From Start till.....

leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
Well I have ex the eels idea. I will just wait until I set my 180 up again. I think a 46 is just to small. I would not want to torture an animal in a small tank.
So still no ammonia spike

The livesand will be here tomorrow if that doesn't work, in goes the shrimp
So I have been doing fish research and I think that I have narrowed down a fish list
blue spotted puffer
6 line wrasse
chromis (unknown number)
2-false perc clowns
green mandarin (after tank is more established)
Neon goby
I think maybe that might be to much for my 46, but I am working on a finished list. So far these are my candiates. What do you think??
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
Here is the tank and rock, I am not a fan of the aquascaping. With pieces this big there is not alot you can do with it. lol Besides break it.
That is Grace, she went for a swim last night while I was cleaning the tank. I have this weird black fur in my tank now

Attachment 208750
Attachment 208751

 
jp30338

jp30338

Member
Your cat actually took a dive! HILARIOUS
Hope you get that black fur out tho. Hate to hear your not getting your eel now. when you getting that 180 up?
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
I have only heard god things about the fish from this website. I think that I will order my fish from swf.com. I will say I am nervous, but I'll try anything once.
I am still working on my fish list. I really want the puffer. However, I always wanted a nudibranch. I don't think you can keep the 2 together. This stock list business is hard. You have alot more choices when you order online, instead of the limited fish at the lfs. lol
So I tried "ghost feeding" my tank for the past 3 days. No spike. So I am going to the good ole shrimp business. To the store I go. I figured since I have not had a spike in almost 2 weeks with all that live rock I will just help give it a kick start.
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
Ph 8.2
SG 1.025
Amm 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
If only my tank could be this perfect and ready for fish. lol
Shrimp in.
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
regarding the refractometer, you'll want to use distilled water to calibrate it. You can get this at virtually any grocery store. But I wouldn't use tap - it can have minerals, etc that will throw off the reading. Either way, you're probably around 1.025, but if you've invested in a refractometer, might as well be right on..
Regarding the rock, if you don't like the layout... I would either break it up with a hammer and chisel- I've done this a few times. Or just buy a few lbs of smaller pieces. I would probably just get some more if I were you. You wouldn't need much.
Good idea with the shrimp. I put 3 in my tank and they were gone after a couple days - the microinverts ate them all up. But it gave me the cycle that I was looking for. Don't worry = you'll be seeing a spike soon. I really doubt there was enough anaerobic/aerobic algae on your LR to prevent a cycle.
I've ordered quite a bit off swf.com. Highly recommend them. Great service, great fish. Just hard to get what you want in stock sometimes...
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
I bought a refractometer. I will recalibrate it. I used tap water. It didn't really make a difference when I used the water from my ro unit.
Shrimp is looking gross. Today Ammonia 0.25.
I dont want to break the pieces I have because they are so unique. I will have to grab more from my lfs. It is just SO EXPENSIVE to by it from the lfs.
I like the idea of getting my fish from swf, there is such a HUGE selection. I just am not sure what I want to keep yet.
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
So Shrimp was in till this evening. Even though I had it in a stocking, it still broke apart and made a mess.

My level would not go above 0.25 so I was waiting for a bigger spike. With the goofy schedule I work it is hard to check the levels everyday. I must be color blind I have the HARDEST TIME reading the colors on the test kits. Mine always look like they could be 2 readings.
So Today when I check the levels they were all messed up, so for the cycling business I am headed in the right direction. However I never had ammonia just stop at 0.25. Let me tell you I put in 2 medium shrimp, the ammonia should be way up there. Anywho here are my readings today.
Temp 83- Still figuring out the new thermometer. Probably cooked the shrimp
SG- 1.026- yes refractometer WAY MORE ACCURATE
Ph 8.4- yay got one thing right
ALk- reading normal
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 0.2
Nirate- high 25/low 5
So apparently I cycled, it just wasn't big. I am not so happy about that. So I am gonna check the levels over the next couple of days and see what happens. Then water changing time. This time when I set my tank up I did it next to a sink. YAY!!!
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
So my house is hot. Its 50 outside my heat is off, my house is 75. I don't get it. So of course, my tank is like a hot tub. I remember having this problem before in the fall. Stupid michigan

Today temp 84. turned it down. did a water change with some cooler water. heater not on. tank 80. we will see if the temp holds. However everything else today was pretty good.
salt 1.025
ph 8.2-8.4 (the card is really hard to read)
alk- normal
amm 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 10
I will keep an eye on the temp. Turned on the skimmer today. Did about 6 gallon water change. Hopefully can add my first fish or cuc this weekend. I just can't decide what I want yet. I think I will start with the chromis, but I don't know. Scope out the lfw and swf.com and see what i can come up with. I am still considering the hawaiin spotted puffer, so I don't know about snails, I never had hermits. So I might put the cuc on hold.
That's it for now. Time to fire up the lights.
 
P

pool boy

Guest
when you do water changes, what temp water do you use? My LFS said if you are doing a small water change to use cool water. Said it is refreshing for this fish. I use a python to remove and then add. I know I should never pour salt right in but it has always worked for me when doing small amounts.
Thoughts?
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
I try to use the same temp water as the tank. However I did not this time since I have no fish.
You can stress your fish by having changes in temperature, and then cause ick. That is bad. I have a bucket with ro water with a powerhead and a heater in it that is the same as my tank. When I clean it I syphon the water out and then add the new water to my overflow. that is how I have always done it. Whether that is right or not I do not know. I have never had a problem. Salt does not evaporate, so when I top off I use ro water. When I do a water change I make the salinity the same as my tank.
IMO cool water, is not refreshing for your fish, I think it would be stressful for your fish.
HTH
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
my ro/di line runs directly into my tank - so it is added cold, but at a very slow rate.
I don't know about cold water being refreshing. I do know that sometimes when I do a small water change I won't heat the water and I just dump it in slow. My clowns will swim up to the new colder water and swim around in it. Maybe refreshing?
But I would probably agree that it is usually best to add water at the same temp as the DT.
 
brandan

brandan

Member
Originally Posted by Hefner413
http:///forum/post/2789622
my ro/di line runs directly into my tank - so it is added cold, but at a very slow rate.
I don't know about cold water being refreshing. I do know that sometimes when I do a small water change I won't heat the water and I just dump it in slow. My clowns will swim up to the new colder water and swim around in it. Maybe refreshing?
But I would probably agree that it is usually best to add water at the same temp as the DT.
Is your RO/DI hooked to a sump or DT with a float valve?
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
my ro/di unit is in the garage (downstairs) - a line comes out to a T and splits (a valve on each). One goes up directly to my 55 gal reef and the other goes to the 180 aggressive. Every 2-3 days I just walk downstairs and turn on the water and open the valve to the prospective tank. I know now how long it takes to fill the amount of water that I need to replace, so I just set my watch alarm to that time to remind me to turn it off. In the event that I somehow forget (happened once), I have water alarms located under each tank (like a fire alarm, but for water).
I've thought of using float valves, but I'm just too nervous about them malfunctioning. So far my setup works well. Someday when I have the $$$ I might invest in a high end auto top off that will be trustworthy.
 
brandan

brandan

Member
Originally Posted by Hefner413
http:///forum/post/2790813
my ro/di unit is in the garage (downstairs) - a line comes out to a T and splits (a valve on each). One goes up directly to my 55 gal reef and the other goes to the 180 aggressive. Every 2-3 days I just walk downstairs and turn on the water and open the valve to the prospective tank. I know now how long it takes to fill the amount of water that I need to replace, so I just set my watch alarm to that time to remind me to turn it off. In the event that I somehow forget (happened once), I have water alarms located under each tank (like a fire alarm, but for water).
I've thought of using float valves, but I'm just too nervous about them malfunctioning. So far my setup works well. Someday when I have the $$$ I might invest in a high end auto top off that will be trustworthy.
I do not trust floatvalves either, that was my original concern for posting, lol. Keep whatever works for you schedule.
Sorry about the threadjack. . .
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
No worries about the "high jacking"
I started this thread to help other and get advise on my own tank.
So today my nitrates were 12.5, everything else the same. Did a 10% water change today. Turned my lights on. I have crappy lights. When I bought my lights pc were the "in" thing. So I have
Coralife
2 - 96 watt Pc
1 actintic
1 10000k
Someday when I can upgrade I will. I just want fish now, no corals, so I know those will be okay.
So this weekend to the lfs I go to get my cuc. I think I might add a chromis also. I definately want one. Pic to come. It pretty much still looks the same as before.
 
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