Haberdashery Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 I have one of those airstone pump thngs would that be enough for them? does the main tank need heat to cycle? if i remove the heater and put it with the crabs will the live rock die? Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Tamberav has it right... Just literally wrote almost the exact same post but since I'm working it takes me forever. lol Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Tank does not "Need" a heater for the bacteria. It just boosts metabolism and speeds things up. Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 aha, im quite excited to start again and do it properly tbh, whats a good test kit? So if i took the heater out the tank and put it in the bucket with my crabs that'd be fine? just cause i dont wanna have to wait till tomorrow to get another heater and have a dead fish just hanging out in my room :I i'd get another heater for the main tank again but itd be tomorrow or wed when i get paid Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Also, my clownfish with the mouth fungus was that due to me or the fishstore? and is them being covered in black dots stress related? just wanna make sure so I know whether to trust buying from there again Link to comment
farkwar Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Take your livestock back. For refund. Request a refund for the dead stuff. Start over. After you research the hobby better. Both. Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 The bacterial infection could have come from anywhere. It just takes a cut on the mouth to get started. The black dots are nothing I've ever heard of. If I were you I'd go ahead and use the current heater in the bucket then go buy another small on so that it is on hand should you have to medicate fish in the bucket for the future. When it comes to quality of livestock one can usually tell how well the store is doing simply by reviewing all the other stock. EVERY LFS has at least one sick fish almost all the time. Find one that looks sick and ask the employees what is wrong with the fish. If they admit the fish has a problem and go on to explain what they're doing to help the lil guy then you know the LFS is a good one. Outside that just use your best judgement in looking for new fish (active, all fins intact, vibrant colors, fish eats in front of you). Good test kits are made by Red Sea, and Salifert amongst others. Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 I took the heater out put it in the bucket with a little water, put the spare shells from the tank into the bucket. I tried to put my airpod thing in but it was REAAALLLY loud and producing like two bubbles so I think it's broken. I couldnt think what to give them for shelter so i got one of the starbucks cardboard cup holders cut the bit with the glue on it off and stuck it in. Do you think this is okay? i'll try to feed them a shrimp each tomorrow and if they go for it maybe a few more only if they eat it though and take any they dont eat out straight away. clownfish is in the main tank for the ammonia cycle. pump is on temp is about 25 degrees celsius without the heater which isnt that cold so hopefully all is well soon Do you think the cup holder thing is okay ? i know its cardboard but the only plastic things i have are clear so they wouldnt do much good for shelter :/ any suggestions on things around the house i could use? http://oi62.tinypic.com/2v0zpr5.jpg The little set up I made. Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 the cardboard will eventually disintegrate. If there's only inverts in there (like snails and crabs) I wouldn't worry about any hidey holes. If There's a fish in there, then go to the hardware store and pick up some PVC fittings. I personally would take the clown out. It's kind of cruel to make them go through a cycle. The mysis shrimp will be enough to cycle the display. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 the cardboard will eventually disintegrate. If there's only inverts in there (like snails and crabs) I wouldn't worry about any hidey holes. If There's a fish in there, then go to the hardware store and pick up some PVC fittings. I personally would take the clown out. It's kind of cruel to make them go through a cycle. The mysis shrimp will be enough to cycle the display. I believe the OP's clown is already dead. Also OP, I strongly suggest doing more reading and researching while waiting for your tank to re-cycle. A lot of us have made classical mistakes when we were brand new to the hobby. But a lot of reading and advanced researching can save you time and money if you do it right. Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I believe the OP's clown is already dead. Also OP, I strongly suggest doing more reading and researching while waiting for your tank to re-cycle. A lot of us have made classical mistakes when we were brand new to the hobby. But a lot of reading and advanced researching can save you time and money if you do it right. Ah, I wasn't sure if the second one had kicked it or not. I would still take the clown out. I'd be sad watching a dead fish float around all day. The food will be enough to cycle. Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 The dead fish has worked its way into a tiny crevice in the rocks due to the current, don't think i'd be able to get him out without moving rocks about and using the pump to blow him out and stuff now. Yeahh, I only wanted hidey holes because in the tank they like to hide during the day and prefer the dark. Are there any products/articles/things you all recommend I get/use/read? Any hints and tips would be greatly appreciated Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Google and the search function on NR are your best friends. Link to comment
Reefin Ric Flair Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 How are things going currently? As a person so new to the hobby that I don't even have my light or live rock I would like to hear every detail right now I feel for you! Luckily I have a friend on the forum who I am close to in real life who is guiding me. Stay strong! The people here are so helpful and humble Link to comment
SandBed Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Sorry to hear this happened to you, hopefully it gets better from here. On the plus side the tank should be cycling properly now Link to comment
CJJon Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yeah, wondering how it is going? One tip: With reefing sometimes you have to do the hard things and go after the dead fish stuck in the rocks--at 3 am. A salty reef tank can be a giant PITA! Don't give up though, once you figure out what you are doing things will get easier. Not to say you won't do boneheaded stuff (we all do), but living with the tank will get easier. You will get in a rhythm with it and you can star enjoy it. You will also learn that breaking that rythym is bad (like going on vacation, adding new things, etc.). Takes time. Slow down and tuck in to some research. Oh, and go slow! Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 Honestly no idea what's going on now aha, I've left the tank since and it's all brown algae, bit of hair algae, bubble algae and coralline algae. none of my little creatures have been out since, meh :/ I've been advised to take all the rock out and scrub it in fresh water and clean the sand (saving a cup to seed) is that a good idea? Since this has happened both my crabs died. Such a shame. hate knowing im responsible for their deaths. Getting more saltwater at the weekend so my plan is to take all the rock out, clean it all. Clean the sand saving a cup. replacing my filters/cleaning them out. Cleaning out my pump. Putting the heater back in, filling the tank back up and then ive no idea what to do. Advice would be really great tbh. How do you clean sand? Preferably without taking it all out is it even a good idea to clean the sand and stuff if im trying to build up bacteria? Ammonia is at 0.5, i think my nitrites and nitrate test kit is faulty so i'm just comparing the ammonia in the tank to the ammonia levels in fresh water and waiting till they match to see if the tank has cycled But yes pleaasseeee give me advice on what to do Link to comment
Deejax Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Do a full water change, put the rock in a bucket with aerated saltwater and leave it there for a week or two maybe it was uncured? clean filters, stir up sand, do another full water change. Then test and if its 0 for ammonia nitrites and nitrates dose some ammonia and test every other day until you see the ammonia dissappear and then see the nitrites spike and dissappear and turn to nitrates. Do another partial water change and start stocking slowly. A full cube per day in a 12 gallon sounds like wayyyyyyyy too much to me i feed like a quarter cube per day for my 29 tho clownfish might need more food i have no experience with them. if you think you might be feeding too much you most likely are. Scrub algae when you see it a large population will throw off your water parameters.If theres something in my tank that i don't think should be there I try to take it out ( i.e plucking bubble algae without popping scrubbing hair algae etc.) but you should always try to find the cause. Never buy bad looking fish either and if there aren't any good stores by you try to find a well reputed website to order from. Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 I fed my 2 clownfish and one shrimp half a quarter of mysis frozen shrimp every other day but thanks for the advice Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 If you don't have any critters left, I would do a 50% tank water/50% peroxide dip for a few min on the rock to murder off the algae and re-cycle the tank with the lights off. Keep in mind, peroxide will kill pods, worms, ect too but those will come back in time and it won't get all of them. This is just what I would do to start over with a clean slate and dead algae if it were my tank. Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Went to the LFS with a water sample. They said theres no ammonia, no nitrites, some nitrate and that the phosphates are a bit high but a water change or two will bring that down. so i guess its cycled? Came home, done a 75% ish water change. took all the rock out and slooshed it in water to remove any dead/decaying stuff, removed bubble algae and rearranged the rock. I put it all further back so the water flows round better. its a lot more sturdy nothing toppling and falling over thank god. theres a lot more open space for the fish to swim around but still hiding places. I put all my hermit crab shells i bought in the tank so when i get more theres no issues there. I didnt take all the sand out i stirred it up a bit and caught removed anything that started floating around. it looks a LOOTTT cleaner and brighter and i'm ppretty excited about it all again. not sure how long before adding anything though. Did I do too big a water change, will that uncycle my tank? Have I done anything wrong or do you think everythings heading in the right direction? Also, as I was arranging the rocks I think I found a small Clam! Not sure though, the picture might not be very good as its in a crevice but when the rock was out of water it looked like a closed shell. Hoping to see my critters out wandering again in the next few days hoping i havent killed them off :/ any other advice would be fab pictures: clam? - http://oi58.tinypic.com/16rihg.jpg http://oi59.tinypic.com/m9rhh1.jpg http://oi62.tinypic.com/2co3i4i.jpg Back to to Delete Link to comment
GokesReef Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 The tank is looking great now! Glad to see it coming along nicely and you've definitely stepped up the maintenance game.. this should turn out well! The big water change won't be a problem, since the bacteria you want lives on surfaces in the tank, not in the water itself. Just keep testing and as long as the ammonia stays at 0, you're good to go. It sounds like you're cycled - keep it up and keep searching for hitchhikers Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Woohoo! I'm gonna leave it about a week, hopefully see some critters crawl back out, take the water to get tested again and if it's good maybe get a shrimp or a few snails Link to comment
nanolutionary Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I think you've got the right idea this time around, everything slowly, see how the snails fair, then I'd add the shrimp a few days to a week later if the shrimp does well then add a single fish the week after, testing for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as you go. Like the fact you've already kitted out your sandbed that's gonna be one spoilt-for-choice hermit crab! Link to comment
Haberdashery Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Since last posting I have now got: 2 Hermit crabs 2 Snails (Added about 3 weeks ago) 1 Pom pom crab 1 cleaner shrimp (Added two weeks ago) 2 Clownfish (added yesterday) and I ended up ordering a Emerald crab which I can pick up on tuesday One of my hermit crabs has been in 3 different shells already and constantly changing his mind. :') The other was a bit shy when he was first added and hid for 2 weeks straight. I thought he had died and started pulling rock out to find him and he was just sitting under the rock quite happy. He's been out a lot more now that he's a bit settled The pom pom crab hid the first few days and usually comes out more at night. the shrimp is always out and swims right up and sits on my hand when im in the tank fixing stuff The clownies seem pretty happy so far. will be nice when everyone is settled in and comfortable. My tank is pretty much fully stocked I think x.x but my mums pretty insistent i need to get another fish. its a 55 litre tank. is there any fish I could get or is it pretty much full? i know ive added stuff pretty fast but ive kept a good eye on the parameters and everythings where it should be except phophates theyre sky high. The guy at the LFS said to turn the pumps off when feeding and only feed tiny amount and have the light on only four hours and said to get phosphate removed and a media sock and do water changes. I pulled as much algae as i could out yeaterday so hopefully it'll stop growing as much. the sand bed is sprouting algae aswell, such a nightmare. He said a sand sifting starfish might help that but im not sure about adding more stock. is there any fish that clean sand? over all eveyrthing is going great so far, tank is definately cycled and now its juust a matter of getting a better light and getting corals. woo ! gonna wait ages though, want everyone to settle in first Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.