help -table salt

[bankim]

checking the salinity with the hydrometer and comparing it to the tank's.. thanks . im also allowing proper acclimitization as well...
but i would like to know the best way.

 

[beerfish]

Ok, but the fact that you're running lights for 16 hours, and used table salt to begin with still worries me a bit.

Post a bit about your setup (size, filtration, inhabitants), and we can help make sure you're on the right path.

 

[motortrendz]

wow........uh u like mollies and neons? Maybe a placo? Its easier to do, no goin crazy adding table salt...I still don't know how the salinity dropped to low? Were u adding fresh water directly to the tank then expecting to add salt directly to the tank???u need to mix it seperatly match salinity ans temp then pump it into the system... atleast that's how I do it with a 60g garbage pail a heater and a mag 4....uh with that said good luck man... and read this forum like ur fishes life depend on it....bc I does! I'm not trying to be mean but I don't undertand y people do some things.. hey we all do dopey things wo thinking first but that's learning, just don't let it be at the cost of nice and expencive fish/corals

 

[Alex A]

No offense, but have you researched how to maintain a saltwater tank at all?

It sounds like you really need to step back and do some research before you kill your fish and waste a ton of cash.

WOW, that's awful & I feel for you! I'm sure after all this, you have learned your lesson and will slow down a little & not rush anything when it comes to your tank. You would have been better off simply waiting for a store to open rather than the rash impulse of placing table salt in the tank. I have to agree with the above, as 3 yrs, ago, when I started, one of the first things I read about SW Tanks was to use a quality salt (never table salt). Read Here:http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm

This should help offset any other near crashes...IMHO

 

[bankim]

I think i ve been doing the water changes the wrong way....thank you motortrendz and beer fish for guiding me in the right path....

set up
NOW IN THE TANK
4 DAMSELS
1 TOMATOE CLOWN
1 MANDARINE GREEN GOBY
1 BLACK BEARD GOBY
1 LILLY CRAB
30 LBS OF LIVE ROCK
NANO REEF TANK
LIVE SAND
SEA SALT
CORAL SKELETON
GREEN ALGAE ( GRASS LIKE FOLLICLEs ON ROCK )
PROTEIN SKIMMER
cheap filter thats built in to the back of the tank ( dont know if i need a fluval )

 

[beerfish]

What size tank? Type of skimmer? Powerheads?

 

[bankim]

2 powerheads that are built in to the nano ( jbj quad cf )
28 gallons
filter built in
biocube protein skimmer
jbj lighting 2x2

 

[Alex A]

May want to have a freind with an established tank hold onto that green mandarin...if you don't have him weaned on live/dry food, the only thing he will eat are Pods (Copepods are arthropods.) These are more than likely not in abundance if your tank is not at least 6 mos. old and you have not added a starter culture. How long has your set-up been running?

 

[bankim]

its only 1 month cycling
i know a few people but not sure if they have room in their tank for a manderine...it looks so beautiful and neonish and its also big and fat

 

[motortrendz]

Id love to help you more but I don't know anything abt nanos... u wanna go bigger then ill have plenty more for you,as far as the green hair like algea...get rid of it...

 

[beerfish]

Wow... 7 fish in a 28g is a lot. Not a bad setup overall, but I would suggest finding a new home for the mandarin. They're a difficult to keep fish, and require a larger, well established tank. You may also want to cut the number of damsels down to 2. They get aggressive, and having four in a tank that size will become problematic over time.

You'll also want to cut your light time down considerably. Remember that even on the reef, you generally only get 12 hours of sunlight. I would say you're best bet is to cut back (1 hour a day or so) to about an 8 hour cycle. Keep in mind that your fish won't care what 8 hours you pick, so you can keep the lights on when you're going to be home to enjoy the tank, as long as you turn them on and off at the same time daily. (A cheap timer from Home Depot or Lowes makes this easy).

Otherwise, keep the table salt to your dinner table and you should be ok. Just keep reading and doing research.

 

[beerfish]

Wow... didn't realize it was only a month old!

The first thing you should read about is the Nitrogen Cycle. Usually after a month, if things test ok, you're ready to add ONE fish. You'll want to test your water for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and see if you're ready for fish at all.

 

[motortrendz]

One more quick thing..did u say its only been running for 1 mo.??? What are your parameters...amonia..nitrite,nitrate??? Any idea...bc one month with all those fish are gonna be exploding those numbers off the chart and a good reason y your water was a different collor? Maybe the diatom bloom in the middle of the main nitrogen cycle....google it or someone here can better explain how it works..I'm typing all this from my phone and my thumbs hurt! Lol

 

[motortrendz]

Beerfish guess we realized at the same time. Hahah good call, our minds are in the same place.... dude there's a plethera of info and amaizing people here that will be extreemly helpfull to you. But sometimes we can be harsh but its not personal and we just want u to have the best system u can...and knoledge is the key with thkis hobby.

 

[Alex A]

Here is a quick-reference link for cycling your aquarium.
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/CycleAquarium.php

1 month is certainly a little too quick to have all those things in there already. You should go to a good petstore and try and get a bacteria starter culture to jumpstart the cycle. This will also help if the cycle was establishing itself well, but then crashed due to the over-stocking. My cycle time (although I was being cautious) was 9 weeks before I added anything living except snails.

 

[beerfish]

But sometimes we can be harsh but its not personal and we just want u to have the best system u can...and knoledge is the key with thkis hobby.

Honestly, a lot of people here can come off harsh (myself included) at first, but if you show you're willing to learn and take the advice of experienced reefers, it's a great board.

If you're the type that thinks you know best all the time... people will continue to be harsh, then they'll just give up trying to help.

You seem like you're headed in the right direction, but were given some poor information (LFS?) when you started.

 

[Alex A]

You seem like you're headed in the right direction, but were given some poor information (LFS?) when you started.

I was thinking the same thing...If they tell you your tank is big enough for a Tang, do not listen. I fell for that one when I first started and spent the better half of a week trying to catch him and plac in the bigger tank...wanted to chime in with that as it seems to be a common problem for new reef keepers..

 

[bankim]

thanks you guys are great ....

 

[tentacles]

its only 1 month cycling
i know a few people but not sure if they have room in their tank for a manderine...it looks so beautiful and neonish and its also big and fat

your tank is not ready for the number of fish you have, especially not the mandarin. they should only be put into a well established tank with lots of pods to feed on, as they're particularly difficult to wean on to prepared food, even in the hands of experienced reefers. usually people who have them keep a fuge so the pods can breed and be repopulated into the tank as the mandarin consumes them. judging by what has happened with your tank alone, i would glean that you're not ready to be keeping a mandarin. for the sake of the fish's health, rehome it ASAP. when your tank is properly cycled and actually ready for fish, and you have more experience with saltwater, then you could consider adding another one. but as of right now, he is not going to stay "big and fat." i'm not saying this to attack you, but your fish have been through a lot.

 

[bankim]

its been in my tank for 2 weeks now and it eats the red slime off the back of the tank and eats the sand and spits it back out... it spends a lot time with the goby as the comfort each other during times of stress..the goby will loose a friend.