White cheeks are nice, too. As are the Achilles. How are those fish in regards to being prone to ich?


Again, I figure the tang will be the fish we'll add last, and I don't anticipate having a tang for at least six months or so.
 
You are correct about conflicting size req. as well as care levels. I generally trust liveaquaria.com and they seem to have good tank size rec.

You have to take into account that every tank is different and can handle different bioloads. There are so many factors that come into play like protein skimming, PWC's, fuge, Nutrient removal, lbs. of LR......You have
to stay within the suggestions and find out what works by adding slow.

I am not sure about the White Cheek but I know Blue Tangs are more prone to ich and other problems as well if not kept in good conditions. Probably the most important thing if you want to keep a couple of tangs is to make sure they are compatible.
 
Today's round of tests since we neglected to do them the past two days.


ph: 8.1
ammonia: 0
nitrItes: .4
nitrAtes: 0



When should we expect to see a spike in nitrAtes? I kind of figured we'd start seeing some now that the nitrItes are subsiding.


Checking out a new LFS tonight. Probably going to buy another bag of sand and check out new light fixtures. :)
 
DreamerTheresa and I just got back from the new LFS...

Well, going to this new fish store was a serious bust.

Strike one was walking in and seeing dirty show tanks. Not filthy, just lots of algae on the tank walls, and hey, algae happens.


However, the guy who was helping us seemed to not know ANYTHING.

We brought some water with us to have tested to make sure our salinity was correct, since we don't have a refractometer yet. We're using one of those Instant Ocean ones with the float.

Turns out, our salinity is a little low. No biggie.


Strike two was the guy shaking the test tube with his finger and not using a tube cap.

He said our ammonia was at 2, our nitrites were off the charts, and that we had plenty of nitrates.

He then went on, after we mentioned we were cycling with live rock, that we can't do that. That something (fish specifically) must be in the tank to start the cycle. However, he said, the water isn't suitable for fish. He then contradicted himself by saying we should go and get an 89 cent molly or something to stick in the tank, "because they can live in saltwater."

"But," said we, "we're cycling with the live rock die off."

He then randomly mentioned that they cure all their live rock before selling it. Not sure what that had to do with anything. Then he said that we need to find something to neutralize all the ammonia and nitrites and nitrates (some chemical additive was suggested) and that we do a large PWC start a new cycle.


WHAT?!


Add to that all their tanks were FILTHY. Couple of dead fish in the tanks. We saw a pretty nice looking Tang belly up in one of the coral pools. One of their sale tanks was probably 18" x 18" x 24" and held a 9" or so long lion fish. The water was so murky you could barely see him, and the fish took up about 1/4 of the tank.


I asked the guy if he "sold those things that check the specific gravity," meaning the refractometer, as the word had escaped me at the moment.

"Specific gravity?" he asked.

"The salinity?"

"Huh?"

"Uhm... that thing you just checked the water with... the thing that you looked through like a telescope."

They were out of them. I can't fault him for that, but not knowing specific gravity/salinity??


We left cranky and feeling dirty.

And then we went to PetSmart for new testing supplies of a brand different than what we've been using, since this guy had such radically different test results than what we had earlier today.

Our test results with the new supplies were the exact same of what we had earlier today. So I'll still trust what we've been reading.


Just... UGH!!! :p


We'll stick to the other store we'd gone to. Just wanted to try somewhere different since it was closer. Big waste of time.




Cliff Notes: Went to new LFS, they were dirty with dead fish in tanks, guy helping us had no clue what he was talking about. Seemed to give us bad info. Blah blah. :p
 
Well that happens sometimes. Maybe they will clean up their act then clean up their tanks? One can only hope.
 
If you have enough live rock in the tank your nitrates may never go up. The nitrite level will go to zero and the cycle will be complete. That was my experience and others have posted similar results.
 
Noticed your pH is going down. As roka64 stated Glass lids prevent gas exchange which will decrease pH. If you have a glass lid leave it open for a couple of hours and see if the pH increases. If not you may need to add buffer.
 
We're going to go to Home Depot on Saturday to pick up some egg crate niftiness.

We have some buffer. I added a little bit, but we do try to keep the lid open a few hours a day (we do have a glass top). Hopefully won't be a problem after we get some egg crate.
 
Should we be considering a PWC at this point? Or should we continue to just let it cycle and work itself out?
 
I tried the buffer, with my old lid and couldn't get the pH up (unless I was doing it wrong). Great idea on the egg crate! I would wait for the nitrItes to 0 out and then, you should be good to go.
 
Tonight's test results!

ammonia: 0
pH: 8.1 (I added some buffer after this test, and we've been keeping the lid open if one of us is home. We're going to get some egg crate to replace the lids tomorrow)
nitrites: We tested this with two different test kits for grins.
>.2 mg/L (the lowest reading on the Instant Ocean kit)
> 1 ppm (second lowest reading on the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals kit - after .05)
nitrates: >10 mg/L
alkalinity: 3.5 mEq/L
 
Sounds like you are almost there! You have any new pics?
 
Nightmare said:
DreamerTheresa and I just got back from the new LFS...

Well, going to this new fish store was a serious bust.

Strike one was walking in and seeing dirty show tanks. Not filthy, just lots of algae on the tank walls, and hey, algae happens.


However, the guy who was helping us seemed to not know ANYTHING.

We brought some water with us to have tested to make sure our salinity was correct, since we don't have a refractometer yet. We're using one of those Instant Ocean ones with the float.

Turns out, our salinity is a little low. No biggie.


Strike two was the guy shaking the test tube with his finger and not using a tube cap.

He said our ammonia was at 2, our nitrites were off the charts, and that we had plenty of nitrates.

He then went on, after we mentioned we were cycling with live rock, that we can't do that. That something (fish specifically) must be in the tank to start the cycle. However, he said, the water isn't suitable for fish. He then contradicted himself by saying we should go and get an 89 cent molly or something to stick in the tank, "because they can live in saltwater."

"But," said we, "we're cycling with the live rock die off."

He then randomly mentioned that they cure all their live rock before selling it. Not sure what that had to do with anything. Then he said that we need to find something to neutralize all the ammonia and nitrites and nitrates (some chemical additive was suggested) and that we do a large PWC start a new cycle.


WHAT?!


Add to that all their tanks were FILTHY. Couple of dead fish in the tanks. We saw a pretty nice looking Tang belly up in one of the coral pools. One of their sale tanks was probably 18" x 18" x 24" and held a 9" or so long lion fish. The water was so murky you could barely see him, and the fish took up about 1/4 of the tank.


I asked the guy if he "sold those things that check the specific gravity," meaning the refractometer, as the word had escaped me at the moment.

"Specific gravity?" he asked.

"The salinity?"

"Huh?"

"Uhm... that thing you just checked the water with... the thing that you looked through like a telescope."

They were out of them. I can't fault him for that, but not knowing specific gravity/salinity??


We left cranky and feeling dirty.

And then we went to PetSmart for new testing supplies of a brand different than what we've been using, since this guy had such radically different test results than what we had earlier today.

Our test results with the new supplies were the exact same of what we had earlier today. So I'll still trust what we've been reading.


Just... UGH!!! :p


We'll stick to the other store we'd gone to. Just wanted to try somewhere different since it was closer. Big waste of time.




Cliff Notes: Went to new LFS, they were dirty with dead fish in tanks, guy helping us had no clue what he was talking about. Seemed to give us bad info. Blah blah. :p
Click to expand...

No shortage of DINKs (Deficient IN Knowledge) in this hobby either..Welcome to the world of saltwater.

Peace.
 
Well, a trip to our trusted kind-of-sort-of-local fish store yielded results so positive we returned home with 6 turbo snails and 9 dwarf blue legged hermits.


Needless to say, I am wicked excited.
DSC00993.jpg

I make really goofy faces when I'm excited, apparently.



DSC01001.jpg

Just in time, too... the diatoms are getting a little thick. :p




The guy at the store told us to come back in a week for more clean up critters.
Hopefully soon after that, we can start adding fish. :)
 
Try to get some super tonga narcissus snails. Very cool. they dig through the sand so you don't see them until feeding time. Drop food in the tank and its like a submarine rising first the proboscis rises from the sand then the snail pops up and races toward the food.
 
GAH!!!! The turbos are eating everything off the LR!!! :(
They've sucked parts of the LR down to white rock.

Is this normal? :(
 
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