My first salt water aquarium .. (1 Viewer)

[RocketSurgeon]

Just the time spent with Dennis is worth the extra cash!

 

[HorseyStripe]

+1 on Dennis is awesome...met him today...he'll be extreemely helpful and point you in the right direction...

 

[stealthfightrf17]

I am also new to the Reef Tank and found out about Dennis through this site. Went by there yesterday and learned a few things even after all teh research I have already done. The advice he gave me also stoped me from buying from him and he was good with that. He is very knowledgable and cares more about helping setup a healthy stable tank then selling goods, thsi for me is a first of any store and I have done freash water for about 25 years. He is defenittly the best source for sound information when it comes to stores.

 

[RocketSurgeon]

I am also new to the Reef Tank and found out about Dennis through this site. Went by there yesterday and learned a few things even after all teh research I have already done. The advice he gave me also stoped me from buying from him and he was good with that. He is very knowledgable and cares more about helping setup a healthy stable tank then selling goods, thsi for me is a first of any store and I have done freash water for about 25 years. He is defenittly the best source for sound information when it comes to stores.

I think you'll find most of the sponsor sites have similar ethics as Dennis. I encourage you to visit as many as you can. I think you'll b pleased with what you find. I have been.
Didnt mean to get off subject here.

 

[davidsugarland]

. The advice he gave me also stoped me from buying from him and he was good with that.

Now, this part I don't understand ?! Why his good advice stoped you from buying from him? So, should I go there to buy live rock or a used sump, used skimmer there ?
Also, please share with this newbie what you have learned from Dennis .

If you live in the west side of Houston, I strongly recommend the FishLand on Westheimer , close to Hwy 6 . That is a clean, spotless fish store !

 

[Llama]

Dennis will tell you if your system is too new or not a good match for something you may be interested in.

Saving livestock and saving you money.

 

[RocketSurgeon]

. The advice he gave me also stoped me from buying from him and he was good with that.

Also, please share with this newbie what you have learned from Dennis .

Dennis has let me know what was compatible in my tank, before buying something that wasn't going to work out in the end.
I have bought sumps and pumps from Dennis, as well as livestock. I've been very well pleased. He is fair in his dealings, and his prices are good too.

Keep in mind, the info you receive from Dennis, or anyone else, will only be as good as the info you have given him, or them, to analyze and give back to you. He can not read your mind, nor is he there looking at your system in person. A lot of times, a picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[stealthfightrf17]

. The advice he gave me also stoped me from buying from him and he was good with that.

Now, this part I don't understand ?! Why his good advice stoped you from buying from him? So, should I go there to buy live rock or a used sump, used skimmer there ?
Also, please share with this newbie what you have learned from Dennis .

If you live in the west side of Houston, I strongly recommend the FishLand on Westheimer , close to Hwy 6 . That is a clean, spotless fish store !

What I went to buy was not bad, but because my tank is new it would do more harm then good to add right now, and may not be needed at all in my system once everything stabalizes

 

[davidsugarland]

I planned to see Dennis' store today but I could not get out till 3:30 PM and ...traffic was so bad, I could not go pass Galleria so I turned around. Came home, I read this Forum and found the sign :"Speed Killes"

I did make a good choice ! Now I sit back and enjoy my fishless aquarium and ..talk to the live rock! I really like colorful live rock, as much as the fish, the corals! Welll my rock ...live ! (The Japaneses talk to ..dead rock and write Haiku that why Haiku is so much like ...dead rock, you can read, feel which ever way you like ! Just kidding !)

I just wait for the live sand, live rock to do the work. There is not much in the tank so the filter sould be able to handle it for sometime, I hope so, untill I know more a about sump, skimmer, wet/dry filters ...etc! The tank is emty but clean and clear and when the bright light is on, kind of pretty

My next plan is to buy more colorful live rock when I can find it (I went thru 3 stores and found only 6 lbs of rock that I like!) . Also. I will order some rock from Macro Rock, I really like that rock. If the life span of live rock is about 8 year, should we add dry rock in , every 2-3 yrs or so ?? Just a thought.

The most beautiful thing of all is that ....I could count on all of you for advice, if needed. Is that great !

 

[Llama]

I remember the days of staring into and empty tank. Wait until the lights go out, bust out the flashlight and have a look around. You will be amazed with what you find on the rock.

As far as color goes, the rock will color up really good with age in your tank. Coraline algae (the purple stuff) goes crazy when the water params are kept in check. You will soon hate it because it tends to grow really well on the glass walls of the tank. Scrape, scrape, scrape. It's a never ending battle.
So don't worry if the rock you get doesn't have a lot of purple on it. It will have planty after a few months in the tank.

8 years is not a set in stone time frame. Just an estimate of the lifespan. You will find people that have had the same rock for 10-12 years without issue. You will also find people that have issues in the first couple of years.

My plan (if I make it that long) will be to start swapping in fresh pieces after 6-8 years. This is just to be safe though. I would most likely do this 10 pounds at a time. However that is too far away for me to every REALLY think about it.

My advice:
When you go to a LFS just have a look in their rock bins. If you see interesting pieces grab them. Be sure there are no pests though. That way you will build your tank up with hand picked really cool looking pieces. HOWEVER, I would still order a box of dry rock to get it in their and get your main structure kicking.

 

[davidsugarland]

Grab up a 50# box of the dry stuff from Marco and call it a day. You will love the pieces you get.

Llama ..You are absolutely right ! I get a box of rock anh love every piece!
Now , something is growing very fast in my tank! Please see photos in here :
http://picasaweb.google.com/huynh.tr.lap/BrownSpots?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC3gM6lxNPtzQE#

It can cover the entire surface of the sand in 48 hrs! I put the white rock in there anh in three days, it 's turned the rock to brown.orange!

Some kind of bacteria > Should it be treated ?

 

[HorseyStripe]

my vote would be let it go...

if i see it right it looks like some kind of algae...but i'm no pro...you'll get all kinds of funky blooms before it's ready for fish...



i actually enjoyed the hell out of that part! coming home from work every day (my lights are off when i leave for work) and seeing new stuff all the time...

 

[HorseyStripe]

maybe diatom bloom...this option and the one above are normal...


i'm going to shutup now and let someone that knows more talk...i'm making an ********* out of myself

 

[padanky]

atleast it's not cyanobacteria, cyano sucks! Cyano is a green film that thickens the longer it has light on it, has a bunch of bubbles across the top of the film.

 

[kgk]

maybe diatom bloom...this option and the one above are normal...

Looks like diatoms to me.
I'd put the rocks in & get them cycling. As soon as you put in the CUC the diatoms will be history... at least that was my experience.

 

[Llama]

Just to add on...

Cyano can and most often is a reddish maroon color. The green is out there, but less common.

Yours as said before looks to be a good ole diatom bloom. Worry not, it is a signal of things coming together in your tank.

Glad the rock worked out!

 

[davidsugarland]

Thank you !
So it is "good ole diatom bloom". My wife doesn't like that kind of bloom at all

By the way, at the end of wk 4 and this is the test result (s) (by API Test Kit)

pH 8.2 , Amonia 0 , Nitrite 0 , Nitrate 5-10 ppm

I did the Nitrate test 3 times.
This is good or bad ???

 

[RocketSurgeon]

You would prefer nitrates to be zero as well. It is acceptable for most fish.

 

[Llama]

Nitrates will go down through your large water change after the cycle is complete.

Once your ammonia hits 0, wait a week, test again. If still 0 then your cycle should be complete and you can start the water change.

Almost there!!!!!

 

[davidsugarland]

[quote="HorseyStripe" As soon as you put in the CUC the diatoms will be history...
Hi HS ..excuse me but what is CUC ??!! :?