Going Salt Water

[Jbaygurl78745]

So i was told i shouldnt run a filter on sw? I will get you the tank details when i go back home again.

 

[Beengirl]

So i was told i shouldnt run a filter on sw? I will get you the tank details when i go back home again.

You can run a filter on SW. It can be hob or canister, it just needs to be rated for twice the size of the tank and cleaned well every week. Some people just use the LR and a skimmer, some use a sump and/or refugium, some a hob or canister. It's what you can fit and afford and maintain.

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Lr? So if i dont have a filter do i need to cycle it?

N my son has decided he wants to help with the whole process. So while i now have a 6 week wait to get it going gives me research time.

Thank you for answer my dumb questions really helps me lol

 

[Massimo]

Don't mix 2 different kinds of clown fish (nemos). They'll kill each other! Also, you're an amazing parent for doing that for your child

 

[Beengirl]

Lr? So if i dont have a filter do i need to cycle it?

N my son has decided he wants to help with the whole process. So while i now have a 6 week wait to get it going gives me research time.

Thank you for answer my dumb questions really helps me lol

LR=live rock. You need to cycle your tank no matter what you use for filtration. The beneficial bacteria has to build up on the surfaces in your tank: ie the sand and rock. It takes 4-6 weeks usually to cycle, you can use either couple piece of raw shrimp or bottled ammonia, whichever you prefer.

 

[huma-huma]

Don't mix 2 different kinds of clown fish (nemos). They'll kill each other! Also, you're an amazing parent for doing that for your child

mixing different clowns has been done with great results by alot of people, just need to follow the normal "different size" rule.
also id like to voice my opinion in that i dont think that adding the clew up crew first is a good idea. inverts are sensitive to level changes more so than fish. that being said id def add the clowns first because they are considered a damsel, so they are relatively tough.
also the biocubes come with builtin filtration, no need to look into other filtrations

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Ok thank you i was just wondering bc sum one told me there sud not b a filter on a salt water. Thats why i always ask if im unsure my self.

 

[Ingy]

Two things here:

First Filters.

The poop fish leave behind will eventually either break down into ammonia or get caught inthe filtration system. In that I include the protein skimmer and any filter you have. If you do have a filter it will capture the poop which will quickly degrade into ammonia and eventually nitrate. Hence the term nitrate factories. Sure, some will still be poop when you clean your filter, but some will have changed.
If you don't have a filter, the poop will liquefy as it goes into the skimmer and form those gross bubbles which become your skimmate. it has been removed from your system.
I only use the filter sock if I have disturbed the sand bed of if a water change has stirred things up too much.

Second setup.
Even tho your son wants to help with the whole process, I would still consider starting before hand. Otherwise he'll have to stare at an empty tank for 4-6 weeks while it cycles, and if he's like my 2 boys, he may not have the patience.
Here's what you may want to do instead. After you get the tank , take pictures of the sand available and some base and live rocks at your LFS. Let him pick out some rocks for you to buy. Then once you put the rocks, sand and water in the tank take pics of the landscape. I would intentionally make it kinda off. That way you 2 can discuss changes to be made. Hopefully you will be ready for the cuc as soon as he gets home.
During the cycle there is nothing to do. Really you don't even need to do water tests for a couple weeks. A simple nitrate test then and if you have trates test for trites. If/when the trates are high and trites are zero, ammonia should be zero as well ( test to confirm). A pwc and your done.

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

I have thought a about starting it. But the whole picture thing is a great idea thank you. we just found out we have baby jacks. So my lfs said they`d take em n give us credit twds the live rock n so. So thats a help. Im maken a trip home tonight i think im gunna get it going tmw morning befor i head back down n ill send pics to my hubbys phone to show my son n he can pick his rock and sand. Such a great idea thanks

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Also was thinking about ding a 10g holding tank would that b good idea?

 

[huma-huma]

a quarantine tank is always a great idea!!

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Will i need a skimmer for the holding tank? I will cycle it same time as the cude. I got a filter and heater already. Going get live rock n live sand tmw for both.

 

[Ingy]

You don't need a skimmer. This is when a filter is ok. For short term most of us can be faithful to cleaning it every couple days.

What are you planning on putting in there?

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Well i got a 29 bio cube. But im asking for a holding tank. So as we get fish we can put them in there a few days to make sure that they are ok befor putting em in our main tank.

 

[Ingy]

If you want a quarantine tank (QT) you don't want rock or sand in it. Normally a qt is setup for specific times (ie purchases or sick fish). You won't want rock or sand as that can adversely affect any meds you put in. No carbon in the filter either. I keep the bio-pad from my filter in my sump so I can keep the BB alive for when I need it.
Other than bare bottom tank you can put a few short lengths of PVC pipe in there of different sizes for fish to hide in.

 

[huma-huma]

+1, the whole idea of a qt tank is to keep it as simple and bare as possible. IF you need to does for any reason, youll know full wellthat the medication is making it to the fish, and not getting sucked up by carbon, absorbed by live rock, etc. also you will need to keep the fish in there for more than a few days.most hobbyists keep a sick/new fish in qt for 3-4 weeks. i personally would say no less than 2 weeks AT MINIMUM. please remember that a qt tank should be used for ANY new incoming fish, not just sick fish you already have. using this method will go a lonnnnggg way towards preventing disease from reaching your main tank.the people that try to recommend skipping the qt are ones that havent dealt with a major infection/disease. anone thats had a system crash due to disease will tell you to do the qt

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

Yes i know a couple weeks i still have sum cories qt from lk 2 or so weeks ago. Id prolly do a mon with these expensive guys. Quick ? Today durring my research i saw a green mandarin i belive its spelled right. It say 30 for min so would a 29 be ok. And are they only ok in reef tanks? Ir would they even be ok with the clowns? I know id have to wait till the tank welly established.

 

[TommyP]

The mandarin is a beautiful fish. I am interested in one myself. They eat copepods but i heard they are very heard to keep fed and some tank bred may accept frozen food but I heard as well it's a PITA. Everyone will give you their opinion. You have to take into consideration the other fish in the tank as well as the adult size the fish will be when determining how big of a tank you have. If it states min 30 then I would go for it, the more swimming room the bigger the tank the better but I have seen these fish kept live and healthy in tanks that size.

 

[huma-huma]

The problem with Mandarins isnt so much with overall body size (they only reach a few inches) its more with having a sizeable tank to support a proper copepod population. if you dont have some form of refugium in the works, you may wanna look into ordering a few bottles of live copepods. you are gonna have to probably squirt a bit in every few days to help keep the lil guy alive. try to wait as long as possible before adding him.

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

The problem with Mandarins isnt so much with overall body size (they only reach a few inches) its more with having a sizeable tank to support a proper copepod population. if you dont have some form of refugium in the works, you may wanna look into ordering a few bottles of live copepods. you are gonna have to probably squirt a bit in every few days to help keep the lil guy alive. try to wait as long as possible before adding him.

I was going to wait like a yr because i was reading somewhere that it cud take up to a year for a tank to fully mature. Now my son was home on a weekend pass so we went a head to finakky set this up after so many set backs n as we were filling it the tank started leaking :-( the place i got it from wont take it back bc its been over 2 weeks since i purchased it( the guy was so rude even to my son bc after he told me i cudnt replace it my son said but please my mommy had so much going on the guy looked at him n said i think its time ur mommy teaches u want a return policy means. Needless to say we will nvr go their again n im reporting him to his boss). Ugh. So went to my other ifs thats 2 hrs from my house n they are gunna take the leaky one and give me 250 off of a 28g nano cube with skimmer n light upgrade as thats wat i had in the 29. So hopfully some time this week it will come in n i can get it going for him. This ifs is also going to give us filter media from their sw tank in hopes to instantly cycle the tank. My boy has decided his stock to be 1 o orange clown n 1 blk n white o clown, a goby (undecided on kind yet any suggestions welcome) he wants a flame angel but they need 70g :-( at petsmart we saw i believe it was called a chocolate chip star fish max size 5 inches would this go in our tank? Id love a star fish but from what ive read some can be a fair bit nasty. Ill have research more. But your guys thoughts are always top of my decision making. I always like hearing personal experince wen doing sum thing.