Le Fin!

[Drumachine09]

Well, i went out and bought a ugf for my 10 gallon, only to realize it was made to fit a 15 gallon. So i returened it and went to petco. I cam out with a ugf, instant ocean, a hydrometer, and 10 lbs of coral sand. If got my tank set up to cycle. Anyone know how long it should take? And Fish whisperer, i put in a shrimp, like you said, but what is the purpose. Thanks for the help everyone!

[Chrona]

The shrimp breaks down at releases ammonia, starting the cycling. So you're the first one to take the plunge eh? You can be the forum guinea pig ;)

[*Sarah*]

Wow, that's cool. good luck with the saltwater!

[Drumachine09]

The shrimp breaks down at releases ammonia, starting the cycling. So you're the first one to take the plunge eh? You can be the forum guinea pig ;)


Score, im a tool! I got dibs on hammer!

[Chrona]

I demand step by step pics! lol

[Drumachine09]

I demand step by step pics! lol

*bows* "As you wish, master"

[Chrona]

Wait, did you say coral sand and UGF? I thought UGF's didn't work with sand?

Btw, get a oscellaris clownfish :D

[cocoa_pleco]

clowns are awesome!

[Drumachine09]

*bows* "As you wish, master"

maybe not. My internet/photobucket.com is being sketchy today. Maybe tommorow.

[Drumachine09]

Wait, did you say coral sand and UGF? I thought UGF's didn't work with sand?

Btw, get a oscellaris clownfish :D

The bag says sand, but it is really more of a gravel.

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah, its chunky sand. I wanna make my 2.5g to a salt tank. My buddy bought a 2.5g salt kit

[Chrona]

*sigh

I know I'm eventually going to succumb and spend 200 bucks on a nanocube instead of buying a textbook for a class....LOL

[cocoa_pleco]

Now i want another salt tank.

Im kinda scratched about a 2.5g. The salt level wouldnt be stable.

Maybe ill get a 10g

[cocoa_pleco]

Meh, ill make the 2.5 salt and put in a cleaner shrimp and small live rock and small anenome

[cocoa_pleco]

or, any other small saltwater kritters anyone can recomend?
Maybe a damsel and cleaner shrimp im thinking, tho the damsel may be overdoing it

[Chrona]

In a 2.5 gallon? I don't think you can put any saltwater fish in a tank that small...maybe some inverts

[cocoa_pleco]

ive seen damsels live in 2.5g's, but a 10's better. mine were happy in a 10g. il stick with a cleaner shrimp

[Severus]

Good luck with it. I am interested to see how everything turns out!

[Fishguy2727]

Fishless cycling works much better when using pure ammonia than with putting things in to rot. It goes faster and is much more precise. As something decays it gives off x ammonia one day and possibly a completely different level the next. Since your tank won't be jumping around like that you want a precise amount of ammonia added everyday. The best way to do it is to add ammonia drop by drop until the ammonia test kit reads at the high end of the scale, maybe not off the scale, but close to it. This may take a while the first time, but it will only take a while the first day. Count how many drosp it took and everyday add that many drops. This will guarantee a constant input of ammonia as will happen in your tank. It is also vital that ammonia keeps being added until the day that fish are added, which has to be after ammonia and nitrites have spiked and then gone back to 0. With something rotting you will have peaks and troughs in both levels all along the way and in all likelihood the ammonia input will cut off well before you add fish. And if there is more than a few days between when the ammonia stops being released and you add fish, then all the nitrifying bacteria have died off.

There a some fish that can go in a 2.5 gallon. My pick would be clown gobies. There are a number of species to pick from (although some are too sensitive for beginners) and they all stay very small. They would do much better with live rock though (probably won't work without live rock), and in a 2.5 live rock will be cheap, even the best stuff. There are other species that won't get more than a couple inches that would work without live rock.

[Drumachine09]

Hey repitleguy/FW. Would an anemone or two be easier than trying to do coral? I think i will get a clown or too, and i want something that they can hide in, like in nature.

[cocoa_pleco]

SWEET. I found all of my old salt equipment, and fixed my 10g acryllic.

Im going to petsmart tonight since theyre the only ones that sell ugf's anymore.
Ill make a saltwater tank again and not make the same mistakes as two years ago

[Fishguy2727]

Best place is start reading in books.

Anemones can be about as hard as corals dependign on who you are listening to. They can be pretty sensitive and since clowns don't need them, there is no need to risk the anemone's life while you are still a beginner. Once you have had the tank for a while and everything is going great you can consider it, but don't rush it at all.

[cocoa_pleco]

i used to have a condylactis and it thrived in my tank

[cocoa_pleco]

ive got the tank, the ugf. Now, just live rock and crushed coral and im set

[Drumachine09]

I just got my powerheads and heater. All i need is live rock a mushroom polyp and either a clown or a damsel. What kind of clown is the smallest?

[Chrona]

I just got my powerheads and heater. All i need is live rock a mushroom polyp and either a clown or a damsel. What kind of clown is the smallest?

It's not the smallest clown, but I've heard that the oscellaris clown is easy to keep in an aquarium because they are bred and raised in them, unlike most of the other varieties, which are caught from the wild. And if you get some decent live rock, you will most likely get a few tiny coral seeds along with them, so theres really no need to buy an individual one for now. Besides, you still gotta cycle it :)

[Drumachine09]

Besides, you still gotta cycle it :)


*sigh* i know. Another 3 weeks and 6 days or so of just plain ole waiting. Gives me plenty of time to read up though, so i guess its a good thing!

[cocoa_pleco]

i had a oscellaris and he stayed the size of a molly, he was fun to watch.
Ive got the 10g, hood (the heater is attatched to the hood as a combo), New age UGF, and now all i need is sand, live rock, and after cycling a damsel and cleaner shrimp

[Drumachine09]

Really good site for reading up on anemones.

http://fins.actwin.com/species/anemone.html

[cocoa_pleco]

SCORE. i called one lfs, and their powerheads were 29.99 each.

I called another one- 5 BUCKS EACH.

then, i just need the coral, and im set

[Chrona]

Also here

lol, nvm, we got the same site

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=saltaquarium&cdn=homegarden&tm=16&f=21&tt=14&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.actwin.com/fish/species/anemone.html

[Fishguy2727]

There are many captive bred clowns and other tyes of fish, definitely not just occellaris. And not all occellaris are CB. They will definitely let you know if they are and you will most likely pay a bit more for them. However CB clowns almost never accept an anemone as a host, but still the benefits of CB outweigh the slight disadvantages.

[Drumachine09]

Hey, my water is slighty cloudy, is that normal?

And what is CB?

[cocoa_pleco]

probably just the substrate and salt settling in. Its normal, my first saltwater did that

[Chrona]

Captive bred. It seems anemone hosting is something taught in nature, not instinct based.

[cocoa_pleco]

and cb is captive bred

[Fishguy2727]

Crushed coral is very cloudy, even when rinsed very well the stuff we used at work in our 90 gallon Lake Malawi tank was still cloudy for a couple days after we added the crushed coral.

In nature clowns HAVE to have the anemone to survive and they won't stray more than a meter away from it. The anemone also NEEDS the clowns, both provide protection for the other. In the aquarium we don't add anything to the tank that poses any major threat to either (in general), so in our tanks the risk of predation is gone so neither needs the other. My cousin works at a LFS that is huge into sw fish and I don't think any of his customers who have bought CB clowns had them ever take to an anemone. The only possibility for it I see is if the breeders have them in the tanks right when the clowns are out of their planktonic stage because that is when they settle into an anemone in the wild.

[Drumachine09]

Oh, i see. That makes sense. Thankyou.

[cocoa_pleco]

makes sense. I got my oscellaris a fake rubber anenome from wal-mart to hide in, but he didnt care. And, my live anenome he didnt care for.
I heard oscellaris are the only clowns that dont want to hide in a anenome.

What do you think i should use for the salt tank then? im using a ugf, so sand cant be used. If crushed coral isnt good, what are my other options?

[Fishguy2727]

Without causing a hub-bub, that is one of the reasons I don't like UGF. You can't use sand which is the most natural substrate for them. If you are dead set on using the UGF, I guess you (they) will have to settle for crushed coral (even though they have buffers to help with pH, and crushed coral only raises it up to about 7.6 on its own).

Occellaris will take to anemones. All clowns need them in the wild.

[cocoa_pleco]

Hey drumachine. I noticed my book "aquariums for dummies" is LOADED with saltwater stuff. Any questions for hardy fish or cycling PM me!

I havnt looked at that book for awhile. TG i found it now!

[Drumachine09]

Will do! uh ummmm. Ima pull a you and use a :1: to make my post longer.

[cocoa_pleco]

weird. youre probably right about the oscellaris. It was along time ago i heard they dont like anenomes.

I do have a spare bio-wheel, but i feel ill use a ugf.

I used live sand in my old tank, but i think coral will do here.

And i payed 25$ for that damn ugf, so im gonna use it now. lol

[cocoa_pleco]

:4: and:1: are my friends.

Theyre neutral smilies and add length.

Why do you need more than 10 characters? makes no sense

:1: :4: lol

[Drumachine09]

I saw that perfectaflow at petsmart today. I wish i woulda got that one. Oh well, thisn ul doo.

[cocoa_pleco]

one think pis$ed me off though.

My perfect a flo for 10g was 25$, and a 40 hex one was 60 on sale for 40$.

Shouldnt the 10 be on sale too?

And theres one thing i cant figure out. I bought the aquahome 20, and thought it was 20g. (makes sense being aquahome "20")

The website said it was 15g, and i typed in the dimensions on this site and it said 18.7g.

WTF, its so confusing

[Drumachine09]

lifes a b!tch, then you die.

[cocoa_pleco]

i know. I think ill die at 60 from all this damn stress

[Fishguy2727]

I started with the Complete Idiot's Guide to Saltwater Aquariums. Then stepped up to clownfish specific books, reef books, species catelogs, Older (1992ish) very in depth reef books sitting around from my dad's collection, etc. Then start taking into consideration online articles and then online opinions. Otherwise it is too easy to believe every word you hear online because they sound so sure and so compelling, when often it 'worked' and happened to be the only thing they tried, so it's the best way (you see what I mean?).*

*(This last statement really has nothing to do with anyone here, more of other forums where THEY ARE THE EXPERTS and if you don't agree you are a horrible fishkeeper and all your fish will die, when really those people are just pushy.)

[cocoa_pleco]

i get what youre saying. some people are like, "its my way, a HOB with water changes every five days, or your fish will die all because you didnt listen".

Theres are TONS of ways to do things.
I prefer canister filters, but a HOB or UGF or submersible filter is perfectly fine.

In this case, my 10g SW will be so under stocked, i think a UGF will do with 2 powerheads.

IF that doesnt work, ill add my spare bio-wheel. Ill have lots of live rock, so things should work

[Drumachine09]

My lfs has a deal this week that makes me wish i had a ton of extra cash.

By ANY biowheel, and get ANY all-glass-aquarium brand deluxe aquarium kit 50% off.

[Chrona]

Same deal here actually. Petco? lol

[Drumachine09]

Same deal here actually. Petco? lol
yup yup! :1:

[cocoa_pleco]

My lfs has a deal this week that makes me wish i had a ton of extra cash.

By ANY biowheel, and get ANY all-glass-aquarium brand deluxe aquarium kit 50% off.

SWEET, oh wait, sweets less than 10 characters, better pull off a :1:

[Fishguy2727]

If you are going to buy live rock and have a bio-wheel sitting around, forget the UGF. At least add the Bio-wheel. No reason to not use it, at least use it for the Bio-wheel (don't even put in a cartridge).

Most filters have some use, but which filter is best depends on tank size, inhabitants, etc.

[cocoa_pleco]

HMMM, i think the biowheel would make good use.

I think il use crushed coral, the ugf, and bio-wheel all together, since i should use the ugf 25$ later

Ill skip the powerheads and let the ugf run on 2 airstones cause the powerheads will take up too much room.

so, now i just need salt, crushed coral, and the fish and live rock

[cocoa_pleco]

its a shame to see a beautiful bio-wheel collecting dust.

Thanks for the help reptileguy!

[Fishguy2727]

I'm sorry, but I have to get a little sarcastic here, 'I thought the UGF were SOOO cheap and easy and great.' I couldn't help it. You could do reverse flow UGF. I would use the powerheads if I had them. If there is only one UGF plate you only need one powerhead, just cap off the hole for the other riser tube.

Good luck. If you can only get a hold of uncured live rock that will have to go in before fish because as it cures it will cycle the tank for you (as everything that died during shipping rots away).

[cocoa_pleco]

i can get live rock cheap at a lfs here, and one lfs is having a sale with powerheads 5 buck each, and the bio-wheel is working good, so i think im set

[Fishguy2727]

Make sure you get really good live rock though, you can find good deals, but all too often you get what you pay for.

[cocoa_pleco]

Im puting the same rock from the same lfs as 2003.

Its really great rock, and has TONS of little organisms on it. Theres often 3 clams per piece and other stuff

[Fish Whisperer]

I can't believe I'm saying this:ezpi_wink1: but I agree with reptile guy. If you've got plenty of decent rock, don't use the UGF. Use the Bio wheel, and have a bare bottom tank. Clean-up is a breeze. But DO use the powerheads. You need plenty of circulation no matter what. Aim the powerheads directly at the rock.

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah, im getting 2 powerheads and already bought some little machine that shoots out current for anenomes

[Fishguy2727]

I wouldn't do bare bottom, unnatural looking and the little inverts won't like it either. I would do a shallow sand bottom. Then get dwarf hermit crabs to keep the sand clean for you.

[Fish Whisperer]

Normally I would agree, but in a 10g it would be next to impossible to keep the sand from blowing around with any amount of circulation going on.

[Drumachine09]

Hey there FW, good to see you back!

[cocoa_pleco]

FW, can you recommend a fish and anenome that like strong current?

The power heads give off a really good current, so im looking for a anenome and fish that are hardy and dont mind some current.

I know anenomes depend on current to survive by bringing them food and cleaning them off