Claire's 12g - Boring but happy

[ClaireRenee]

Thank you .It sounds like a pain, but it's super easy to make your own RO/DI(and saltwater) at home. This way you know exactly what you are getting and no surprises like you found with the water you bought from the LFS. I'm curious what the TDS is on their RO/DI. When I bought 5g at one of the LFS here, the TDS was 200+ . That was the last straw .

So Amazon is freaking me out a bit. I ordered my TDS meter and a book on corals last night. I came home from work today and there they are on my doorstep. Maybe they are testing the drones at my house.

 

So I tested the RODI from LFS, also it is in my container and has been opened multiple times. The TDS is 1ppm. So it looks like I can go with their water, I just have to make my own saltwater.

 

My next question is... Should I cycle the tank with what is in there now and once cycled just do 20% WCs until parameters are good or should I take out LFS saltwater and start fresh?

 

 

 

Looking great! Following along for sure, always love to see other Bay Area peep's tanks.

Thanks for following. I can't wait to get some of your beautiful corals into my tank.

[Pancetta]

Claire,

Welcome to the hobby and the site!

Nice looking tank. Like the scape. Nice to hear of another hobbyist in the SF Bay Area.

 

BTW, Neptune's is having a grand opening party tomorrow at their new store. You might want to check it out.

 

David

[atrox]

You'll find out just how quickly the saltwater will take you're attention away from the fresh water. If it were me I'd just go ahead and make that one saltwater too.

[nismo_sky32]

The scape turned out great and your fw tank looks nice

[ClaireRenee]

Claire,

Welcome to the hobby and the site!

Nice looking tank. Like the scape. Nice to hear of another hobbyist in the SF Bay Area.

BTW, Neptune's is having a grand opening party tomorrow at their new store. You might want to check it out.

David

Hi David, thanks!

 

Where are you in the Bay Area?

 

I may head out to the grand opening, I've been to the new store a few times now. I might go to opening, but the hubby might not be so into it.

[ClaireRenee]

You'll find out just how quickly the saltwater will take you're attention away from the fresh water. If it were me I'd just go ahead and make that one saltwater too.

 

Hi Atrox,

 

Haha... I know how one tank takes attention from another, but I am really interested in the dichotomy of a reef tank on one side and a planted FW tank on the other. If the reef tank isn't a total failure, i may change my mind, but for now i like both.

 

I am a total noob in the SW tank, so i am even more attached to having a tank that I understand and have "control" over. I remember how bad I was at planted tanks at first.... I'm sure my reef will be worse. I have done lots of reading, but I think I need lots of practice before I go SW only.

 

Thanks for checking out my tank... Hopefully I don't tank...,

[ClaireRenee]

The scape turned out great and your fw tank looks nice

 

Thanks Nismo,

 

The truth is, I have no idea what I am doing. I feel comfortable in FW, but this is a whole new deal. I am so happy I have such a nice community to help me avoid at least some of the noob mistakes. Please don't hesitate to tell me when I am f***ing up.

 

Thanks ,

 

C

[Pancetta]

Hi David, thanks!

Where are you in the Bay Area?

I may head out to the grand opening, I've been to the new store a few times now. I might go to opening, but the hubby might not be so into it.

I live in Richmond and work in Emeryville. Currently have a couple of work projects in San Jose. So sometimes I sneak in trips to LFS down there!

My son has a swim lesson so I doubt I will make the opening.

[ClaireRenee]

I have a question...

 

Can I use my fresh water cleaning stuff (syphon, bucket, brush etc) on my saltwater tank or do I need a dedicated set for each tank?

 

Thanks

[Liamgray90]

Photographing Your Reef and Posting Your Photos - Photography ...www.nano-reef.com/.../190521-photographing-your-reef-and-posting-your- photos/Found a great article! Thanks NanoReef!!!!

I found a good app on android store that reduces the mbFrom around 2 to 250kb and can't see any differences on quality or size lol It's called reduce photo size "simple name "

 

Do you have live sand I only use a mop bucketUse a jug for the water change Empty the water change water into there Wash everything with my hands And put it back Glass is always clean so no need to use anything And with live sand you can't really use a syphon cause it will suck all the sand upGet a goby he will clean the sand and also a sand sifting star fish

[ClaireRenee]

I found a good app on android store that reduces the mb

From around 2 to 250kb and can't see any differences on quality or size lol

 

It's called reduce photo size "simple name "Do you have live sand

 

I only use a mop bucket

Use a jug for the water change

Empty the water change water into there

Wash everything with my hands

And put it back

Glass is always clean so no need to use anything

And with live sand you can't really use a syphon cause it will suck all the sand up

 

Get a goby he will clean the sand and also a sand sifting star fish

 

Thanks for the advice... Do I need a deep sand bed for a goby?

[Kijho]

Your setup looks very good!!

 

Also, my sand bed is only perhaps 1/2" - 1" thick for my Goby and Shrimp and they have no problems

[Liamgray90]

Yeah same 1/2 to 1nch is spot on

[atrox]

I have a question...Can I use my fresh water cleaning stuff (syphon, bucket, brush etc) on my saltwater tank or do I need a dedicated set for each tank?Thanks

Use the stuff for both tanks, just rinse after use.

[ClaireRenee]

Thanks! I will look into gobys. Also, happy I can use the stuff I already have.

[cindyp]

i only have half inch sand bed and

am also considering gobies. or stubby clowns! =D

[Polarcollision]

Nice arch scape! Hats off on the planted tank, too. I gave it a shot with cardinal tetras and a blue betta but ended up growing a glorious algae farm instead. :-)

 

You should be good using the same tools/buckets between tanks since a common treatment for reef nasties is a freshwater dip. Also, if you get fed up with the LFS water, I ran my 8 gallon on grocery store distilled water without problems. Red Sea salt mixes up at 1/2 c per gallon and can be used in 30 minutes. No buckets laying around!

 

You're about ready for your first corals - what's the stocking plan?

 

PS, just something to think about: since the sand is fine grained, if about .5-1 inch more is added you'll likely get a few anaerobic zone pockets. Great for completing the nitrogen cycle.

[ClaireRenee]

Nice arch scape! Hats off on the planted tank, too. I gave it a shot with cardinal tetras and a blue betta but ended up growing a glorious algae farm instead. :-)

 

You should be good using the same tools/buckets between tanks since a common treatment for reef nasties is a freshwater dip. Also, if you get fed up with the LFS water, I ran my 8 gallon on grocery store distilled water without problems. Red Sea salt mixes up at 1/2 c per gallon and can be used in 30 minutes. No buckets laying around!

 

You're about ready for your first corals - what's the stocking plan?

 

PS, just something to think about: since the sand is fine grained, if about .5-1 inch more is added you'll likely get a few anaerobic zone pockets. Great for completing the nitrogen cycle.

 

Thanks for the advice! I was worried about having too deep a sand bed cause I had read that the anarobic pockets can crash the tank if disturbed. Is this not true?

 

As for being ready for corals, I'm only a week into my cycle. I dosed with ammonia and I still haven't seen a drop. Also I used dry rock, so my cycle is going to take some time... I'm ok with that!

 

Thanks for your help!

[Polarcollision]

Thanks for the advice! I was worried about having too deep a sand bed cause I had read that the anarobic pockets can crash the tank if disturbed. Is this not true? As for being ready for corals, I'm only a week into my cycle. I dosed with ammonia and I still haven't seen a drop. Also I used dry rock, so my cycle is going to take some time... I'm ok with that!Thanks for your help!

Best to go slow, for sure. There's no rush. I thought it was live sand? Maybe I'm wrong. Check out microbacter7 or Tim's supplement. All you need is a few surviving of each major class and they'll multiply quickly. Maybe a week or two's time.

 

It's true that a deep sand bed can grow sulphur-producing bacteria and crash the tank if it's released at once. My work around is 3" deep max plus sand-stiring snails.

 

All of the bacteria I worked with in lab that produce sulphur left a black residue behind--the sulphur. I'm mostly sure that blackish residue along the glass is a sign trouble is cooking. If I noticed that, I'd start slowly, slowly removing sand to .5-1" deep in order to kill it off. Luckily haven't been colonized with those strains and air pockets stay sand colored.

 

Hopefully this isn't super boring... I read somewhere on NR that old tank syndrome might have something to do with certain types of bacteria taking over, so there's not as much variety to process different kinds of nutrients. I figured if I changed out portions of the sand bed over 2 years, it would keep things fresh and varied--and also get rid of gunk that could concentrate sulphur or other nasties.

[ClaireRenee]

Best to go slow, for sure. There's no rush. I thought it was live sand? Maybe I'm wrong. Check out microbacter7 or Tim's supplement. All you need is a few surviving of each major class and they'll multiply quickly. Maybe a week or two's time.

It's true that a deep sand bed can grow sulphur-producing bacteria and crash the tank if it's released at once. My work around is 3" deep max plus sand-stiring snails.

All of the bacteria I worked with in lab that produce sulphur left a black residue behind--the sulphur. I'm mostly sure that blackish residue along the glass is a sign trouble is cooking. If I noticed that, I'd start slowly, slowly removing sand to .5-1" deep in order to kill it off. Luckily haven't been colonized with those strains and air pockets stay sand colored.

Hopefully this isn't super boring... I read somewhere on NR that old tank syndrome might have something to do with certain types of bacteria taking over, so there's not as much variety to process different kinds of nutrients. I figured if I changed out portions of the sand bed over 2 years, it would keep things fresh and varied--and also get rid of gunk that could concentrate sulphur or other nasties.

 

You are right... I did use live sand. Also, I have been dosing microbactor 7. Since the days of goldfish cycling, I have gone through a few fishless cycles (granted freshwater) and they always take more time than you would like. I have gone way to quickly in the past, and since this is new to me, I am going to go slow.

 

As for deep sand bed.... Are you saying that I would be able to see (ie black residue) if things were going bad before I crashed the tank? I will do some research tomorrow. Your input is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Liamgray90]

How long you had the water in Claire

I thought we had bout same time span in our tanks I have about a month

 

 

I always buy my water from the lfs it's always perfect I guess I have a good fish store well I know I do there brilliant guys and my mate works there

 

My ammonia is 0

Nitrite 0.1

Nitrate. 10ppm

Salinity 1.026

Ph7

Kh 10drops

Co2 40

 

But I added 2 fire shrimp 4snails 1blue hermit crab and sand sifting starfish

Week 2 of ownership

 

Might be something to do with the good filter system in the tank

[Liamgray90]

Edit just tested water after writing post my nitrite is 0 so my bacteria balls have worked

[ClaireRenee]

How long you had the water in Claire

I thought we had bout same time span in our tanks I have about a month

I always buy my water from the lfs it's always perfect I guess I have a good fish store well I know I do there brilliant guys and my mate works there

My ammonia is 0

Nitrite 0.1

Nitrate. 10ppm

Salinity 1.026

Ph7

Kh 10drops

Co2 40But I added 2 fire shrimp 4snails 1blue hermit crab and sand sifting starfish

Week 2 of ownership

Might be something to do with the good filter system in the tank

 

Hi Liam,

 

I added water on 9/8, so I am only one week in. Your tank is looking great! Did you have any problems with algae or diatoms during your startup?

 

I will be following your tank thread

[Liamgray90]

Yeah I follow yours too simply because similar timings good to relate And obviously it looks great lol I had a mild bloom of diatom aka rusty rock lol And hardly any algae having slight issue now just gonna buy more turbos they love algae and maybe another starfish Prob only reason having trouble is the intro of a pufferEverything is hiding for now there slowly coming back out

 

This is also my first ever tankI've always kept carp and other outdoor fish

[cindyp]

i went through a diatom bloom

with my 3g pico. i think it's normal

and part of cycle. at the time, i think i

had most of my stock in the tank too.

i simply bought some cerith snails and

it ebbed away within a week.