My new 90 Gallon Tank with pictures and updates and questions!

[evilbob22]

Originally posted by ren99
OK question:
My water is still very dirty. There are all kinds of die off stuff floating around in the water. My Eheim 2229 canister wet/dry has not been doing its job!?!
What can I do to clear up the stuff in the water? Is my wet dry filter not working??
Do you have a protein skimmer?

 

[jobob]

i personally like the blue legs better! they move around more than the red legs. i dont have any trouble with the blue legs. just make sure u have shells for them to move into. the feather duster IMO arent part of a clean up crew. their more for show than cleaning. they are filter feeders so they will help, but not much. any starfish? or sea unchins? maybe the pads in the filter are clogged? i never use one of those so i really couldnt tell u if its good or not?

 

[snipe]

Looks like a good start though in the end you will want more snails and crabs. Not that you will "need" them you just will want more lol.

 

[ren99]

Can I ask how much rock you have in your tank, lbs.?
Currently I have 60 lbs of LR and 60 lbs of LS. with this, I cycled in about 1 week. I am ordering another 30-60# of LR this week. I know I should go for a deeper sand bed but I don't know if I will like the looks of a 6" sand bed. Maybe I can throw in more sand down the road when I get deep into coral keeping.
Do you have a protein skimmer?
I have a skimmer, but because my rubbermaid sump is very loud, I had the skimmer off during cycle and hasn't turned it on yet. I ordered a custom made sump for $100, which will be here next monday. I still havnt had the time to get the durso going either.
Would the skimmer pick up the debris in the tank?? I thought the filter did that?
i personally like the blue legs better! they move around more than the red legs. i dont have any trouble with the blue legs.
Well this is all kinds of conflicting opinion, some said that they bought 10 blue leg and few survived from the royal rumble, um fighting.
I think I will get about 10 of them and I will report on how they do. hehe.
any starfish? or sea unchins?
Would I want these things? I have a very shallow sand bed. and I dont want the starfish to be eating goodies out of the sand.?
Not that you will "need" them you just will want more lol.
Yup. I want more right now already! :cheer: :happy:

 

[mn1467]

On the TEMP problem is your thermometer close to the top of the glass or is it close to you heater. My recommedation is to move your thermometer away from the top of your tank and away from your heater then watch your temp when the lights are on see if that helps

 

[evilbob22]

Canister filters are fantastic for fresh water, but not as useful in salt. I won't tell you to get rid of it (some people would say that you should) but you do want to be sure it doesn't get stagnant (doesn't stop pumping) and it stays clean. They will trap stuff floating around in the water, but there is a lot that is too small for them to take care of... that is where the protein skimmer comes in... It's not unusual for people to have a lot of live rock/live sand, good circulation, a good skimmer, and nothing else for filtration.
As far as starfish go, serpent stars and brittle stars don't dig very much. They mostly search around on top of the sand for stuff to eat. Usually you'll see an arm or two sticking out from under a rock feeling around for stuff.

 

[ren99]

On the TEMP problem is your thermometer close to the top of the glass or is it close to you heater.
Nope, my thermometer is away from the heater and quite low down into the tank.
Tried it again today, and yup the temperature shot up by 2 degrees in 4 hours after I turned on my lights.
I hope that is okay?
Canister filters are fantastic for fresh water, but not as useful in salt
well would my skimmer pick up the debris in the tank??

 

[ren99]

OK out of the 8 snails I put in last night, 6 of them are moving around. but there is this 1 snail that looks very skinny. (the white meat that sticks onto glass is very small) and he hasn't moved much or ate anything. Should I be concerned? Perhaps pick him up and move him onto a piece of LR that is covered with stuff?

The crab has found him self some cover under the live rock and has also been very busy ever since I dropped him in last night.
Thanks to everyone's advice so far. Couldn't have done it without this forum.:happy:

 

[mn1467]

Try and raise the light a littler higher away from the tank and see if that helps

 

[jdreef]

Originally posted by ren99
Okay, I have got a temperature problem. Whenever I turn on my MH lights, it makes my water about 78.8 degrees. Whenever I turn off my lights, the tank can go back to 76 degrees with my heater.
Is this okay?? Can I trust my digital thermometer?
the temp sould be between 72.0 and 78F the 78.8 is not bad so dont worry
-jorge

 

[jdreef]

Originally posted by ren99
OK out of the 8 snails I put in last night, 6 of them are moving around. but there is this 1 snail that looks very skinny. (the white meat that sticks onto glass is very small) and he hasn't moved much or ate anything. Should I be concerned? Perhaps pick him up and move him onto a piece of LR that is covered with stuff?

The crab has found him self some cover under the live rock and has also been very busy ever since I dropped him in last night.
Thanks to everyone's advice so far. Couldn't have done it without this forum.:happy:
what you sould is take the snail off the glass and put on the sand by the tank wall. look at it if it starts to move, if it does move its ok now if you find the snail closed in it shell take it out of the tank and small it. if it smells bad it because its died if not, put it back in the tank.
-jorge

 

[jobob]

snails sometimes dont move for days at a time. if he is stuck to the glass he is more than likely alive. i did have a snail die on the glass before. but if he is dead. i would leave him in the tank and let the crabs eat him. thats what they do,scavagers

 

[pelena]

Great Thread Guys. Just wanted you all to know I learned alot and appreciate the shared knowledge. Hope one day I can be one of the experienced ones giving the advise.

 

[ren99]

if you find the snail closed in it shell take it out of the tank and small it. if it smells bad it because its died if not, put it back in the tank.
I know it is still alive cuz I saw him sticking his head out and took a peak around. heheheh

I am just concerned that this guy is very skinny and hasn't ate anything since I got him.
Great Thread Guys. Just wanted you all to know I learned alot and appreciate the shared knowledge.
yup i learned most of my knowledge about saltwater here on this forum. It's great ! Do you have a tank yet? Planning to start?

 

[ren99]

Hm I just thought of something.
I only have about 2" of sand bed. When I am ready for coral and decide to have a DSP of 6", how would I go about adding sand at that point with all the livestock in the tank??
Would I have to tear down the whole tank?

 

[jobob]

well yes u could add more sand. all u have to do is put the sand in a cup and place the cup on the bottom of tank, then pour.

 

[foshizle]

looks to me like you got a great start keep it up

 

[bailey52]

Most reef keepers like there temp at 80... It is not so much the temp that is stressful as much as it is the flucuation in temp.. so raise your heater to about 78 and it should stay the same

 

[turningtim]

ren, on the sand deal, I just added 60lbs of prepackaged LS to my tank. I tried the cup method and got a bad sand storm after two cups. I then remembered a thread that I had read about using a pc of PVC. I cleaned a pc of 2" PVC and used it as a slide to the bottom of the tank. It made piles in the tank a then slowly moved it were I wanted it. Just move the tube very slowly and let it settle as much as possible. The hardest part was getting the sand in the tube. Maybe a larger (dia) pc would work better. I also placed an old/clean hob filter on the tank to help clear it up. By the next morning it was crystal clear.
On another note, if you have LS already don't waste your money on more just add reg sand and it will be seeded by the live stuff (LS,LR). My LS was backordered and I had already placed some Argo in the tank. By the time I got the LS the "dead sand" was already live from my LR. I prolly wasted a couple of bucks but, live and learn.
Great thread! Thanks to ALL
Tim

 

[ren99]

all righty thanks everyone! I never thought of using any devices to dump the sand in. I thought it would just be taking the bag of sand and dump it in. haha. :notsure:
Now I know to try the PVC method when its time for the 6" DSB to go in.