well, I am new to salt water and really excited. I walked into a fish store the other day and talked for a good hour about salt water tank. I spent a little under 3 years breeding African Chiclids and wanted to try somethign new and cooler. so here I am. my two and a half gallon tank, 2 pounds of live rock, and I little star fish that has seemed to come off the live rock. I was really surprised to see anything in the tank the morning after I started it, and i was really happy. well if any one can give me some pointers that would be cool. the fish store has been a real big help as well, but I want to add a fish or two soon. also, can anyone help me find out more about this starfish?
New 2 1/2 Gallon
- Thread starter bmr33775
- Start date
funkngroovy
New Member
That is a bristle star. They are very common in Live Rock and will happily live in your tank feeding on the waste.
Did your fish store guy expain to you the nitrate cycle?
You can do a search to find out more if not.
You will need to wait 4-6 weeks before adding fish.
That sand looks great, what kind is it?
Did your fish store guy expain to you the nitrate cycle?
You can do a search to find out more if not.
You will need to wait 4-6 weeks before adding fish.
That sand looks great, what kind is it?
The guy explained a little to me, I have to take in a sample in a few weeks. I got the live water aswell, so he said it sould not take that long. cycling a fresh water has waiting aswell, so I'm a little used to it. as for the sand, not sure what kind it is, it was in a plastic bag. I will ask him and get back to you though. it's kinda wierd working with sand now, this stuff is moving all over the place. so from your knowledge, is my filter in the right spot.
funkngroovy
New Member
he he, I thought you did that to your sand bed for the looks.
You just need to aim the powerhead off the sand or deflect the current by moving the live rock about.
You just need to aim the powerhead off the sand or deflect the current by moving the live rock about.
I will try to move it in the morning before work. thank you. so as I read on in others' posts, I see people have a lot more live rock, I was told from my LFS that too mank rocks will be a bad thing. he said that this is the ideal amount for this size tank. I reall want this thing to look cool though, so I guess a question for everyone, can I put more? and also, as I try too look close at all the rocks I see little things sticking out of them all over the place moving around in the current, are things growing already, and if so, is there anything to help it stay alive during cycling spikes?
funkngroovy
New Member
Old reefers say that a third of the tank volume should be Live Rock, others say 2 thirds.
You could definately have more.
Everything you see on your rocks was alive when you bought it.
Most will survive the cycle. Most sponges, bi-valves and lots of micro stuff will not.
It's nothing to worry about, as the tank matures, you will keep finding little things you never noticee before.
You could definately have more.
Everything you see on your rocks was alive when you bought it.
Most will survive the cycle. Most sponges, bi-valves and lots of micro stuff will not.
It's nothing to worry about, as the tank matures, you will keep finding little things you never noticee before.
funkngroovy
New Member
I speak in celcius and the metric system.
Do a conversion on google. I keep my tank at 24-26 Celcius and maximum, worst case 28C.
Do you have climate control. Heat is a killer for corals. A fan blowing on the water will help.
Do a conversion on google. I keep my tank at 24-26 Celcius and maximum, worst case 28C.
Do you have climate control. Heat is a killer for corals. A fan blowing on the water will help.
TimSchmidt
New Member
:welcome to Nanotank.com!You can almost never have too much rock, the only real down side is if you pile it up detritus can build up inside the crevices. Good water flow will prevent that. Water is never truly "live" the bacteria live in the sand and rock so the water is just the medium for trace mineral transport.
That temp should be fine, the real problem is big temperature swings. If you use a fan keep plenty of top off water around (top off water does not have salt in it by the way).
Also this post has been moved to the pico section to keep things tidy.