New/Used 46 Gallon Tank

bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Jingleheimer said:
So after my ammonias hit zero do a water change and I'm ready to go?
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Not in my opinion but I am noted for being conservative. Ammonia of zero just means that you tank is consuming ammonia faster than it is being produced. At this time your system isn't producing much ammonia.

If it were me I would start ghost feeding tiny amounts of food once ammonia drops naturally below 0.5ppm. Try to maintain 0.25ppm or close to it. Eventually you'll be ghost feeding the tank the same amount of food that your first fish will be eating. Once the tank can handle the ghost feeding and ammonia stays at 0.0ppm that's when I think the tank is ready for the first fish.

My rule of thumb is to start this ghost feed before adding the next fish to prepare the tank for the ammonia spike.

Also, mushroom and fish acclimation. What is the best way to do this?
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For mushrooms, snails and most corals I prefer the dry acclimation method. This is where you put them in a dry bowl with a paper towel and wait until they expel most of their water. At that point they can be placed where ever you want them in the tank. You do need to keep the animals warm though. Often the top of the tank is the right temp or you can float the bowl in the water to keep it warm. For the snails I like to place them above the waterline in a clean spot and let them crawl into the water on their own.

For fish I prefer the drip acclimation method. Again, you need to keep them warm the entire time. If the fish were shipped don't go too slow with the drips. The bag will be loaded with ammonia and as soon as you open the bag the CO2 will escape and the PH of the water will rapidly rise. Ammonia is only mildly toxic at low PH levels but highly toxic at higher PH levels. The clock starts ticking as soon as that bag is opened.

Don't add anything to detoxify the ammonia... that will consume the oxygen in the water.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
Awesome. I'll wait another couple days and see if the ammonia stays at zero or close to it then start ghost feeding!

Thanks for the advise on acclimation!

Also, lighting. I was given a Coralife 2x39watt T5 fixture. It has a 10k white bulb and the Actinic bulb. Is this sufficient?
I hate that it doesn't have seperate on/off switches nor does it have a timer.. But it was free..

So again will that work for my fish? And soft corals, mushrooms?

If it is enough then I think I want to buy just a moonlight(blue) for overnights...

Thanks again for answering my questions!
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
That light is marginally OK for fish. I wouldn't try corals with it.

However; if you place Green or Red mushrooms high up on the rock directly under the light they will do OK. That's pretty limiting but you can start saving up for better lighting while you're enjoying your mushrooms.
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
bang guy said:
That light is marginally OK for fish. I wouldn't try corals with it.

However; if you place Green or Red mushrooms high up on the rock directly under the light they will do OK. That's pretty limiting but you can start saving up for better lighting while you're enjoying your mushrooms.
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Well if it's ok for now then I won't stress to much about it!

Been trying to find something decent around $150 if you have any ideas that would help a lot!
The USA marine orbit LED have caught my eye but don't know how good LEDs are?!?!
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
The orbits are ok if your tank is shallow and your only doing low to medium light corals. What are the dimensions of your tank?
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
You could get two Chinese box's for about the same price as the orbit lights and there capable of growing a wider range of coral
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
bang guy said:
That light is marginally OK for fish. I wouldn't try corals with it.

However; if you place Green or Red mushrooms high up on the rock directly under the light they will do OK. That's pretty limiting but you can start saving up for better lighting while you're enjoying your mushrooms.
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One more question.. What makes it not ok for other corals?
Would 4 bulbs help? Found a good deal for a 4bulb fixture
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
Odyssea T5 4x39 watt? This a bad light since it's so cheap($$$$)

Also, what about a small CUC? Was gonna get a startup CUC from this website.. Good idea? Snails and hermits? Snails only? One package comes with:
10 x Nassarius Snails
10 x Blueleg Hermit Crab
10 x Turbo/Astrea Snail
1 x Peppermint Shrimp
2 x Cleaner Clam
1 x Shaving Brush
1 x Coral Frag
 
J

Jingleheimer

Member
6 days since last posted water test results. So here they are:

PH - 8
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
Temp - 79 steady
Salinity - 1.023

I've got what appears to be Corraline Algae growing on several rocks already. This normal so soon?
 

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J

Jingleheimer

Member
bang guy said:
Your apology is not accepted. That was a smart question ;)
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HaHa, thanks bang!

My levels have stayed at zero for awhile now.. And even my nitrates dropped. So I picked up two clownfish for my first acquisition for my new tank! My LFS breeds his own clown fish so I bought a pair that he has had there for about 7 months he said!
 

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