Lugmos12 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 8 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: I've used distilled for 9 years, you can mix the salt in and voila! you have saltwater! What clown said about tap water is true. Tap is no good in our salty tanks! 2 minutes ago, Clown79 said: I use distilled as well. Never had an issue. How soon after mixing the salt should I add the live rock/live sand ? (I bought Caribsea live aragonite). Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 53 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said: It is indeed (after some quick google searches; I'm a newbie btw). I bought some distilled water to test leaks/sealing in the tank. Will let sit overnight and hopefully get some live rock to start cycling tomorrow or this weekend. Depends on the salt but a few hours to a full 24 is typical--see if the salt says anything. I try to give mine a few hours but it mixes very clean so sometimes I don't lol. But some salts are too caustic to do it right away and need that time to mix and age a little. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 4 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: Depends on the salt but a few hours to a full 24 is typical--see if the salt says anything. I try to give mine a few hours but it mixes very clean so sometimes I don't lol. But some salts are too caustic to do it right away and need that time to mix and age a little. I bought Red Sea Pro Coral from my LFS. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 23 minutes ago, Lugmos12 said: I bought Red Sea Pro Coral from my LFS. That's a good salt, but I don't know how long it needs to mix as I've never used it. Hopefully someone who does can chime in! Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 (edited) Alright so I added sand, live rock, and heater. I also tested the water (I bought RO water). This is Fluval EVO 13.5g with stock lights and pump. I'm using filter floss in the first chamber and will remove the middle chamber sponge once I order the InTank basket. The ammonia reading is a little weird; I'm going with 0ppm because I have not dosed with ammonia to start the cycle and I haven't added any live animals to the tank, unless they came from the live rock (I looked at it very closely and didn't spot any crabs or anything). So far: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Phosphate 0 Kh ~12 (with conversion ~214.8) @Lula_Mae I followed the directions from the manufacturer. Salt didn't take too long to mix actually lol Edited July 7, 2017 by Lugmos12 my terrible grammar/spelling Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Salt can mix pretty quickly but still need time to age before using. I just couldn't tell you which ones are like that as I've only ever used a couple lol. The ammonia (if present) could well be coming from dieoff on your live rock. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 13 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: Salt can mix pretty quickly but still need time to age before using. I just couldn't tell you which ones are like that as I've only ever used a couple lol. The ammonia (if present) could well be coming from dieoff on your live rock. I'm excited but I don't want to rush anything. I'll test daily until I see a spike in something. I also need to get more rock. I went to Petco to buy a heater and their rep was trying to get me to buy a starfish and hermit crab LOL Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 (edited) Alright so I added another piece of live rock to finish the aquascape. Came out ugly IMO but I'll leave it like that for now. I had trench idea in mind LOL I added two tiny hermit crabs. I think one died on the way home because it hasn't moved since I put it in the tank. The other one has been going up and down the live rock. I test for ammonia and nitrates today and no changes. I think I'll do a little water change tomorrow - moving the rocks around kinda made the water a bit dusty. Bad idea? Edited July 9, 2017 by Lugmos12 forgot to add pics Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 Update: The other hermit crab is actually alive. They are both moving about 1 Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 Did another test and 2.5 gallon water change: Ammonia .25ppm (I think the API test is reading too high) Nitrate 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Phosphate 0ppm Salinity 1.026 Calcium 480ppm Kh 14 (again I think the test is reading too high maybe?) Ph 8.2 Temp 80.6 (the ambient here high AF so turned the heater off for a bit) I see signs of life in the tank because of the critters. I also spotted 4 more feather duster looking things. The two hermit crabs are still walking around the rocks/sand. Thoughts? @Clown79 @Lula_Mae @brandon429 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 Give it time. How long was the live rock cycling before you put it in the tank? The water was cloudy after you moved the rocks around because of stirring up the sand, most likely. It should've settled overnight. Crab might've been, well, crabby after his move and that is why he didn't come out right away lol. Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 2 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: Give it time. How long was the live rock cycling before you put it in the tank? The water was cloudy after you moved the rocks around because of stirring up the sand, most likely. It should've settled overnight. Crab might've been, well, crabby after his move and that is why he didn't come out right away lol. Yup. I should have rinsed the sand beforehand but oh well. Everything has settled at this point. I'm just antsy for things to go right lol Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 10 hours ago, Lugmos12 said: Yup. I should have rinsed the sand beforehand but oh well. Everything has settled at this point. I'm just antsy for things to go right lol No worries, I hardly ever rinse my sand lol. I usually end up making a huge mess when I do. Having patience is simultaneously one of the most difficult and most necessary things in this hobby. It's the best way to let things go right. Quote Link to comment
LX20000 Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 On 6/25/2017 at 11:24 AM, Lugmos12 said: I think I found the tank I'm going for: Nuvo Fusion Peninsula 14G It sits right between a smaller (5g) and a bigger (20g) so I'll satisfy my temptation to go bigger in the future. @Lula_Mae would a PAR bulb work for this as well? I have two of the 14's... they are great.... good tank for multiple peaceful gobies and maybe a clown.... Quote Link to comment
Lugmos12 Posted July 10, 2017 Author Share Posted July 10, 2017 1 hour ago, LX20000 said: I have two of the 14's... they are great.... good tank for multiple peaceful gobies and maybe a clown.... I went with the Fluval EVO 13 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 12 hours ago, Lugmos12 said: I went with the Fluval EVO 13 It's pretty similar in size/dimensions/design, except you got a light out of the deal, too. Easy to confuse the two. Quote Link to comment
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