Ignorant

[rauntu]

Hi everyone,
I have been in this hobby for about a year and a half going purely on the advice of the LFS

. Well i found this site after searching for a solution to my problems about a month ago. Turns out i've been doing everything wrong. I have a 50 gallon corner unit fish only. it is shaped like a superman sign. I did what they said when i bought the tank and i got the crushed puka shells, undergravel filter, a millenium 2000 bio filter and some rocks and dead coral ( it is fish only i live in hawaii cant have live rock or coral). I was very patient i got two damsels for the cycle waited six weeks and let them test my water they said everything was good so i bought my first three real fish a yellow tang, blue hippo, and flame angel!!! So about two months go by and my fish start geting ich real bad and they all died. Well i keep buying the same type of fish and listening to the adivice of the guys at the LFS. Now that i've been reading through the forums i'm realizing that my choice of fish was the worst possible choice i could have made. Now all i have is a Maroon clown, Hawaiian strawberry crab, six small hemit crabs, and a turbo snail. I just bought a test kits by FASTEST and tested my water with the following results
ammonia 0.0 mg/l
nitrate 10 mg/l
nitrite <0.2 mg/l
ph 8.0
salinity 1.022
Is there anything i should do right away? Also when i look at the glass very closely there are tiny white things that almost look like lice, what is that and should i be worried. I know i need to read and research and i will but i am already knee deep and i am dedicated to do this right. THanks alot for your help guys.

 

[sidd]

Another good forum is http://www.reefcentral.com

 

[ruaround]

Welcome to the board... are the little white things moving? Prolly just a Pod of some sort...
Sorry to hear about your losses, and I cant believe that your LFS kept selling you the same fish after you lost them more than once!!!
What is the fine/punishment for having LR or Corals in Hawaii now???

 

[re_vogel]

They might be small feather dusters. I have heard that they can gather on the glass when there are alot of Nutrients in the Water... Don't know for sure though...

 

[sweetdawn]

couldnt you have live rock if you make it yourself there is a good thread showing how to do that. if you dogumented the whole process on film you would have proof that you made it from sand

 

[birdy]

yes, can you make LR (google search for Agrocrete) or can you use Baserock? There is a guy who sells baserock from Hawaii, Do a search for Hirocks.

 

[aredmon]

I say if you have inverts you may want to raise your salt. You can also do a water change to lower nitrites.

 

[azocean709]

the little white things you say look like lice are pods..good for your tank!. Why cant you have LR and corals in HAWAII???? that is the craziest thing i ever heard, i figure that would be the ultamite place to just go catch your own animals and such...hmmm
do you test for your ALK also? your ph, alk and calcium all work together, if one is off, it affects something else. i would raise ph to 8-1 to 8-3. if you test your alk. it should be in the range of 5.5 meg/L, and your calcium around 400 to 450. a good buffer will help you out, and also ..how often do you do water change? this helps to keep your ph regulated. I do 10% water change on my 55gal. every week. hope this helps some.

 

[ruaround]

you cant have them in Hawaii so that they keep their beaches and reefs safe from poachers...

 

[azocean709]

Originally Posted by ruaround
you cant have them in Hawaii so that they keep their beaches and reefs safe from poachers...
hmmm...didn't know that..LOL ! learn something new everyday!

 

[rauntu]

I do water changes every 3-4 weeks. Thats what they recommended at the LFS. The test kit that i bought doesn't test for calcium,or ALKS. Is that something that I really should buy? How do i raise my PH levels? Also should i change from crushed puka shells w/ under gravel filter to no undergravel filter and regular sand? Oh and they also sell this wet dry filter system that is supposed to be great but it is pretty expensive do i need it? Thanks for all the help guys i really appreciate it.

 

[blueangelc]

Originally Posted by rauntu
I do water changes every 3-4 weeks. Thats what they recommended at the LFS. The test kit that i bought doesn't test for calcium,or ALKS. Is that something that I really should buy? How do i raise my PH levels? Also should i change from crushed puka shells w/ under gravel filter to no undergravel filter and regular sand? Oh and they also sell this wet dry filter system that is supposed to be great but it is pretty expensive do i need it? Thanks for all the help guys i really appreciate it.
I am also in Hawaii and yes, the rules are pretty strict here. It is dampening a bit actually , especially if you want to have corals and/or inverts. Back to your questions. No, you don't need to test for Calcium & Alk for now since these measurements are mainly for Corals and Zoos etc...Alkalinity is the buffer ability to resist pH change in your water so it is of some use to test (especially if you don't change water often). However as long as you change water often, preferably weekly, that should take care of the Calcium, Alk and pH levels for you. What brand of salt are you using? Some brand has better balance of these elements mixed than others.
Long term you may want to switch the puka shells/undergravel to sand instead. In fact there is one place on Oahu where you can get LS I think. I would use this to seed your sand and switch to natural filtration system.
I don't think you need Wet/Dry filter based on you bio loads, I would use that money to buy a quality protein skimmer instead. That is better value for money in Salt water tank (IMO).
G'd luck.

 

[murph]

Well Iguess moving to Hawaii is out of the question. If it were me I would find a way to have some LR in my tank.
Here in Florida the line between protecting the environment and stupidity has been crossed also. Since the laws protecting the alligator population were enacted that population has soared. Gators are now present in every body of freshwater whether it be out in unpopulated areas or in the pond out back of the condo.
Peoples dogs and cats are disappearing and once or twice a year people themselves are attacked maimed or killed. The vast majority of Florida's population resides in coastal areas. So does the state allow for no gator zones in these populated areas? Of course not. They spend money on "gator trapping" teams to remove nuisance gators from the condo pond.
Last month I heard a report that close to a hundred thousand dollars was spent trying to trap one gator in particular which was then released, of course only to be replaced by another in the same pond. Complete stupidity. Shot gun shells cost about a quarter a piece.

 

[rauntu]

I am using instantocean salt. Could you tell me where to buy the live sand. I go to coral sea in pearl city next to maui offroad. Thanks alot for all you guys help. Murph im from florida and im all to familiar with the gators.

 

[jacknjill]

i would ditch the shells and undergravel filter for sand. raise your sg to about 1.025 - 1.026, thats what you have to have it at for inverts.
for the liverock, can you not order it online from somewehere else like florida? or is that illegal?
do you have any powerheads in the tank? also a skimmer would be a good investment./

 

[blueangelc]

Originally Posted by rauntu
I am using instantocean salt. Could you tell me where to buy the live sand. I go to coral sea in pearl city next to maui offroad. Thanks alot for all you guys help. Murph im from florida and im all to familiar with the gators.
Instance Ocean should be fine. Maybe you should do more frequent water change (weekly) than a big change in 3-4 weeks.
Regarding the LS, I don't think it is allowed to post the link here on this site. Leave me your email address and I will send you the details.

 

[blueangelc]

Originally Posted by JacknJill
....for the liverock, can you not order it online from somewehere else like florida? or is that illegal?
The problem is none of the online store I know would ship to Hawaii...

 

[jacknjill]

oh, thats true. will this site ship to you?

 

[debbie]

Oh Hawaii, how I missed that this year. But....we will be there in 2007 for sure.
Anyways, since you both live in Honolulu I would like to ask you if one were to buy those dead corals at the Internatinal Market place, can they be brought back to Canada without any problems? They are decoration ones that are white.
I purchased some shells from the ABC store there and had no problems but I was wanting to know about those corals.
Deb

 

[blueangelc]

Originally Posted by JacknJill
oh, thats true. will this site ship to you?

I doubt it...Hawaii is not listed on the Delivery Destination list.