inawe
Member
I've had my 37 gal. tank for 3 months. Crashed it (I used tap water and I think mine is bad). I stupidly put in 3 clowns and now I know that was a bad thing. Anyway, they had been temporarily relocated and I have completely started over. I went from cc to sand, and am using RO water. I put in about 25 lbs. LR, and 10 lbs. base rock. The filter system is an Eclipse (which now I wish I'd done something different). The light is 2 long bulbs that say Eclipse Natural Daylight, and the hood says replace with any T8 florescent bulb. I've added a powerhead and protein skimmer. The height of the tank is 22 inches.
My problem... :help:
My DH says if it doesn't work this time, I have to go to freshwater fish, and since this completely defeats the purpose of a tank, I'm looking for all the advice I can get!
Questions:
1 - Cycling - leave it alone, add a frozen shrimp, or add Biospira?
2 - Rock has pretty decent coraline algae on it now, but I saw something about needing Purple Up or calcium to further develop this. Thoughts?
3 - What about my lights? Completely changing out the top is out of the question due to $$$ and DH. I need to keep things as inconspicuous as possible for a few months, anyway. Are these sufficient, or is there another type of bulb that would be better that I can use in my existing hood?
4 - When putting the LR in I wanted to glue the pieces together (I'm afraid of an avalanche and 37 gal. of saltwater on my wood floor), but the first stuff I bought, which came from the LFS was Loctite Marine Epoxy that can be used underwater, but the label said not for use in aquariums. So I bought another one from HD...Loctite Extreme Repair adhesive, which said it IS for aquariums. But this didn't work on wet LR. :notsure: Any suggestions? It's not too late to redo this as I just got the thing back together yesterday. Or just leave it alone? The rock feels pretty stable, but it is not tightly packed. should I break the rock in smaller sizes to pack it tighter or would this create less water flow and less efficiency? It is mainly very porous Figi, with small amount of Tonga branch rock on top.
5 - I would like to add corals later. I know with my setup I will be limited on choices, but what should I do to prepare for this?
Any help will be most appreciated!
CC in Texas
My problem... :help:
My DH says if it doesn't work this time, I have to go to freshwater fish, and since this completely defeats the purpose of a tank, I'm looking for all the advice I can get!
Questions:
1 - Cycling - leave it alone, add a frozen shrimp, or add Biospira?
2 - Rock has pretty decent coraline algae on it now, but I saw something about needing Purple Up or calcium to further develop this. Thoughts?
3 - What about my lights? Completely changing out the top is out of the question due to $$$ and DH. I need to keep things as inconspicuous as possible for a few months, anyway. Are these sufficient, or is there another type of bulb that would be better that I can use in my existing hood?
4 - When putting the LR in I wanted to glue the pieces together (I'm afraid of an avalanche and 37 gal. of saltwater on my wood floor), but the first stuff I bought, which came from the LFS was Loctite Marine Epoxy that can be used underwater, but the label said not for use in aquariums. So I bought another one from HD...Loctite Extreme Repair adhesive, which said it IS for aquariums. But this didn't work on wet LR. :notsure: Any suggestions? It's not too late to redo this as I just got the thing back together yesterday. Or just leave it alone? The rock feels pretty stable, but it is not tightly packed. should I break the rock in smaller sizes to pack it tighter or would this create less water flow and less efficiency? It is mainly very porous Figi, with small amount of Tonga branch rock on top.
5 - I would like to add corals later. I know with my setup I will be limited on choices, but what should I do to prepare for this?
Any help will be most appreciated!
CC in Texas