Ska's 28 Macro Algae Display

[skabooya]

My makeshift water distiller to calibrate the refractometer.




Sandstorm

[whatcaneyedo]

I'm a bit surprised that there is a LFS in Kitimat that sells saltwater. Do they carry a decent selection (fish, coral, equipment etc)?

Its suppose to be better to calibrate a refractometer with a solution of known salinity rather than distilled water. However I've done both at the same time and the difference was only .001 so its probably not a big deal.

BTW why did you buy 'live sand'?

This is how I would perform the steps.
Step 1: fill tank with water and mix salt in it until desired salinity All powerheads turned on
Step 2: put rocks and sand in tank
Step 10: Turn on skimmer
Step 3: Buy LR to seed the tank
Step 4: Wait patiently for cycle to be over
Step 5: buy CUC

(Dont over do it, I've often watched people add too many snails, crabs etc only to watch everything starve to death or kill each other. 1 CUC member per 5-10gal is more appropriate in my opinion.)

Step 6: Buy more CUC if previous CUC has croaked or is not doing its job well enough
Step 9: Buy 2 true percs
Step 7: Buy inverts (what kind of inverts are you referring to?)
Step 8: Buy some corals added at 2 week intervals so as not to overwhelm the system (Fish impact the bioload of a tank much more than coral do. Coral simply need a mature tank to survive and thrive.)

[skabooya]

whatcanyedo: Nope, no lfs here in Kitimat. The town over has one though (Terrace). Its 45min drive away. They dont have a decent selection of salty stuff because there isint a high demand for it but they have 3 tanks. 1 for LR, 1 for fish and 1 for coral and fish and inverts.

The directions on the refractometer said to calibrate with distilled water. The distilled water should read 0 on the refractometer if not then it needs to be calibrated until it reads 0. Mine read perfect. Didnt need to touch a thing.

As for buying live sand, I just wanted Fiji Pink and that was what was available. I doubt its really 'live' though considering how long it may have sat on the shelves at the store and then through shipping conditions and then waiting in the bag for me to dump into the tank.

Rocks and sand in tank now, pumps working and skimmer on.
Skimmate is only going up halfway the tube and is white. Nothing being collected. I played with the skimmer to see if i can get the skimmate higher up the tube but to no avail. Im assuming it needs a short break in period?
Its a tunze 9002, very quiet im impressed.

Ok so CUC, fish and then Coral got it. and yes i plan to take it very very slow. Wont be gong to the lfs for at least a week and a half maybe 2 weeks to pick up some LR to seed the tank. Then i want to leave it for at least a month or 2 for the cycle (I have testing equiptment so no worries ) THEN I will buy CUC at which time I will prob be ready to give birth at any time so no other additions for quite some time. lol

[Chase31]

the skimate shouldnt have to be high up in the cup, as the yuck rises to the top the bubles wont pop and should be pushed to the top of the cup , and if its brand new it will need to break in

[skabooya]

Alright, so i left the skimmer as it was and a few hours later I went to admire the tank. Well some skimmate 'yuck' had collected in the bottom of the cup.
It was all the fine dust floating around the tank. Made the room smell like a rock quary. I fed the spoils to the porcelin god.

This morning the tank is sooooo clear. I cant wait to go to the lfs to pick up my LR to watch the life spread.

Currently my skimmer is set on a timer with the lights. Its on when the lights are on and off when the lights are off BUT I dont have the lights plugged in yet. I figure its a waste of good bulbs when there is nothing alive in the tank until I get some rock.


Im researching a CUC for the tank.
I love love love hermits but they are mean. They kill the snails for shells. I would like to get at least one hermie though.

So, 1 Blue legged hermit crab
? Certh snails
? Astrea snails
? Nassarius snails
? Margarita snails

[Chase31]

well right now as the tank has nothing in it i would say thats okay, but once the rock is in i would run the skimmer 24/7, also with the lights im doing the same thing

[whatcaneyedo]

Margarita snails are said to be sub-tropical and eventually cook in normal reef tank temperatures so I would skip those. My personal favorites are mini brittle stars, Abalone, Turbo snails and Stomatella snails. LFS wont sell mini brittle stars or Stomatella but if you're lucky you will get them on your liverock.

I'd run the skimmer constantly as well. Its actually more important for it to run at night than during the day (if you had to pick one). Algae stops performing photosynthesis in the dark which causes your pH to drop because CO2 builds up. A skimmer helps keep the water well oxygenated and buffers this effect.