Hello there

[alumentum]

My name is Krista and ever since I was 5 I've wanted a fish tank. I finally got one for my birthday and, since I also wanted to be a marinebiologist, I decided to make my tank a saltwater tank. I've already cycled my tank but, I haven't had the chance to buy a lot of live rock yet. As of right now I only have about 15 pounds of it and I've added other decorations so my fish can hide. I plan on getting more live rock soon. I also have a carbon filter, a 15 gallon sump(my tank is 35 gallons), a protien skimmer and a biological filter. So far, my fish seem fine and eat A LOT.
Anyways, I figured it couldn't help to learn more so, if anyone else cares to share some advice or tips I would be very happy : D.

 

[blenny]

Welcome to the Forum Krista, I would love to see your set up. How long has the tank been up and what do all your Parimeters read?

 

[ajroc31]

Hi, welcome to your new addiction! I would suggest you stop feeding your fish so much. They will eat every time you throw some food in there, hungry or not. Once a day is fine, I feed my fish one mysis cube through out the day, or some live brine. Different fish have different dietary need, so make sure you address them. By carbon filter, I assume you have a hang on back type filter, in addition to your wet/dry filter? If so, make sure you keep your hang on back very clean, it could become a nitrate factory. I did not see any mention of powerheads, if you don't have any, please get at least one for more water movement.

 

[alumentum]

Well so far my tank has been running for 5 months( not including the cycling and live rock tests and stuff wich adds about 3 more months). My ammonia reads 0, nitrites read 0, nitrates read 5-10( can't tell cuz I'm color blind) and ph is 8.2. I take all the food I mention and cut it or mince it up and soak it. After that I freeze it and just break off a small block to feed each day. I clean my filters every other day and I plan on getting a power head in about 5 days. Is there anything else I should do?

 

[ajroc31]

Your feeding is fine then, no worries. Nothing really, keep up with your water changes, and you should be fine. I don't think you need to clean your filters that often, but once a week won't hurt. Get a clean up crew, to help you out a bit. It seems that you are doing very well, maybe you could have your LFS test your nitrates, so you don't have to ever worry about the misreading. If you are using ATP kit, 5-10 ppm is almost the same color, I don't even thing an eagle could see the dif. .

 

[florida joe]

since I also wanted to be a marinebiologist,
Google Mote marine laboratory in Florida, if you have not already visited their site

 

[alumentum]

I have a question about the clean up crews. I have quite a few( about 15) snails. Don't know what kinda but, they eat the algae that I feed the fish with. My friend who helped me set up the tank has suggested getting a few hermit crabs, an emerald crab and a sand sifting star. Would those work out? Also, would they pick on my cleaner shrimp?

 

[florida joe]

are you going to attempt to keep corals

 

[alumentum]

for right now I think I'm just going to add some more live rock and maybe get a few mushrooms. I've been told that they are fairly easy to keep.

 

[srfisher17]

I'm not really sure of your bio-filter situation. If you are using a mechanical (floss, sponge,etc) filter as the main culturing spot for your bio-filter until you get more LR; you're cleaning them too often. Remember: the friendly bacteria live in the LR (limited in your case) and the filter system and substrate---not in the water column.

 

[alumentum]

The bio filter is in the sump. The hang on carbon filter is the one I clean every other day and I only rinse off the cartridge that contains the carbon. Should I stop cleaning the carbon so often?

 

[ajroc31]

Originally Posted by Alumentum
http:///forum/post/3264841
I have a question about the clean up crews. I have quite a few( about 15) snails. Don't know what kinda but, they eat the algae that I feed the fish with. My friend who helped me set up the tank has suggested getting a few hermit crabs, an emerald crab and a sand sifting star. Would those work out? Also, would they pick on my cleaner shrimp?
Sand sifting star is a pain, odds are it will starve to death. In nature they appear about every 10 feet from each other. Your tank will not be able to sustain it. With little larger crabs, becareful, they could become predatory. Its rare that an emerald would attack your fish, but it is something to keep in mind. The blue or red leg hermits, are fine, they ignore everything but each other in my tank. Lots of things that people use for clean up crews can be toxic, like sea apples, so I try to stay away from them.

 

[alumentum]

Ok, thanks for the heads up.

 

[srfisher17]

I'm getting older and slower; but what is in the sump that is action as a bio-filter?
Rinse carbon as often as you like; but there is no reason to do it so often. This addiction is enough work without creating more; but lots of times, just messing with our "stuff" is more fun than work.

 

[alumentum]

Bioballs is what I belive their called. They're just these little black and blue balls that are in a container that water can run through. The sump has a small refugium that has algae too if that helps.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Alumentum
http:///forum/post/3264923
Bioballs is what I belive their called. They're just these little black and blue balls that are in a container that water can run through. The sump has a small refugium that has algae too if that helps.
Krista i see you are in school and the ROTC good for you. I will just coment on your post by saying. yes they are bio balls

 

[srfisher17]

Got it, sounds good. Be sure to rinse (but DO NOT scrub) the bio-balls once in a while to remove loose gunk. Leave the slime coat; that's where your friendly bacteria live. Strange thing about this hobby/addiction: we are bacteria farmers first, then fishkeepers.

 

[sealuvr4life]

I have a sleeper Goby(sand sifting Goby) He sifts through the sand/substrate which removes algae and uneaten food. This not only removes unwanted nitrate producing substances, it also stirs and aerates the sand.

 

[sealuvr4life]

BTW!.....Welcome to the forum,

Great place to be and learn. There is a lot of knowledgeable people here willing to help

 

[alumentum]

Thank you : D, and also thank you for the tip about the bioballs. One more question, is it normal for my blenny to build tunnels even if he has places to hide?