Hi, so I saw your post when you first posted it but since I'm no expert I thought I'd leave it for them to respond. There's a lot going on this week at Tonmo. They are all meeting up in DC, sounds fun. When Tony posted, it brought the thread back to the new threads list and I noticed no one had said anything. Anyway, I guess since no one else is responding I'll at least do my best to convey some of the information I have been gleaning over the past few weeks.
Mdawson808;182028 said:
Right now the substrate in the tank is sand. Should I replace all sand or is it ok?
I think probably it's better to err on the side of caution on this one and replace it with fresh substrate, (or live sand from a tank housing healthy invertebrates) specially with having turtles. I have a little experience with red ear sliders and a lot with reptiles, I know how hardy they are. Apparently even very minute amounts of copper can kill an octopus quite quickly. They actually need copper to live so it must depend on the form? (Anyone want to chime in if you know what the deal is with this?) If you do elect to keep the sand you should at least wash it thoroughly.
You seem to be quite open and welcoming of help but you really just asked that one question so I'm not sure what all kind of information you are looking for, and maybe another reason you didn't get people jumping to help. (This is quite a helpful forum I've noticed)
So, I'm gonna ask a few questions to a few things to maybe help get the ball rolling. A 60 gallon tank seems adequate for several of the suggested species of octopus. What species do you plan on getting, any idea? This will also help determine if you'll need any form thermal regulation for your eight legged friend. Do you plan on getting a protein skimmer? Your filters seem pretty good, but I'm not sure if they would do well with an inking? (anyone?) Will you house everything in a sump? If so, how large? What else is in your tank, are you gonna put some rock in there? Everyone loves pictures! Turtles aren't exactly notorious escape artists, you're going to want to secure the top of the tank if you haven't already.
But like you mentioned, the earlier you get started the sooner you will be ready, a lot of this stuff can be dealt with when your tank is cycling/stabilizing. I guess the first thing really is make a decision on the substrate, and get some salt water and nitrogen in there.
Again, I'm new to all this (don't even have a tank set up) so this should all be taken as such, but hopefully despite this I was able to help in some way. And hopefully some more experienced folks will chime in. Anyway, stick around and keep us updated and from one newbie to another, welcome to the forum. It is really a cool place, I actually saw a tv program last night that featured one of the members. (It was about giant squid)
Adam