• 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.

Tank is operational!!

I just ordered 4 new ones because they are supposed to run at half the electricity of my existing. I found a great price at Big Al's so I could not resist. When I went to post a link, the price had doubled so I wonder if my pricing was in error and I got them at cost. I knew it was an excellent deal and decided to jump on it ($22 for the 1050's and today they are 44.99) and they seem to have shipped them but it never occurred to me until just now that the price may have been in error (shipping was free as well). If I actually get them for that price I will be reconvinced there is a Santa Claus.
 
After stirring up the tank, i awoke to the damsels dead. I am thinking this was due to the sediment and their gills. They were doing fine before i stirred the tank up. I realy need to clean it up, i just see it causing problems in the future. Ive been running the sock filter and filter fiber in the wet/dry. It is pulling alot out but im afraid thats not good enough. I am going to have to do a water change and syphon th gravel.
 
Why would the ammonia be spiked? Ive done nothing to the tank. The bioballs arent even in the wet/dry. I havent started to add any of the seeding bacteria. I only had the fish for 3 days.. I have never had a problem with this before :frown: I hope something isnt wrong
 
Each tank cycles differently. Before you put anything else in though, I would test for both ammonia and nitrite. Damsels are pretty hardy so their death is suspicious. Did you notice any heavy breathing? With a tank that size, oxygen should not be a problem for two fish in two days even if you were not running the sump. They could have been ill from the get go but water would be my first thought.

Was the sand you put in supposed to be "live sand"?
 
No the sand is not "Live sand", there was heavy breathing after i stirred the tank up, the system is running water flow, filtration, etc.. so O2 is not a problem. I will check again for ammonia and nitrite. All seemed to be in check when i 1st tested for them.
 
I agree with D. Test the water, if only just to rule out ammonia or nitrite as causes of death. You really should figure out what killed them before you stock the tank again, and dust in the water is not a usual suspect. Why not test the water?
 
More headache with the tank, finally found the time with this semester of school coming to an end and finals drawing near. So i went to the store today and got some more RO water and some salt. Purchased the mineral mud for the refugium awhile ago. Spent the last two hours syphoning the gravel to try and cut down on the horrible sediment. I hope this helps. I bought some algae for the refugium today, and am currently adding my elements for the reef portion. Are there any suggestions on what i should add and how much? I do not want to over do it because it is just a cuttle tank. I will have reef species in there eventually though and would like them to be healthy specimens.( Iron, Iodine, Calcium, Magnesium..etc) Normal trace elements. The tank is driving me crazy as its cloudy once again... anyways, i havent uploaded anymore pics because there isnt much of a change. HAHA, Just waiting for the cycle to finish out. I am going to pick up a refugium light later this week.
Side note... I picked up a clear fish breeder container today on clearance for $2.00!!! And the Algae is currently in there now, but i have a crazy imagination and im getting more excited everyday for them eggs to be in there!! Wish me luck!
 
Round 2 for fish in the Ceph tank! Refigium is up and running, everything in the system is check. Looking to get a new protein skimmer, hopefully it will do me good. I will update further after i research alittle more on it and have some time. I tried to get the smallest dasels and chromis i could find.. so they dont get to big or agressive before the cuttles are big enough to eat them :biggrin2: ... Cant wait!!!!
 

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It is very exciting when you see all your hard work begin to take shape. It is begining to look like a reef, nice job!
I would be careful with what you add. You really should not add anything you cannot test for. Iodine is very difficult to test for. I do add magnesium (my tanks run low) but I test before adding. Actually, if you keep up with regualr water changes and use a good quality salt mix, one for reefs, you shouldn't have to be too concerned. Are you planning to use a PH buffer? I have found that is absolutely essential otherwise my PH is low. I like the 2 part PH/calcium, very easy to use. I have my tanks figured out but in the begining I tested daily (first couple weeks) before adding. Now I will spot check to catch any flucuations. Try not to get ahead of yourself, it takes time and utiil I see ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrates begin to climb, I let it do it's thing and add nothing.
With damsels, I found out size dosen't matter, (mine were small) they were attacking my octopus like a pack of wolves. After seeing them repeatedly bite his arms every time he tried to emerge form his den, I would not trust them.
 
Thanks Lmecher :smile: I think this thread will eventually need to be moved to Journals and photos, its developed into quite the journal! LOL Which i think is awesome! I just purchased a new prtien skimmer today. Its a coral life, super skimmer 125!!! Im really excited about it, can someone chime in on what they think about them. I looked up some things about them, they seem to be pretty good. Also one of my favorite LFS uses them on his systems and has tremendous luck with them :smile: Pics coming shortly
 
Lmecher... also, what did you do about the Damsels then? I wasnt going to worry about it but after hearing that im really worried about the cuttles, (or octo whichever i decide 1st) but i just planned for them to be food? Will the cuttles eat them when they get big enough? Also will a octopus be able to get to them too?
 
This is my favorite low to middle-low end skimmer (I have not tried middle-high or high end ones but I have tried one at twice the price and several cheaper). We have replace on skimmer with it and I want to ultimately buy two more. It is possibly the best design for ease of maintenance and needed clearance. One precaution though, there is a large rubber ring between the skimmate cup and the unit that can easily get "lost". It often sticks to the cup but doesn't make it to the sink and finding it can be problematic.

I think this thread will eventually need to be moved to Journals and photos
Nope, this is where we log all our tank stuff so that others can read about the hardware journies but you might want to put a link in your first ceph journal back to this thread :wink: and consider putting a link to the first occupants journal in this one. Thinking about it, adding links to all occupants would be a great idea.
 

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