new with a two week old 35 hex

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russwlw2004

Guest
Hello!
New to the forum and to saltwater! I have a feeling its not going to be any where near my last one either

Got my 35 hex at a garage sale for 40$ with matching hood and stand. This is what sparked it, as i have a 20Tall freshwater, i felt like tackling SW.
Well ill give the run down.
-22 lbs live rock, live sand, had a 50lb bag but didnt use all the sand.
-2 damsels
-1 3 stripe
-1 dunno what its callled, its got yellow fins kinda bluish.
-1 orange star fish
-AquaClear70 Power filter. 2 power heads koralia 1 and a aquaclear that came with the tank.
just picked up a new lighting system. Aqualight quad tube linear strip for future coral growth.
Loving it so far and how clean and clear everything is.
def hard to take good pics of a hex tank but here it is.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
I'm a little confused....how long have you had this tank set up??/ You have all these fish and a star in it now?
The only thing I see in it so far is aptasia.....
Lovely tank, BUT would like to know it's age
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3143338
I'm a little confused....how long have you had this tank set up??/ You have all these fish and a star in it now?
The only thing I see in it so far is aptasia.....
Lovely tank, BUT would like to know it's age
I've been doing everything the LFS has been telling me to do, just two little damsels, that are hiding in the rocks, they found some caves, i've had this tank going for about a little over two weeks. Just got the orange star today. Everything seems to be going ok. I have been testing probably 2 times weekly and there hasnt been anything to worry about all levels are low. Even took a sample to the LFS and they said everything was fine even after i told them its been going for a little over 2 weeks.
 
todj2002

todj2002

Member
Yep. u for sure have aptasia and if ur tank is only two weeks old, u may have a problem. ur tank has not cycled and prolly will cause some things to die. since ur new, take the time to read info on this forum for newbies. i learned alot from this place in last few years, and still learning. patience is one of the most important things in this hobby, and i dont have much haha. but seriously u need to slow down. ur gonna waste ur money on livestock otherwise.
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
also it says in the title its been going for about two weeks, maybe a little more.
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
Originally Posted by TODJ2002
http:///forum/post/3143347
Yep. u for sure have aptasia and if ur tank is only two weeks old, u may have a problem. ur tank has not cycled and prolly will cause some things to die. since ur new, take the time to read info on this forum for newbies. i learned alot from this place in last few years, and still learning. patience is one of the most important things in this hobby, and i dont have much haha. but seriously u need to slow down. ur gonna waste ur money on livestock otherwise.

i got the live rock already cured from my LFS so it had the apstasia already on it.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Originally Posted by russwlw2004
http:///forum/post/3143350
i got the live rock already cured from my LFS so it had the apstasia already on it.
What do you mean the levels are low???? Can you post the exact numbers?
I am sorry to say that the star will most likely starve...they need VERY mature, and usually larger tanks...
 
todj2002

todj2002

Member
trust me... ur local fish prolly doesnt care. trust what peeps tell u on this forum and listen and read ALOT. ur star will die. i garantee it. also if ur local store sold u that rock, they should have also told u that u DONT want aptasia.
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
The star is about the size of a silver dollar, not big at all, i trust my LFS as fish is all they deal with. But i dont want to get into that argument cause its my word to anyone else's.
tested my water.
-trites=0
-trates=0
-ammonia=0
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
The thing about the LFS is that they're usually more interested in making money than the customers satisfaction. I'm sure here, if there's any members nearby, they'd happily come to your house to help you whereas your LFS will not. Not saying we have stalkers or anything, just trying to make a point. I'm new to SW too, only have my first tank set up for two months, and woudln't have been able to do it without the people here. No one is trying to bash you if they say something you bought will die or anything, that's all part of the learning process.
Some people say that cycling with fish is inhumane because the water conditions are bad and will burn away their gills or possble kill them. It's like sticking you in a take with poisionus gas and just hoping you'll live through it. An easier way to cycle is to get a frozen peice of shrimp, like the kind you eat, and stick it in the tank. The basteria will grow by eating the shrimp instead of the fish waste, and when your cycle is over you should have nice water. =)
Aptasia is a bad thing. It's an evil little anenome that stings anything it can get ahold of, and reproduces like crazy. Kind of like a choke weed in a nice garden. There are countless ways to kill them, but don't scrape them off the rocks because they will break and reproduce.
Anyways, welcome to the boards. We're all here to help.
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
Thank you for a very well thoughout response.
The two damsels i have in there now seem pretty happy and lively and i have been keeping a close eye on them and their heath, watching for anything thats not ordinary.
I def know that the apstasia is bad as i asked my LFS cause i pointed it out in one of there biocubes they had, and the lady said it was bad and not try to get it off in the tank by damanging it cause it will spread spores. she told em to take it out and physically chip it off the piece of live rock it is living on. The more i read the more is see that i might not have to do that.
I had bought a new lighting system yesterday, a quad bulb system that i can use for a reef system, the fish even seem more lively now instead of hiding in there lil make shift homes.
since im here i have a koralia #1 powerhead along with a aquaclear that came with it, im thinking about getting rid of the aquaclear and getting another koralia. but what size? another #1 or a #2?
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
No prob. ;) I've been told I write too much, actually. lol
Well, I somewhat doubt that your cycle went that fast. I in my tank I had 25 lbs of well established rock, and it took twice as long as yours did but everyone's is different. I don't know much about lighting and flow yet, so I can't chip in too much info there. Although I do know that damsels are extreemly territorial and agressive, regarldess of what you LFS tells you and how cute and tiny they are. There are plenty of horror stories on here to prove it, especially Meowzer's. lol
In the future, because you have to add very slowly if you're even ready to add at all, what woult you like to have in your tank? Don't forget your CUC either, which should consit of snails, tiny hermits, and a few little crabs (which may harm your starfish if he lives, I strongly reccomend returning him to the LFS).
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
fretfreak, how can i get ahold of you for some reason im not seeing private messaging on this forum. You have very thoughtout responses and would like to talk futher on somethings.
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
If you click on my name, there should be a PM option. However, if you want to email or IM me:
xxfretfreak13xx@yahoo.com
AIM: xxfretfreak13xx
Even though I gab a lot in my responses, I'm probably not the best person to go to for questions and such. Meowzer, Spanko, Cranberry, ect (there's a ton). Those are the one's you really want to go to for great help, but I"d be happy to help you in any way I can, like going to them for you. lol I've only been in the hobby for about three months, so I don't have a whole lot of personal expearence, though I read a hella lot. =P
 
R

russwlw2004

Guest
i think that since im new the private message function isn't available to me i know some message boards you need a certain amount of posts, i added you to my buddylist on AIM.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Welcome to the forum!
Your tank may be cycled, it may not. My suggestion, get rid of the damsels ASAP, they're evil little fish and they'll limit what other fish you can put in later on. I used them to cycle and then flushed them because they were so damn mean.
When I started up my 14G BioCube, our tank cycled in under 3 weeks, here's how:
We bought live sand that can be added right to a tank without a nitrate spike, established live rock, and the LFS's water. They told us to run the tank with rock and live sand for a week, then come back and get some damsels. We did, damsels were in it for another week or so and then we ended their lives. (Not the nicest thing to do, but as I tried to catch them, I kept getting bit after a long, bad day, and well, it was my revenge). We never had a nitrate spike. We never had a diatom bloom, etc. It just went well, and in less than a month I had 2 corals and 2 Clownfish. I have since cycled a 40G and a 155G in less than a week, it absolutely can be done, if done right. If you're readings are okay, you're probably alright from my experience, but I'm sure you'll hear from plenty people that you're steering towards disaster. So to anyone that tells you that your tank isn't cycled, it might be, it might not be, but I've done the same thing 3 times with a lot of success.
There's plenty of different ways to get rid of Aiptasia, but you definitely need to get rid of it ASAP. I didn't know any better in the beginning and it really took over a Candy Cane Coral I had. The only real thing that I've had luck with is AiptasiaX, removing it by hand never went well for me. Your rock is definitely from an established system if it has coraline on it like that. My LFS always has aiptasia on the rocks because the rocks brush up against each other whenever people buy a piece, which causes them to spore, or whatnot.
Unfortunately, I do not think that your starfish is going to survive. Most, if not all, need a very established tank to thrive, but there's always an exception to the rule. I had a lot of smaller brittle starfish that came along as hitch hikers in my rock and all of them survived, so who knows?
Here's my suggestion: Get a cleaner shrimp, maybe some snails and crabs, feed your fish, test your water for another week, if everything is still good, you should be fine. Then I'd get rid of the damsels if you plan on ever having another fish in your tank or keeping your hand intact any time you need to go into the tank! Do you have a protein skimmer? IMO, you don't need more than one Koralia, but if you feel you want another one, I'd go with the smaller size since your tank really isn't that large.
Just read everything and form your own conclusions, you'll find some general guidelines, but you'll also find a lot of things that COMPLETELY contradict each other. Research is a great virtue to have in this hobby.
Good luck
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member

Originally Posted by Fretfreak13
http:///forum/post/3144131
Even though I gab a lot in my responses, I'm probably not the best person to go to for questions and such. Meowzer, Spanko, Cranberry, ect (there's a ton). Those are the one's you really want to go to for great help, but I"d be happy to help you in any way I can, like going to them for you. lol I've only been in the hobby for about three months, so I don't have a whole lot of personal expearence, though I read a hella lot. =P
Meowzer?!
thats a lie! she always sends me to spanko!
im just kidding!
 
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