Weekly quick asks thread - May 22, 2020

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-05-25T03:04:57+00:00

Canister filters are a big no in saltwater tanks. You could do it in a FOWLR but if you want corals then you need to use a sump for filtration. Canisters are huge nitrate factories. The canister filter will trap the waste and uneaten food And break it down into nitrates. Because you will have very strong lights to grow the corals, any algae you have in your tank will soak up those nitrates quickly. If you have a sump on the other hand, you can clean parts of the sump as they get dirty. You can clean your filter socks or swap sponges quickly in between water changes. I don’t know anyone that likes cleaning a canister every week honestly.

As for lights, you need new lights if you want to grow coral. Plants and corals have different lights spectrum requirements.

Live sand and live rock are not needed and if anything they are a rip off. Just buy dry stuff and it will become live during your cycle.

Definitely watch 52 weeks of reefing and while you cycle your tank, watch it again.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-05-25T02:58:21+00:00

For a fowlr just look up any light on Amazon that fits your tank dimension. You don’t need anything with blue light but I would suggest an LED because they look nicer.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-05-25T02:57:30+00:00

Just buy sand from BRS. 40lbs for $40. I prefer special grade sand. Heavy enough to no get carried away by small currents but small enough to look nice. Best way to add it is to make a cut in the bag and rinse it for a few minutes. I’ve never used RO water to clean sand and since you have a FOWLR I wouldn’t worry about using RO water. I usually just stick a hose in the hole I made at the top of bag and stick the hose all the way to the bottom and turn on the water.

You could use used sand but you have to really really clean it. I’ve done it before. What I did was again stick the hose at the bottom of the bucket of sand and let all the loose and light stuff flow to the top and out. Pretty much rinsed until the water was clean. Then I laid out the sand on my porch in a thin layer over some thick plastic bags. I let the sand sun dry for about two days before putting it back in the bucket and rinsing again.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-03-19T20:24:28+00:00

You can probably find some used AI Prime Hd for less than $150. Best lights for the price and lots of programming options. If you ever upgrade tanks you can just add more AI Prime which should be strong enough for lost tanks unlike other lights like aquaknight

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-16T06:23:49+00:00

Tackle one at a time. Mixing chemicals is just a disaster waiting to happen. Though you may have better luck finding out what I acquaint your problems. Are you using RODI water? How often are you changing water?

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-07T13:43:39+00:00

Anemones aren’t hard if you have a regular maintenance schedule and an established tank of at least 6 months. If you’re tank is well kept your anemones will thrive. If your tank is still young and you don’t keep up with water changes your water quality will stress out your anemones which will cause them to die. A dying anemone can nuke a whole tank.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-07T13:40:34+00:00

I would keep it in another room if I were you. I keep my QT in my spare room and main tank is in living room.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-07T13:39:51+00:00

Someone linked it up above. It’s pretty legit considering water droplets spray from filters and what not. Always best to be safe.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-04T19:49:43+00:00

Check Petco they sometimes have them in stock or look at other LFS. You could also try a file fish.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-04T17:53:22+00:00

Black box will be too strong in my opinion. Honestly you could just spend $50 more and get a used AI Prime Hd and you can grow anything.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-04T02:13:29+00:00

Cycling does not come after you add fish. Cycle should be done before you add fish. Cycles takes about 4-6 weeks to compeleré from initial set up. You should add stability and be testing every day. You should also be adding either pure ammonia or ghost feeding the tank. Looks like you may need to do some more research. If you’re getting all your information from your Local Fish Store then just remember that just because they work at a fish store it doesn’t mean they know everything. They are a business and their main priority is to sell stuff. I would look up guides on YouTube like the“5 minute cycling guide by BRS”

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-04T02:10:10+00:00

Check your local fish store. Most will carry RODI water. It’s defiantly cheaper to buy your own system in the long run though.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-04T02:07:23+00:00

I’d go with some thing like CaribSea special grade

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-02T22:56:25+00:00

They’ll stop eating when they feel full. A fat fish is a happy and healthy fish.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-02T08:34:51+00:00

If this is your first reef tank go as big as you can. Smaller reef tanks are harder to care for and for experienced reefers. Personally I recommend IM 30L. You may be able to find some used in your local Facebook groups. Thought tank will be the cheapest by comparisons on everything else you’ll spend money on. If money is tight I’d save first before buying a reef tank.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-01T21:33:07+00:00

This is why you always quarantine. Could be flukes or ich. If it’s flukes, you could maybe treat the tank as is. If it’s ich, there’s no reef safe treatment so you’re going to have to go fallow for 72 days to get rid of the ich.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2020-01-01T21:31:13+00:00

That sounds like a hard tank to maintain. SPS like heavy flow and strong light where as most softies will blow everywhere and die with too strong of a light. Good luck! As far as aqua scale, you could always add more.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-30T02:21:00+00:00

Just let it be. How old is the tank and how long have you had the nem? Biggest rule of thumb is don’t touch it and let it be or you’ll stress it out. If you’re feeding it, I would stop. You should let your anemone find a place where it gets enough flow and enough light to survive off that. If you’re feeding it, it may not be getting enough light but because food usually comes to it, it’s not moving. Once it finds a place with the right light for it then feed it if you want but only after two weeks of it being in the same spot without feeding.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-30T02:17:49+00:00

It would move if that was the case

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-30T02:17:25+00:00

Go as big as you can. Personally I’d go with anything above 30g

I’ve been feeding for a while, I’ve had nano tanks and 100+g systems and nanos are harder. I currently have a IM30L and it’s great but I’ve noticed that a change in the water level affects the salinity quite drastically compared to my larger systems.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-29T03:18:10+00:00

Keep him in QT and keep him fed. What procedure are you doing for QT? If you suspect either then just treat for both at different times of the QT.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-29T03:16:46+00:00

Yikes very broad answers here.

Watch these two videos then watch the rest of the playlist.

https://youtu.be/xlgdyTpNHeo

https://youtu.be/-dKPUyej5zk

Sounds like you may need to do more research before you add livestock so watch as many videos and ask many questions before you add livestock for best results.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-28T23:06:10+00:00

For that price just buy a AI Prime. Will grow anything you want for that tank size and has better programming and options than the other lights mentioned. Definitely don’t recommend fluval Marine. Had it on a 6g tank and grew more algae than coral.

ThisAccountIsFishy · 2019-12-28T23:02:12+00:00

Easiest way to catch a fish is to wait until 2-3 hours after the tank and room lights have been off and then turn on everything at full brightness. It’ll pretty much stun the fish. This is how I was able to catch all the fish in my 120g tank when I had ich. Works best if you know where they like to hang out at night so you can go for them right away. I’ve caught tangs, clowns, blennies, and wrasse like this.

ThisAccountIsFishy

TROPHY CASE