GorillaXI Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Posted March 1, 2012 Are there any Idiots out there with a salt water tank. I started a new hobby today and have done a crap load of research online and have the basics down. But I was wondering if there was one of us out there that might have some practical experience with them.
Merlin007 Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 2068 Group: +++ COD5 Head Admin Followers: 71 Topic Count: 1125 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 8580 Content Per Day: 1.64 Reputation: 7547 Achievement Points: 76543 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 67 Joined: 12/25/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: 11 hours ago Birthday: 05/23/1973 Device: Android Posted March 1, 2012 I am no expert in the matter by no means but I do have both a salt water and a fresh water tank. Post away or PM me if you like. Awards
GorillaXI Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 1, 2012 Are there any benefits to live rocks? I hear they are great to help season/seed the tank, but I am in they dark about them.
Merlin007 Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 2068 Group: +++ COD5 Head Admin Followers: 71 Topic Count: 1125 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 8580 Content Per Day: 1.64 Reputation: 7547 Achievement Points: 76543 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 67 Joined: 12/25/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: 11 hours ago Birthday: 05/23/1973 Device: Android Posted March 1, 2012 Live rocks really add to the whole salt water tank experience. Good live rocks may have organisms living in or on them. Rocks also provide shelter for marine life as depending on what you put into your tank, some marine fish can be territorial so the rock would act kinda like a divider and shelter for one to hide. As well, if you at some point want to add coral, you need to have rocks in your tank. About 1/4 of the volume of my tank is rock. Do you have a tank already that you are starting with? Make sure you have a decent lighting fixture for a healthy tank. Awards
snakepliskin Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 175 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 14 Topic Count: 16 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 344 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 169 Achievement Points: 2322 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 20 Device: Windows Posted March 1, 2012 I had a 120 gal.loved it,had it for 14 yrs.still had some of the original fish i started with.the bigger the better,live rock,great lightin,and a damn good filter system is a must.awesome hobby,but can be very expensive.alot of upkeep too.enjoy! Awards
BattlewolF Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 2028 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 12 Topic Count: 42 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 1740 Content Per Day: 0.33 Reputation: 545 Achievement Points: 10637 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/10/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: November 11, 2024 Birthday: 03/10/1963 Device: Windows Posted March 1, 2012 No i had over 20 years fresh water aquariums and outside koi Awards
GorillaXI Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 1, 2012 I have learned how expensive this hobby is. Over the past 2 days I've spent $325 and all I have to show is a tank and sub straight with some live rocks a few blue hermit crabs and a pyramid snail. I did the right thing and bought live sand and got the redi-mix salt water. So I wont have to wait months to add fish. I'll let it season for at least a week before I introduce any fish.
snakepliskin Posted March 1, 2012 Member ID: 175 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 14 Topic Count: 16 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 344 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 169 Achievement Points: 2322 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 20 Device: Windows Posted March 1, 2012 Yea,at least a week.make sure you get a good filtration system.thats what matters the most.I don't know what size tank you have ,but a protein skimmer isn't a bad idea either.once its stabilized,a few tweeks here and there,and youre good to go.I think I had about 4 of them set up at one time. Awards
GorillaXI Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 2, 2012 It's a 20g. I know small. But I have limited space. And I also know that it will require more maint. then a larger tank would need. Here is a pic of the Blue Hermies
snakepliskin Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 175 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 14 Topic Count: 16 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 344 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 169 Achievement Points: 2322 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 20 Device: Windows Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Cool,a couple green chromis,and a few damsels,should start it cycling well too.and at least with a 20,you won't have the major cost of a large one.but if you start to really enjoy it and have the roon i would think about getting a 45-55 tall.that doesn't take up a big footprint! Edited March 2, 2012 by snakepliskin Awards
Nutcutter Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 1540 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 13 Topic Count: 40 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 856 Content Per Day: 0.16 Reputation: 100 Achievement Points: 4812 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/28/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 6, 2017 Birthday: 09/20/1969 Posted March 2, 2012 There are a lot of ways to spend more than you need, I will look at this tomorrow. I would like to give better advice as I have had an aquarium for years. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/ is one of the best places I have seen for info, salt or freshwater, and everyone there has been through what you are now.
Nutcutter Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 1540 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 13 Topic Count: 40 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 856 Content Per Day: 0.16 Reputation: 100 Achievement Points: 4812 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/28/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: May 6, 2017 Birthday: 09/20/1969 Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Wow just found this has to be like 100 years ago lol my freshwater- Now I got a 100 tall that was a 55 Edited March 2, 2012 by Nutcutter
Darth Yoda Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 934 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 19 Topic Count: 131 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 832 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 137 Achievement Points: 5656 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/27/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: November 19, 2014 Birthday: 08/16/1960 Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) After your tank has cycled well add a protien skimmer. You wont believe the junk it pulls out. Watch it carefully for a couple days because it WILL SUDDENLY start to work on a new system. After that it wil calm down and burb out about a teaspoon aday. Use damsels to cycle with and wait about 6 month to buy a $50 coral beauty or other expensive fish. Google kalkwasser (chalkwater) and its use. It is the miracle ingredient for growing corals and other calcium based creatures. Buy a GOOD QUALITY test kit and monitor every other day for about a month then you will see the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels smooth out and fall off. (that is a cycled tank.) Using tap water is cheap but the chemicals wreek havoc on your system. Use good reverse osmosis or well filtered water and you can tell the quality of life for your fish will increase. DONT FUCK WITH SEAHORSES!!! I have never been able to keep them alive even though I had tons of books on marine life. The require a very precise diet. A good source of Semi free food for salt water fish are fresh water fish. Guppies breed like anything and are salt water tolerant. They will breed in your salt tank. After your tank gets going you will see many pillbug (roly polies) like creatures (copopods) crawling through your substrate. These are a natural food for most fish and animals. Don't try to kill them off. BUT watch for caterpillars with white spines. While not harmful they have a dreadfully powerful sting. Buy any and all books by ( Albert J. ?) Theil. He is an absolute wonder at the knowledge he has. There is another author that I can't remember who gives DIY type aquarium topics from a glass aquarium to protein skimmers to raising brine shrimp ad nauseum. The best fish I owmed was a dwarf lionfish (poisonous) calle a Fu Manchu Lionfish. They are tiger striped black/orange. Mine was trained to eat out of my hand and would follow me from one end of the tank to the other. Psychodelic gobies are very cool. and personable too. After your copopod community is thriving introduce a couple to your tank. Anyway good luck on your expensive endevour. Trigger fish bite. Edited March 2, 2012 by Darth Yoda
GorillaXI Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Have any of you had experience with any of the crustacean family. Such as a peppermint or arrow head shrimp? Do they get along well with Gobies? And is a protein skimmer that crucial with such a small environment with only 3-4 small fish and some hermies/snails to do the job on the bottom? Edited March 2, 2012 by GorillaXI
GorillaXI Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 2, 2012 (edited) Never mind, I broke down and spent a few more bucks today. Here you can see in the background a Blue Dame and in the fore ground is another Blue Hermie, and in the hole in the rock is a Peppermint Shrimp. I also got a Bumble Bee snail and a Clown Gobie. They weren't as cooperative. Edited March 2, 2012 by GorillaXI simplemod 1
Merlin007 Posted March 2, 2012 Member ID: 2068 Group: +++ COD5 Head Admin Followers: 71 Topic Count: 1125 Topics Per Day: 0.21 Content Count: 8580 Content Per Day: 1.64 Reputation: 7547 Achievement Points: 76543 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 67 Joined: 12/25/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: 11 hours ago Birthday: 05/23/1973 Device: Android Posted March 2, 2012 Looks like a good start there Gorilla. It can be an expensive hobby but they do look nice. Good luck. Awards
Darth Yoda Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 934 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 19 Topic Count: 131 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 832 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 137 Achievement Points: 5656 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/27/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: November 19, 2014 Birthday: 08/16/1960 Posted March 3, 2012 The peppermint shrimp is a cleaner shrimp. Besides looking cool they will post themselves high on a rock and wait for fish with parasites to visit them. The fish will circle then swim slowly on it's side signaling the shrimp to climb on. It's cool to watch the shrimp investigate the mouth, body and gills of the fish searching for parasites. Once the shrimp has established itself well in the community the other fish will protect it feircly (look in my other post for the line "trigger fish bite"). Crusteacean need ALOT of calcium to grow hard healthy shells. See post about Kalkwasser and corals. DO NOT GET A SEA CUCUMBER!!! Thet look cool but if they die they release a severe toxin THAT WILL KILL YOUR TANK. Snail of all sorts will eat the sea grasses that will grow naturally on the live rocks. They are detrius eaters too and help clean your tank. With such a small tank you really need to watch the amout of animals you put in it. A rule of thumb is one inch of animal for every three gallons of water. Hence, you can have 6 or seven inches of animals. Freshwater is 1:1 ratio. Now you have a 1 inch goby, 1 inch Damsel, two half inch snails and a 1 inch peppermint. A total of 4 inches of animals. Be patient and don't buy any more until your tank has fully cycled. Refrain from doing major water changes until it has cycled (meaning the ammonia has reduced itself to nitrate then nitrite). Use your test kit regularly. OK I got sidetracked. If your animals start to disappear look for a mantis shrimp. Get rid of ti quickly. It will eat everything. Regular crabs (other than hermits) will to. Avoid clams until you can afford high dollar lighting. Actinic won't do. Don't try to grow any type of animal that has ??zoozanthel?? algae. This includes corals, anemones, and many other soft bodied animals. The "Z" uses sunlight to produce sugars to feed the host it lives in. Metal halide or halogen lights are the only types I could consistently grow them in. Most crateceans don't care about lighting. Feather dusters are a welcome addition after a couple months and don't count against the fish to water ratio. Starfish will eat almost anything if they are hungry. Use a straw to push a dead guppy or other food up under its arms twice a week. I can't beleive your dumb enuff to read this whole rant LOL.
Darth Yoda Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 934 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 19 Topic Count: 131 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 832 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 137 Achievement Points: 5656 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 12/27/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: November 19, 2014 Birthday: 08/16/1960 Posted March 3, 2012 Once you get calurpa to grow in your tank (has to be a big tank) it has just about become self sufficient. You can then harvest it and take it to just about any KNOWLEDGABLE fish store and sell it. I used to get $75 FOR A 5 GALLON BUCKET! At that point my wife "Liked" my three car aquariums.
GorillaXI Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 62 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 73 Topic Count: 480 Topics Per Day: 0.08 Content Count: 4124 Content Per Day: 0.72 Reputation: 1413 Achievement Points: 27905 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 10 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: July 4, 2015 Birthday: 06/16/1972 Author Posted March 3, 2012 Yeah I looked at the whole post. Now I dumber.
snakepliskin Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 175 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 14 Topic Count: 16 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 344 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 169 Achievement Points: 2322 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: March 20 Device: Windows Posted March 3, 2012 I'm glad darth chimmed in,he took way further than I would have.good info darth,I think you've just about covered it all!lol. Awards
Joe Canadian Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 822 Group: ***- Inactive Clan Members Followers: 87 Topic Count: 317 Topics Per Day: 0.06 Content Count: 5477 Content Per Day: 0.97 Reputation: 5025 Achievement Points: 42632 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 20 Joined: 12/02/09 Status: Offline Last Seen: October 25, 2023 Birthday: 03/01/1967 Posted March 3, 2012 It can be an expensive hobby, I used to have several tanks, now I only have one, fresh water though... good luck Gorilla, Awards
IronXI Posted March 3, 2012 Member ID: 1102 Group: **- Inactive Registered Users Followers: 12 Topic Count: 33 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 312 Content Per Day: 0.06 Reputation: 10 Achievement Points: 1924 Solved Content: 0 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/08/10 Status: Offline Last Seen: June 1, 2012 Birthday: 10/13/1983 Posted March 3, 2012 No i had over 20 years fresh water aquariums and outside koi Wow I love the koi
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