Taking a large risk.....

[Dman]

well its been just about 2 weeks now with the live rock cycling the tank and all the chemicals in my marine tank seem to be just fine.
The risk is, is that its a 6G salt water set up.... and i know its easier to start large but as most say expenses slow down everyones dreams (almost)
So today i went out and got 2 small blue leg hermet crabs, 1 emerald crab, one rock with 2 small enenomes 1 small feather duster and 2 small ricordia on it (purple looking), then i got another large piece with several lime green looking ricordia.

So any hints on the best way to keep all these little cridders alive would be greatly appreciated. I can do almost anything, but get a larger tank

Oh and don't yell to much at me for starting a small tank cause im just stuborn

Damien

 

[ste2k3]

small tanks like this are feasable. what are the anenomys you got on the rock. if they are small under 1" and clear/brown coloured and stand up on a stem, then I would get rid of them as quickly as possable because they could be aptasia which will plague your tank. do a search on the internet for pictures of aptasia and see if they look like yours. if they are, then gouge them out of the rock with a cocktail stick etc and invest in a peppermint shrimp to deal with any small ones. i would get pleanty of cured live rock to assist in filtration. if you can get hold of live phytoplankton, then this is a good idea because it will live in your tank until eaten and while it lives in your tank, it will consume natrates. if you don't have a skimmer, get some organics absorption resin to put in your filter and limit yourself to one possably two small fish, if any. you have stocked pretty quickly, i ould have left it for at least a month, but if you arn't having any algae problems, then that shouldn't be a problem. I would also recamend that you use RO water for water changes. good luck with the new tank.

 

[superman]

I have to say that the chances that your tank will not crash aren't very good, only very experienced marine aquariasts should try the Nano tank set up. If you lived near me I would just give you a spare 20 gallon that I have laying around, just so you would have a better chance at keeping your marine life alive. Just promise me this, when your tank crashes, don't be discouraged from saltwater fish keeping, it can be fun and easy. I wish you would have done some research on this topic, because obviously you didn't, or you would have just stuck with freshwater fish keeping until you could afford a larger tank. And if you did do research on small marine tank keeping and didn't listen to all the warnings, then I am very disappointed in you and your disrespect for life. 20 gallon tanks are very easy to come by, you can get one used almost anywhere for about 20 bucks. Your "dreams" are going to end up as nightmares if you don't change your ways. Words can't describe the disgust I have right now.

 

[Dman]

Well ste2k3 i will go and check out what kind of enenomies i have in just a sec and the algea growth is staying decent so far and everything seems to be doing great.

Yes i did know about the risk i am taking with the marine tank superman, but i was willing to take it. i have been working with freshwater fish for around 4 years now and been having very few problems with them, so thats y i decided to try out marine. plus around here there's a bundle of decent places to go and get help from. oh and don't worry i will not be getting a fish for about 2 weeks and the only reason i will get a fish is if all the water tests check out fine.

And thx for the info.
I will keep u posted on my test results cause i will be doing a test in 2 days.


Damien

 

[Dman]

well the enenomies are not what u thought they were ste2k3 but the ones i got look more like a type of flower enenome cause it lay's more flat on the rock or bround, and it seems to be traveling off of the rock..... to where i do not know...




Damien

 

[superman]

Yes i did know about the risk i am taking with the marine tank superman, but i was willing to take it. i have been working with freshwater fish for around 4 years now and been having very few problems with them, so thats y i decided to try out marine. plus around here there's a bundle of decent places to go and get help from. oh and don't worry i will not be getting a fish for about 2 weeks and the only reason i will get a fish is if all the water tests check out fine.

And thx for the info.
I will keep u posted on my test results cause i will be doing a test in 2 days.


Damien

The fact that this is a risk that YOU are "willing to take" is a very narrow minded view. So on behalf of all the living things that you are putting in that tank you are making the decision against everyone's advice to risk their lives so that you can fulfill a dream, when just as easily, and with just a little patience (as in saving some money up) you could get a slightly larger tank and give these marine organisms a better chance. I'm all thumbs up on you trying marine fish keeping, but you are taking on a huge responsibility. And you are waiting 2 days before testing the water?!! With such a small tank you will have to test the tank at least once a day, AT LEAST! There are many more variables to take into account than with freshwater tank, because now you are trying to feed about 4 different organisms 4 different types of food, while keeping the calcium and iodine levels perfect so that your live rock is doing well, and what do you do if one chemical level gets a little off? This wouldn't be a terrible problem in a 20 to 30 gallon tank, but in your 6 gallon tank (which isn't even 6 gallons of water when you count water displacent by live rock and other inhabitants) you can kiss the tank goodbye if something gets out of whack, and maybe save one or two organisms that are tough. Oh, and leaving town for more than a couple days for a nice vacation, well you have too now take responsibility and make plans around your new FRAGILE ecosystem. I'm sure that you are willing to take the risk of killing everything in your tank, because it is a small tank, and you will only be out a little cash. But willing to sacrifice life so that you can take a crack at marine aquarium keeping on a budget that would be better off keeping fresh water fish...
..I'm spent, I hope that you may have gained something from my droning, I will get off the soap box now, I hope that for the sake of your hobby and the life that you keep in your aquariums you are more experienced than most "noobie" marine aquarium hobbyists. I don't mean to rip on you as a person, it's just that I find some of your choices a little on the naive side.

 

[saltydog]

DMAN, I give you a thumbs up on trying saltwater, BUT Ill second SUPERMANS thoughts, you should give it more thought. hope everything works out for you an the creatures in your tank.
GOOD LUCK GOOD REEFIN" 8)

 

[Dman]

Well i will take ur advice on testing the water every day, and if one chemical does start to go outa whack, im taking most of the marine life out of the tank and to the fish store which is only a few miles away.... which is really only a 5 minute drive.



Plus the reason for me not being able to get a large tank is because of my father... so the only way i could of got a larger tank is to get rid of all my fresh water fish and use there tank, which i could not bare to get rid of them cause most of them iv'e had for years.


D

 

[Dman]

The test results are the fallowing:
KH= 10
NO2- = 0.2 mg/l to 0.3 mg/l
amonia = 0 mg/l
PH = 8.3 to 8.4



I think i need my hardness a little higher..... so i'll try to go out today and get something for it... unless u guy's thikn my hardness is just fine.



Damien

 

[Equalizer]

Use ro/di water only.The only thing else you will need to add to the water is calcium supliment.


What type of lighting are you using,are you skimming ?

Dont add a fish for a while.

it can be done,Good luck

 

[Dman]

well i got an 18k light (best light the fish store had) and no i'm not skimming yet because my lfs said it not needed for a tank my size, also the guy's at the fish store said that the salt i am using (instant ocean) contains enough calcium and other trace elements for the size tank i am using.
If u need to know the exact lighting just ask cause i should still have the box in my room, im just to lazy to get it

Oh and i did do some tests this morning...

KH= 10

NO2- = 0.1 mg/l

amonia = o mg/l


PH = 8.3 to 8.5

so i am glad to say that the chemicals seem to be balancing a bit more.


Damien

 

[Equalizer]

Not sure this is allowed,but

Go to reefcentral.com and look in the forums for nano tanks.
You will find more than you can imagine about small SW tanks.
Hope this will help.

Let us know how it gose.

 

[Dman]

K i will take a look in a bit thx







damien

 

[qdog425]

were do you live i got a 30 gl in my garage for you..

 

[Gman]

Buy a second hand tank 25-30gal they are cheap and will make your life easier and probably save the lives of some of your stock. Besides you will end up bying a bigger tank sooner or later anyway, this hobbie seems to have that effect on people.
good luck.