kenman Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Hi, as some of you may know allready, i am setting up a 1G pico, with some zoos and mushrooms, as well as a couple of inverts. I just wanted to know what sort of maintenance id need to be doing each week, so i can work out the running cost of one would be. I know that i would need to top the tank up with fresh RO water, but how often would i need to do water changes (e.g with salt mixed in) ??? Thanks alot. Link to comment
FryedFish Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Before you start you should definatly pick up a book (on reefs in general) taht will help you grasp some of the concepts a bit more. For water changes you would need about 4 cups of clean water Per WEEK. If you system is open you will need to top off almost everyday. Every six months: replace PC bulbs (they loose intesity) Link to comment
kenman Posted September 24, 2006 Author Share Posted September 24, 2006 So when i do water changes, i mix the right ammout of salt in with the water? What SG would i be looking at? Yeh i think i will pick up a book... Thanks Link to comment
nanoDarth Posted September 24, 2006 Share Posted September 24, 2006 Well if its a 1gallon what you can always do is just buy it pre mixed and keep it under your desk or something. like a 1 gallon jug will do. Link to comment
kenman Posted September 24, 2006 Author Share Posted September 24, 2006 Yeah, i surrpose. What SG would i need? About 1.025? Thanks alot. Link to comment
Bluelegs Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 that s,g, would work fine. Link to comment
RyanCD Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Anything between 1.020 - 1.023 is best but will all depend on what you are keeping. You really don't need to worry so much as to what SG you have. It should be more about consistently keeping your tank at whatever number you choose. Link to comment
kenman Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Oh right cool. Ill prob keep at about 1.021 to keep down costs etc. How often should i be doing water changes, and how much shouldi change? Thanks alot. Also, anyone in the UK got any coral frags??? Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Oh right cool. Ill prob keep at about 1.021 to keep down costs etc. 1) 1.021 may be too low for some stuff (inverts) 2) Agree with nanodarth - It'd be a heck of a lot easier to buy premixed 3) Agree w/Fryedfish - Get a book, read some more forums - You're livestock will thank you 4) I have a .5g pico, top off about .5 cup daily and change 2 cups weekly (although I may step this up to 2x week) 5) If this is your first tank, the 1g may be a little small to start with - Alot cheaper, yes, but also less forgiving and less tolerances for mistakes and neglect HTH YR Link to comment
kenman Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Oh allright. Im pretty sure i cant get premixed water (i presume you mean with the salt added allready?) which is unfortunate. I also have a 4G tank that i could use, but id like to be able to add a fish or something, allthough the only SW i can think of are firefish...allthough i could return it to the LFSif needs be.... Do you think that if i got the 4G set-up, then it would be easier? Only prob with a 4G is that id need to go to the LFS more, and id have to fill more buckets with RO... Any ideas? Thanks alot Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 That's the down side of smaller reefs I guess - I think that in the 4g you could get away with a small goby (neon or clown; yellow, green or citron) Depending on how your water is at home, you might look int oa tap water filter - They're cheaper than RO/DI systems and I know some folks have used them Do you have reef clubs or local reefers that make their own RO? Might be cheaper and closer than your LFS I think you said you're in the UK so you might not shop our US suppliers but here's a reference to the tap water filter I mentioned Tap Filter HTH Yankee I forgot to also suggest that you could possibly locate a small mantis shrimp that would work in the 4g My mantis buddies here on the forum would frown upon my not suggesting that as a possibility as well! YR Link to comment
kenman Posted September 25, 2006 Author Share Posted September 25, 2006 Yeah, i know someone on another forum who has one, but id like to have abit of veriety, but a mantis would kill everything wouldnt it? Well my LFS is only about a 10 min draive away, but it would just be a bit of a nusence haveing to go and get a few gals each week.... Also, theyellow goby you mention, would that be a Gobiodon okinawae??? (very nice little fish!) Would i be able to have any other inverts in there, or just that little guy? What would i feed it? Thanks alot Yankee Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted September 25, 2006 Share Posted September 25, 2006 Mantis shrimp will go after fish, snails and hermits - They really don't bother corals mcuh - They mave move your frags around some, but I have never heard of them tearing things up. I buy a dozen or so snails once a month to feed him - I also have a couple of tiger shrimp (prawns?) in the freezer that I slice a chunk off of once or twice a week. The yellow goby is the standard yellow clown goby - I just googled a pic of the Gobiodon okinawae - That's him - Unfortunately mine decided to jump out of my 10g tank a week or so ago. Great little fishes though There is a damsel in my mantis tank - I got him as a snack for the mantis, but so far, the mantis isn't really interested. He's lunged a few times, but no luck. The other good thing about a mantis tank is that you don't need to spend a ton of money on lights for it (maybe for the corals, etc, but not the mantis). Check out the links in my sig - You can see the 10g, the 5.5g (mantis tank) and my .5g Yankee Link to comment
kenman Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 Allright, cool. I do like the look of mantis, and i imagine they are interesting, but is rather try a couple of differant inverts first... What id really like to do, is to set-up the 1g, and then if id like to expand (money provideing) then i could use the same (possably longer lights) equipment, and add some more inverts/fish.... But then it would be less likely to crash with the 4g, but again, its more money... What would be the worst that could happen with the 1g? Thanks alot. Link to comment
yankeereefer Posted September 26, 2006 Share Posted September 26, 2006 Inverts tend to be quite sensitive to water quality as I would imagine are some corals. Water parameters can / will change quite dramatically in a small tank. Overfeeding, too large or to small / infrequent of water changes, etc. can cause to the levels to change very quickly and result in stress or even death of your inhabitants. YR Link to comment
kenman Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 Im really undecided as to which would be better... One would be easier to control and id have better stocking options, but its much more work and money... And then the 1g has less stocking options, but its cheaper and less work... Im gonna have to have a think.... Thanks alot. Link to comment
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