....something is swimming in my tank. LOLOL. I think it's a copepod. The first sign of life. SH
What the Heck is That in My Tank, or, Week 1
Well..there IS something swimming in my tank and it's already day 2. This is cool. So, what's gonna be going on with the Nano Cube. Below is just a
rough idea:
Week 1-2
Avoid water changes. Top off with pure water if necessary. Check parameters on the tank. With uncured, start lighting 1-2 hours/day and slowly increase about 1/2 hour per day until 8-12 hours are reached. You may start to see little white things moving around. These may be copepods and are GOOD...food.
Week 2-3
Make sure all equipment is working. Check powerheads. Top off the water. Diatoms may start to appear.
Week 4-5
Diatoms recede and, hopefully, by now ammonia and nitrite are zero. Time for the 1st water change. If you are mixing, premix the night before. If buying..well...all you have to do is warm up the SW and check s.g. Then, time to add the Cleanup Crew
Week 6-8
Water changes as needed and when parameters are 'excellent', time to add your livestock slowly.
The Cleanup Crew
After cycling and after appearance of algae, it's time to add the Cleanup Crew. This is a crew of invertebrates to help keep your tank clean. Some will eat algae; some will eat detritus; some will actually clean your fish of parasites. They all perform a purpose. Again, this is just a guideline. Choice of characters and researching them I'll leave to you. The inverts have to be acclimated the same as livestock. Again, here is a good acclimation guide:
http
/www.liveaquaria.com/general/general...eral_pagesid=19
Snails
General recommendations are 1 snail/1-2 gallons. As you add them, remember not to add too many of one kind...you don't want to add 10 snails that eat algae and then have them starve while no one is there to eat hair algae, eg. Here is an example of a cleanup crew somone used in their 20 gallon:
5 Nassarius Snails
3 Astraea Snails
5 Cerith Snails
1 Turbo Snails
1 Fighting Conch
1 Scarlett Reef Hermit
1)Astrea--these have sharp, conical shells with circular ridges. They remain small
Advantages: they stay small. Great herbivores. Very hardy.
Disadvantages: if they fall, they can't right themselves and may die.
2) Nassarius--These are small snails that burrow in the sand and eat detritus. They
are more scavengers than algae eaters. They are becoming more popular and
receive a lot of good comments from others
3) Turbo--They have black shells and grow to 3".
Advantages: Excellent herbivores
Disadvantages: They can knock things over in the tank and it is not
uncommon for them to die from poor acclimation.
4) Cerith--small, less than 1" snails with pointed shells, usually covered with coralline algae.
Advantages: Good herbivores. Hardy and long lived.
Disadvantages: Not effective against hair algae
5) Nerite--small, less than 1" with a rounded shell covered with coralline algae. Sometimes has a stripe or spots
Advantages: Good herbivores, hardy, long lived
Disadvantages: may wander out of the tank
6) Other snail for you to look up: Trocus Grazers. Upcoming, crabs and hermits. SH
Thanks for the replies... I'm going to buy some smaller pieces so I can do some stacking!
