New brackish setup and 1st post!

[Eldonko]

End of day 7.

Ammonia: 1ppm
Nitrate: 0
Nitrate: 0
PH: 7.8

 

[Blazeherd2306]

I don't think mangroves are supposed to be submerged in water like that. We have lots of them where I live and they all live on the shore.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Oh and plantgeek is great for looking up plants. Here's a list of brackish adaptable plants. http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=8

 

[Eldonko]

Hmm, did some more research and it appears you are right. I thought I saw soem mangroves completely under water somewhere, but can't seem to find the site now. TY for the advice, I will look into an alternate spot for the plant, maybe my snail tank

 

[Eldonko]

Lotsa good info on this site. I will make a pvc pipe thingy for it.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/ac/feature/index.php

 

[Eldonko]

Lotsa Calgary folks here. Where is the cheapest place to buy a bunch or marine salt? I calculated I will need like 12 gallons per year with 50% PWC per week, that is alotta friggin salt :O

 

[Toirtis]

Gold Aquarium on 17th Ave. SE....nobody in town beats his prices on anything....plus you can check out his great marine tanks, the new high-end coral tanks, and his great set of frag tanks.

 

[Eldonko]

Thanks, I will head there this weekend.

 

[Eldonko]

I decided I am going to pick up some bio spira, waiting months for cycle to complete is rough. Does brackish require the salt water bio spira? 1.005SG. It is safe to use when you have fish already right?

 

[greenmaji]

It seems your on day 12 not day 60...

 

[Eldonko]

Lol yup. 12 days and still 0ppm nitrate and 0ppm nitrite. It's totally worth the $20 for whatever for 24 hour cycling.

 

[Toirtis]

Lol yup. 12 days and still 0ppm nitrate and 0ppm nitrite. It's totally worth the $20 for whatever for 24 hour cycling.

Where did you find Bio-spira in this city?

 

[Eldonko]

There is none in Calgary, nor in the rest of Canada AFAIK. I ordered from http://www.fishstoretn.com/

I ordered on Friday, will post how long it takes to get here.

 

[Toirtis]

There is none in Calgary, nor in the rest of Canada AFAIK. I ordered from http://www.fishstoretn.com/

I ordered on Friday, will post how long it takes to get here.

That is why I asked....I have never heard of it being for sale here....just so darned expensive and difficult to stock. From Bernie, eh?....how much are you paying to get yours (I am imagining shipping isn't cheap)?

Next time just ask your fellow local aquarists...I for one would be happy to give you a bunch of populated, mature media to jump start your tank with.

 

[Eldonko]

Price wasn't too bad, I think it was 20USD or so. 9 bucks for the bio spira, 11 shipping. I just hope it doesn't take long to get here. I got it sent to work so it wouldn't end up sitting in a Fed Ex depot after they try to deliver it.

I have a small cycled tank which I use for QT. I tried moving a bit of the gravel to my 33g but it didn't seem to help. I didn't want to take too much because I was scared to screw up the bacteria in already cycled tank.

Thanks for the offer too btw, very nice of you.

 

[Toirtis]

Price wasn't too bad, I think it was 20USD or so. 9 bucks for the bio spira, 11 shipping.

Ah, you just got the little one....still that is a good $25CDN...feel a bit of a pinch there.

I just hope it doesn't take long to get here.

My concern would be customs....they can be complete idiots half the time.

I got it sent to work so it wouldn't end up sitting in a Fed Ex depot after they try to deliver it.

Good choice....and FedEx is one of the only carriers I would consider for such a thing...they are pretty competent.

I have a small cycled tank which I use for QT. I tried moving a bit of the gravel to my 33g but it didn't seem to help. I didn't want to take too much because I was scared to screw up the bacteria in already cycled tank.

Gravel isn't what you want...it's the filter media that does the trick...when I start a new tank, I just grab one sponge out of each of three mature tank filters (swapping them for new sponges)...works beautifully, and the donor tanks never skip a beat.

Thanks for the offer too btw, very nice of you.

De nada...thats what fellow aquarists are for.

 

[Eldonko]

Ahh, I see. I thought that removing a sponge from a cycled tank's filter would remove too much of the bacteria. I will give that a try.

I just got an email from the fish store. Shipped via UPS standard sigh, the bacteria will prolly be dead by the time I get it It says on the site that the stuff is shipped priority, guess it doesn't apply for Canada and there was only 1 shipping option on the site to select.

 

[Toirtis]

You should have e-mailed Bernie before ordering...I am sure he would have FedExed it....standard UPS could take a good two weeks.

Well, if it is DOA, e-mail me, and we can arrange a sponge exchange.

 

[Eldonko]

Yeah I know, shipping will prolly take forever. I just assumed it would be priority since there is only 1 shipping option and the site says:

We PREFER to SHIP Bio-spira only via UPS 2nd Day Air or NextDay Air Saver service with cold packs in order to help keep bacteria at its most viable state and provide a cost effective means of ensuring prompt delivery with Track numbers for each shipment.

I will switch the sponge from my FW tank, hope it helps. I am at the stage where I have both ammonia and nitrates but no nitrate yet.

 

[Eldonko]

BTW how do I know if it is DOA?