dempseyjosh
Member
alright cool. i just did a small water change. i've rinsed out the sponges both times i've done one, it this fine to do?
my 12g nano
- Thread starter dempseyjosh
- Start date
dempseyjosh
Member
i actually was just rinse and shake them around in the water that was coming out of the tank and squeezing out much as possible. alot of crap comes out of them.
dempseyjosh
Member
well i went out and bought some stuff for my tank yesterday.
i bought a feather duster, a 6 line wrasse, and a couple shells for the bottom of the tank.
one of my red leg hermits switched to a shell that was a tiny bit bigger than the one he was in and a blue let hermit switched to his old one, which is considerably bigger than the one he was in. my question about that is, is it ok for the hermits to be in a shell too big for him? seems like he is having trouble moving around in that big thing.
i can't seem to find one of my blue legs, i'll wait it out until the lights go off and see if he comes out from anywhere.
i bought kent marine miro vert to feed the feather duster, but when i red up on them it mentions that they hardly ever need supplemental feeding. how much and how often should i feed it then?
The wrasse hid all night, but is out swimming around today. i'm glad he's happy. the guy at the ***** said it would be hard to introduce anyone else to the tank because they are fairly territorial. but i thought they were peaceful. and i'm not even sure if i would want another fish in such a small tank. i'm not sure what kind of fish they are but if i was to get another fish, i want one of the ones that sit there and perch themselves on the rock or sand. i bought ocean nutrition prime reef flakes for him. i sprinkled a little on top for him, but he didn't go after it much. i think i should get a feeding ring for him, because the skimmber sucks this stuff right off the top.
i also bought purple up, but when i started reading it, it seems that i should put that in if i'm low on calcium, but my calcium has been fairly high. i assume i should wait on putting this in.
here are my readings
PH about 8.2
kh was about 115ppm
phosphate .5ppm
nitrate about 12ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity almost 1.025
this is the first time i've had a phosphate reading. should this be as close to 0 as possible?
also the kh is down, will this come back up when i do a water change tomorrow?
i'll get pics this weekend. my gf has the camera, and i can't get good ones w/ my phone.
i bought a feather duster, a 6 line wrasse, and a couple shells for the bottom of the tank.
one of my red leg hermits switched to a shell that was a tiny bit bigger than the one he was in and a blue let hermit switched to his old one, which is considerably bigger than the one he was in. my question about that is, is it ok for the hermits to be in a shell too big for him? seems like he is having trouble moving around in that big thing.
i can't seem to find one of my blue legs, i'll wait it out until the lights go off and see if he comes out from anywhere.
i bought kent marine miro vert to feed the feather duster, but when i red up on them it mentions that they hardly ever need supplemental feeding. how much and how often should i feed it then?
The wrasse hid all night, but is out swimming around today. i'm glad he's happy. the guy at the ***** said it would be hard to introduce anyone else to the tank because they are fairly territorial. but i thought they were peaceful. and i'm not even sure if i would want another fish in such a small tank. i'm not sure what kind of fish they are but if i was to get another fish, i want one of the ones that sit there and perch themselves on the rock or sand. i bought ocean nutrition prime reef flakes for him. i sprinkled a little on top for him, but he didn't go after it much. i think i should get a feeding ring for him, because the skimmber sucks this stuff right off the top.
i also bought purple up, but when i started reading it, it seems that i should put that in if i'm low on calcium, but my calcium has been fairly high. i assume i should wait on putting this in.
here are my readings
PH about 8.2
kh was about 115ppm
phosphate .5ppm
nitrate about 12ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity almost 1.025
this is the first time i've had a phosphate reading. should this be as close to 0 as possible?
also the kh is down, will this come back up when i do a water change tomorrow?
i'll get pics this weekend. my gf has the camera, and i can't get good ones w/ my phone.
peef
Active Member
Originally Posted by dempseyjosh
well i went out and bought some stuff for my tank yesterday.
i bought a feather duster, a 6 line wrasse, and a couple shells for the bottom of the tank.
one of my red leg hermits switched to a shell that was a tiny bit bigger than the one he was in and a blue let hermit switched to his old one, which is considerably bigger than the one he was in. my question about that is, is it ok for the hermits to be in a shell too big for him? seems like he is having trouble moving around in that big thing.
i can't seem to find one of my blue legs, i'll wait it out until the lights go off and see if he comes out from anywhere.
i bought kent marine miro vert to feed the feather duster, but when i red up on them it mentions that they hardly ever need supplemental feeding. how much and how often should i feed it then?
The wrasse hid all night, but is out swimming around today. i'm glad he's happy. the guy at the ***** said it would be hard to introduce anyone else to the tank because they are fairly territorial. but i thought they were peaceful. and i'm not even sure if i would want another fish in such a small tank. i'm not sure what kind of fish they are but if i was to get another fish, i want one of the ones that sit there and perch themselves on the rock or sand. i bought ocean nutrition prime reef flakes for him. i sprinkled a little on top for him, but he didn't go after it much. i think i should get a feeding ring for him, because the skimmber sucks this stuff right off the top.
i also bought purple up, but when i started reading it, it seems that i should put that in if i'm low on calcium, but my calcium has been fairly high. i assume i should wait on putting this in.
here are my readings
PH about 8.2
kh was about 115ppm
phosphate .5ppm
nitrate about 12ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity almost 1.025
this is the first time i've had a phosphate reading. should this be as close to 0 as possible?
also the kh is down, will this come back up when i do a water change tomorrow?
i'll get pics this weekend. my gf has the camera, and i can't get good ones w/ my phone.
Your hermits will pick the shell that they are most happy in. So if they switched then yes it was needed! Your calcium is fine, no need to add anything for that. I never feed my feather duster anything at all. I am sure he gets what he needs from the marine snow, cytopleeze and other things I feed my corals. Phos is something I personally do not test for so I am not sure about that and where it should be. You alk is low because calcium is high, they kind of go hand in hand. If you add a little alk buffer it will raise and get better, but yes water changes do balance that also. When you feed your wrasse you can turn off your pump for a few minutes if you want to make sure that everything doesn't just disappear. Looking forward to your pictures!
well i went out and bought some stuff for my tank yesterday.
i bought a feather duster, a 6 line wrasse, and a couple shells for the bottom of the tank.
one of my red leg hermits switched to a shell that was a tiny bit bigger than the one he was in and a blue let hermit switched to his old one, which is considerably bigger than the one he was in. my question about that is, is it ok for the hermits to be in a shell too big for him? seems like he is having trouble moving around in that big thing.
i can't seem to find one of my blue legs, i'll wait it out until the lights go off and see if he comes out from anywhere.
i bought kent marine miro vert to feed the feather duster, but when i red up on them it mentions that they hardly ever need supplemental feeding. how much and how often should i feed it then?
The wrasse hid all night, but is out swimming around today. i'm glad he's happy. the guy at the ***** said it would be hard to introduce anyone else to the tank because they are fairly territorial. but i thought they were peaceful. and i'm not even sure if i would want another fish in such a small tank. i'm not sure what kind of fish they are but if i was to get another fish, i want one of the ones that sit there and perch themselves on the rock or sand. i bought ocean nutrition prime reef flakes for him. i sprinkled a little on top for him, but he didn't go after it much. i think i should get a feeding ring for him, because the skimmber sucks this stuff right off the top.
i also bought purple up, but when i started reading it, it seems that i should put that in if i'm low on calcium, but my calcium has been fairly high. i assume i should wait on putting this in.
here are my readings
PH about 8.2
kh was about 115ppm
phosphate .5ppm
nitrate about 12ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity almost 1.025
this is the first time i've had a phosphate reading. should this be as close to 0 as possible?
also the kh is down, will this come back up when i do a water change tomorrow?
i'll get pics this weekend. my gf has the camera, and i can't get good ones w/ my phone.
Your hermits will pick the shell that they are most happy in. So if they switched then yes it was needed! Your calcium is fine, no need to add anything for that. I never feed my feather duster anything at all. I am sure he gets what he needs from the marine snow, cytopleeze and other things I feed my corals. Phos is something I personally do not test for so I am not sure about that and where it should be. You alk is low because calcium is high, they kind of go hand in hand. If you add a little alk buffer it will raise and get better, but yes water changes do balance that also. When you feed your wrasse you can turn off your pump for a few minutes if you want to make sure that everything doesn't just disappear. Looking forward to your pictures!
dempseyjosh
Member
and this guy wouldn't stay still to get a better picture
dempseyjosh
Member
here are the readings i got tonight
PH about 8.2
kh was about 125ppm
phosphate was not reading right, i was getting a color not on the scale
nitrate about 15ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity 1.026
i just went and bought some zoos, i'll post pics of them when they open up. is there anything i need to make sure that is in the water for them?
is there anything else besides water changes that i can do to keep the nitrate down?
PH about 8.2
kh was about 125ppm
phosphate was not reading right, i was getting a color not on the scale
nitrate about 15ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Calcium 580ppm
ammonia 0ppm
temp 78
specific gravity 1.026
i just went and bought some zoos, i'll post pics of them when they open up. is there anything i need to make sure that is in the water for them?
is there anything else besides water changes that i can do to keep the nitrate down?
peef
Active Member
For the nitrate there are a couple of things you can do....
Firstly prevention, not over feeding and such. After that you can buy a thing that Kent Marine sells called a Nitrate sponge. You put it in a mesh (from LFS) bag and put it in your highest water flow chamber and it will absorbe tons of nitrate. You can start a fuge in the back of your tank, this is the most natural way but will take the most work. It involves getting some chaeto and putting it in the middle chamber of your cube and then installing a little light back there. The chaeto will absorbe nitrates for its own growth. You can also add calurpa grass to your Display, looks nice if you ask me if done right, and some fish like it for a snack. But the biggest thing that you can do for a nano is a regular water change. I have chaeto in the back, calurpa in the front, a nitrate sponge in my first chamber (due to PHs in the middle and third) AND I do a 20% water change every monday. All of that is NOT needed but doesn't hurt (I don't think, anyone who reads this who disagrees please chime in) I mainly do such a regular water change to replenish trace minerals for my corals, otherwise probably every two weeks.
As for your zoos they need no feeding just medium light and flow. Granted some different kinds have different needs but in general thats the case. Looking forward to the pics!
Firstly prevention, not over feeding and such. After that you can buy a thing that Kent Marine sells called a Nitrate sponge. You put it in a mesh (from LFS) bag and put it in your highest water flow chamber and it will absorbe tons of nitrate. You can start a fuge in the back of your tank, this is the most natural way but will take the most work. It involves getting some chaeto and putting it in the middle chamber of your cube and then installing a little light back there. The chaeto will absorbe nitrates for its own growth. You can also add calurpa grass to your Display, looks nice if you ask me if done right, and some fish like it for a snack. But the biggest thing that you can do for a nano is a regular water change. I have chaeto in the back, calurpa in the front, a nitrate sponge in my first chamber (due to PHs in the middle and third) AND I do a 20% water change every monday. All of that is NOT needed but doesn't hurt (I don't think, anyone who reads this who disagrees please chime in) I mainly do such a regular water change to replenish trace minerals for my corals, otherwise probably every two weeks.
As for your zoos they need no feeding just medium light and flow. Granted some different kinds have different needs but in general thats the case. Looking forward to the pics!
dempseyjosh
Member
well i will most likely get the nitrate sponge. and i will look into getting the chaeto, but i haven't seen any at the lfs. i already do a 10-15% water change about every 5 days. but my nitrates are staying up there.
i have the ceramic rings the carbon and the bioballs in my middle chamber. that is full, can i put the nitrate sponge in the chamber with the pump?
i found the little blue hermit that was MIA, he was out of his shell, dead in the middle of the tank. still haven't found his shell. i also think that the one that switched to the bigger shell might be on his way out, and i think another has gone MIA too. is there a big difference in the blue legs and the red legs? my red ones are doing fine, if there is no difference i am just going to get more of those when i replace the missing ones.
i have the ceramic rings the carbon and the bioballs in my middle chamber. that is full, can i put the nitrate sponge in the chamber with the pump?
i found the little blue hermit that was MIA, he was out of his shell, dead in the middle of the tank. still haven't found his shell. i also think that the one that switched to the bigger shell might be on his way out, and i think another has gone MIA too. is there a big difference in the blue legs and the red legs? my red ones are doing fine, if there is no difference i am just going to get more of those when i replace the missing ones.
dempseyjosh
Member
peef
Active Member
Originally Posted by dempseyjosh
well i will most likely get the nitrate sponge. and i will look into getting the chaeto, but i haven't seen any at the lfs. i already do a 10-15% water change about every 5 days. but my nitrates are staying up there.
i have the ceramic rings the carbon and the bioballs in my middle chamber. that is full, can i put the nitrate sponge in the chamber with the pump?
i found the little blue hermit that was MIA, he was out of his shell, dead in the middle of the tank. still haven't found his shell. i also think that the one that switched to the bigger shell might be on his way out, and i think another has gone MIA too. is there a big difference in the blue legs and the red legs? my red ones are doing fine, if there is no difference i am just going to get more of those when i replace the missing ones.
Personally I would say get rid of the rings and the bioballs. They hold nitrates like CRAZY! Put LR rubble there instead. Are you sure that its not a molt from your hermits, I thought the same thing at first just to find out that they molt and grow. AND if they just switched shells they have new room and are "stretching their legs". I only run carbon for about 7 days a month. The only problem with putting anything in with the pump is it getting sucked in and messing up the pump, but sure I don't see why not if it is secure.
If you do remove the bioballs and rings, do it slowly like one a day, the trates stuck in it can drop when you move them around.
well i will most likely get the nitrate sponge. and i will look into getting the chaeto, but i haven't seen any at the lfs. i already do a 10-15% water change about every 5 days. but my nitrates are staying up there.
i have the ceramic rings the carbon and the bioballs in my middle chamber. that is full, can i put the nitrate sponge in the chamber with the pump?
i found the little blue hermit that was MIA, he was out of his shell, dead in the middle of the tank. still haven't found his shell. i also think that the one that switched to the bigger shell might be on his way out, and i think another has gone MIA too. is there a big difference in the blue legs and the red legs? my red ones are doing fine, if there is no difference i am just going to get more of those when i replace the missing ones.
Personally I would say get rid of the rings and the bioballs. They hold nitrates like CRAZY! Put LR rubble there instead. Are you sure that its not a molt from your hermits, I thought the same thing at first just to find out that they molt and grow. AND if they just switched shells they have new room and are "stretching their legs". I only run carbon for about 7 days a month. The only problem with putting anything in with the pump is it getting sucked in and messing up the pump, but sure I don't see why not if it is secure.
If you do remove the bioballs and rings, do it slowly like one a day, the trates stuck in it can drop when you move them around.
dempseyjosh
Member
well it's been just over a month and it's time for a change already.
the zoos are too much in the direct flow, but there wasn't much room to put them anywhere else. so tonight when the lights go out i'm going to move my rock around and put the zoos in spot with less flow. i also think i need to move the feather duster away from the glass because he gets scared too often and goes inside his tube when i move areound the room.
everything seems to be testeing fine except the kh is low and the calcium high. i'm adding kent pro buffer dkh to raise that and hopeully in a few days that will be up. i'm thinking that once that is up the coraline algae will start to grow faster. it seems that it has been trying, but it is just going slowly.
i bought an emerald crab and 3 blue legs to replace the ones that died. when the crabs died it seemed that the brown algae on the sand and glass was starting to take over, and there is a brown hairy algae on the rock too. i'm hoping that the crabs will help start taking care of this. i also think that it could have come with the zoos.
here are the readings i got tonight
PH between 8 and 8.5
kh was about 120
phosphate 0
nitrate about 20
nitrite 0
Calcium almost 600
ammonia 0
temp 81
specific gravity a tad above 1.026
the zoos are too much in the direct flow, but there wasn't much room to put them anywhere else. so tonight when the lights go out i'm going to move my rock around and put the zoos in spot with less flow. i also think i need to move the feather duster away from the glass because he gets scared too often and goes inside his tube when i move areound the room.
everything seems to be testeing fine except the kh is low and the calcium high. i'm adding kent pro buffer dkh to raise that and hopeully in a few days that will be up. i'm thinking that once that is up the coraline algae will start to grow faster. it seems that it has been trying, but it is just going slowly.
i bought an emerald crab and 3 blue legs to replace the ones that died. when the crabs died it seemed that the brown algae on the sand and glass was starting to take over, and there is a brown hairy algae on the rock too. i'm hoping that the crabs will help start taking care of this. i also think that it could have come with the zoos.
here are the readings i got tonight
PH between 8 and 8.5
kh was about 120
phosphate 0
nitrate about 20
nitrite 0
Calcium almost 600
ammonia 0
temp 81
specific gravity a tad above 1.026
dempseyjosh
Member
new2salt1
Member
Did you take the bioballs out yet? You dont have to take one out a day. Just shut off the pump, take them all out, and syphon everything out of your chamber. Then like Peef said, add Live Rock rubble to the back.
I personally dont think you need spend $$$ on Nitrate sponges if you are less than or equal to a reading of 20. If you are going to buy a supplement, I would focus on getting your calc down between 400-500 and getting your Kh up between 8-12. THATS ALL. I think you have tested enough times to know what needs to be changed! Dont get into the supplement game! If it aint broke, dont try to break it!!
As for the algae, I guess I am fortunate in that I never had so much as a small patch of it. But almost every other tank on here does. A rule of thumb that I have heard (and others can confirm) is 1 pound of rock per gallon, 2 snails per gallon, and 1 hermit per gallon.
If I were you I would have waited on the fish until you could get hermits to live successfully in your tank. I have never heard of hermits dying from anything other than predation. So if they are dying off because of water quality, I would be suprised and concerned. Take your water to your LFS and have them confirm what you find. And add some serious snail to eat that junk.
I personally dont think you need spend $$$ on Nitrate sponges if you are less than or equal to a reading of 20. If you are going to buy a supplement, I would focus on getting your calc down between 400-500 and getting your Kh up between 8-12. THATS ALL. I think you have tested enough times to know what needs to be changed! Dont get into the supplement game! If it aint broke, dont try to break it!!
As for the algae, I guess I am fortunate in that I never had so much as a small patch of it. But almost every other tank on here does. A rule of thumb that I have heard (and others can confirm) is 1 pound of rock per gallon, 2 snails per gallon, and 1 hermit per gallon.
If I were you I would have waited on the fish until you could get hermits to live successfully in your tank. I have never heard of hermits dying from anything other than predation. So if they are dying off because of water quality, I would be suprised and concerned. Take your water to your LFS and have them confirm what you find. And add some serious snail to eat that junk.
dempseyjosh
Member
thanks new2salt1
i haven't head that rule of thumb before.
i have 6 snails but i guess i could use a ton more. 6 hermits, could use 6 more i guess, and i have about 1lb of rock per gallon already.
the hermits died after i got the fish. and the fish has been in there for a couple weeks and seems great.
i got the zoos a week ago. so i still don't know what is normal for them. but one group of colors all open up quickly after the lights are turned on and the others open and close often throughout the day and seems like all of them are never open at the same time.
the lights are on for 12hrs a day. i'm starting to think thats a bit much, but thats what i was told to do in the beginning
but as far as not playing the supplements game. how do i go about lowering calcium and raising kh naturally? i tested the water going into my tank and it was right for kh. i didn't test the calcium though because i was in a rush and didn't think about it.
so right now i'm only dosing to up the kh.
i haven't head that rule of thumb before.
i have 6 snails but i guess i could use a ton more. 6 hermits, could use 6 more i guess, and i have about 1lb of rock per gallon already.
the hermits died after i got the fish. and the fish has been in there for a couple weeks and seems great.
i got the zoos a week ago. so i still don't know what is normal for them. but one group of colors all open up quickly after the lights are turned on and the others open and close often throughout the day and seems like all of them are never open at the same time.
the lights are on for 12hrs a day. i'm starting to think thats a bit much, but thats what i was told to do in the beginning
but as far as not playing the supplements game. how do i go about lowering calcium and raising kh naturally? i tested the water going into my tank and it was right for kh. i didn't test the calcium though because i was in a rush and didn't think about it.
so right now i'm only dosing to up the kh.
new2salt1
Member
Hey Josh -
The best advice I can give you about chemistry is NONE AT ALL!! I am just learning about the delicate relationship between Mg, Calc, and Alk myself.
I CAN give you advice on what NOT to do:
Dont use tap water EVER. If anything from the tank touches tap water (sponges, filter material), make sure you squeeze it out really well. Metals, phosphates, chlorine from your tap is poison to fish/verts/coral/rock.
What you should do:
First, create a "diary" of water parameters in the "Chemistry" section of this site. Post all your parameters. Post what has changed over the last weeks. The more you include in your initial log, the better the reponses will be.
Also, read about calc and alk and if you are good at scientific kind of stuff, apply what you learn. But I would still run it by the people in the chemistry forum before you put the info into action.
As far as the "rule of thumb," the most important thing (in my opinion) is sufficient LR, and have more snails than hermits. In my short time doing this, I have seen hermits eat snails when they can team up. What they dont eat will rot. The worst thing in a new tank is having dead creatures hidden in the live rock. Your nitro cycle will NEVER finish if your ammonia levels are constantly spiking from die-off. I believe more snails than hermits is a safeguard against this.
I have 20 nails in my 14 gallon biocube and I see maybe 4-5 of them at any given time. Im looking at my tank right now and it is SOOOOOO clean it is ridiculous. The water looks drinkable.
Hope that helps and make sure you visit the chemistry section. But as I said, if you give them crap to work with, they are either going to ignore you or give you partial answers. Give them a full picture to get the help you need.
Take care
The best advice I can give you about chemistry is NONE AT ALL!! I am just learning about the delicate relationship between Mg, Calc, and Alk myself.
I CAN give you advice on what NOT to do:
Dont use tap water EVER. If anything from the tank touches tap water (sponges, filter material), make sure you squeeze it out really well. Metals, phosphates, chlorine from your tap is poison to fish/verts/coral/rock.
What you should do:
First, create a "diary" of water parameters in the "Chemistry" section of this site. Post all your parameters. Post what has changed over the last weeks. The more you include in your initial log, the better the reponses will be.
Also, read about calc and alk and if you are good at scientific kind of stuff, apply what you learn. But I would still run it by the people in the chemistry forum before you put the info into action.
As far as the "rule of thumb," the most important thing (in my opinion) is sufficient LR, and have more snails than hermits. In my short time doing this, I have seen hermits eat snails when they can team up. What they dont eat will rot. The worst thing in a new tank is having dead creatures hidden in the live rock. Your nitro cycle will NEVER finish if your ammonia levels are constantly spiking from die-off. I believe more snails than hermits is a safeguard against this.
I have 20 nails in my 14 gallon biocube and I see maybe 4-5 of them at any given time. Im looking at my tank right now and it is SOOOOOO clean it is ridiculous. The water looks drinkable.
Hope that helps and make sure you visit the chemistry section. But as I said, if you give them crap to work with, they are either going to ignore you or give you partial answers. Give them a full picture to get the help you need.
Take care
dempseyjosh
Member
well i can't seem to find the chemistry section you are talking about.
i've been adding the kh supplement and coraline has started growing. i just need to find out what is depleting the kh from the water that i am putting in.
i want to get a shrimp. the kind i have found around here is a camel shrimp and a sexy shrimp. would either of those be fine. what about a cleaner shrimp or coral banded shrimp if i can find one
i've been adding the kh supplement and coraline has started growing. i just need to find out what is depleting the kh from the water that i am putting in.
i want to get a shrimp. the kind i have found around here is a camel shrimp and a sexy shrimp. would either of those be fine. what about a cleaner shrimp or coral banded shrimp if i can find one