Just some equipment questions

A

Adam Kasycz

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Jun 11, 2003
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Hey Evorybody Hows It Going

I Have a 50g and i was just wondering what creatures i can use to help keep the tank clean, like snails and crabs and that. Also how many?

Also Protein Skimmers whats the deal with them are they essential for just a fish and rock tank or are my aquaclear filters enough. If they are essential what is the best kind for the best price. I'me not trying to be cheap but our LPS doesn't sell them so, i have to buy them on the internet and have them shipped to me in CANADA. Which adds more to the bill having spent like 1000$ already i kinda want to find a good deal so i can actually get more than one fish in there.

One More thing Lighting? My tank is 36x16x20 i think and all i have is a 25 watt Marine Glow bulb. Because thats what my hood holds. Will that be enough for just live rock and fish. Also i have like 27 pounds of live rock in my tank already but i cant tell if it is doing well or not what can i look for to tell if its ok. I know the water is good because my fish is doing great.


Thanks For your time Guys

Sincerely Adam Kasycz Charlottetown P.E.I. Canada:( :p
 
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Adam:
I'm a newbie to, so as to critters to get I'm not sure. From what I have read in this forum you tend to get a lot of hitch-hikers on live rock. Plus, you need to have the tank cycled and a bit dirty to begin with for them to survive. What I mean by this, is the tank should have been populated for about 3 mths (please correct me if I wrong out there) so there is a food source for your scavengers.

As to protein skimmers...well, it seems there are as many opinions as to there usefullness, as there are there uselessness. I have a same size tank as yours without a protein skimmer (granted it is sparcely populated (3 damsels) without live rock right now and so far so good. I have a 4 inch sand bend with a small covering of crushed coral (...I know now that this is a no-no). For filtration I am running a Aqua300 with sponge filters and bio-max; for circulation I have a Power Head 300. The tank is cystal clear and fish seem to be very healthy....just my experience.

Lighting is another matter, I'd appreciate some input here as well from senior and more experienced members. My lighting is similiar. Should Adam & I go to Canadian Tire to get a 4 fixture flourest unit and populate it with 4 - 20 watt Powerglo tube?

Chris
 
Thaks for the info Chris sounds like were in the same situation i have 2 damsels, 2 crabs (hermit) 28 pounds of live rock and like a 4 - 5 inch sand bed with aquaclear 300 and 200 and a small powerhead. I take it that you are from Canada also because of the canadiantire comment. Just wondering how much you pay for fish where you are and if you have a good selection. Also if some of the others on here tell us that a protein skimmer is a good idea big als online has a canadian section and they dont charge shipping and ther is a skimmer for like 56.99 and tax wich is awsome compared to the ones on marine depot that are no cheaper than 200$ American


Thanks Again

Adam Kasycz
 
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As far as skimming goes, that is up to you. I have a 25 gallon with fish only with live rock (FOWLR) and have gone skimmerless on it since I set it up last fall. Its been just fine.

As far as clean up critters go, I let you know what I'm doing in my new 75 gallon for a clean up crew to give you some ideas. I'm going to use mostly nassarius and cerith snails. They stir the sand bed and eat plenty of different things such as algea and wastes. They don't kill other invertebrates and are interesting to watch sometimes. If you drop a shrimp pellet on the sand, just sit back and watch an army of snails rise out of the sand bed and swarm the pellet! I'm going to throw in group of scarlet reef hermits as well. They are less aggressive and grow larger than the blue leg hermits and therefore have very little interest in the snail's shells. I added a few nassarius to my 25 gallon and the next day there were a couple of blue leg hermits wearing snail shells!!! The scarlet hermits are more expensive, but much more safe, IMO. That's the core of my cleanup crew, but I also have a peppermint shrimp and plan on getting a cleaner shrimp and a few porcelain crabs as well. The porcelain crabs don't help with clean up very much, but they are kinda fun to watch. I haven't decide wether or not to get an Emerald crab. I got one for my 25 gallon and he killed my porcelain crab. All crabs are omnivores and are very opportunistic. They will eat plenty of algea, but if they are undernourished, they will eat other inhabitants.

As far as your lights go, they are good enough for FOWLR. As long as you are happy with it and can see the tank and fish well, then I don't see a problem.

Did you cycle your tank?
 
Thanks Man thats great info Did i cycle my tank a i dont think so i had just water in it for about a month then i had just sand for like two weeks and a bunch of snails i got at the beach then just rock for about another week then i got some fish. So i think i skipped the whole cycling thing i have read so much about.


ADAM KASYCZ
 
You haven't really skipped it, you are just starting it. Be sure and test the water everyday. You will probably have to do weekly water changes to keep from killing all the inhabitants.
 
Alright i think i can manage that. So what should i test for i have an amonia test kit. it said the water had zero amonia but should i get a ph test kit and some others. Also how much water should i change. It doesn't really matter how much i change cause i get it all for free anyway so i could do 50% a day and it wouldnt bother me much. Also how long wil this cycle thing last and will my fish make it through it.


Adam Kasycz
 
Damsels are usually pretty hardy from what I have read,
Where are you getting your free water from? If from the ocean you should be careful as you don't know what might be in it, microbes and such.
Water changes well, now that is different for everybody with such a light load a 10% water change weekly would probably be fine.

Nope you didn't skip the cycle you are just doing it a little different, as to how long it will last, every tank is different, my cycle for my 75 was 6 weeks total, but then I cycled with shrimp and then I put in partially cured live rock and i threw my tank into a second smaller/shorter cycle.

tests: pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate at the very least.

Good luck:)
 
Man there is no shortage of people looking to lend advice on here. This is great :D I do get my water from the ocean but i put it through a brita filter at least twice to make sure there is no yucky stuff in there all my snails are from the ocean to and i hope soon to find a starfish. So i guess getting somore fish like next week probably wouldn't be a good idea then. Also what sorts of things should i wach out for like fish behavior or excesive algae growth or like dead spots on my rock? Cause i really want to do this right especially since my damsels cost like 30$ each.

Thanks For your Info

Adam Kasycz
:D :D :D
 
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