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I got a question
- Thread starter titorotary
- Start date
Target values for your water:
Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
Temperature: 78-84 F
pH: 8.4 +/-
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
When you test your tank water and you get these values, you're ready to add fish. Add only one or two fish per week max. This gives your system time to adjust to the fish.
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Female Advice Forum
Specific gravity: 1.024-1.026
Temperature: 78-84 F
pH: 8.4 +/-
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
When you test your tank water and you get these values, you're ready to add fish. Add only one or two fish per week max. This gives your system time to adjust to the fish.
_________________
Female Advice Forum
In a marine aquarium, it's the live rock that does the cycling. Organic material from the live rock decays creating an initial surge in ammonia. Once living critters move out and replace the dead ones, it turns around and starts reducing ammonia. For that reason, we like to put in all the live rock we intend to have in the beginning so that our fish miss out on the intial ammonia phase (called cycling).
Many fish stores cycle their live rock before they sell it, so by the time you bring it home, it's ready to be with fish. If that's the case with your fish store, then just ignore me. Otherwise, bare in mind when you add additional live rock, that you may end up getting a little ammonia built up in your system, which could hurt the fish you've already bought.
After you add your live rock, test your water daily and be prepared to do a water change if anything tests bad. Hope for the best; plan for the worst.
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Mercedes Benz W196
Many fish stores cycle their live rock before they sell it, so by the time you bring it home, it's ready to be with fish. If that's the case with your fish store, then just ignore me. Otherwise, bare in mind when you add additional live rock, that you may end up getting a little ammonia built up in your system, which could hurt the fish you've already bought.
After you add your live rock, test your water daily and be prepared to do a water change if anything tests bad. Hope for the best; plan for the worst.
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Mercedes Benz W196
ok i get my stuff from a petland near by. and yeah all the live rock that i buy from them are in a tank with fish. thats why im getting small stuff like snail,shrimp,lobster ect... so i be sure that before i spend more money on a good fish, my tank is ready. so far it looks good. any good advices are very helpful, thank you.
the anemone isnt a smallthing-
i dont want to be a b*tch oh- and i dont believe a lobster is a small thing they are very sensitive do changes in water quality i believe-
how old is your tank? anemones should not be placed in a tank preferably before its 6months old
what are your perams now?
i dont want to be a b*tch oh- and i dont believe a lobster is a small thing they are very sensitive do changes in water quality i believe-
how old is your tank? anemones should not be placed in a tank preferably before its 6months old
what are your perams now?
I wholeheartedly agree with toastii on the anemone. I'd strongly recommend against putting one in a tank that's been established for less than 6 months. I'd also recommend against getting one before you yourself have had at least 1 year in the hobby.
Please don't take this as a slam, but I think you need to slow down. You're tank should be completely empty for 2-3 weeks minimum if this is your first one. Even if you're experienced, I don't think you can tell much about how stable a tank is unless you've been observing it for at least a couple weeks. I wouldn't worry about getting nitrates down to 0, but less than 20 is a good goal. Nitrites should be at or very close to 0, and ammonia should definitely be undetectable. Once you've had these levels for 2 weeks, then it's time for your hermit crabs and snails. They're actually more sensitive to water conditions than fish, but they're cheaper, so no one cries when they lose $5 worth of snails and crabs. They should be just fine, though, if you've done things right. After a couple weeks with just your cleanup crew, if things are still looking good, try a fish. . .just one fish, not seven. With biological filtration, you need to increase livestock slowly or you'll overload the system.
Hope this helps, and if you can find another LFS, you'll probably be better off. Petland is notorious for just being a clearinghouse for fish. Their staff usually has limited knowledge on the marine life in their care, and they're generally just trying to make a sale. This is certainly not true for all Petlands, but it seems to be the case for many.
Here's what you're doing right, though. You're asking questions. Take them all with a grain of salt, but the nice thing about these forums is that people usually don't have ulterior motives, and they're genuinely trying to help you make the best decisions.
Please don't take this as a slam, but I think you need to slow down. You're tank should be completely empty for 2-3 weeks minimum if this is your first one. Even if you're experienced, I don't think you can tell much about how stable a tank is unless you've been observing it for at least a couple weeks. I wouldn't worry about getting nitrates down to 0, but less than 20 is a good goal. Nitrites should be at or very close to 0, and ammonia should definitely be undetectable. Once you've had these levels for 2 weeks, then it's time for your hermit crabs and snails. They're actually more sensitive to water conditions than fish, but they're cheaper, so no one cries when they lose $5 worth of snails and crabs. They should be just fine, though, if you've done things right. After a couple weeks with just your cleanup crew, if things are still looking good, try a fish. . .just one fish, not seven. With biological filtration, you need to increase livestock slowly or you'll overload the system.
Hope this helps, and if you can find another LFS, you'll probably be better off. Petland is notorious for just being a clearinghouse for fish. Their staff usually has limited knowledge on the marine life in their care, and they're generally just trying to make a sale. This is certainly not true for all Petlands, but it seems to be the case for many.
Here's what you're doing right, though. You're asking questions. Take them all with a grain of salt, but the nice thing about these forums is that people usually don't have ulterior motives, and they're genuinely trying to help you make the best decisions.
Oh, take back that anemone if you can. There's a very good chance that it will be dead in the next month or two if you leave it in your tank. They're extremely hardy creatures in established tanks with sufficient lighting, but usually perish quickly in tanks that don't meet their basic needs.
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