fowlr tank soon to be in progress

[Crazy fish man]

I would go with aragonite

 

[Crazy fish man]

Sorry I meant aragonite sand

 

[DanS180]

Sorry I meant aragonite sand

How much of it do you think I'll need for my tank?

 

[Crazy fish man]

20-25lbs

 

[crister13]

In a 16 gallon, I would put wound 15-20 lbs. I have 150 lbs in my 150 and a 4" sandbed. And I'm using sugar sized sand.

 

[DanS180]

In a 16 gallon, I would put wound 15-20 lbs. I have 150 lbs in my 150 and a 4" sandbed. And I'm using sugar sized sand.

Okay cool, any specific kind you'd recommend for a clown and goby... I heard gobys like crushed coral bottoms?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

No crushed coral sucks IMO, get some fine sand. I have 80 lb of argonite sand in my 66 and i have a 4" sand bed.

 

[DanS180]

No crushed coral sucks IMO, get some fine sand. I have 80 lb of argonite sand in my 66 and i have a 4" sand bed.

Okay, argonite sand it is

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

No crushed coral sucks IMO, get some fine sand. I have 80 lb of argonite sand in my 66 and i have a 4" sand bed.

+1 I was considering doing crushed coral, but was convinced to do Fiji pink... Looks 1,000 times better than crushed, plus I think is just more beneficial to a salt water set up.

 

[crister13]

I would recommend sugar sized sand. It's called oolite sand. Works great. Very fine and looks awesome.

 

[DanS180]

I would recommend sugar sized sand. It's called oolite sand. Works great. Very fine and looks awesome.

Ok I'll keep em eye out for it and see which one I like best thanks!

 

[DanS180]

Alright just got in from my LFS about an hour ago, here's what I got 2 5gallon buckets of RO/DI
Oceanic salt mix
Argonite sand(black&white)
Refractometer

There wasn't a whole lot to choose from with sand.

Will be picking up the test kit in the next few days.

Couldn't find a Skilter 250, might have to order online :/

And hopefully getting some LR within the next several days

I mixed the salt into the buckets now I'm just waiting for it to completely mix together

 

[DanS180]

Ok I just measured salinity and its at 1.025.. it says 1.021-1.023 is recommended for marine life and 1.021-1.024 for invertebrates.. how would I lower salinity??

 

[crister13]

You shouldn't lower salinity. It's wrong . Ocean water is at 1.026 average and that's what most people keep theirs at with no ill effects.

 

[DanS180]

You shouldn't lower salinity. It's wrong . Ocean water is at 1.026 average and that's what most people keep theirs at with no ill effects.

Oh okay cool thanks!

 

[DanS180]

Ok tank is full, filter running, guess I'll let the sand settle in and then in a few days go out and buy a hardy damsel to jumpstart my cycle

 

[crister13]

Don't do a fish in cycle. It's cruel to the fish. Ammonia literally burns fishs gills. All you have to do is put a shrimp in the tank in a net and let it rot. Or more shrimp depending on the size of the tank. Thatll be enough ammonia. Believe me. And you won't have to do frequent pwcs to keep the damsel alive. The pwcs will also slow the cycle, so you'll have your fish faster with a shrimp cycle. You could also dose pure ammonia, but I recommend shrimp. No fish yet until the cycle is complete. Everything good in this hobby happens slowly.

 

[carey]

I personally have used several different types of substrate in all my tanks and I favpor regualr old aragonite sand from the lfs. Not the live sand unless you especially like the color as in my opinion the live sand is not any better than regular sand.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I personally have used several different types of substrate in all my tanks and I favpor regualr old aragonite sand from the lfs. Not the live sand unless you especially like the color as in my opinion the live sand is not any better than regular sand.

I couldn't agree more. Regular dry aragonite sand, any kind you like the look of, is the way to go.

As far as a damsel fish... it's never the best option. To start, you don't want to keep it so why spend money on the thing. You'll need to do water changes to make sure he doesn't die (a waste of salt and time IMO). It'll take considerably longer to put the fish you do want to keep in your tank. Lastly, a single frozen shrimp works better, and for less than the price of that damsel you get to eat all the other shrimp in the bag!!!! Yum!

 

[DanS180]

Okay then, no damsel, shrimp it is lol does it matter what kind of shrimp? can I use cocktail shrimp? Lol and how long do I leave it in there??