Aberrix Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 Try and Instant Ocean hydro. I have two and they are easy to get a consistent reading from. yeah, that's what PSYS recommended to me also, gonna pick one up hopefully this week. Link to comment
recreationguru Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 i just purchased a refractometer for $27 shipped on ebay. it may be worth considering. Im hoping readings will be more accurate and precise. good luck getting that salinity on track. Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 i just purchased a refractometer for $27 shipped on ebay. it may be worth considering. Im hoping readings will be more accurate and precise. good luck getting that salinity on track. yeah, I was looking at those yesterday also... anyone have any idea how 'good/accurate' they are? Link to comment
recreationguru Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 yeah, I was looking at those yesterday also... anyone have any idea how 'good/accurate' they are? I'll let you know when mine comes in. If I'm not mistaken I have seen others on nano-reef with the same one. Any one with more experience on these please chime in. It's is a RHS-10ATC Portable Salinity Refractometer, listed on ebay as Salinity refractometer 4 aquarium pond hydrometer. Link to comment
subielover Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Great start so far. Definitely get a refractometer, much easier to use and keep clean and much more accurate. I paid about $30 for mine at my lfs. What lights are you planning on getting for this? Have you thought of a stocklist yet? Link to comment
RENDOG Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Nice so far.....give it time for the hitchhikers. It's so fun finding something new. I'm also interested in the lighting you will be using. Link to comment
Aeridne Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 I bet those little legs was a starfish! Mine like to poke their legs out on the rock all the time, they usually come out at night though, so you may not see the whole thing Lookin' good! Link to comment
MGDMIRAGE Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 The instant ocean one is really good too, i brought some water to LFS so he could use refractometer on it and it was dead on from both my tanks. Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 PHOTO UPDATE! Current FTS (04/23/09): Here are some photos of the beautiful algae on my rocks; Left side Front left corner Front right corner Right side Then I went out and did something really dumb... I just so happen to be driving by my LFS and thought "Gee, I'll just stop in and look... just see how much hermit crabs cost..." Well, then I got to thinking... It's been 5 days since my tank has been up and things are going pretty good, I think, and these hermit crabs, well... they're only $2.99... I got lots of nice algae on my rocks for him to eat... What's the worst that could happen if I get just one for my tank, just one, it dies and I'm out $3... So it's probably totally irresponsible... but I JUST COULDN'T WAIT! So hopefully this calms my impatience for another week or more... (p.s. PETA members/bleeding hearts/animal activists/democrats, I'm sorry ) He ate non-stop yesterday when I put him in the tank and for the last couple hours I was at work, I came in this morning and he managed to climb all the way to the top rock(s) and was sleeping(?), once the light turned on he woke up and is continuing to graze this morning... So far, so good... Without further adieu... My red-legged hermit crab; To answer questions about lighting, I'm still unsure about brand/model but it sounds like the dual 18w (36w) 12" is pretty 'standard' for the 3gal pico... so I hopefully plan to do that, I'd like to keep it under $80... (open to suggestions) and it's going to take a while for me to catch up with the expenses I've already... expended... on this tank so far and then I've got a big BWCA (Boundary Water Canoe Area) camping trip in June that will eat some of my extra funds too... so wow, yeah... hopefully I can squeeze it into the budget in the next month or three... heh Also, so far I've bought a float switch (in the mail), air pump and some aquarium tubing... I will be experimenting with putting together my own ATO system for this pico... Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 23, 2009 Author Share Posted April 23, 2009 can anyone identify what this is? I saw it a couple days ago, then it went hiding, now its out again... its like beige/brown-ish with little bumps on it, almost looks like little tiny white legs/bumps on the outside? it almost looks like a three-legged star fish but two legs are touching? Link to comment
OkcKoolaid Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 asternia , good or bad hit or miss, i have some in my 12gal and sometimes they try to eat baby zoas and some dont just watch out Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Whoo! My pico is officially 1 week old! I'm becoming a lot more comfortable with my water tests (and quicker too!) Salinity 1.023 pH 8.2 Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 0ppm Ammonia 0ppm Also did my first 10% water change and gave the heater and inside of the glass a good wipe down. Link to comment
PSYS Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Congrats on the 1-week anniversary... it's looking good and congrats on your first new little addition! The hermit looks hermit-y. Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Here is a better pic of my red-legged hermit crab I took today Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 Monday morning readings... Salinity 1.022 pH 8.4 Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 0ppm Ammonia 0ppm Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 Alight, I spotted 3-4 of these guys this morning (lighting still hasn't kicked in yet) it literally looks like 1/2 brown and 1/2 orange, and is about maybe 1cm -1.4cm long. Can someone help identify it? I did some googling and it looks like its a bristle worm? Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 27, 2009 Author Share Posted April 27, 2009 Alright, went and picked up some more cleaner crew guys... here is what I have now; (1) Red-legged Hermit Crab (2) Blue-legged Hermit Crab (2) Cerith Snail (2) Astrea Snail I'm gonna roll with that for a week and see how things go... anyone got any comments with that team? Thanks. Link to comment
doolspin Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 That is a bristle worm. Much debate weather they are good or bad. Anything that eats rotting food and cleans up is good in my book. Blue legged hermits are known to be more aggressive, make sure they have extra shells to move into or they may kill your snails. Link to comment
Sword Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I have a similar CUC. 1 emerald crab, 2 blue legged hermits, 2 nassarius snails and 2 cerith snails. Going to add a red legged or two soon. Maybe an Astraea too. Ask your lfs for a few extra shells. I got like 10 of various sizes to make sure they have room to grow. Good luck Link to comment
RENDOG Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Looks good...keep posting. Looking forward to seeing some coral. Link to comment
Aberrix Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Photo update! Cerith Snail (Left) Blue-Legged Hermit Crab [in a Cerith Snail shell! sneaky...] (Right) Asterina Sea Star(?) (On the glass next to the sand bed) Cerith Snail My Astrea Snails Obligatory current full tank shot Link to comment
doolspin Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Looking great Abeerix! Can't wait to start mine this week! Link to comment
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