New Tank Please HELP!

[Friday24]

The sand im having a hard time siphoning as its siphoning the sand into the bucket. Not a large portion but it is siphoning it even hoover over the top. Im using a siphon called terra pump not sure if their may be a better siphon for sand or if i even need to be vacuuming the sand?

I wouldn’t clean the sand right now, let the system stabilize, snails can help to clean up the diatoms. Your tank is going to probably go through a lot of changes as most new tanks do, diatoms, algae, red slime...it’s usually par for the course in a newly setup tank.

 

[BigBoss88]

So far i see him under a rock spends most of his time their. Would he eat sinking pellets or frozen krill?

 

[BigBoss88]

The tanks has a small portion of sand only 30 lbs. The tank had alot of diatoms it was really bad. I ended up scrubbing all of the glass and i think the siphon pulled out some of it. Im afraid it will come back how can i prevent this?

 

[BigBoss88]

The tanks has a small portion of sand only 30 lbs. The tank had alot of diatoms it was really bad. I ended up scrubbing all of the glass and i think the siphon pulled out some of it. Im afraid it will come back how can i prevent this?

I honestly think siphoning the sand a bit may have only covered it making it seem it went away. Im sure some got pulled out but some may have gotten covered when the sand moved. The glass was really bad though took me some time to scrub it off

 

[Friday24]

The tanks has a small portion of sand only 30 lbs. The tank had alot of diatoms it was really bad. I ended up scrubbing all of the glass and i think the siphon pulled out some of it. Im afraid it will come back how can i prevent this?

It should eventually clear up on its own with the help of some snails. It’s part of the maturing process.

 

[BigBoss88]

Would a better option be to buy the water at the local saltwater store? im sure they use rodi water im thinking?. Cause to be honest buying 20 gallons of distilled water can get costy. I have not been able to find any store that sells rodi water

 

[BigBoss88]

What type of snails would you recommend? also what do they eat daily?

 

[BigBoss88]

i went to another store and they gave me this goby to help with the diatoms but i originally went for snails he shifted be toward the goby as a better alternative. another misguidance?

 

[Friday24]

Would a better option be to buy the water at the local saltwater store? im sure they use rodi water im thinking?. Cause to be honest buying 20 gallons of distilled water can get costy. I have not been able to find any store that sells rodi water

Yeah your local fish store should have RODI.

 

[BigBoss88]

I mean i guess if he eats left over food theirs still a benefit i assume

 

[Friday24]

i went to another store and they gave me this goby to help with the diatoms but i originally went for snails he shifted be toward the goby as a better alternative. another misguidance?

Yes

 

[Friday24]

I mean i guess if he eats left over food theirs still a benefit i assume

Yeah he’s by no means a bad fish, he’s not gonna out grow your tank, he shouldn’t be aggressive to other fish unless yo put another sand sifter in, then he might get territorial. Depending on how your rocks were set up and how stable they are, you could even get a Pistol Shrimp to pair with him. It’s a cool symbiotic relationship they form.

 

[Oldreefer44]

lots of lessons here along with a lot of good feedback. All of us have done things with our tanks that in retrospect were dumb and costly. The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that there are numerous books and websites that will educate you on the hobby. Authors like Fenner, Calfo, Sprung, Michael, Paletta Vargas etc. will help you better understand what you are getting into here. Finally, as mentioned before the single most important key to success in this hobby is patience.

 

[BigBoss88]

This is how my tank looks so far, i still need alot of coral, but im looking for somewhere i can buy fake ones with nice color as the real ones are probably very hard to maintain and with my experience i dont feel ready for that

 

[Friday24]

This is how my tank looks so far, i still need alot of coral, but im looking for somewhere i can buy fake ones with nice color as the real ones are probably very hard to maintain and with my experience i dont feel ready for that

Are your rocks jus setting on top of the sand, or are they all the way down on the glass?

 

[BigBoss88]

the rocks are stiing on the sand but some parts are taller then others as i think some fish may have moved some so their is little small mountains of sand in some areas some deeper then others i havent really evened it out because im afraid if i move the sand too much it may affect the water

 

[BigBoss88]

would a protein skimmer be a good option to add to this set up?

 

[Friday24]

Moving the rocks around right now isn’t too big of a deal, I’d at least push them through the sand so the sit on the glass so that they won’t shift if the sand moves. Protein skimmers are always a good addition, but before you spend the money on it I’d figure out if your gonna keep the setup you have or change and go with a sump.

 

[BigBoss88]

How much would a sump cost me? also is it difficult to set up?

 

[BigBoss88]

If the fish will die without the sump then i would get it, i dont plan to have real coral though atleast not until i get a bit better experienced