not sure i agree about the "testing the water" with damsels but i personally agree that BB is a good way to go with what you're looking to stock 
converting freshwater tank into saltwater, same water?
- Thread starter SquirrelOsO
- Start date
I agree... test kits will work better than damsels any day of the week (since damsels have the ability tolerate improper water conditions better than most fish) and are also the more humane way to do it.
I also agree with the bare bottom concept... makes it easier to clean and also helps get you in gear if your slacking... substrates IME tend to have a bit of a habit of hiding detritus.
I also agree with the bare bottom concept... makes it easier to clean and also helps get you in gear if your slacking... substrates IME tend to have a bit of a habit of hiding detritus.
well the damsels i want regardless. a small school of yellow tailed blue damsels. its best to start out with the most hardy of species
test kits only test for the basic stuff, theres tons of stuff in our closed systems that we cant test for.
i once had all my fish die one by one for what seemed to be no apparent reason. i went crazy testing everything, all was perfect, doing water changes etc, i even bought new test kits because i thought mine must be faulty.
turns out it was a piece of artificial coral i bought several months back that was leaching dye into the water, a dye i couldnt see in the tank but when i removed it (just got bored of the piece) i placed it on my sink to dry out a bit and when i got back their was a puddle of red dye all over my sink!
since that piece was removed no other fish has croaked
so heres my plan on recyling the old freshwater...well its not really old i do weekly water changes on the tank. freshwater parameters as of today, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5 ppm nitrates. the tank is running bare bottom.
week one im going to run filstar nitra zorb
week two filstar bio chem zorb
week three i'll add the salt and live rock
week four i'll add filstar phosphate zorb
week 6 or 7 i'll try adding the damsels
i did buy biozyme saltwater, not sure if that will speed things up, but hey it cant hurt
test kits only test for the basic stuff, theres tons of stuff in our closed systems that we cant test for.
i once had all my fish die one by one for what seemed to be no apparent reason. i went crazy testing everything, all was perfect, doing water changes etc, i even bought new test kits because i thought mine must be faulty.
turns out it was a piece of artificial coral i bought several months back that was leaching dye into the water, a dye i couldnt see in the tank but when i removed it (just got bored of the piece) i placed it on my sink to dry out a bit and when i got back their was a puddle of red dye all over my sink!
since that piece was removed no other fish has croaked
so heres my plan on recyling the old freshwater...well its not really old i do weekly water changes on the tank. freshwater parameters as of today, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5 ppm nitrates. the tank is running bare bottom.
week one im going to run filstar nitra zorb
week two filstar bio chem zorb
week three i'll add the salt and live rock
week four i'll add filstar phosphate zorb
week 6 or 7 i'll try adding the damsels
i did buy biozyme saltwater, not sure if that will speed things up, but hey it cant hurt
Also a good idea to add the most aggressive fish last. Not sure what else you're going to stock with but the damsels would count as aggressive.
sounds like hell for fish, testing the water on some cheap ones. Then a big plain tank.. booooo
all these fish are compatible
im not getting all those tangs, just a few from the ones listed
bluethroats and niger are the most peaceful and can be kept together. i have a niger now and hes a wuss
the wrasses are fast but arent actually aggressive, i have now an adult male paddlefin
snowflake eels, again not aggressive, i have a juvi at the moment
porc puffer, they just want to eat! kept with large fast fish porcs are no problem
harlequin tusk may look ferocious but they are not and will do fine with the fish i listed.
yellow tailed blue damsels are the most passive of damsels, also considering there is no one they can bully in my setup other than themselves.
they are fast enough to not become a snack. i know several people that keep smaller damsels with large aggressive fish, so yes this will work. three striped is another possibility. you need to do your damsel homework
it would be suicide to add the damsels last after other large fish have been added, then for sure they will become a meal.
yes damsels go first, they are the smallest and least aggressive for my setup. your supposed to add the most aggressive fish LAST, and im my case the least aggressive are the damsels.
who would add a $179 dollar harlequin tusk first??? its just non sense
not sure what you mean by a big plain tank? suggesting that these fish will kill each other? well thats not the case, do your homework and look around at other large aggressive tanks. the fish i listed are the norm and very compatible.
when i say non aggressive for this fish list it is due to the fact that they are not aggressive with fish their own size, a few shoves here and there but no bloodshed will occur, they are NOT reef safe
and KODIAC you obviously are not a pro, not even knowing the benefits of a bare bottom tank????
so your comment will be taken with a grain of salt.
do you have an aggressive FO setup???
im not getting all those tangs, just a few from the ones listed
bluethroats and niger are the most peaceful and can be kept together. i have a niger now and hes a wuss
the wrasses are fast but arent actually aggressive, i have now an adult male paddlefin
snowflake eels, again not aggressive, i have a juvi at the moment
porc puffer, they just want to eat! kept with large fast fish porcs are no problem
harlequin tusk may look ferocious but they are not and will do fine with the fish i listed.
yellow tailed blue damsels are the most passive of damsels, also considering there is no one they can bully in my setup other than themselves.
they are fast enough to not become a snack. i know several people that keep smaller damsels with large aggressive fish, so yes this will work. three striped is another possibility. you need to do your damsel homework
it would be suicide to add the damsels last after other large fish have been added, then for sure they will become a meal.
yes damsels go first, they are the smallest and least aggressive for my setup. your supposed to add the most aggressive fish LAST, and im my case the least aggressive are the damsels.
who would add a $179 dollar harlequin tusk first??? its just non sense
not sure what you mean by a big plain tank? suggesting that these fish will kill each other? well thats not the case, do your homework and look around at other large aggressive tanks. the fish i listed are the norm and very compatible.
when i say non aggressive for this fish list it is due to the fact that they are not aggressive with fish their own size, a few shoves here and there but no bloodshed will occur, they are NOT reef safe
and KODIAC you obviously are not a pro, not even knowing the benefits of a bare bottom tank????
so your comment will be taken with a grain of salt.
do you have an aggressive FO setup???
Ah, didn't see the fish list...with that line up I can see adding them first. I'm not a fan of them to begin with but they'll add nice color for you.
how big is this harlequin tusk? are you buying it online? 179 is waaaaaaaaaaay to steep. They sell them where I live under 80 bucks for a adult.
the australian tusks cost more because they are more vividly colored than the indian ocean variety.
average size at that price is 6-8 inches for the australian
the indian ocean variety is half that price for the same sized fish. compare the two together and you can tell the difference
I would reuse the water but with that said I would let cycle for a couple weeks, and then check with saltwater test kit. I have a niger trigger, Porcupine puffer and a snowflake eel in a 180 watch for the niger trigger they grow fast and he has already bit me twice LOL but all great fish.
