My 5 gallon dwarf seahorse tank build

[Dylan5359]

Lol I definitely O.D.ed on fish flakes. They were freeze dried shrimp things so I put them in a filter bag. And when I came home my tank was a light brown tinge. I took it out, everything will be fine. I'll test in the morning. What should I be looking for, just nitrates?

 

[carey]

Good luck! I'll be following so I can check out how ya do!

 

[iDream]

Look for ammonia, then look for it to be processed fairly quickly

 

[rebelyeller89]

Just curious, did you get your water flow worked out yet?

 

[Dylan5359]

Just curious, did you get your water flow worked out yet?

Not yet, but I will try that in like twenty minutes. Thanks for telling me about that again.

 

[Dylan5359]

I cut a water bottle in half and put it under it, but I can't seem to get it to stay.

 

[Dylan5359]

Here's my new plan, get a piece of plastic to block part of the spillway. I'll hold it in place with a rubber band around the power filter. Here it goes.

 

[rebelyeller89]

Its kinda a pain. If you can lift the filter off the back a little then wedge the plastic in there. It might even help if you are able to turn off the filter while you're trying to do it.

 

[Dylan5359]

Problem solved! I kind of morphed your original plan. Instead of letting it spill onto it, I cut the water bottle in half then pressed it against the spillway, and I rubber banded it so it stayed in place. I had to make another small cut so I could place the glass hood over it. The water comes out of one small crack. It's barely visible when you look at the tank, because it's high up. I'll post pictures later if I can.

 

[Dylan5359]

Oh poop. Rookie mistake. I forgot to add the water dechlorinizer last night to the water before I added salt. It's already mixed, if I add it now will it still work?

 

[Dylan5359]

10 gallon copepod culturing tank, is halfway setup. I used a five gallon bucket to mix so it's half way filled lol. I topped off with SW on my 5 gallon. The flow is literally perfect for dwarf seahorses. I'll take a water parameter test in a few.

 

[Dylan5359]

Ammonia: 0!
Nitrite:2.0-5.0 ppm
Nitrite:at about 20 ppm
I'm surprised there's 0 ammonia, considering the water was a light brown tinge last night. What do you guys think?

 

[iDream]

That's a nitrifying bacteria colony for you, works fast.

Once the nitrites are 0ppm you can add whatever CUC you're gonna have

 

[Dylan5359]

! Finally. Something live in my tank! (beside the rock) I'll buy my CUC next week. I also did research on the caulerpa, I emailed that John guy (the reef cleaners guy). He said 24/7 lighting is used to reduce the risk of it going asexual, but it's unnecessary. Also I read the risk of it going asexual is usually exaggerated and it almost never happens. So I'm pretty confident I'll be okay. Still not sure if I'll buy the caulerpa next week or wait until I get the dwarf seahorses. I don't want to waste another like 20$ on live shipping though.

Also Idream, I'm getting the copepod tank setup, to get that tank ready can I throw in the filter media in my current tank? Or do I still need an ammonia source? Thanks for everything!

 

[iDream]

Well you are gonna need an ammonia source to keep the bacteria fed.

 

[Dylan5359]

Okay. I'm going to use the fish food again.

 

[Dylan5359]

How are you suppose to get new SW to be exact to your tank's water? I mean I always end up with a higher salinity level in mixing SW. How do I go about lowering it. Also don't you have to worry about a different pH? Should I be starting to measure pH if I'm getting a CUC soon?

 

[iDream]

As your nitrites fall and your cycle finishes your pH should level out to a normal level, but I wouldn't worry too much about it unless it's extremely high or low.

My advice while mixing would just be to add less salt

I'm still lazy and buy my water, and I personally just dump it in, no temp matching or anything. Others are much more cautious than I am though, but I've never hurt anyting by doing what I do

 

[Dylan5359]

Okay. I'm going to try to do a PWC some time this week to get nitrates lower. Do you think I can order my CUC now and get it Friday? I mean would my tank me stabile enough by then?

 

[iDream]

What are your levels looking like? If you have no detectable nitrite or ammonia go ahead and order it

Go ahead and do pH as well, just to see what it's at