# New Aquarium



## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

This has been an exciting week. After thinking about this for 10 years, I took the plunge. And this morning I saw a little wormy thing digging in the sand. I've been up and running for 4 days. Just Live Rock & Live Sand. I wonder where the wormy guy came from? He's about a half inch long and kind of peachy color in front fading to a darker brown in back. I think he's got a bunch of little legs too. Almost looks like a mini centapede. 
I'm greatful to find this sight. It solidified some choices including a protein skimmer addition. I'm hoping to see some brown algea soon. And hoping to get a few hermit crabs & snails. 
I know this is a small step, but, holy cow, I can't believe the joy it's bringing to me and the kids. Maybe the wife'll come around after the fish arrive. (hopefully before the snow arrives).
Thanks to all for the great posts and threads!


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

sounds like a bristle worm? and sounds like it hitched on your live rock. unless their numbers get completely out of hand or you find HUGE ones, they are a good natural addition to your clean up crew ( CUC )
personally, i dont like crabs to be a part of my CUC, including hermits as i find them unpredictable. i like a mixture of different snails and maybe a shrimp or two, but thats just me. depending tank size, i may eventually get a sand sifting cucumber.

what size tank is this? reef or FOWLR ( fish only with live rock ) lighting? sump? 

welcome to the forum.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)




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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

It's a smaller tank, about 27g. I got a marineland reef light in hopes of making a home for reef and fish. I'm not crazy about the crabs, but being a neophyte, I was going on the advise of the pet shop near by. I have a canister filter from marineland. I understand I'll need to rinse it often, but the powerfilter/biowheel I originally had was WAY too loud for my wife. The tank is in the same room as her computer. 
Any thoughts on temperature? I'm hovering around 78 degrees.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Nothing wrong with that temp at all.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

76-78 sounds good, just try keeping it steady. being a smaller tank, with lights it may rise fast, which may pose an issue. 

the canister filter would prove best run empty and let the live rock in your tank be your "filtration"

do yourself a favor and skip crabs then, atleast to begin with, they can always be something added down the line if the desire is there. i also suggest scarlet hermit crabs if thats the route you go there. i just dont like them because ive had them kill snails for their shells, but the scarlets seem to be the best behaved. i would also skip on getting a cucumber, this tank isnt large enough for one.

do you have fish considerations or not yet?


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

Having 6 & 9 years, that choice has been made for me. They can't wait to have their own "Nemo". But I've read damsels are a good start.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

Do y'all mean I should turn off the canister filter and just run skimmer and trust the live rock & live sand??
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

onazip said:


> Do y'all mean I should turn off the canister filter and just run skimmer and trust the live rock & live sand??
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Yup, pretty much.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

onazip said:


> Having 6 & 9 years, that choice has been made for me. They can't wait to have their own "Nemo". But I've read damsels are a good start.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 Damsels are pretty much jsut down right mean. And if yoiu plan on getting another small fish, they usually chase the new fish to the point of youi wanting to remove the Damsel. And that, is a feat in itself.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

i didnt realize you were running a skimmer, so yes, get rid of the canister filter unless you currently do not have anything else for water flow, then run the canister empty until you can get a few powerheads for water flow. if you already have powerheads, do yourself the favor of loosing the canister filter.
damsels seem like a great add, theyre cheap, active swimmers that are reef safe but are not fish safe. they are very nasty fish, even to those larger in size. they might be fine at first, but in time they become very aggressive. 
maybe go with a pair of clowns to start and then eventually a watchman goby and pistol shrimp, the kids will get a kick out of that symbiotic relationship.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

So, would keeping the canister harm the system? Or would it just be extra work and no benefit? It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea of not having a filter. 
Also, would you keep the skimmer for sure? The guy at the store told me I was crazy for buying the skimmer. I was trusting "saltwater aquariums for Dummys" book over the 20 year old helping me. 
BTW, I scooped the worm out. put it under the microscope. pretty cool. the kids loved it. I have microscope video. the thing looks prehistoric.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

You can keep the canister running if you wish, jus tto run carbon once in awhile, or GFO, which removes phosphates. Or take it out of the system until you need it. They can actually get you into water parameter trouble, causing high Nitrates. Your Live Rock and Sand acrually carries all the beneficial bacteria you system needs, thats one reason why there is a recommened minimum of Live Rock needed.


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

The canister is a good way to add flow to your tank. Just run it empty, and like RM said, add carbon or GFO to polish the water if needed. If there is no sponge or other detritus collecting media in the canister, then you should not have any nitrate problems.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

Bummer that I spent the money on the canister filter. I'll pull the sponge. Then leave the carbon? Remove the bio-balls? Sorry for being a newbe, but is GFO the flossy filter? It's a Marineland 160


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

You can run carbon from time to time, but I would not run it 24-7, as this has been suspect in HLLE in Salt Water Fish. GFO is Granular Feric Oxide. Yiu don't need the floss either.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

Well it's been a week now with Live Rock and Live sand. Plenty of water circulation with a pump. temp hovers around 78. Specific Gravity at 1.024. Ph 8.2. but Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate are all 0.0. I measure every day and nothing is budging. Tank is 30g. 
Should I do the raw, dead shrimp? Should I do the Snails? Should I sacrafice a real fish??? DID I KILL MY ROCK AND SAND?


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

onazip said:


> Well it's been a week now with Live Rock and Live sand. Plenty of water circulation with a pump. temp hovers around 78. Specific Gravity at 1.024. Ph 8.2. but Ammonia Nitrite and Nitrate are all 0.0. I measure every day and nothing is budging. Tank is 30g.
> Should I do the raw, dead shrimp? Should I do the Snails? Should I sacrafice a real fish??? DID I KILL MY ROCK AND SAND?


Easy. You'll be fine. I always suggest that one run a tank for a few months without livestock to make sure no problems arise. If you can run a tank without fish and not have an issue for a month or two, then the next step is to add a fish. You are on the right path. Continue to run the tank and if nothing happens as far as a nitrite, nitrate or ammonia spike you should be fine. Test Calcium and Alkalinity. Make sure they are at Cal: 400-450 ppm and Alk: 8-12 dKH. 

Your rock and sand should be fine. I see no reason that the bacteria would have been wiped out. Continue to post your parameters and plans here.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

I think all is ok. At the urging of the local fish shop, I added 2 damsels to jump start it last Friday. I think it worked. My ammonia is at .5, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0, pH 8.2-8.4 (colors are so close). Keeping specific gravity at 1.024-1.025. Temp hovers between 77.5 and 79.0. The light really heats things up quickly. I also got a CUC of 5 tiny hermits and 5 small snails. The brown ditritius (sp?) is forming on the sand, but just a bit in a few areas. The damsels are quick and active, not really bothering eachother too much. So I believe I just sit tight for 4 to 6 weeks and wait for levels to go to 0.0. I'm planning on 15% water changes along the way, along with the normal up-keep. 
Tank is about 30 gal. About 3" of live sand. About 15lbs of live rock. Calcium is at about 360. I couldn't find an Alkaline test kit. They ordered one for me. PetSmart and PetCo also didn't have it. 
The Protein skimmer hasn't produced any foam, but I was thinking the bioload is so small that it might take a while.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

You told me so. I returned the damsels. They were happy to take them back. I replaced with 2 clowns. much nicer. 
All seems well. I added a bit more live rock. Added 5 different soft corals. 
Tank parameters seem good. Nitrate likes to hang out around 5-10 no matter what I do. But the others are on target. Took all your advise on running the can once in a while. Removed bio-balls and sponge. just has floss and the activated charcoal bags. Water is crystal clear. 
The Reef LED light seems to be growing quite a bit of brown algea on the sand. I'm guessing I just deal with it. Was thinking of vacuuming it out. But am open to ideas. 
It's been almost 2 weeks with live fish. I was thinking of adding some cleaner shrimps or gobis. thought the gobis would help with the sand. 
Any thoughts?


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

The Brown Algae is called a Diatom Bloom. Happens in all new tanks, no need to worry, they take care of themselves. But this also tells me you rtank is still in cycle.What are your Ammonia and Nitrite readings?


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

Amomonia and Nitrite are 0.0 and 0.0. 
I just added some photos. My guy at the store told me all the names of the different coral, but I wasn't smart enough to write them down. I'll update names soon.
Should I wait for the algea to take care of it self before I add more fish or shrimp?


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Critters and Fish should be added slowly at this point as to not cause a mini cycle. Little at a time.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

RM you're very cryptic! I'm guessing that means I should wait 'til the algea clears before I add anything? Or do I wait 'til the nitrate is 0?


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

You can add more CUC right away. Add fish at a slower rate.


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## evanlundberg4 (Aug 27, 2012)

I started a saltwater tank in the beginning of august and I bought live sand and rock like you did. The tank cycled in like 2 or three days and as a mater of fact I never really got any readings at all aside from like 5 ppm of nitrate. Then my tank did nothing for like a month until I started noticing a little brown algae a few days ago and bam! I have a diatom bloom. Crazy how fast it happened. I started with a couple damselfish as well...unfortunately I killed them in a botched water change (never use tap water )...and they were not at all friendly. In fact the bigger one chased the smaller one incessantly causing him to hide and lose color. I replaced them with a pair of clowns and a Royal Gramma Basslet and couldn't think of more enjoyable fish. Nassarius Snails are pretty good cleaners of the sand. I have two and I'm going to get a few more to help with the sand.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

It's wierd. My bloom is only where the LEDs shine. The shadows are clear.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## evanlundberg4 (Aug 27, 2012)

I have a 4' T5 HO fixture so mine is everywhere in my tank besides under the rocks. Some places I have coralline algae growing and its keeping the diatoms from growing there. Could just be that its congregating where the most light is. Mine also started on the glass near the overflow and spread from there.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

onazip said:


> It's wierd. My bloom is only where the LEDs shine. The shadows are clear.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 Then yours eyes would fall out if yoiu woulda seen mine. 2- 250w halides over an 8' area.:shock:


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

lots of changes. now have a 50g SeaClear System II. In the old tank I had the 2 black purcula clowns and a flame angel. I added a 2 spot goby and sand star and the next morning all 4 fish were dead. The tank was a shade shy of 30g. So...... bigger tank, 6 weeks of just coral, star, anenome and cuc. I've now added a pair of Black Onyx clowns. I was hoping they would take to the bubble tip, but haven't. It's only been 5 days, so I'll be patient. 
Water parameters are ideal. If I can figure out how to add pics, I will


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Tape a picture of Clowns hosting a Anemone to the side of the tank, this has been known to help.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

What a great Idea. I (ok, my wife) just printed them. I'll let you know if it works.


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## RSully (Nov 22, 2012)

My only guess on this is let nature take its course. It may/may not happen. If it was tank bred, it may have never been taught by the parents (read that somewhere) to learn this instinct. While RM's suggestion sounds funny, it's probably a nice safe way to try (can;t hurt anythign and it's been posted in other places). Any other measure may could just induce unwanted stress which I'm sure you don't want.


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## Ogre44 (Nov 5, 2011)

I've read of people feeding their clowns over/in the target anemone to initiate contact.
I guess that once the fish get in there instinct takes over.


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## onazip (Sep 5, 2012)

No luck yet. But they do snuggle up to the pictures now and then. I guess they're happy.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

They'll get it. Just gotta give them some time.


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## bigehugedome (Aug 2, 2010)

Reefing Madness said:


> Tape a picture of Clowns hosting a Anemone to the side of the tank, this has been known to help.


 
Mind Blown..:blink:


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