New tank, pods breeding for a while, when to add stuff

[beastium]

I started my tank over,
rinsed the rock and sand,
left it
2 months with added amphipods,
CRAWLING with both, along with chaeto
have been feeding Reef roids, (dried plankton)

all the pods are doing great, multiplying, chaeto growing
i'm about to get a rock w/ some corals on it would that be cool?
I think there are al ot of nitrates in there but i guess what i'm asking is
Are copepods and amphipods a sign of good water quality?
or
Does high nitrate/leftover food levels help them flourish?

Should i add a cleanup crew before the corals?
if so what would you recommend - i'm thinking a coral banded shrimp, blue hermit, goby?

 

[d5332]

a sign of good water quality is great survival rate of delicate organisms and zero algae problems.

Pods are some of the lowest forms of life and hardy, they eat the sh''''t of others...

Does not sound like you should be adding inverts or corals if you are not even sure of approximately what your water parameters currently are...

I suggest you take each of your questions and read up and learn on your own, it will save you money down the line.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

^In other words, you should be utilizing a test kit that can give you a better answer to your question than guessing due to living organisms that maybe hardier than others.

Reading and learning is essentially a whole part of your reefer experience. It will make you or break you. Most questions you may have, chances are it is has already been answered.

A lot of experienced reefers on this site and 99% of individuals on here are very helpful!

 

[beastium]

ok, thanks. It was just a common consensus between friends of mine with tanks. also they would disappear eventually in previous tanks, maybe I just had horrible quality.
Wouldn't the pods and bacteria + macro sustain a good balance?
d5332, you said the pods would EAT my corals? wouldnt the corals eat the pods.

 

[basiab]

The reason things disappear could be water quality but more likely the overall environment. If you have what they need to survive they flourish otherwise they disappear. Pods usually disappear if you have fish like Mandarines that consume them.
Adding a cleanup crew is usually a waste. Just start slowly and add whatever snails etc. you need at the moment. Adding a crew usually results in most of them dieing from lack of food.

 

[beastium]

I had no mandarins just a damsel and snails n corals but they still died. The water was bad from using tap water and I addded it by the deluge bc of time away and its a pico.
I use pur filter now I think its a lot better and I add better water often, and I just did a water change.
I wanna add either a pompom, coral banded or sexy shrimp. Im about to get the test strips but I think I can add stuff. Want some corals in there just got a mini pump in there

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Reefs

 

[al0ha]

u should invest in a R/O unit

 

[beastium]

Not getting one anytime soon, wheen can I add what

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Reefs

 

[wschang812]

2 months is good, but to maintain good water quality, you should get a RO unit to be safe.
at 2 months u can add a clean up crew, you know the deal lol. how big is the tank?

 

[beastium]

Lol, will it be ok for cleanup crew since I added reef roids here and there to feed pods? I think a lot of nitrates n ammonia but there is a shitload of macroalgae. Its been a week since I last fed and 1.5 months since setup. The pico.

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[beastium]

No RO for awhile lol hows the bowfront

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[bigdog1428]

A ro/di unit is one of the essential equipment for a healthy saltwater system

 

[beastium]

I know but in the meantime it's the best I got. Better than letting it dry out lol.

Sent from my HTC ThunderBolt using Reefs

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Find a water store or LFS that sells ro/di water.

 

[bigdog1428]

U can buy u used ro/di for 80-100 bucks on here , new u can find for 150

 

[canitolindo]

Invest in an ro unit,good test kit,gain control of your parameters let your bacteria build up then stock up lil by lil

 

[fishman1069]

You keep asking what you can add but you wont test your tank. Get test kits not the strips,they suck! You want to make sure there is no ammonia or nitrites. Nitrates should be lower than 20 ppm. You can start with a couple of snails and a shrimp. Then you are gonna want to test after a couple of days to make sure the bacteria is keeping up with the bioload. If all levels check out you can add fish and coral.
Btw, corals eat pods too. So if you have a ton off pods and then stock your tank, they will be eaten. The trick is to have a fuge that allows a safe haven for pods to grow so they can flow into your tank and bbe eaten lol HTH

 

[beastium]

haha ok ok. i'm ordering the API saltwater master kit that has the ammonia included.
http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-107523
after parameters are safe, i'm gonna add a nassarius and some hermit crabs

 

[bigdog1428]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135622

This guy is selling a ro/di. For 50 bucks ,,, jump in this !!!!

 

[lnevo]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135622

this guy is selling a ro/di. For 50 bucks ,,, jump in this !!!!

+1