SaVeThEeELs Posted October 29, 2006 Share Posted October 29, 2006 about my fresh, i just have medium sized sand colored gravel- the petsmart stuff, but I have alot of rocks and a piece of driftwood i was going to tie it to, also looking at anubias, i like the look of it and someone told me that and the java do well together. I have pretty low lighting for a 55g just 34 watts flourescent total, those curly energy savers, and my fish and crayfish and snails ae doing fine, is that an ok amount for fern and anubias? also what is this substrate youre talking about, would it go on top of my rock bed and make it smoother and not churn up alot, im really wanting a smoother sand type bottom in the tank, got alot of crayfish and a few snails that would appreciate it. equipment wise i have the penguin 330 without the wheels, and a 250w visitherm stealth heater which is amazing. thoughts? thanks very much for the info and help. well there is 2 ways to do this imo.... one is compleat breakdown and rebuild....keeping all existing life and stuff, just mixing your layers in your soil right....can be done really cheaply w/o going and buying a 20$ bag of flourite...long directions for that one, ask me if you really want to know 2 is buy the flourite just diggin pits in some spots, mainly where you want your rooted plants, plant flourite around them like in a garden then just add sand or sand w/ some of your gravel that you got on top to keep the plants down either way you will have distinct layers of diffrent grades of substrate....over time they get swirly and trippy looking..... i sold my 30 gal planted for the same price i bought it new 450+ sold when it was 3 years old... -eclipse 30 gal (aga?)stock 4''-6'' sandbed..... wally world plants -medium legnth sword thingie bulbs from walmart 2-3 bucks a pack, used about 5-6 packs red tiger and common type lillies, yup i had lilly pads and flowers, they have maybe 4'' leaves...3-4 packs...walmart with the walmart plant bulbs, there is a "dud" factor.... LFS plants brazilian swords, 2-3 big plants amazon swords, 3-4 java fern 2-3 java moss i kept tetras and loaches....if i ever talk to my ex again, ill try to sneak a pic of it from her moms house.....loaches were give to a friend as a wedding present..... i might plant my 3 gal picotope and get a newt....the bulbs should grow in lighting in my room.... my 20gal is 3/4 sunlit, the picotope life now lives in here and in its sump until the end of winter and i get prettier livestock What salt do you guys use in the tank and do you have to use supplements to put in the tank if so what ones? oceanic salt, and the kent starter and reef packs are fine.....gettin some purple up and garf gunk soon.. you dont really need to dose if your changin your water regularly w/ good clean new saltwater..... Link to comment
Tentacles Posted October 29, 2006 Author Share Posted October 29, 2006 oceanic as well Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 what does everyone think about keeping rock in their ac20s? some people ive talked to run it empty with a thermometer and a heater and some just have it full of lr. right now i have it full of lr, but the lr is covered in algae and whatnot and i think it may be contributing to my crazy algae growth, you think if i took out the lr and maybe left a big piece or two in and put in a snail and my thermometer that would be ok? thoughts? thanks Link to comment
circusordie16 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 i keep my ac20 pretty full of live rock and its worked well for me. algae builds up in some places in it but mostly its just sponges and other creatures living in the live rock in my filter. i view the algae living in the fuge as a good thing since it will hopefully absorb all the nitrates and prevent any further algae growth in the tank itself. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 so i just picked up a 10g AGA with a whisper10 hob and an air pump and powerhood with a coralife flourescent and all sorts of extras today from a guy for 20 bucks, couldnt resist anyone got any ideas for it? id like to keep some fish think i should move my 2gal stuff to it and get some more rock and sand? Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 so i just picked up a 10g AGA with a whisper10 hob and an air pump and powerhood with a coralife flourescent and all sorts of extras today from a guy for 20 bucks, couldnt resist anyone got any ideas for it? id like to keep some fish think i should move my 2gal stuff to it and get some more rock and sand? 10 gal nano w/ 2 gal fuge!!!! .......run both hob filters till you get your plumbin right! it will look phat with some locline as far as how I would move everything..... start slow....move the whisper to your current tank, then just run water in the 10, run your AC fuge on it and get some crushed coral and sand.....then seed it w/ some live sand from your existing tank..... after that its just a matter of time and lighting it Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 after that its just a matter of time and lighting it i love the idea, now ill have to figure out how to plumb these these things, and a silent system, its in my bedroom at school perhaps you can tell me about this bulb i got from the people that sold the tank to me, it looks alittle dim to me -Coralife F15-T8-BP then theres just a number 24 at the other end of the light, meaning 24 watts? if you know about this light let me know, im not familiar with the long flourescents. thanks Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 does it look like a regular floresent bulb like one from lets say your kitchen? 18''?? look on the fixture for a underwriters lab sticker that has all the voltage info on it http://modularhose.com/ Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 yea it looks quite normal, only good thing about it is it says coralife, its 18'' thanks for the plumbing info Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 yea it looks quite normal, only good thing about it is it says coralife, its 18'' its a 20 watt bulb....go to lfs and get a 18'' bulb id go for a powerglow or something similar... dont get a bulb that says its 50/50...i think thats a crock of........... get a powerglow and another 18''fixture and run a full actintic in it that will bump you up to 40 watts.... a home depot fixture can run from 8 bucks to 20-30...i got one with a plug in the light so i can run a light off the light... look for big numbers at the top of the box the bulbs come in.....thats the out put usually from 6700k to 10000k or something like that... as far as the lil numbers you got off the bulb...the only one i can identify is t8, the type of floresent bulb.... Link to comment
directional Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Since you guys are on the topic of freshwater I have a question about my tank.. I have this green hard algae taking over the glass in my 10gal FW... When I scrub at this is doesn't budge only very little... Is there something to put in there or something better to scrape it with? Help! its taking over! Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 cool well i put 10 gallons of ro in it and put a bag of 5gal salt mix in, ill have to go grab another and then ill let it sit for a few days, get all the solids out, ive got the whisper running it right now and i stuck an air rock in it to mix up the salt, the light doesnt look too bad now but ill def need to get a second fixture 2g is still goin strong, good news i suppose, still got algae, ill buy myself a nice amount of crabs for the 10g now once it all gets moved directional- get some of those tablets that dissolve in the water-1 tablet treats 10 gallons i believe, i did that with my first 10g fresh and it cleaned it up ok then i could scrub it off better, otherwise id say get some snails my blue mysteries keep it cleeeeaaaan in my 55g fresh Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Since you guys are on the topic of freshwater I have a question about my tank.. I have this green hard algae taking over the glass in my 10gal FW... When I scrub at this is doesn't budge only very little... Is there something to put in there or something better to scrape it with? Help! its taking over! get a razor blade....get plants to compeat w/ it.... run it saltwater style! snails, fw ghost shrimp...... sweeeet!! you actually got it started!!!!! now i want a finnex tank.....grrrrrr i buy compulsively..... i think im gonna do the 8 gal finnex w/ AC110......but i need a light.... guess ill order the light first..... Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 eels thats a pretty sick lookin tank, love the light fixture too, ive got to find a way to put another light fixture on this hood, i may have to abandon he hood and just use the fixture and get a 2nd, o well....... i may get an ac as well gotta see how my budget can stretch on this fuge, it would be sweet tho if i could get the fuge goin i suppose ill have to start a new thread......ill do it later Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 10g with the worst camera of all time, my gf took the good one back never get this unless its free: http://reviews.cnet.com/Aiptek_Pocket_DV31...7-30540029.html Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 so i think ive formulated a plan for the new 10g AGA since i dont have time or funding for the fuge quite yet, im going to do it over the summer- im going to work at the beach with a guy who owns a saltwater reef public aquarium! know him from my old job, he moved blah blah hes getting me a job and ill hang around his aquarium too, get tons of freebies for now im going to have both the ac20 and the whisper10 on the tank, since they are opposite designed thing (you know) both of the inlet tubes will be right next to each other, and im going to put a skimmer mod on the whisper- the whisper will run with a carbon bag and a sponge to be cleaned every few days and the ac20 will be full of live rock, my little fuge for now. im gettin a powerhead for 10 bucks from a guy http://richmond.craigslist.org/for/217226049.html (if u cant see it its a powerhead pro 3) is this too big i dont know much about it, he said he used it on an undergravel but its a powerhead none the less. and then i have a 25w heater, too little? i could go get a 50w visitherm since they are sweet and all black will go with the backdrop and so on-hide it a bit other than that get a bag of sand and move all my stuff, and eventually get to the lfs and get a few pieces of rock and some more hermits. and eventually some fish....finally i can have fish suggestions i am all for them and ill make a new thread for this somewhere else Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 put up a new thread on member aquariums Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 yea i changed my mind about putting up a new thread, i get alot of help on the pico section and since its a 10g with a 2g pico i dont think its still all that big, so im going to keep it here update: im getting some sand and a visiitherm and some more salt and some whatnot today Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 just put a 15lb bag of caribsea aragonite sand in the tank, and that crap is dirty, did anyone use this stuff, how did you clean it or did it just settle and then clean off all the floating mess. ive got an hob with a sponge running on it right now, maybe thatll get some stuff out Link to comment
directional Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 just put a 15lb bag of caribsea aragonite sand in the tank, and that crap is dirty, did anyone use this stuff, how did you clean it or did it just settle and then clean off all the floating mess. ive got an hob with a sponge running on it right now, maybe thatll get some stuff out I have heard to soak in water with a water conditioner that has a slime coat to help the fish because it helps hold the sand together. this is what i did and it worked with my sand. Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 yea i rinsed it a bit and just put it in the tank-alot of stuff that floats is in that sand, sort of annoying-, ill have to be waiting for some clear water which may take a while, otherwise its ok. i switched the hob's on my tanks, and i have lr in my ac20 on the 10g right now and using the whisper empty on the 2g pico for some current, and i put in the powerhead pro3, plenty of flow, box says 150-260gph, so now it is just waiting, once the water clears im going to put the hermit in as the test dummy to see if the water is ok after i do a water change Link to comment
SaVeThEeELs Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 LOL thats the good stuff that makes it LIVE..... i personaly would get some macro algea to put in the tank to help cycle it before i added any animals... ive used everything from livesand, playsand, to sand from my yard..... which i dont recomend everyone doing, im experimenting so its ok..... you dont really need a skimmer if you water change religously......but it helps alot.... dont get a fission skimmer....id rather recomend a skilter than that pos.... skilters are like 30+ american for the small one rated for 30-60 gal.... the rating level is bs.....but its perfect for a 15gal or under tank.... to make it 200% more effective, you gotta add a limewood air stone... just drill straight through the lid, and drop your air line in to it about 1/2 way into the skimmer tube and run it wide open.....its gonna be loud like a 747, but it works.... this keeps the skimmer out of your main tank..... once you get your sump/fuge put together you can drop a skimmer in there.... a small LEE or berlin airlift air driven counter current protein skimmer is only 30+, but a skilter no matter how much people badmouth it is more effective or drop off the 100+ and get a good one...... check the DUMBEST PURCHASE I MADE thread Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 emptied the 2g and put it all in the 10g and everything is alive and ok, the water is murky again from putting the ls from the pico in it to seed the aragonite, feels like this water is never going to clear up. got a deeep sandbed, inch and then some, 19lbs. which sounds right for a 10g but it looks like alot. so we'll take it from there, let it get back to normal and maybe go out and get some more hermits and snails and a pair of false percs. for some reason the peppermint shrimp has dissapeared, wasnt in the pico whwn i broke it down, hopefully he didnt get sucked into the whisper when i changed filters Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 ahh its cleared up now, and i had this big piece of rock, white so some baserock, that came from the bahamas or pompano (dont remember what vacation) that i cleaned and put in it, looks good and it will grow some coraline eventually so hopefully and i wont need anymore rock gettin some nausarrius and hermits soon and them a pair of false percs! anyone got some suggesstions or tips for 10g AGA's? thanks Link to comment
Tentacles Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 if someone has some experience or can answer this question that would be great. right now i have the powerhead pro 3 and two HOB's is that ok to have 2? i figure it provides more flow in the tank and puts a random ocean type current aspect to it all and they are right next to each other, the ac20 has lr in it going on full power and the whisper10 has a sponge in it to get solids out, the whisper is closer to the bottom. i tried to do a skimmer mod with it but it made the water churn up alot of little particles which was kind of weird. is this going to be ok? thoughts and suggestions please, should i maybe put the skimmer mod farther away from the ac20? the powerhead is on the far right and the hobs are on the far left. thanks little edit/last question: do you think having two hobs or one hob/refugium and one modded to a skimmer would be more efficient? thanks again Link to comment
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