Quote:
Originally Posted by
ChaosFyre http:///t/394244/new-90-gallon-tank-my-first-time-with-saltwater/20#post_3508974
OK, I didn't know we couldn't post other sites. I guess I should hunt down the rules.
I know what Ich is and cleaner shrimp and all that; I did say I researched for a couple years. Plus, freshwater fish can get ich too, and I've always had lots of freshwater fish. I've had a couple cases of ich, though very rare, and its always on a new fish that had it coming in. It never spread in my system though, and I never had to quarantine my fish to kill it. A tiny dose of aquarium salt in a freshwater tank is good for most freshwater fish (though I wouldn't recommend it for betas) and keeps likelihood of diseases down. The stress coat stuff helps them stay healthy too even if they get stressed, and I always dose my tap for freshwater aquariums with stress coat/conditioner.
I do have a 10 gal tank with salt water in it to be used for quarantine, breeder, or refugium, eventually. I was planning on raising pods and brine shrimp in it to seed my tank with, but I need some live sand in it first. I have a handful of empty tanks lying around that I should hunt down. Since saltwater fish are so much more expensive than freshwater, I will probably be quarantining anything I get from now on.
So yeah, the experience of caring for pets has prepared me for dealing with salt-water... Its pretty easy if you aren't lazy and clean your glass regularly, replace the water, do the changes, measure the salinity and test regularly, and do a lot of research about the compatability of creatures before you add them to the tank. And as always, when in doubt, google. Some people say it is a lot of work, but I'm used to taking lots of time out of my day to care for critters, and I enjoy doing so. My family has some acreage, and I remember one memorable time when I counted over 50 animals...
My boyfriend thinks it is too much work having 2 dogs. =P Hah!
Any fish site is not allowed, along with dirty talk and fighting. It's not a big deal, and I think every one of us has found out about the no posting other site rules just like you did. We did it, and somebody informed us it wasn't allowed.
Freshwater ich and saltwater ich are two very different critters...LOL, you can't add a little salt to a saltwater tank to get rid of it. With freshwater ich you can add medicine right to the display, and clear the tank of the parasite and a host of other problems. In saltwater, the medicine would kill the inverts and critters that live in the substrate and rock...so you have to move the fish to another tank to treat them, and leave the tank without fish so the parasite dies without a host...6 to 8 weeks. So you can't treat illness in the display tank ever, no matter what the disease. Also in saltwater tanks, other critters eat the sick and dying....so a weak fish would be doomed if not moved where it can recover in peace.
Quarantine is the best thing you could do, an ounce of prevention really counts in this hobby, and I'm glad to hear that's your plan.
p>
Raising copepods and amphipods are easy, just seed the tank, (acclimate them just like you do fish to keep them healthy to breed, if you want to just feed the fish, just dump them in) brine shrimp however is not doable. You can feed live brine shrimp, (not as the only food of course) but you have to hatch them outside of the display. www.wikihow.com/Raise-Brine-Shrimphttp://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Brine-Shrimp
Now, I want to say a little something:
I kept freshwater fish for over 30 years, and saltwater reefs for over 10. Right now I have 2 tanks, a 90g with Potbelly seahorses, and the other is a 56g tall tank with Kuda seahorses. I read up on saltwater tanks for about 8 years before I could actually start. I had small children, and even though I loved SW tanks, I just didn't have the cash to spend, so I stayed with freshwater fish that I had been keeping since I was a young girl. (the hobby is not as expensive now as back then...it was called the rich mans hobby) Then after they my kids were grown I finally did it (age 40)...and I found out as time went that didn't know anything really until I got my own SW tank...After a few years, I thought I had a pretty good handle on it, and then I found this site. I have discovered much better ways to do things. The people on this site have much more hands on experience than any book could ever hope to offer, the web didn't exist when I started, and I relied on the LFS advice (*****) and books....You couldn't pay me enough to go to ***** now for anything, except to buy media for my filter...that includes what they sell as test kits. You argued about purchasing the test kit, instead you tell me your plan is to run to ***** to do your tests (it's only 5 min away) and when they say "it's all good" you think it is. You have no idea what the numbers are. That isn't so bad until something goes wrong, and to help you, we will need those numbers, not just right then, but what they were leading up to whatever disaster is happening.
Dealing with the time and money to properly care for pets is great...I have you beat on the animal thing as well...the perk of being
almost 3Xs your age. LOL..reading up for two years is commendable, ...please trust me, you have no idea. You should not argue to keep your point of view so much....be flexible, and ask more questions on the why, such as what GeriDoc tried to tell you. He had a ton of knowledge to share with you, but you are not ready to listen yet.
What you have been doing so far isn't bad, nothing is dead, so far so good...LOL...there is just a better way, and maybe three or four better methods to try. What you read on the ad for stresscoat, and on the label, naturally is going to make the stuff sound like the best thing since baked bread. Unless you are an expert on marine biology, you can learn a few things.
We know what tap water does... because we have done it, stresscoat and all...and found out the hard way how great it really is...looks like you will be joining us from the school of hard knocks down the road, don't worry...we will still be here to tell what you can do to get rid of all the hair algae.
Thanks for apologizing. Sorry I got frustrated at you, you are just trying to help, I know. BTW, there are pictures of the tank posted under my name, in albums. However, they are not current!