My Salty Adventure

[eltz21]

Ok thanks. I will try the cup technique. how do you get in the caves etc? Am I right in thinking only an inch is needed?

 

[seffieuk]

Ive got less than an inch! Just use a wooden spoon or the like

Seffie x

 

[eltz21]

I left the moonlight on for a while last night and all the creepy crawlys come out. lots of different snails, a few small star fish and some bistle worms popped thier heads out. i am gonna do some hunting on the interent to make sure these are ok to stay in the tank.

I have seen quite a large crab under a cave. it hasnt come out yet so i dont know what it looks like. any ideas what i can use to tempt him out?

pics to follow later

cheers

 

[eltz21]

UPDATE

A few pics of the tank so far

Tank with rock

Side shot

night light

with sand

bristle worm

Any ideas on coaxing the crab from his cave so i can look at him properly?

I have a few snails and slugs in the tank along with some little star fish. got a few bristle worms as well. all different sizes. how many is bad?

cheers

 

[eltz21]

first test results

sg - 1.027
Ammonia - 0.25
nitrite - 0

still waiting on nitrate and ph test kits.

cheers

 

[karigupi]

Your tank looks great, you have some lovely bits of rock in there. I used half a prawn to tempt my crab out when I had the nano, I think some people swear by bacon, but I was a bit nervous about putting bacon in the tank

 

[eltz21]

thanks kari

did u just use a normal prawn u eat?

 

[karigupi]

Yup, just defrost one from the freezer in a bowl of water & cut in half, make sure you dont leave it in there too long if it doesnt get eaten though

 

[eltz21]

tried the prawn trick to tempt the crab but no luck. so ganna try the bacon soon.

Still waiting for test kits from a cr**y online shop, gonna pick them up from my lfs on weekend. im sick of waiting and wanna know if i can start buying cuc.

 

[eltz21]

sg - 1.026
ph - 8.0
nitrite - 0
amonia - <0.25
Nitrate - 0

cheers

 

[eltz21]

I done a small water change today. first time mixing salt. it took a while but now i know roughly how much is needed for a bucket it shotld be easier next time!!

the water was freezing though when i put it in. is there a way of heating it up slightly so i dont shock the fish (when i get them).

I will be testing the water everyday. hopefully the stats will stay the same. would i be able to add some cuc next weekend then?

cheers

 

[seffieuk]

Eltz, you need an empty salt bucket, cheap heater and powerhead. Heat the water, measure out your salt, put in with the water, mix with the powerhead and leave for at least 12 hours, better 24 hours

I top up with cold RO water, always have, but this means a little daily

Seffie x

 

[eltz21]

that makes sense. I will be keeping an eye on the water level and topping up with ro.

how often do i need to do a big water change? was thinking about 20% every 2 weeks?

cheers

 

[seffieuk]

20% weekley in your tank but 25% would be spot on - its what I always did on my 126 litres and it kept the water in tip top condition - was able to keep a couple of euphyllias on that with no problems with calcium, mag etc

I used to mix my water on friday night, then do all routine maintanance, including the water change on a Sunday

Seffie x

 

[eltz21]

can anyone identify the algae in these pics? and are they good or bad algae??

I have also been looking at potential fish for my tank, here is the list
2 common clowns - standard
watchman goby
longnose hawkfish
flame/purple firefish

i also like the blue cheek goby but think my tank is way too small!!!!

for the cuc i want:

a cleaner shrimp
peppermint shrimp (maybe)
turbo snail
nasser snail
cerith snail
red/blue leg hermit crabs (which is best? and how many? i was thinking 3)

Sorry for all the questions

cheers