First SW Tank - getting excited!

[ade]

Stryker - thanks for the info, will store that away for future reference. Cheers

 

[leanne]

From experience I have forund API tests to be more accurate than TesraTest ones. The compare with the "better" kits that the "better" LFS use. They didn't used to but my LFS says when he compare them they were pretty similar now due to them changing the formula. He doesn't stock them at the minute but is considering it... Apparently TestraTest have got complacent and let their R&D slip. Others have caught up and passed them and are far cheaper. Compare API nitrate at £3.75 for 60 tests to TetraTest at £9.99 for 30 tests... TetraTest seem to give false high readings - ?? so you buy there nitrate reducing chemicals (or am I being a cynic?)

 

[spanair]

Hey ade I just saw your thread even though you made it a while ago, sorry I didn't respond any earlier.

But you already seem to have everything on it's way pretty good .

Good luck with the LR this weekend, i'll be getting some but I doubt I'll get a box at the moment .

Anyways keep us updated

 

[ade]

Readings were as per normal last night, slight shift in pH & salinity, but that's about it:

pH 8.2 (up from 8.1)
KH 140 (same)
Salinity - dipped my finger in and it tasted saltier than normal - 1.0235 (slightly up from 1.023)
Ammonia 0.1 (same)
Nitrites 0.1 (same)
Nitrates 20 (same)

Am increasing the amount of fishfood I add each day now, to try and increase the amount of waste & hence try and spike a bit more.

LR will have to wait, can't get to Crews Hill at the weekend, and given my diary for the next few weeks, looks like it'll have to wait a while - oh well, plenty of cycling time!

Rgds

Ade

 

[ade]

Yeehah! We're spiking!

pH = steady at 8.2
KH = dropped from 140 to 120 (lowest reading yet)
Ammonia = up from 0.1 to 0.5 (highest reading yet)
Nitrites = 0.4 up from 0.2 (highest reading yet)
Nitrates = up from 10 to 40 (highest reading yet)

Looks like increasing the amount of fishfood that I'm adding daily has had the desired effect. Let's see what happens now. Got plenty of debris still in the tank from this morning, but the skimmer seems to have started working. Not sure how I know when it's set correctly yet though - keep fiddling I guess?

Should I be concerned at the KH dropping? (Previous readings were 2 days ago)

Rgds

Ade

 

[Surfer Dude]

Well some advice is that if you have a bristle worm in your tank you might wanna get it out because it CAN and will harm your fish if they get near it. When I had my sea anenome it was poking the anenome so it constantly had to move to get away from the bristle worm. Also with the sand what I did is took some plastic plates and put them on top of the sand and poured the water on the plates which kept it from stirring up too much. If you need any help I will jump on in and answer any questions for you.

Surfer Dude

 

[ade]

Well it's really beginning to take shape now - 40kgs of LR went in yesterday - looks completely different - and starting to look a little alive now. Got some feather dusters on the LR, but nothing other than that. Looks like there may be some corals on there, but not sure if it's just funny coloured bits of rock! We'll wait and see I guess...

Have taken pics, but not uploaded them as yet - will try to get that done tonight.

My Mum was so funny yesterday - parents came to the LFS to get the LR and Mum was like "You're spending how much? On that!! But it's anything but alive!", then when we were putting the rock in she was getting so excited, "Ooh, look at the colour on this bit" etc etc

Cheers

Ade

 

[ade]

Oh and the skimmer is definitely working now!

 

[ade]

Ammonia now looks to be on the decrease - spiked massively after the LR went in, now decreasing steadily, nitrites and nitrates still high, hopefully they'll start coming down today.

Have id'd the "feather duster" as actually being Aipstasia, so got rid of it asap - thanks to Nick Dakins book for the great picture which helped with ID!

Checked the tank this morning and found a new inhabitant. Laymans terms here as I've not managed to work out what it is yet. But it basically looked like a shellfish, with a foot. The shell was sort of pistacchio nut type shape, with a snails type foot poking out from the crack. It was sliding along the front glass, got a picture but badly out of focus, and it then proceeded to fall off the glass. Any ideas anyone?

Cheers

Ade

 

[ade]

Last night the tank was looking more and more brown, hoping it starts to dissapear soon! Everything else seems to be fine though, more and more colours appearing under the brown, so fingers crossed.

But...lots and lots (hundreds!) of tiny white "bugs" swimming around last night. Haven't got a clue what they are - any ideas anyone? Tried to get pics, but couldn't focus on them. About 1mm long, too small to make out any body parts, look like miniature aphids! Mostly "crawling" on the glass, but also some free swimmers. Any help greatly appreciated - good bad or just ugly?

Rgds

Ade

 

[ade]

According to the very knowledgeable chappy at Home Marine, the brown algae will dissapear by itself given time. Sans-shifting starfish, turbo snails/red-legged hermits can all help though. And those "little white bugs" are copepods so I've just been told (made it easier to Google for them too!). Basically they're a natural part of the aquaria and not a problem, the fish will enjoy the little snacks as and when I get fish.

More info on Copepods can be found here

Ade

 

[Landlocked]

If you don't like the appearance of hundreds of copepods in your tank, don't worry about it. Just wait until you get some fish. I had copepods in my tank too at first, but now my two clowns have rendered them extinct.

 

[spanair]

The Copepods that came with my LR are pretty cool running around and stuff, shame they'll all be eaten when I introduce the clowns

Oh and PS, yep my algae seems to be fading a little bit by the day B)

 

[ade]

I'm back! Been very quiet lately as I've been away on holiday. Came home to find the tank doing nicely, next door had been coming in to check on things, top up, feed the bacteria etc.

Added 12 hermit crabs & 10 turbo snails earlier in the week - they're great!

BUT...

Event of the year today - added our first fish! Spawning pair of clownfish, who are absolutely gorgeous and of course, had to get their favourite home too. Also bought a wave controller to make it a bit more natural in there. Pics can be seen at this page, Mulder & Scully and their anemone are loving it in their new home.

Ciao for now...

 

[Max]

I'm new to it too. I have had live rock for 2 weeks and bought a piece with blue mushrooms on yesterday. It is absolutely awesome!! It's teeming with life! I have got 5 feather duster worms, 9!!! brittle starfish, tons of crawlies, something that looks like a bristle starfish but unbristly and orange/brown (looks a bit like an octopus but I know I'm being sill there - its very tiny) oh and a stowaway bristle worm - which people say may cause problems if it gets too big. Gonna try and catch it... The new live rock I have is more mature and is soooooo colourful its unbelievable. I have started a diary thread called "diary of my saltwater setup" which I'm going to write everything in if you want to follow what I've been up to...

man... was it cured? i wish i hadnt bought cured i dont have ANYTHING on my LR just a little corral line but big deal... how do you guuys have so much stuff on your LR?