when i first started my mantis tank i got crushed coral, will never get it again, i found out it would trap the poo and left overs of the mantis, when i went to go get the mantis, i had taken all of the crushed coral out, bought live sand(major rip off, should have gotten the dry kind) the sand looks so much nicer than the crushed coral, looks alot more natural, and if you found any thing to put in that tank im sure it would love the sand alot more.
new pico: all the exciting details
- Thread starter afromage5000
- Start date
crushed coral is great in cichlid tanks but i have been warned by every fish store and online alike. get a small bag of aragonite, it really looks great plus, big substrates look ok in 55+g but in a nano the sand is kinda size equal. its scale to the tank plus alot better for any of the nano inhabitants. to u its a lillte chunk of shell, think how big it would seem if you were 3 inches tall. plus sand says cleaner and is THE buffer
AAAhhh if i change now that will be the third substrate in a week haha!! We'll see. Redid the rock to have a better cave and hide the power head and filter a little bit. Thats the smallest wisper on the market. I've heard that regular filters are nitrate factories in saltwater; would frequent media changes remedy this? Heres the pics.
this is the link from anotehr thread, thank fis outa wata, on bio wheel/ball and nitrates, same applies for any media exposed to water in the tank. from what i got from it, the nitrates dontr come from the media its self just the neglect to clean it properly, INCLUDING removing fish turd from bioballs. any time you use filter media it does its job"some brands better than others" anyway all the media does is collect stuff. bacterias are what you want they are helpfull, also helpfull is catching derbri. now take into concideration most sw tanks use sumps and sometimes bioballs, the only reason i see things like that is that they need to have debri removed so that the debri wont rot and cause a problem. the only way to have nitrates is to have nitrites, the only way to have nitrite is ammonia, the only way to have ammonia is waste" or out of a wallmart bottle", and the only reason to have access waste is inproper care or maintanance or whatever is causing the waste to occour.
the link http://forums.fishindex.com/archive/index.php/t-5720.html
also may i sugesst. if you are to go and get the substrate like arganite of livesand, wich it isnt needed because you have plenty of live rock in that thing. wash it good in a bucket and wait for the water to run clear or use a pillow case. i perfer the bucket method. anyway to keep the water from going cloudy get a small plastic container or something and without the rock in, set it in the sand with a few hols poked into the bottom and this creates no substrate turbulsance to cloud the water. fill it as mush as possible. and you keep lifting it up and letting gravity naturally pull down through the cup and not get hazy. from over ten scources i have heard that aragonite is the best to use. HOWEVER not everyone feels this way and remember this is your tank and YOU pay for it and YOU decide the final decisions ojn it AND YOU are the one that has to look at it. so make sure you like the way its done. use the coral if you want, it your tank, we merely are trying to warn you of possible ph problems.for all i know the reason could be that anemone pee mixes with chemicals in the coral and creates a natural tetra 6.4 buffer. hell, this is how seachem prolly makes it. lol . concider this. i took down a tank halfway through its cycle and did a MASSIVE upgrade to the tank and filter system. look at my post. that only 1 gallon mine is 12. it wont be much hassle for ya to change the sand again. however my tank is absolutly "to me" perfect and am so happy i did it, even if it was a pain it paid off. and in the end it will pay off prolly more so than i can imagine. but btw i can do a intank overflow bio sump for you if you want. or mabey that a lil overkill. but use the filter if u want. it wont" i dojnt think" cause nitrates. unless it isnt cleaned. but thats common sence. good luck
the link http://forums.fishindex.com/archive/index.php/t-5720.html
also may i sugesst. if you are to go and get the substrate like arganite of livesand, wich it isnt needed because you have plenty of live rock in that thing. wash it good in a bucket and wait for the water to run clear or use a pillow case. i perfer the bucket method. anyway to keep the water from going cloudy get a small plastic container or something and without the rock in, set it in the sand with a few hols poked into the bottom and this creates no substrate turbulsance to cloud the water. fill it as mush as possible. and you keep lifting it up and letting gravity naturally pull down through the cup and not get hazy. from over ten scources i have heard that aragonite is the best to use. HOWEVER not everyone feels this way and remember this is your tank and YOU pay for it and YOU decide the final decisions ojn it AND YOU are the one that has to look at it. so make sure you like the way its done. use the coral if you want, it your tank, we merely are trying to warn you of possible ph problems.for all i know the reason could be that anemone pee mixes with chemicals in the coral and creates a natural tetra 6.4 buffer. hell, this is how seachem prolly makes it. lol . concider this. i took down a tank halfway through its cycle and did a MASSIVE upgrade to the tank and filter system. look at my post. that only 1 gallon mine is 12. it wont be much hassle for ya to change the sand again. however my tank is absolutly "to me" perfect and am so happy i did it, even if it was a pain it paid off. and in the end it will pay off prolly more so than i can imagine. but btw i can do a intank overflow bio sump for you if you want. or mabey that a lil overkill. but use the filter if u want. it wont" i dojnt think" cause nitrates. unless it isnt cleaned. but thats common sence. good luck
I liek the way you think AMD. I am satisfied with MY tank for now and you're right i can always change things later. I will run the mini wisper as long as it doesnt cause a headache adn change/clean the media often.
Why am i up so late you may ask? Had to check the tank of course! I saw a pod scooting around the rock and a small polyp looking thing on the back. Ill try to get pics so yuo veterans can ID them.
Why am i up so late you may ask? Had to check the tank of course! I saw a pod scooting around the rock and a small polyp looking thing on the back. Ill try to get pics so yuo veterans can ID them.
Came home froma weekend in Michigan to warm tanks. Got fans going to cool them slowly. Tghe pico has very low nitrate and nitrite so the cycle may be close to done, ill give it a few more days. I found out my freinds brother in law is helping him set up a 110 and he said he could send me some free corals when im ready for them.
update-DIY
I think i am going to go with grocery store RO water. It looks like i may be getting some free frags so i decided i t was necesary. I beleive the cycle is over with low nitrate and nitrite when i tested. I got a digital thermometer and it has hovered at 75 thanks to teh new fan i put in to cool the light. I run the fan from a 9volt battery or a 4.5 volt power source. The fan has l.e.d lights in it so as long as the overnight temp isnt to low i'll use them as moonlights. Here are the pics.
i cut away a cm off the back of the lid to accomedate cords and tubing using a heated butterknife.
the new fan with vent carved with butterknife
new digital temp
fan from the inside
the fan l.e.d as moonlight
PLanning a water change tomorrow with RO, and im getting a first inhabitant, probably a snail and a hermit
I think i am going to go with grocery store RO water. It looks like i may be getting some free frags so i decided i t was necesary. I beleive the cycle is over with low nitrate and nitrite when i tested. I got a digital thermometer and it has hovered at 75 thanks to teh new fan i put in to cool the light. I run the fan from a 9volt battery or a 4.5 volt power source. The fan has l.e.d lights in it so as long as the overnight temp isnt to low i'll use them as moonlights. Here are the pics.
i cut away a cm off the back of the lid to accomedate cords and tubing using a heated butterknife.
the new fan with vent carved with butterknife
new digital temp
fan from the inside
the fan l.e.d as moonlight
PLanning a water change tomorrow with RO, and im getting a first inhabitant, probably a snail and a hermit
here are my aproximate costs for this tank
some things i had already but here are their costs along with the new stuff.
tank- 19.99
wisper filter- 10.99
powerhead- free (part of a fountain)
50/50 light- 9.99
fan- 10.99
4.5 volt power source- free (from a walkman)
digital temp- 9.99
hydrometer 1- 2.99 (broken)
better hydrometer- 12.99
25 gal. Instant Ocean- 8.99
live rock- .15 (long story)
crappy sand- 12.99 (dumped)
crushed coral- 9.99
some things i had already but here are their costs along with the new stuff.
tank- 19.99
wisper filter- 10.99
powerhead- free (part of a fountain)
50/50 light- 9.99
fan- 10.99
4.5 volt power source- free (from a walkman)
digital temp- 9.99
hydrometer 1- 2.99 (broken)
better hydrometer- 12.99
25 gal. Instant Ocean- 8.99
live rock- .15 (long story)
crappy sand- 12.99 (dumped)
crushed coral- 9.99
