• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Stands

I second skipping the fish, there are lots of really cool invertebrates that are fun to watch. Also, try to pick up some live rock, it will really help your filtration system and provide more surface area for the bacteria you will need.
 
Oh ok - no rush then - We were waiting since December to get it this far, it is good to know that we have to wait, rather then spend and kill animals. We don't want that.

I saw somewhere here that it is good to have 1-1.5lbs of live rock per gallon? Did I jot that down correctly?

How does the Ammonia cycle/conversion work? Does it come from the rocks? The cleaner team? We are brand new to tanks.
I (Jackie) had fresh water as a kid, so I only know what it is like to look at a fish tank lol.
 
We now have 30ish lbs of live rock and an alien wreck!
Took out some water because of the displacement in the sump.
Still playing with the layout, and more rock will come soon. Had to pay for the stand with this batch of rock, ouch, haha.
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It looks like you got decent rock - good job :biggrin2: So often the rock looks pretty dead. Since yours still has some coraline algae, it is likely to have been well cared for. Keep in mind that each time you add new live rock, you are beginning a new cycle so try not to wait too long before you add the majority. LR can be cycled in another tank (yours is likely pretty well cycled, ie most of the dead stuff has decayed and (hopefully) contains the bacteria you need to encourage.

In stead of trying to describe the nitrogen cycle I will first recommend a little reading (but come back with questions if the references become confusing or invite more questions). We have several threads containing a lot of good information for people just starting out in the Octopus Care stickies. I have tried to collect some of the better discussions and put them under the heading Posts with info for New Octopus Keepers. It contains a list of prior discussions linked by topic. One of the topics has info on how a tank cycles. Every think is linked so all you will need to do is click to find the info.

That same set of stickies (the yellow thread links that stay at the top of the page) there are some good tips on what animals will do well with an octopus (and those that won't).
 
Picked up the rest of our live rock today! My mother is giving us a conch shell for the far left side of the tank. I think we're at 70-80lbs now, in a 55 gallon tank.
 

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Be sure your conch was not coated with varnish (sometimes done in shell shops). If it is directly from the ocean (ie your mother discovered it herself, recently or in the past), consider it similar to live rock and be sure to cycle it with the tank after a VERY good overnight soak.
 
Poking around on the internet, xtalreef and thereeftank... said they might be feather dusters, or worms, or snail eggs .. ? All good things?
The last of the live rock was put in last sunday the 8th, the tank has been running since march 3rd.
 
Oo! Maybe they hatched. Or maybe we have other life. There are little white specks in the tank and on the glass swimming about. No clue what they are. Looks like microscopic worm shrimp thingies.
 
The dots look like hydroids that do have multiple life forms, not good things but are usually not a problem for anything (that I know of) besides dwarf seahorses (they have a mild sting that is considered lethal to the small horses but ignored by even the larger seahorses). They are hard to get rid of but water changes help keep them in check.

Snail eggs would look similar but without the radiating arms.

You will know a feather duster once you see one. The most common on live rock will show a white, eraser head sized feathery appendage (this is all you will see of them and they will retrack VERY quickly into the LR at the slightest of movment) that is shaped much like the inside of an umbrella. This "feather" is small, quite delicate and attractive. An alternate that you will sometimes see in the LR has a bright orange feather and often part if its hard tubing will be visible. There are also a variety of much larger feather dusters that are more or less separate from the substrate and are available for purchase (often labeled "Hawaiian" and often purple and white. These make a paper like housing (with an appearance similar to a cigar) and extend various color 1"-3" diameter "feathers" to feed.

The shrimp like things are animals we collectively call "pods" (there are a large variety of isopods, copepods and amphipods). These are small scavenging crustaceans that (with a few exceptions but none you will see that are a concern for an octopus) we encourage as cleanup crew as well as octo food.

You will also see variety of worms. Some will of the swimming animals be larvae. Some will be bristle worms. The later are not my favorite and I have far too many in my tanks. These are also scavengers and are clearly pink worms with small bristles running the length of their body. Do not touch! Some are worse than others (the worst are called fire worms because of the pain humans receive it they touch them) but all will leave tiny bristles in your fingers that will irritate, refuse to come out for quite some time and can cause infection. Any time you put your hands in the tank wash them afterwards (rinse without soap before) with an antibacterial soap (which is pretty much all soaps). If you have a small cut, apply an antibiotic anytime you expose it to tank water. Various bacterias are required for a healthy tank but we don't get to choose between the good, the bad and the ugly :roll:
 
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Cooolll. Thank you!
We discovered a small leak coming out of the tank to the sump; working on patching it up. We're going to Florida for work, for a week. Yay toy/dvd trade shows! Don't need to come home to THAT mess, oi.
I (Jackie) keep poking fun at Facebook - straggling friends who are nearly last to be married are getting engaged, most of my friends have a child and are now having another... and I'm over here posting about LR and specks. Wooo! hahaha.
We are totally okay with this.
 
Thanks D and Tonmo!

We came back from vacation to more pest annonme dots on the glass, a lack of visible swimmy pods, a couple of teensy clear/white worms on the glass and water testing:
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrates are 0

Yippie!
Right?

We are going to make a new post in tanks when we get our critters! After a many days of water testing (and high fives).
 
Oh... the wait is painful... but we are happy for the learning experience. :smile:
Did our first water change, what a trip. Levels reading 0 Nitrates, 0 Ammonia, 8.4 pH.
We put the water we took out of the tank into what we are affectionately calling, The BBQ - Feeder Tank. 10 gallon.
 

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