Water problems

[Khemul]

...because I had him for 2 yrs and he only grew maybe 1/2", he never got over 5" long in the couple years I had him...

Out of curiosity, did it die at 2yrs old or did you have too rehome it? Seems like slow growth for a young puffer but it is also a small fraction of its lifespan. If it died after 2yrs and barely grew then there was something seriously wrong with it or the water it was in. Puffer tends to have rather long lifespans.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Yup, about 15+ years.

 

[AMDninjaboy]

No that puffer I sold to a buddy with a tank because my job wasnt affording me the time to maintain it, the puffer is still alive today and is 6" long in a 120 Gal tank. I have deceided to get a bigger tank, going with either a 90 or 120 short tank.. Gonna go with some live rock in there too, basically gonna just be a bigger version of my old tank(was a 75gal) DSB, live rock and a skimmer.. Thanks for the links Punk but you can keep your relationship advice as you are no Dr.Phil.. I in no means want to hurt any fish at all, I havent had a saltwater tank for a few years now and really missed it. I especially love the porcupine puffers, they look like they are smiling at you when you look at them. My old puffer would go crazy when I walked by the tank begging for food, and would spit water at you if you didnt feed him fast enough.. I have moved him into a 20L q-tank for now.. water in that tank is amm:0, Nitrite:0, nitrate:0.

Thanks for everyone's help with this.

Shane.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Go with the 120. If you love this puffer, please, please, please get busy with large, daily water changes. Get rid of the crushed coral, it will collect detritus & cause water quality problems. Use sand. You'll need a good protein skimmer & lots of live rock (1.5-2lbs/gal). All of this needs to be set up & cycled, before you add the puffer. There is no guarantee LR is 100% cured & even moving it from tank to tank can cause some die off. I highly suggest returning the puffer until you get this done or there will be permanent damage to the fish. Have you ever breathed in ammonia vapors? This is what is happening to your puffer's gills, eyes & skin. It is a commonly sold species, you can always get another one.

No, I'm not Dr Phil but I have been married for 20 years.

 

[Pufferpunk]

IDK why this forum keeps doubling my posts.

 

[AMDninjaboy]

I have been punk, been doin 10 gals a day. Went out on the weekend and got an RO setup so I could have perfect water as my tap water had 1ppm ammonia right out of the tap. Im going to go back to my old setup I had before with dsb, live rock and Im gonna use some chaeto(spelling) in the sump to help too.

Shane.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Good idea--you need RODI, for best quality water. At 8ppm ammonia, you're going to have to change out way more than 50%. Keep the ammonia & nitrite at 0, at all times. The puffer will be better off in the larger tank to expect to be doing 80% WC daily, to keep the parameters at non-toxic levels.

 

[Khemul]

IDK why this forum keeps doubling my posts.

It doesn't. Its become a griefing little ******* of a forum. If it tells you that your post didn't go through and to wait 15 sec to post again, don't believe it. I'm quite certain it is revenge for the upgrade. The forum doesn't like it.



Remember that ammonia decreases by the percentage of the water change. If you have 2ppm and do a 25% water change then you will barely see a change (1.5ppm).

Good plan on the chaeto. Great stuff for keeping water clean.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I really hate this new format. I hope they don't so this to MFK.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Update???