$ Pit

[21093r53]

Yeah I saw him speak at the Marine Aquarium Expo and stopped by his booth. When I saw that video from Mr. Saltwatertank that's when I knew I had to try it. I had a problem with my ammonia which didn't drop for a couple days so I called Dr. Tim and he told me to add more ammonia. In 2 days my ammonia was all gone, and my tank was fully cycled. You are definitely going to like it....worth every penny.

 

 

umm enough said^

[saltwatercoral]

Just found out that "That Fish Place" in PA is sold out of MP40wES's and chould have them back in the first week of next month. So that being said I am going to wait on the MP40wES's untill they get them back instock. I think I am also going to try to get the Dr. Tims + 2 Clowns tinight because of my weekend being completly booked as of yesterday... So if I do not get that done today it will need to wait till next week. I am going to thry my best for tonight after work. Stay tuned!

[tokendog]

Just found out that "That Fish Place" in PA is sold out of MP40wES's and chould have them back in the first week of next month. So that being said I am going to wait on the MP40wES's untill they get them back instock. I think I am also going to try to get the Dr. Tims + 2 Clowns tinight because of my weekend being completly booked as of yesterday... So if I do not get that done today it will need to wait till next week. I am going to thry my best for tonight after work. Stay tuned!

 

Hey, one last tip on that Dr. Tim's. I actually used 3 bottles.

 

The first one I added I noticed the bottle was warm after being delivered by UPS. It was obvious that it had been in the heat. I added it to my tank any ways (did not have fish) and noticed that the contents of the bottle was 90% clear with a little bit of milkshake liquid at the last bit.

 

I didn't think this seemed right and checked Mrsaltwater's video and saw that it was in deed a thick milkshake like consistency.

 

I dosed the provided ammonia and nothing happened. I ended up draining the water out of the tank and starting over (unrelated circumstances) but this time I had the liquid over nighted to me (not sure on the rules on linking merchants, but lets just say it involved a Prime membership and 3.99 in S/H for overnight).

 

The bottle arrived the next day and was not warm. I had also went and picked up 2 clownfish because I saw Mrsaltwater's video. I dumped the liquid in and it was a thick milkshake consistency like it was supposed to be. I then added the fish. I never had an ammonia spike and like I said before, the clownfish are alive and happy as of this writing.

 

I also ordered another bottle just in case I did get a spike or some other emergency. It is recommended you have an extra bottle just incase you need more bacteria to seed the tank.

 

Point being: Make sure it is a milkshake that comes out of the bottle. It is living bacteria inside of there. High temperatures will kill it. Plus, according Dr. Tim, it can not be over dosed.

[saltwatercoral]

Hey, one last tip on that Dr. Tim's. I actually used 3 bottles.

 

The first one I added I noticed the bottle was warm after being delivered by UPS. It was obvious that it had been in the heat. I added it to my tank any ways (did not have fish) and noticed that the contents of the bottle was 90% clear with a little bit of milkshake liquid at the last bit.

 

I didn't think this seemed right and checked Mrsaltwater's video and saw that it was in deed a thick milkshake like consistency.

 

I dosed the provided ammonia and nothing happened. I ended up draining the water out of the tank and starting over (unrelated circumstances) but this time I had the liquid over nighted to me (not sure on the rules on linking merchants, but lets just say it involved a Prime membership and 3.99 in S/H for overnight).

 

The bottle arrived the next day and was not warm. I had also went and picked up 2 clownfish because I saw Mrsaltwater's video. I dumped the liquid in and it was a thick milkshake consistency like it was supposed to be. I then added the fish. I never had an ammonia spike and like I said before, the clownfish are alive and happy as of this writing.

 

I also ordered another bottle just in case I did get a spike or some other emergency. It is recommended you have an extra bottle just incase you need more bacteria to seed the tank.

 

Point being: Make sure it is a milkshake that comes out of the bottle. It is living bacteria inside of there. High temperatures will kill it. Plus, according Dr. Tim, it can not be over dosed.

 

Thanks for all the info tokendog! I just dosed Dr. Tims and it was def very chockolate milk like when I put it in. I thought that when I was dumping it in it was bad but I remembered what it looked like in the video and thought to dimp the rest in. I then waited about 45 min for the water to clear up mostly and put my 2 clowns in! I waited for about 15 min and then fed them 1/2 a block of thawed out Mysis shrimp and they devoured the shrimp! It seems like they are doing great, but its my first tank so I dont know whto to look for.

If the clows are stressing what signs do I look for? will they be stressed and still eat? They both looked 100% good from the store. I gave them a good look over because I did not want to through out 2 clowns that I payed $70 a fish for and they are a mated pair! Any way here are some IPHONE pics.. sorry for the blurryness...

[mpsti05]

Awesome man!!! I demand some full tank shots when the lights are at peak!!! And my clowns just started hosting my nem yesterday all thanks to Tron's advice!!

[BOMBreef]

Dang that was quick! We sold you on Dr. Tim's before you even knew it haha

 

Nice fish! Can't wait to see some more pics.

[tokendog]

Only thing you can do is check for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You will get some nitrates, but the ammonia should never rise that much...nitrites might go up a little bit but should drop as the bacteria gets to work.

 

You have to remember the bacteria in Dr. Tims has to establish itself and there will be a little bit of a spike, but as long as the ammonia doesn't get high, the fish will be fine.

[saltwatercoral]

Awesome man!!! I demand some full tank shots when the lights are at peak!!! And my clowns just started hosting my nem yesterday all thanks to Tron's advice!!

Thanks mpsti05! Congrats on the clowns hosting the nem! What did Tron day to do?

[saltwatercoral]

Dang that was quick! We sold you on Dr. Tim's before you even knew it haha

 

Nice fish! Can't wait to see some more pics.

Thanks BOMBreef! I figured if they survived I wanted nicer lookin clowns to stay in the tank, so I spent the extra $ and took the gamble! They are doing great! Eating the thawed out misis shrimp and also got them the Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes as well. They are slowly coming out Of there corner and exploring the 120g vs the small little cube they were in, in the fish store. I'm going to post some More pics when I get a better pic of them!

 

Only thing you can do is check for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. You will get some nitrates, but the ammonia should never rise that much...nitrites might go up a little bit but should drop as the bacteria gets to work.

 

You have to remember the bacteria in Dr. Tims has to establish itself and there will be a little bit of a spike, but as long as the ammonia doesn't get high, the fish will be fine.

Thanks tokendog! I just did a check and the Amonia is down and a slight rise in Nitrites and no Nitrates. Now for a question. Now that the cycle is good to go, and I have clowns can I power on the Protein Skimmer?!?!

[tokendog]

Thanks BOMBreef! I figured if they survived I wanted nicer lookin clowns to stay in the tank, so I spent the extra $ and took the gamble! They are doing great! Eating the thawed out misis shrimp and also got them the Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes as well. They are slowly coming out Of there corner and exploring the 120g vs the small little cube they were in, in the fish store. I'm going to post some More pics when I get a better pic of them!

 

 

Thanks tokendog! I just did a check and the Amonia is down and a slight rise in Nitrites and no Nitrates. Now for a question. Now that the cycle is good to go, and I have clowns can I power on the Protein Skimmer?!?!

 

Yeah, it should be fine to power on the skimmer. You will not have enough of a bacteria colony to deal with all of the waste from the fish. Do not think that the cycle is over, though. Your tank is a long way from cycled. You will still have diatom blooms and other crazy things happening in your tank. The bacteria just ensures that the fish waste is able to be processed.

 

The bacteria should be able to handle the waste of those two fish and if you have excess bacteria, it will die off, and if you do not have enough, you will notice spikes in ammonia / nitrite / nitrate, etc. and you can either add more Dr. Tim's or let the bacteria catch up.

 

The skimmer will help ensure that the bacteria does not get over powered.

 

I'd keep those two fish in there for a couple of weeks and see how your parameters go. If everything is fine, then you can probably add another fish. You can also add a small CUC at this point but don't over do it, because like I said, the bacteria is still attempting to establish itself.

[Trainer262]

Congrats on clowns! Great looking pair!

[FireCorals]

Beautiful tank. If I wasn't so bent on getting the 300g, I would definitely go for the 120g I think it has the nicest dimensions for display. Those clowns are awesome!

[JNA_DESIGN]

... And it begins

[saltwatercoral]

Yeah, it should be fine to power on the skimmer. You will not have enough of a bacteria colony to deal with all of the waste from the fish. Do not think that the cycle is over, though. Your tank is a long way from cycled. You will still have diatom blooms and other crazy things happening in your tank. The bacteria just ensures that the fish waste is able to be processed.

 

The bacteria should be able to handle the waste of those two fish and if you have excess bacteria, it will die off, and if you do not have enough, you will notice spikes in ammonia / nitrite / nitrate, etc. and you can either add more Dr. Tim's or let the bacteria catch up.

 

The skimmer will help ensure that the bacteria does not get over powered.

 

I'd keep those two fish in there for a couple of weeks and see how your parameters go. If everything is fine, then you can probably add another fish. You can also add a small CUC at this point but don't over do it, because like I said, the bacteria is still attempting to establish itself.

 

Thanks again for the info tokendog, all this info is great! I have the PS running and it has removed some nasty smelly junk so far! As for the clean up crew I want a nice looking clean up crew. I don't have that much growing in the tank just yet so I can't get to many CUC members. So should I get some :

nice crabs

purple lobster (or any lobster)

Pistol shrimp

snails (What kind)

[saltwatercoral]

Congrats on clowns! Great looking pair!

 

Thanks Trainer262! Is it normal for them to chill In the same spot in the tank together the majority of the time? The bigger one has moved around a bit but the smaller one seems to stay around the same spot. They are eating well, and the spot where they are staying is a low flow area.

 

Beautiful tank. If I wasn't so bent on getting the 300g, I would definitely go for the 120g I think it has the nicest dimensions for display. Those clowns are awesome!

Thanks Mike C! WOW a 300g tank! That's sick! Do you have a build thread for the 300?

 

... And it begins

And so it does!

[saltwatercoral]

I am currently feeding my 2 clowns half of a frozen block of the Mysis shrimp with a very small amount of the flake food as well. I am doing this 2 times a day morning and at night. Now for more questions...

 

Here is a pic of the Frozen Blocks of Mysis shrimp (bottle cap is for size comp)

 

1) Is this to much, to little or just the right amount of food.

 

2) When can I add more fish? (Yellow tang)

 

3) How many CUC members should I get and of what? I dont have much growing now because its not all live rock)

A) Crabs

Purple lobster (or any small lobster)

C) Snails (What kind)

[redwhiteandblue]

I am currently feeding my 2 clowns half of a frozen block of the Mysis shrimp with a very small amount of the flake food as well. I am doing this 2 times a day morning and at night. Now for more questions...

 

Here is a pic of the Frozen Blocks of Mysis shrimp (bottle cap is for size comp)

 

1) Is this to much, to little or just the right amount of food.

 

2) When can I add more fish? (Yellow tang)

 

3) How many CUC members should I get and of what? I dont have much growing now because its not all live rock)

A) Crabs

Purple lobster (or any small lobster)

C) Snails (What kind)

i would say way too much food....but im stingy.

i give my tank with 13 fish 1 cube and a few pellets every other day and havnt had a death or illness yet (8 months).

 

as for the cuc,

anything as long as you have a good variety i.e. astreas,turbos,ceriths,nassarius,dwarf ceriths (my fav. i have 200 an they only come out at night)

hermits.....lots of people hate them, i like them but have about 25 all different kinds

emralds, alothough mine are going to get fired if they do not eat the little bubble algae i have

pistols are good for sand stirring, but they do it too well, there is always crap floating around in my tank

cleaner shrimp are good for your fish and pepeermint shrimp good for aptasia if your lucky enough to get a breakout.

 

 

i would order a few here and there from reefs2go or reefcleaners, both have great service and quick shipping. reefs2go had pods pretty reasonable as well, might want to start stocking them if u have plans for a mandarin.

[saltwatercoral]

i would say way too much food....but im stingy.

i give my tank with 13 fish 1 cube and a few pellets every other day and havnt had a death or illness yet (8 months).

 

as for the cuc,

anything as long as you have a good variety i.e. astreas,turbos,ceriths,nassarius,dwarf ceriths (my fav. i have 200 an they only come out at night)

hermits.....lots of people hate them, i like them but have about 25 all different kinds

emralds, alothough mine are going to get fired if they do not eat the little bubble algae i have

pistols are good for sand stirring, but they do it too well, there is always crap floating around in my tank

cleaner shrimp are good for your fish and pepeermint shrimp good for aptasia if your lucky enough to get a breakout.

 

 

i would order a few here and there from reefs2go or reefcleaners, both have great service and quick shipping. reefs2go had pods pretty reasonable as well, might want to start stocking them if u have plans for a mandarin.

Wow thank you redwhiteandblue! That is a ton of good info! I do plan on getting a mandarin in the future so I may start getting some pods going here. Thanks again!

 

On a side note I came home today and I am seeing my first diatom bloom! It's on the rock and sand both! How much will this grow to ad should a clean up crew help keep it down? Should I do something to help stop the bloom or slow it down, maybe a water change? I have not done a water change yet... My water par are

SG: 1.025

Ph: 8.19

Nitrite: .25

Nitrate: 0

[redwhiteandblue]

Wow thank you redwhiteandblue! That is a ton of good info! I do plan on getting a mandarin in the future so I may start getting some pods going here. Thanks again!

 

On a side note I came home today and I am seeing my first diatom bloom! It's on the rock and sand both! How much will this grow to ad should a clean up crew help keep it down? Should I do something to help stop the bloom or slow it down, maybe a water change? I have not done a water change yet... My water par are

SG: 1.025

Ph: 8.19

Nitrite: .25

Nitrate: 0

 

there is no stopping the bloom. i have had 2 in my 180. since you dont have corals, reduce the photoperiod for a couple days if you want, add some CUC. a water change.....yes and no, id wait a few days then do one. i generally just let them go, and wait. they will go away on there own, its the hair algae and cyano that get nasty. diatoms will come and go from the silicates being released. and since u have mostly dry rock, enjoy lots of sillicates. i have been there with my base rock and still am. i evenm had little brown sponges pop up everywhere when mine cycled. no one ever heard of them lol but they went away. best thing to do is dont get wound up about anything, give stuff a couple days an a lot of times it will right itself out( benifits of a 100 gal plus ecosystem) so sit back and enjoy the hobby. feel free to hit me up for som q's!

[saltwatercoral]

there is no stopping the bloom. i have had 2 in my 180. since you dont have corals, reduce the photoperiod for a couple days if you want, add some CUC. a water change.....yes and no, id wait a few days then do one. i generally just let them go, and wait. they will go away on there own, its the hair algae and cyano that get nasty. diatoms will come and go from the silicates being released. and since u have mostly dry rock, enjoy lots of sillicates. i have been there with my base rock and still am. i evenm had little brown sponges pop up everywhere when mine cycled. no one ever heard of them lol but they went away. best thing to do is dont get wound up about anything, give stuff a couple days an a lot of times it will right itself out( benifits of a 100 gal plus ecosystem) so sit back and enjoy the hobby. feel free to hit me up for som q's!

Thanks redwhiteandblue! Good info there! I think I am going to get a CUC this week and see how they do!. Ill take your advice and let the tank run and see how things go!

[saltwatercoral]

I just got a CUC yesterday:

 

2 big blue and black leg hermits

2 small scarlet hermets

2 snails

1 sand sifting star

 

I floated them for 30 min and slowly put some of my tank water in over about 10 min. After about 40 min I pulled them from the bag, placed them in my tank and dumped the store store water out. They all moved a small amount when I put them in but have not moved any since last night when I checked this morning. The star baried himself with the first min of putting him in the tank. 1 snail climed the glass about half way up and then has not moved at all since...

 

Are they in shock from new water, or are they going to die? I payed 40 for the 2 blue and black leged hermits so I am alittle concerened about those guys! The others were not that expensive buyt I am still concderend for them.

[modulok]

My star did the same thing. He will stay hidden under the surface of the sand for the most part. Starfish should be dripped for 2-2.5 hours. I did mine for at least 1.5 hours.

 

The snails are usually hardy, but only getting 2 you will notice is one doesn't make it. I have only ordered from ReefCleaners and don't even count the amount they send. (it's too many to count)

 

$20 for a hermit is crazy! I don't care how cool they look, that's a lot!

[saltwatercoral]

My star did the same thing. He will stay hidden under the surface of the sand for the most part. Starfish should be dripped for 2-2.5 hours. I did mine for at least 1.5 hours.

 

The snails are usually hardy, but only getting 2 you will notice is one doesn't make it. I have only ordered from ReefCleaners and don't even count the amount they send. (it's too many to count)

 

$20 for a hermit is crazy! I don't care how cool they look, that's a lot!

They never told me about aclimating the star lke that

It hought the hermits were over priced myself but I likes the looks of them...

[CLR]

how are they doing now?

[Trainer262]

Hey SWC!

Re: Clowns hanging out together mine do the exact same as yours

The big one "Momma", swims around all over while my little guy hangs in one spot or else follows Momma around. How are yours doing???

I may have to take Tron's advice on hosting the nem... The Yasha Goby and Clown Goby take more notice then the clowns.

 

Very excited for you! This tank is really coming together. My new tank one is moving at a snails pace...and you thought yours was slow lol