Adopted a Tank

[melypr1985]

Filter has been changed. Put some of the coral from the canister into the Aquaclear. The extensions for the intake tube maybe go half way down the back wall of the tank. Thinking I need to either steal one from my freshwater tank or buy another or make my own.

Went to town scraping as much of the coraline off the tank as I could. Been doing a little at a time but wanted to try to finish as much as possible before I siphon the top of the sand tomorrow.

Removed the dead blenny yesterday, but the temp is back where it should be. The clown is still as happy as ever (other than the constant attacking me when I scraped coraline) and the goby appears to have recovered and is getting back to his normal behavior.

No drop in nitrates yet. Praying I start seeing improvement after my next water change tomorrow.

Did you mean to say that you put some of the filter media from the canister into the aquaclear? I get why, but in reality your Live rock should hold more than enough bacteria to keep your tank ammonia free while the new filter builds some up. Your live rock should be your main source of this bacteria, while the filter is for water movement, oxygenation of the water and a way to run different media such as carbon.

1 clown on its own for a while will ultimately become a female. If you add another clown make sure it is a juvinile male. (really small) so your female doesn't kill it. They can be really nuts and actually draw blood when they are full grown.

 

[mell312]

Yes...there was a small amount of coral and rock fragments so I put those in the new filter in place of the ceramic media. I need to top off the tank though. Water level is just low enough that the HOB is causing air bubbles when it hits. I know to usually top off with fresh, but if salinity is low should I top off with saltwater? Based on the test he provided me its around 1.018 or 1.019.

This clown is probably already female. It's about 5 years old and hasn't had a partner in 3 or so years. I would like to add another clown once things are settled with the tank and had previously read up on adding a small younger one in hopes its a male still. This one we've got now is already nuts. Bossy little thing. My girls have named her Lauren.

 

[melypr1985]

If you want to bring the salinity up to 1.025 then yes, you can top off with saltwater to slowly bring it up. Remember, fish don't tolerate going up in salinity as well as they do a drop in same. Do it slowly with your top off water and you should be fine.

 

[mell312]

Is topping off 1/2 an inch or so at a time with saltwater slow enough? Cube 37 gallon tank if that helps

 

[melypr1985]

Is topping off 1/2 an inch or so at a time with saltwater slow enough? Cube 37 gallon tank if that helps

That's going to be a lot. Something you can do would be to use airline tubing to slowly fill the tank back up. Test the water occasionally while doing this to make sure it's not jumping up too quickly.

 

[mell312]

I don't have any spare airline tubing. Are you saying do a small drop essentially? If so I could slowly top off a cup at a time over the weekend.

Or...top with fresh and continue my frequent water changes I'm doing to bring down nitrates. If my replacement water is higher won't it eventually come up?

 

[melypr1985]

I don't have any spare airline tubing. Are you saying do a small drop essentially? If so I could slowly top off a cup at a time over the weekend.

Or...top with fresh and continue my frequent water changes I'm doing to bring down nitrates. If my replacement water is higher won't it eventually come up?

It will come up and you can do it both ways. I meant for you to slowly bring the salinity up, so if you pour a couple gallons of saltwater (even just 2) at 1.025 into a tank that small, it's going to change the salinity in the tank. You could get airline tubing and let it fill slowly or just pour a small amount in every 30 min or so. Its only meant to give the fish a transition period or acclimation period instead of dumping it all in at once.

 

[mell312]

Gotcha. Doing another water change tonight and then maybe will start topping off a cup or so at a time tomorrow. Should be home all day so shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[mell312]

Bought my sand last night and more water for yet another water change tomorrow or Monday. Determined to get these nitrates down.

I hope I don't regret it but the LFS guy talked me into dry live sand (CaribSea Ocean Direct I believe). He said no sand is truly live and that you get more for your money going the dry route. From what I've found searching here I should rinse it even though it says it doesn't. I don't have RODI water at home. Will have to use tap from my hose. Will mixing in some prime help at the end? And then draining as much of the water as possible before putting it in the tank?

I did run and buy a 1 1/2" PVC pipe today with a 3 to 1 1/2 reduced to use as a funnel to get the sand to the bottom with minimal dust storm.

Hope this makes sense. So tired I'm barely keeping my eyes open. I've got some other questions but will wait on those until tomorrow.

 

[Dr. Phil]

I never buy the bags of "live" sand. The life on and in your rocks will cause the sand to become "live" in a fairly short amount of time. I do not see how there could be much life left in a bag of sand that has sat on a shelf for months on end.

I always rinse my sand, however, I normally do it with tap water. I am not sure what the procedure would be for an already running system, maybe @melypr1985 will have some advice on that.

 

[Dr. Phil]

Double Post...

 

[mell312]

In my tiredness I guess I should have said he talked me into buying the dry live vs wet live but said neither are really live. It had previously been recommended in this thread that I buy the wet.

So mainly just concerned with how I can safely rinse this sand before adding it. Will the above way I described work? Rinsing with tap and then adding some prime in my last rinse then draining as much water before adding the sand to the tank with the PVC pipe?

My next question that I was too tired to deal with last night was regarding green hair algae/phosphates. This was an issue before I got the tank and continues to be now. Lights are on for 5 hours a day and it receives no direct sunlight, just indirect. Can I assume phosphates are the issue and treat with GFO or something or should I test first? Don't have a phosphate test or anything to treat them with in the stuff provided but can put that next on my list to buy if recommended. Just didn't know if I should buy the test and something to treat or just go to treating.

 

[melypr1985]

Hi there yall! Ok, sounds like your LFS is really good at talking you out of what your know you want/need. The live WET sand is indeed live. It has beneficial bacteria all in it. The dry sand is going to need rinsing and A LOT of it. It will take a while, so get comfy outside with the water hose. Its no problem to use tap for this purpose, just let it drain as well as possible before putting it in the tank. Add it slowly... very slowly.

You can run GFO on your tank, but you should get it tested for phosphates anyway so you have a starting point and can measure if the GFO is helping or not.

 

[jsker]

To Answer all of you questions in order
1. Nitrates, water changes are good. The amount varies that some will recommend. I have had Fish Only With Live Rock tanks and used tap water with a conditioner with not Issue for five years. I do use RO/DI water now since I have a mixed reef and I have seen better results. Use a good salt, do not go cheap. Mixing usually is .5 cup of salt per gallon of water
2. Green Algae will take care of itself over time with proper tank maintenance and water quality
3. Most test for Magnesium, Calcium, Alkalinity, PH, No3, Po4, and salinity. There are good kits out there or you can purchase individual kits. Saliferts and Red Sea seem to be the best. I am presently switching over to all red sea since I use Red Sea salt (coral pro)
4. Per reading through this thread and you have Gotton rid of the canister filter, I run a hang on the back for my 72g system and have run HOB for years with out issue. Live rock is you friend for filtration. The more rock you have the more natural filtration. If you increase your volume of live rock make sure you add cured rock. even if you add cured rock you might see a mini cycle from the rock.
5. Right now do not over feed. Make sure you know what you fish eats too. Reading you now only have a clown left? I feed frozen blend of mysis, brine shrimp, and more (made my own) and also some flaked food. I have a tang and I also feed nori (seaweed) the clown seem to pick at the nori too. Nori is what sushi is wrapped in and you can find it at the grocery for pretty cheap. you will need a clip. if you go mix reef then some will tell you to over feed, be careful of how much you feed or yes you will be back to were you are now with high nitrates and phosphates. I have been battling this issue for a couple of month now. I am running a GFO(Rowa)with a small amount of carbon and dose no3-po4-x each tank is different.
6. That seem to be answered. Some like a thick bed for better natural filtration and some like no bed or thin bed. I went with a thin bed of sand.
7. I have not heard to many complainants about the clean up crew or problems. They will die off and you will replace some, but they are beneficial.
8. Get rid of the canopy especially if you are going mixed reef. Natural gassed get trapped under a canopy and are not good for your tank. Also your light will penetrate down to your rock and you will see better growth in the future. You will also have to make adjustment to you light because you to much light you will see the green algae come back. If you are concerned about not having something on you tank get a simple window screen and put it on top you your tank. Also if you decided to not use a canopy I would look into a auto top off unit. I used to keep a canopy on my tanks when a had FOWLER tank and I had very little tops. Now that I do not have a canopy I found that I was ruining everyday to top of the tank and my salinity was up and down for that reason and it was a daily chore. Now that I have an ATO life is so much easier.

Time is your friend. I have been told many times to make small change and wait to see what happens.

Everyone in here has good answers, I just wanted to answer all your questions in one post. Good luck with the rebuild.

 

[mell312]

Hi there yall! Ok, sounds like your LFS is really good at talking you out of what your know you want/need. The live WET sand is indeed live. It has beneficial bacteria all in it. The dry sand is going to need rinsing and A LOT of it. It will take a while, so get comfy outside with the water hose. Its no problem to use tap for this purpose, just let it drain as well as possible before putting it in the tank. Add it slowly... very slowly.

You can run GFO on your tank, but you should get it tested for phosphates anyway so you have a starting point and can measure if the GFO is helping or not.

Thanks! Should have gone alone but was there with 3 kids past their bedtime and a husband who doesn't like me taking so long to make decisions so I got suckered into changing my mind. So as long as rinse the dry sand I am okay making the change with the current sand? Just scared of sending the tank into a major cycle.

Any recommendations on a good GFO? Planning to go ahead and purchase that and a test on Amazon and make that my next issue to tackle starting next week after sand is dealt with.

 

[melypr1985]

Thanks! Should have gone alone but was there with 3 kids past their bedtime and a husband who doesn't like me taking so long to make decisions so I got suckered into changing my mind. So as long as rinse the dry sand I am okay making the change with the current sand? Just scared of sending the tank into a major cycle.

Any recommendations on a good GFO? Planning to go ahead and purchase that and a test on Amazon and make that my next issue to tackle starting next week after sand is dealt with.

You could experience a small cycle if you add all the dry sand at once. That's why i recommended to get the live sand. So add the sand slowly, even over a couple days, filling in one spot at a time and you should be just fine.

I can't think of GFO brands off the top of my head and I really dont think you need it right now. Just lots of water changes and good husbandry will get that algae to go away on its own. You can run it though, if you want to.

 

[mell312]

You could experience a small cycle if you add all the dry sand at once. That's why i recommended to get the live sand. So add the sand slowly, even over a couple days, filling in one spot at a time and you should be just fine.

I can't think of GFO brands off the top of my head and I really dont think you need it right now. Just lots of water changes and good husbandry will get that algae to go away on its own. You can run it though, if you want to.

Should I remove the old sand a section at a time too or would it be safe to remove it all at once? Not a lot of it to begin with and its full of detritus.

The bag says CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand if that makes a difference. It's dry though. No water in package.

 

[melypr1985]

Should I remove the old sand a section at a time too or would it be safe to remove it all at once? Not a lot of it to begin with and its full of detritus.

The bag says CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand if that makes a difference. It's dry though. No water in package.

No dont remove all the old sand all at once. You have to do that a little at a time too. So, if you want to remove it all and replace with the new stuff, do it a little each day. Say a 4 x4 inch square at a time each day. Siphon out the old in that square and fill back with the new, then do the same again the next day.

If the sand isn't wet, it's not live.

 

[mell312]

4x4! Ugh might be worth the drive back down there, but probably not with this busy week. With as much rock as is in the tank covering the bottom I can probably do 5 or 6x6 spots and knock it out in a week. Will start with the thin side first tonight.

 

[melypr1985]

4x4! Ugh might be worth the drive back down there, but probably not with this busy week. With as much rock as is in the tank covering the bottom I can probably do 5 or 6x6 spots and knock it out in a week. Will start with the thin side first tonight.

Nothing good happens fast. Gotta take your time with it. Originally we talked about just siphoning the top layer of the old sand out to get the detritus and gunk out then putting the new Live sand on top. If the sand is live it will help with not having another cycle. Taking all the old sand out and replacing it with whatever it is that guy sold you -all at once- will cause more problems than it will fix. It will be slow, but you'll get this all cleaned up.