Starting Where Someone Left Off....

[greenbottle]

Hello all,

I recently bought the below tank off someone who happened to live around the corner (rio 180):

It was a bit of a mess, covered in all sorts of algae including bubble algae.

I have now had a bit of a clean out and this is the result:

There are at present a yellow tail damsel, a 3 spot damsel and 3 hermit crabs. Looking to offload the damsels some time.

The stock and rocks etc all came from the guy i bought it off.

I will be looking to add some more cuc tomorrow as the tank is a bit of a mess even after a through clean.

can anyone make any reccomendations?

 

[Buddyboy67]

Wow!! Big improvement..well done..

 

[garry_boyd3]

Dude the tank look alot better. Have you done any tests yet?

 

[ben1987]

looks 100X better! good job. Good thinking with the damsels too.

 

[greenbottle]

thanks for he compliments! only just started though!

yeah i did some tests- i will post the results later, did a full set of tests too!

i am undecided as to whether to go for a reef setup or live rock and fish. the big swinger is what fish i can have with which set up, does anyone know of a list somewhere which would give me a clear idea?

cheers

 

[Buddyboy67]

http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm
Try this for a rough guide

 

[greenbottle]

[URL="http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm"]http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm[/URL]
Try this for a rough guide

cheers i'll have a look in a bit, let you know what i think

 

[TigerIssey]

go through with pen and notepad in hand. write down which fish you like and whether or not they are reef safe. some will be caution for either coral or inverts, make a note of this too.

 

[greenbottle]

these are the test results from just after i had picked the tank up, before i got to work on it:

nitrite = <0.1mg/ml
nitrate = 10mg/ml
ammonia = 0.0
Calcium = >300mg/ml
pH = 8.1-8.3
iron = 0.0
kH = >200
phosphate = 2.5mg/l

Any comments?

 

[Buddyboy67]

Try to raise Ca to around 400/420 ppm if corals are to be added
Also use ultraphos/rowaphos to lower your phosphates to 0, this high level will increase the chances of an algae bloom in the system

 

[SkiFletch]

Try to raise Ca to around 400/420 ppm if corals are to be added
Also use ultraphos/rowaphos to lower your phosphates to 0, this high level will increase the chances of an algae bloom in the system

What he said

Everything else looks great

 

[greenbottle]

Cheers, I was unsure of the optimum level of Ca, I stopped testing at 300mg/ml (it was a drpwise test) so that level is somewhere between 300 and infinity! I will do an accurate test today.

 

[owlbassboy]

is it salifert kits you are using?

 

[greenbottle]

is it salifert kits you are using?

No Hagen, all the lab kit/reagents I have used which they have made has been top notch, thought i would stick to the name.

 

[owlbassboy]

ah right sweet. good work on the tank so far and cant wait to see where it progresses to now