Hello! I'm Stevie. I'm new to everything. This is what I've got going

[Hammerstone]

Do you have any natural sunlight shining through?

 

Welcome!!?

[Clown79]

^ agree.

 

Once your ammonia levels drop to 0 and you see nitrates, do a water change and test parameters.

 

If you have no spikes in ammonia&nitrite and the nitrates are 10 or under, add a small cuc but add food to the tank so they have something to eat.

[reefhound]

do you have water in that 12 Gal tank?

i'm not so sure the brackets on that bookshelf will support 90lbs for long

[evites]

do you have water in that 12 Gal tank?

i'm not so sure the brackets on that bookshelf will support 90lbs for long

I had filled it with freshwater for about 2 weeks just to test it. It actually seemed to do fine! The wood shelf didn't bow, and the whole thing was sturdy. Its empty now as I'm just working on my 7 gallon.

 

^ agree.

 

Once your ammonia levels drop to 0 and you see nitrates, do a water change and test parameters.

 

If you have no spikes in ammonia&nitrite and the nitrates are 10 or under, add a small cuc but add food to the tank so they have something to eat.

Ammonia is still testing somewhere in the .1 .2 range. patiently patiently waiting any suggestions for the number and species of cuc?

 

Do you have any natural sunlight shining through?

 

Welcome!!

no sunlight, my apartment is rather dark. I had the lights running pretty bright, simply because I prefer the look of the whiter light. I've since turned it down considerably, to one of the factory sunlight cycle settings on the controller.

[reefhound]

was thinking about a trip to LA for some more RFA's, but I don't know the area at all

[Hammerstone]

For ordering online, Got corals have a nice selection of RFAs and same with KP aquatics. I had good luck with them.

 

It's frustrating not knowing a place that you're new to. I moved where I live in October and I still don't know where anything is. The only LFS we have is an hour away, but it's an awesome place. Good luck to you! ?

 

Oh and flowermama on here is like an RFA expert if you need any help or questions about RFAs!

[evites]

am I ready???!

it has been almost exactly 2 weeks since I put in the live rock.

BUT... I just put in the sand about three days ago.

Also, my tank is now at 82 degrees. it is SO HOT IN MY APARTMENT.

I bought an air conditioner but it was damaged, so I put it back in my car to return it to Home Depot..... and sometime around 4:45am the next morning my car got broken into.

So now I'm out about $260 for the AC, and $198 for a new car window.

Needless to say, things are on hold for a bit due to financial strain. I hope the heat isn't killing all the good things. I had at least 4 tiny starfish but I haven't seen any in days

[jack1978]

image2.JPGimage3.JPG

am I ready???!

it has been almost exactly 2 weeks since I put in the live rock.

BUT... I just put in the sand about three days ago.

Also, my tank is now at 82 degrees. it is SO HOT IN MY APARTMENT.

I bought an air conditioner but it was damaged, so I put it back in my car to return it to Home Depot..... and sometime around 4:45am the next morning my car got broken into.

So now I'm out about $260 for the AC, and $198 for a new car window.

Needless to say, things are on hold for a bit due to financial strain. I hope the heat isn't killing all the good things. I had at least 4 tiny starfish but I haven't seen any in days

 

Sorry to hear about the car. 82 is fine. Constant temp is what you're after...no big swings.

[reefhound]

feed with the lights off.. the stars will come out

[evites]

current FTS

 

its the asterina stars I haven't seen in a while. my rock had a TON of those, they were everywhere I looked. but I just saw a MONSTER sized brittle star in between two rocks !!

exciting

[jack1978]

image1.JPG

current FTS

 

its the asterina stars I haven't seen in a while. my rock had a TON of those, they were everywhere I looked. but I just saw a MONSTER sized brittle star in between two rocks !!

exciting

Love the rock!

[reefhound]

Love the rock!

 

+1

[Tamberav]

image2.JPGimage3.JPG

am I ready???!

it has been almost exactly 2 weeks since I put in the live rock.

BUT... I just put in the sand about three days ago.

Also, my tank is now at 82 degrees. it is SO HOT IN MY APARTMENT.

I bought an air conditioner but it was damaged, so I put it back in my car to return it to Home Depot..... and sometime around 4:45am the next morning my car got broken into.

So now I'm out about $260 for the AC, and $198 for a new car window.

Needless to say, things are on hold for a bit due to financial strain. I hope the heat isn't killing all the good things. I had at least 4 tiny starfish but I haven't seen any in days

 

Sorry to hear about the bad luck! At least the AC they got is broken, those jerks!

 

82 is fine, my tank used to run 86 in the summer without issue. Some people purposely run their tanks around 82 because it promotes faster growth, so no worries! The only coral I might avoid when running higher temps is xenia.

 

Your tank needs a tiny blenny to sit in that hole.

[Clown79]

I'm so sorry to hear about the incidents. Jerks!

 

You can run a fan in the rm and it will cool down the tank but 82 isn't bad. Its about stability, no big swings. If you see it creeping to 83, just run a desk fan, it works.

 

Tests look like ammonia is zero and nitrite 0 (can't see which test the second one is. Lol)

How are your nitrates?

 

After the cycle you can do a water change- re test for a few days and if ammo and nitrite are still 0 and nitrates not high, you can add a small cuc. Maybe a snail or 2 and a couple of hermits...a goby or blenny would be cool in there too but wait to ensure you have no spikes with the cuc.

[evites]

UGH it's hot and getting hotter. 84.3 right now, no sign of cooling off. Not sure what to do at this point, I'm afraid everything in here is boiling alive.

[vegasgundog]

Get a fan, computer if it will fit and set it to blow into the back of your tank

[reefhound]

UGH it's hot and getting hotter. 84.3 right now, no sign of cooling off. Not sure what to do at this point, I'm afraid everything in here is boiling alive.

 

plan for a seafood lunch.. all good

 

I have a water bottle in the freezer.. 2 actually.. but it rarely gets hot enough.

I run my aquarium pretty cold, so a slow temp spike is ok

[fishfreak0114]

The other day my temp in my bc29 spiked to 85, I put a bunch of ice packs in a big ziplock and chucked it in. It was down to 82 in half an hour.

[Clown79]

A fan. Its simple.

 

You can use any desktop fan, a standup floor fan, hook up a clamp on fan.

 

84 is pushing it. Turning on a fan will cool it down

[evites]

Got some snails!!!

Ordered them online from reef-cleaners

They came in a plastic bag with some moist paper towels. How do I go about acclimating these guys??

[jack1978]

Got some snails!!!

Ordered them online from reef-cleaners

They came in a plastic bag with some moist paper towels. How do I go about acclimating these guys??

I just threw mine in after letting their little bag float for temp acclimation.

[evites]

yeah, I just re-read the websites acclimation guidelines. they said the same thing

YAY snails!

[evites]

omg. those little dudes are climbing up the sides of the glass and right out of the tank !

this is something I did not anticipate.

[holy carp]

Looks like everything is progressing pretty nicely. I'm partial to the Mr. Aqua 12G long - look forward to seeing how that turns out. What kind of lighting do you have planned for it? That shelving makes some limitations as well as possibilities...

 

Re: suicidal snails - most will only do that for the first couple days until they get an idea of their surroundings. Keep flicking them back in. If that is too much trouble, you can try taping some strips of stiff paper (dry, not glossy) along the edges of the tank so it hangs horizontally over the water. It would be a deterrent and if they fall off of it, they end up back in the water.

 

Good luck!