Help Me Choose How To Spend My Money

gio28

gio28

Active Member
i have about $100 to spend...which for me as a 15 year old is alot since i dont have a job as of right now.
there are three things i need at the moment:
1) some more cleanup crew. i want: 10 cerith snails, a sally light foot, and one super mexican turbo snail. plus some cheato for my newly built sump
2)supplemental T5 lights for my MH. they will be DIY...with one KZ fiji purple and one UVL super actinic
3)there is a turboflotor blue 1000 skimmer for sale on a certain site that is only $100. it is rated for up to 125 gallons. my tank is a 36 w/ 20 gallon sump. it would fit my compact sump perfectly
here are my options..which IYO do you think i should get? thanks.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128330
i have about $100 to spend...which for me as a 15 year old is alot since i dont have a job as of right now.
there are three things i need at the moment:
1) some more cleanup crew. i want: 10 cerith snails, a sally light foot, and one super mexican turbo snail. plus some cheato for my newly built sump
2)supplemental T5 lights for my MH. they will be DIY...with one KZ fiji purple and one UVL super actinic
3)there is a turboflotor blue 1000 skimmer for sale on a certain site that is only $100. it is rated for up to 125 gallons. my tank is a 36 w/ 20 gallon sump. it would fit my compact sump perfectly
here are my options..which IYO do you think i should get? thanks.
Do you have any actinic lights? If yes, then you don't need anymore lights.
What do you already have as a CUC?
Do you have any skimmer ...or are you replacing one?
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
all i have is my 150watt MH (Phoenix)
my cleanup crew is minimal...a few snails, an emerald crab, and a cleaner shrimp
and i dont have a skimmer...this one would be my first purchase.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128346
all i have is my 150watt MH (Phoenix)
my cleanup crew is minimal...a few snails, an emerald crab, and a cleaner shrimp
and i dont have a skimmer...this one would be my first purchase.
Okay...How does your tank look? Are you over run with algae? Is the sand nasty looking all the time?
How is your water quality?
Truth is..you NEED all of the things you listed...the question is which is highest on the list...the most needed.
If your coral is doing good and growing...you don't NEED the actinic, right now
If the CUC you have takes care of algae enough...you can wait on that too.
Water quality is important, but with live rock, and filtration...you don't have to run a skimmer.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
yeah..i definitely need all three for sure.
my tank has slime algae and brown algae all over the sandbed and rocks. not that much hair algae though. so i was thinking some ceriths would help sift the dirty sand and eat all the algae and gunk along with the giant mexican trubo and sally light foot.
i only have a clown in there right now and my water quality is good. all params in range and a slight bit of nitrate.
and the only thing i have in my tank ATM that needs light is my anemone. i plan to get corals soon

i will order cheato with the cleanup crew if thats my option i choose so it will lower nitrates. my purigen and chemipure running in my almost done sump will help too. plus i will have a DSB.
but i would say the main problem is the algae. so maybe cleanup crew. but the sale for the skimmer ends on the 8th so i will miss out on that.
actually now that i think about it my bday is coming up the end of this month...so if i deal with the algae for another month i can get the skimmer discount now and get the lights and CUC with my bday money.
BTW HAPPY BDAY TO YOU FLOWER!
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
go with the skimmer at the moment. my .02
you said you have a halide set-up so the actinics can wait. and you are able to get a deal on a skimmer now
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
yeah..skimmer it is. it dosent have a whole lot of reviews but its an aqua medic and is similar to the normal turboflotors so it must be good...i would think.
 
contraband629

contraband629

Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128359
yeah..i definitely need all three for sure.
i only have a clown in there right now and my water quality is good. all params in range and a slight bit of nitrate.
actually now that i think about it my bday is coming up the end of this month...so if i deal with the algae for another month i can get the skimmer discount now and get the lights and CUC with my bday money.
BTW HAPPY BDAY TO YOU FLOWER!
You only have one fish for your 36g tank? Maybe more fish later but go with get the skimmer now and cuc with your birthday money idea. By the way, where in norcal are you from?
 
windlasher

windlasher

Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128330
i have about $100 to spend...which for me as a 15 year old is alot since i dont have a job as of right now.
there are three things i need at the moment:
1) some more cleanup crew. i want: 10 cerith snails, a sally light foot, and one super mexican turbo snail. plus some cheato for my newly built sump
2)supplemental T5 lights for my MH. they will be DIY...with one KZ fiji purple and one UVL super actinic
3)there is a turboflotor blue 1000 skimmer for sale on a certain site that is only $100. it is rated for up to 125 gallons. my tank is a 36 w/ 20 gallon sump. it would fit my compact sump perfectly
here are my options..which IYO do you think i should get? thanks.
I will make a deal with you. PM me your address. I will send you a coralife 125 skimmer with pump and all. For Free. Then you can spend the rest on something else. Happy Birthday.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
Originally Posted by Contraband629
http:///forum/post/3128390
You only have one fish for your 36g tank? Maybe more fish later but go with get the skimmer now and cuc with your birthday money idea. By the way, where in norcal are you from?
yeah...only one little clown right now. i have a big stock list though...lol
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
Originally Posted by windlasher
http:///forum/post/3128398
I will make a deal with you. PM me your address. I will send you a coralife 125 skimmer with pump and all. For Free. Then you can spend the rest on something else. Happy Birthday.
PM SENT! OMG thank you so much! and thank you, 16 years old later this month
!!!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128359
yeah..i definitely need all three for sure.
my tank has slime algae and brown algae all over the sandbed and rocks. not that much hair algae though. so i was thinking some ceriths would help sift the dirty sand and eat all the algae and gunk along with the giant mexican trubo and sally light foot.
i only have a clown in there right now and my water quality is good. all params in range and a slight bit of nitrate.
and the only thing i have in my tank ATM that needs light is my anemone. i plan to get corals soon

i will order cheato with the cleanup crew if thats my option i choose so it will lower nitrates. my purigen and chemipure running in my almost done sump will help too. plus i will have a DSB.
but i would say the main problem is the algae. so maybe cleanup crew. but the sale for the skimmer ends on the 8th so i will miss out on that.
actually now that i think about it my bday is coming up the end of this month...so if i deal with the algae for another month i can get the skimmer discount now and get the lights and CUC with my bday money.
BTW HAPPY BDAY TO YOU FLOWER!

Just saw the happy wish..Thank you! Anyway...skimmer for free WOW Happy Birthday indeed!..$100.00 is not the kind of money for lights that help an anemone or coral..A CUC will not touch slim or hair algae. I agree the CUC should be your purchase for now, but you must do water changes and hand remove the algae as much as possible. Are you using RO water or tap water?
With that type of algae running amuck, your water is not good. Pluck the hair algae... use a turkey baster, get a small bucket and some filter floss, when you get the hair algae into the baster squirt it into the floss. That way you can return the water and the floss will trap the hair algae. Then take a paper towel and swipe the slim algae off, it should stay on the paper towel so you can remove it..
For a CUC...get a serpent star, hermit crabs, and a critter that sifts the sand. Ge one of those big sand sifting snails not the little cerith snails. It is called a Fancy Nassarius snail ($7.00) Sally's grow up to eat coral..don't get that. Snails you shouldn't really need right now because slugs live in the rocks, and you should have those. They come out at night, are not as pretty but do the same job.
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
hi. im not gonna spend 100 on 2 t5s for the only light...but combined with the MH they will give more than enough light to keep anything i imagine. also, one of the snails i have now are the huge nassarius snails and although they do a good but lazy job of sifting the sand...they always get real hungry since i only have one fish so far and i dont overfeed at all. so they are kinda savaging for food real hard...my other one died of starvation i think. i always turkey baste the slime out during WCs, i use tap because it has no phosphates in mine and i detoxify the other stuff in it with Prime. i dont have hair algae really...but more of that thin brown film that likes to grow on the glass and rocks and sandbed. so sallys eat coral when older? and a serpent star will sift the sand and eat detritus?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by gio28
http:///forum/post/3128464
hi. im not gonna spend 100 on 2 t5s for the only light...but combined with the MH they will give more than enough light to keep anything i imagine. also, one of the snails i have now are the huge nassarius snails and although they do a good but lazy job of sifting the sand...they always get real hungry since i only have one fish so far and i dont overfeed at all. so they are kinda savaging for food real hard...my other one died of starvation i think. i always turkey baste the slime out during WCs, i use tap because it has no phosphates in mine and i detoxify the other stuff in it with Prime. i dont have hair algae really...but more of that thin brown film that likes to grow on the glass and rocks and sandbed. so sallys eat coral when older? and a serpent star will sift the sand and eat detritus?

No, serpent stars eat the dead..and uneaten food..they stay in the rocks. I see them as a must for any tank...tiny bits of food gets caught in the rocks.
Just because you don't have phosphates does not mean the water quality is good. But I know you do what you gotta do.
What do you have for power heads, Water flow?
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
the tap will still allow contaminants into the tank even tho you use something to detoxify it
 
gio28

gio28

Active Member
i have 2 koralia 2s in my tank for flow. i will also have the return pipe from my sump producing flow for the corals higher up in my tank. yeah...i definitely understand that my tap water source may still not be good...but i have yet to see ill effects. but nonetheless, i understand how important ro/di units can be.
so i decided to readjust my CUC list:
-serpent star (my mom will freak out cause its not 'pretty' lol)
-10 turbo/astrea
-hermits (any particular kind???)
-10 ceriths..just for the heck of it
-and i need a sand sifter...i think nassarius will starve right now due to lack of food and only 1 fish to produce waste...plus the ones i have now seem lazy. would a fighting conch be a good idea? they seem to sift alot and eat a wide variety from what i've read. plus as they sift they eat the brown algae on the sand bed.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Happy birthday!
Please don't take this badly. I'm just wondering how you can say in one post that you have slime algae, brown algae, and hair algae. Then later state you have'nt seen any ill effects from using tap water.

I don't know how new your tank is. If it's new, algae burst are common, but don't generally last long. However, I would tend to think that all that algae is coming from your tap water, as you have very little bioload.
Of course, this is JMO and I don't know much about your tank, but as an experiment, I would try the next couple of w/c with some bottled water and see if your algae problems change at all.
I understand ro/di are expensive, but you can get one on that auction site, that works well for about $100. Hope this helps.
 
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