Some questions from a newbie

[nightraven]

Hello again all. I am happy to report things are going fine with my 2 week old 20 gallon setup.
20L AGA
30# Aragonite Sand
Standard Lighting that came with the tank
Ammonia: < .25
Nitrite: .1
Nitrate: 15
PH: 8.6
Alk: High end of High
First question is how can I get my PH down some. I use the Red Sea Marine Test Lab kit and it will only go to 8.6 so I am not totally sure my PH is not actually higher. I also assume it probably has something to do with my Alkilinity as well.
Second question: I got a hair up my butt last night and decided to add some live rock to my tank. I got 1 six pound cured live rock and 10 pounds of dead rock to go with it (cost was a factor in this) also in this was a small peice of additional liverock that contained some form of coral (i beleive it is a green mushroom type coral) and I found out once I got it home in the tank that it contained 4 hitch hiker feather dusters. Two of them are quite large and very beautiful (enough so that my girlfriend who hates liverock says it is ok to get more ) What do I need to add to my tank to sustain the coral hopefully I can get it to live through the rest of the cycle and what do I need to add to the tank in order to be sure the featherdusters get food. Do I need to turn off my Penguin 330 BioWheel filter for a bit and just allow the powerhead to circulate the water past the dusters.
My current goal for this tank is a small reef with lush coraline growth.
Currently cycling with a clownfish named Homey D. "Clown"

Thanks

 

[col]

Cycling your tank with a Clown, Why would you want to do that?
You will be putting it through hell.

 

[nightraven]

a Clown is a breed of damsel according to lfs and only slightly more delicate than damsels. (and I just do not like damsels at all )

 

[nosmada]

i would say the first thing you need to do is upgrade your lighting if corals are what you want. the standard lighting that comes with the tanks if floros is most likely a 20watt NO. that is ok to see your fish but thats about it. most recommend 5-7 watts per gallon which means you would need 100-140 watts. that again depends on what you want to keep. i personally dont see anything with cycling with a clown. most reason people that use fish to cycle use the damsels is because of cost. as far as putting him through hell, as long as things are all normal he will be fine. ive got the 3 striped in my tank that ive had since day one. i dont think he went through hell. although he never told me how he felt.
hth, chris

 

[nightraven]

Yeah I had planned to upgrade the lighting in the near future (prolly about tax time). Homey seems to be doing plenty fine for now. He got a bit upset last night when I put the rocks in prolly due to all the sand I stirred up and made everything all foggy in there but he has settled down before I left for work this morning as the filter has cleared it to it's normal crystal clear watery world for him. He had a friend but I beleive it was defective and he eventually died before the ammonia ever came up.

 

[angus]

I think what col meant is you don't have to use ANY fish to cycle a tank. You can use live rock or even a cocktail shrimp instead.
Until your ammonia and nitirites are 0, your clown is not going to be a happy camper, and it may not make it. Probably why your other fish died.
Most likely the reason your LFS told you to use a clown is that they cost more than damsels. More profit, and if it dies, you'll be back for more anyway. They are right, both are in the same family, but the damsels cost about $5 and a clown can be upward of 20 bucks. Look for another LFS, or tell the guy who helped you to read a current book about saltwater fish and set-up.
Despite what your LFS told you, any fish is stressed and potentially suffering during a cycle. I made this mistake my first time out myself. I too was told by a LFS to use fish and I watched my fish die slowly until the cycle was complete. I felt helpless and guilty. It sucked. I vowed never to do that again, and to help others as well.
I hope Homey makes it.

 

[simm]

Originally posted by Nightraven
a Clown is a breed of damsel according to lfs and only slightly more delicate than damsels. (and I just do not like damsels at all )
Iv never heard that!!

 

[krishj39]

Simm, yup, it's true, both damsels and clowns are in the same family. It makes sense though, if you think about it since both are anenome fish (not saying that is their family name, just saying they both are).
Kris

 

[jakob4001]

each time you add that amount of LR to that small of a tank may also cause the cycle to restart all over again because of the die off that will occur...LFS should & probably did know about that, but of course getting you to buy more up front than a pound or two is more profitable for them...

 

[nightraven]

Well that and a 6 pound rock was the smallest one they had
Anyway, while the debate regarding damsels and cycling is very interesting I am not getting my real questions answered here.
1) How can I get my PH down to where it is measurable with my Red Sea Marine Lab Test Kit?
2) Do I need to add anything to my tank in order to stimulate coraline algea growth?
3) Do I need to add anything to my tank to allow the featherdusters to feed or will they be ok with the regular food I am feeding to my clown?
4) Should I turn off my Penguin 330 bio-wheel filter for a little bit while feeding to allow the feather dusters to feed easier by just leaving the powerhead on to circulate the water past them?
Thanks

 

[jumpfrog]

q1. If you[re saying it is off the scale you may want to try another kit or have your LFS test it for you. Normally the test kits go up pretty high and if it is truly that out of whack your clown would be struggling.
q2. High levels of calcium and keep your alk up. Check levels and look into a dosing system. Kalk or a two part. I use b-ionic my self and love it. Once the coralline starts don't be afraid to scrape a little to disperse the spores. Aiming your ph at your rock will help spread spores as well.
q3. Depends on what you're feeding now. Many recommend DT's phyloplankton.
q4. It couldn't hurt to turn of your filter. Just don't forget to turn in back on
Good Luck!

 

[nightraven]

Occasionally hand feed Homey some tubefex worms. Normal feeding is once per day OSI Color enhancing flakes and 1 time I put in some brine shrimp for Homey's snack.