Getting Started

aredmon

aredmon

Member
I have 4 fish. 2 of the 4 are damsels and they only pick on eachother. The other two are bigger than they are so that may be why.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
normally, "aggressive" means toward other fish. "invert-safe" means they're ok to put with inverts, and "reef-safe" means they're ok to put with corals and inverts. Likewise, "not invert-safe" means they'll eat the inverts... and "not reef-safe"... well, you get the idea. Damsels are aggressive, but they are invert safe. That's really cute about the damsel too... makes me kinda hate them less....
And hey, thanks jamaican demon mon...
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
So i went and got some more LR today at the LFS..... It is expensive, but they do have a good selection!! There's about 15 30 Gal tanks full of it!! (Cured and uncured) So heres the pic of the LR Formation as it is now....

So heres a question.... theres a bunch of rocks with these things growing on them.... (Pics Below) What are they and what do they do??? Are They Harmful???


Sorry about the quality of the pictures... Kinda hard to take a pic of....they look like little trees with a flat top....
~Fitzy
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Pk.. so last nihgt i found out that they are feather dusters.... Bad or good??? There were a bunch of rocks with them on them at the LFS... should i go get some more???
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i LOVE feather dusters!!! they're filter feeders, and don't require specific light. They're really neat!
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Do i need to feed them anything??? The guy at the LFS gave me some photoplayntion (SP HORRIBLE!!) te feed teh LR.. he said it owrkes wonders.... any thoughts??
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
you do need to feed them something. I feed my tank formula 1, and there's a lot of leftover tiny particles, so i just squirt some near my feather duster. You can feed them phytoplankton, though, it's kinda the same thing, only yours is algae, and mine is kinda meaty. If i didn't feed my fish the formula 1, i would feed my duster phyto.
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
ok cool... will the phyto also help groth on the LR??? Ive got about 20 lbs in there now.... prob only gonna put in like another 10-15..... you think that enough??
 
aredmon

aredmon

Member
They say to have 1 1/2 to 2 lbs per gallon of lr. I have a 75 gal and only have 13lbs. I do plan on getting more but I don't think I want 75 to 80lbs of it in my tank. All up to you.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
The more LR you have, the fewer water changes you'll have to do. There's ways of having a lot of LR without it looking like too much. For instance, attached is a pic of my 55 gallon tank with 90 lbs of LR. Doesn't look like 90 LBS does it?
And phyto won't help growth on your LR.


 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
I guess the only way to know hwen your gonna stop is to see what it looks like.. and when it looks good... stop!! lol
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
I noticed that you have a PH down at the bottom of the tank... may i ask why?? i just got two maxi 900's at the top corners of my tank...
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i have sand in my tank. You cannot vacuum sand, because the sand will just come up with it, so i have powerheads pointed across the sand so fish poo and leftover food cannot settle on it. Instead, it is forced back into the water, where it is picked up by my protein skimmer.
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
ahh.. makes scense.... but if the stuff settled at thebottom... isnt taht what a cleaner crew is for???
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
i don't have that much of a cleaner crew... and the ones i do have don't eat the waste for some reason... they do eat the leftover food, but fish poo will settle on the bottom if i don't have the powerheads.
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Ok two things......
Cleaner crew for a 55 gal... heres what im thinking....
2 cleaner shrimp
2 coral branded shrimp
5 hermit crabs
Does that sound about right??? I know theres a lot of srimp... but i like the way they look rather than the hermit crabs...
Aslo, MY CYCLE FINALY STARTED!!! (Well the nitrites at least) Ammonia was at 0.50 and nitrites were at 0.25 im wicked happy!!!
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
lmao, i'm glad you're wicked happy!!!
As for the cleaner crew, CBS (coral banded shrimp) do not do well with other shrimp... they'll eat 'em. You can get 2 cleaner shrimp, and 2 peppermint shrimp, or 2 fireshrimp. (these guys are blood-red, and wicked sweet...lol)
You can get more hermit crabs, and you might want to get some snails too. Turbos are good, only if they fall off the glass and land upside down, they can't flip over, and they'll just lay there and starve to death... Nassarius snails are sandsifters, and are a great addition to any tank!
 
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