Hello! I am new to this forum and to octopuses but I am thinking of getting one. I made a list of what I need and if you have any feedback, advice or recommendations that would be greatly appreciated. This is for a bimac.
So I am going to buy ROW water from my LFS because thats easier than filtering it all.
Synthetic Sea Salt
55 Gallon tank 3 months mature
swing arm hydrometer
fine sand 1" of it all over the floor
lots of hiding spots (food grade tubes, live rock)
protein skimmer
filters
test kit
air pump
fluorescent light bulb 8-10 hours on every day
temperature measuring thing (sorry forgot the name lol)
*Update* I have to keep the things at: salinity: 1.023-1.026, pH: 8–8.4, Ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, Copper: 0, nitrate <20 ppm, Temperature: 65-72 degrees F.
*New* Escape Proof aquarium

NH3 is ammonia

OH oops. Well thanks for that.

:welcome: to TONMO. If you haven't already, make sure to read the ARTICLES section you can get to from the top of the page, there are some checklists to compare with to see.

I didn't see you mentioning octopus escape-proofing, that's a good thing to be thinking of as early as possible, since some equipment is much harder to octo-proof than others.

Many people find that a sump is very helpful, too.

Ya I read all the articles and thanks for the warm welcome. Nice forum you got here. a lot of active, helpful members. I don't understand what a sump is. Can you please explain? Thanks. Oh ya and making it escape proof might be pretty easy. Thanks. Oh ya and so the ammonia should be less than 30 ppm?

Hi, and welcome to TONMO.

Octo-proofing is never as easy as one may suspect. Being small, strong, slippery, and boneless makes for an easy getaway. Make sure and do it before you get your octopus.

Ammonia should be 0ppm once the tank has finished its cycle, as well as nitrite. Nitrates should stay under 20.

So salinity: 1.023-1.026, pH: 8–8.4, Ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, Copper: 0, nitrate <20 ppm? Well I will be VERY careful and block ALL possible escape spots. Also will my LFS let me take a picture of the octopus(es) they have before I buy one? Because I want to have a bimac (because their easiest). Thanks.

So salinity: 1.023-1.026, pH: 8–8.4, Ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0, Copper: 0, nitrate <20 ppm? Well I will be VERY careful and block ALL possible escape spots. Also will my LFS let me take a picture of the octopus(es) they have before I buy one? Because I want to have a bimac (because their easiest). Thanks.

I think you mean > 20 ppm on the nitrates?

Im sorry I don't know the units of measurement.Animal Lover said that nitrates should be kept below 20 so I thought its also measure in ppm. If you don't understand what it means than I mean that the nitrate level should stay below(<) 20 ppm.

Nitrates should be less than 20 ppm.
Nitrates < 20 ppm

Oh ok that makes more sense.

the crocodile's mouth eats the bigger one ;)

Ya lol first that sounded irrelevant talking about crocodiles and then I got it.

Oh ok update time I think you guys didn't get my question.
Synthetic Sea Salt What manufacturer?
swing arm hydrometer What manufacturer?
fine sand 1" of it all over the floor What manufacturer?
protein skimmer What manufacturer and product and type (biological, mechanical or chemical)?
filters What filter(s) and manufacturer?
test kit What manufacturer?
air pump What manufacturer and product?
Thank you very much for your time.
Oh yes and what is carbon?
EDIT: I need a website that sells a bimac and ships to Canada (say my LFS doesn't have any octopuses). I mean what if I set up the whole tank and it matures and than I can't buy a bimac.

Ok now I understand what a sump is for. It is sort of a filter and storage place. You keep live rock (algae removes some waste) then bio-balls and protein skimmer. It takes water out of the tank and put it back in the tank. I don't understand how it takes water out safely and puts it back in safely. Please help.

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html That IMO best explains evrything you need to know about a sump, how it works, and making your own. in short it diverts water from the main big tank(AKA display tank) to a lower area through piping that you put together and is run by valves and pumps and what have you. keeping Live rock the sump would be kinda pointless because it should be in your main tank where everyone can see it.

oh btw i'm planning a ceph care tank as well. you should check out http://www.tonmo.com/index.php?page=cepharticles (or you can click the word articles at the top of the page). It's helped me alot. good luck with your planning. First one to kill their ceph loses! ......... i'm just kidding ceph death is a really tragic thing.

Ya thanks I read all the articles. Thanks for the link!

Ok so I got the idea. Im gonna make a Skimmer-Refugium-Return sump. Also what should I put in the refugium?

up to you, i can't really tell you what to have like that, i think it is each to their own.

Ok so I got the idea. Im gonna make a Skimmer-Refugium-Return sump. Also what should I put in the refugium?

Are you going to be setting up a drilled tank (reef-ready) or a standard tank with no pre-drilled holes? This will make some difference in how easy it is for you to set up a sump as a novice marine aquarist. Internal is much easier to deal with, and octo-proof.

I would go with a reasonably deep sand bed in the refugium area, chaetomorpha macro algae and a few pounds of live rock pieces. Caulerpa is a big pain in the butt, so you should probably avoid it. It is the easiest macro to grow, but it grows VERY fast and out of control and at some point will die off and turn your tank into green soup.

You can rig a shop lamp with a 75 watt flood light bulb for pretty cheap. Use that over the refugium on a timer set to come on when your tank lights go off. This will help keep your pH stable and the macro algae will grow better. Just a suggestion though. Any decent light source will work.

I wouldn't worry about what brand of sea salt to use. Instant Ocean and Red Sea both have good products IMO. Since I don't have an RO unit I buy my saltwater pre-mixed, from a variety of stores and I'm pretty sure none of them use the same brand.

Also will my LFS let me take a picture of the octopus(es) they have before I buy one? Because I want to have a bimac (because their easiest). Thanks.

The store shouldn't have a problem with you taking pictures if you explain why you are taking them. They might be just as curious to find out what kind they get. A bimac won't really be any easier to care for. Their husbandry needs are well documented and they have proven to be a popular species based on their disposition. However I don't believe any particular common species in the trade is proven to be more hardy than another. As hard as it is to search out and find a specific species at a LFS I would just aim to find one of the more common species, and if you happen upon a bimac then cool.

Oh ok thanks a lot Animal Mother. I am still looking for the tanks and all. When I find them than I'll tell you. So I should try a internal sump? Ok I will google internal sump. Thanks again.