Scarsdale Newbie!!

[BlueSi4]

Well little update on the tank.
Cleaned the whole black glass, cleaned the rocks, sand, right now it's free of Red Slime, we'll see how long it takes for it to come back. I messed a little today with the flow, trying to get more flow to the rocks, will work more on it tomorrow.
I'm proud to see that the tank is still alive and doing well, besides the HLLE that the Hippo has, but he's eating and swimming, i don't see any kind of unusual behavior from him. Clowns are eating too (they both eat the flakes off my hands).
Other than that, everything seems fine.
I just have a quick question. I have a hermit crab with white legs and a different shell than all the other hermit crabs that i bought, i swear that i didn't buy that hermit crab...could have that hermit crab come with the rock??

 

[nycsicktank]

yes

 

[BlueSi4]

Well that white hermit crab seems like it outgrew every single other hermit crab in my tank in a short period of time, it's kinda amazing/weird.
Other than that, the Hippo seems to be progressing well, eating and swimming happy.
I should also have my Refractometer coming in this week, should get better Salinity readings from now on. Now i just have to work on getting some more test kits.

 

[KathyC]

Now i just have to work on getting some more test kits.

Yes you do ...lol

The Hippo - there is no further erosions right? Does it look like it is just scaring that you are seeing on him now?
Can you get a clear pic one of these days ?

 

[BlueSi4]

Here are some pics:

 

[NYreefNoob]

 

[BlueSi4]

i know, it was a mistake getting the hippo that early...but i was given some bad advice at the store where i got it...they told me that i could just feed them brine shrimp and flakes
what else is wrong with my tank?

 

[KathyC]

You need more flow.
I'd start with removing the pieces on the Seio that direct the current and setting it up with the other parts from the box so the water is blowing out of the larger round piece. PM me if you don't know what I mean.
You need more PH's to move the water around.
The gray sections on the Hippos face - are they smooth?

You still have crushed coral in there? I thought you were changing that to sand? The subrate you have now will trap detritus (crud), it would be good to change that over sooner rather than later.
I have some more 'dead' rock in my backyard, you're welcome to it, but you will have to cure it.

 

[BlueSi4]

If i do get some more powerheads, where should i place them?
I have 2 already, one on each side, and i don't wanna overcrowd the tank with equipment...any diagrams or helpful information as far as powerhead placement goes?

 

[KathyC]

sigh..Oriol, now I'm going to pick on you...lol
Once you get the filter out of there, you'll have one less piece of equipment to look at.
While you're doing that take the heater and place it horizontally BEHIND your rocks about 6 inches up from the bottom of the tank.
Poof - less equipment to look at!
Can I safely assume you have the Remora skimmer on there now? (hard to tell in the pics). If you do, ditch the power filter. (but not on the same day you do a water change.)
If you paint the back of the tank black, you will not see your equipment as much.
What/where is the 2nd PH..a Maxijet?
How about a FTS?
If you do end up adding a 3rd PH., you can place it lower & behind the rocks. Need to know where things are first.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

You still have crushed coral in there? I thought you were changing that to sand? The subrate you have now will trap detritus (crud), it would be good to change that over sooner rather than later.
I have some more 'dead' rock in my backyard, you're welcome to it, but you will have to cure it.

:bump:

 

[BlueSi4]

Thanks Kathy,
i will work on the things you told me about. I have to do a water change either today or tomorrow, so i'll place the heater behind the rocks, but im a little bit worried about the filter. Can the skimmer do the job of cleaning the tank by itself? I thought you always need a filter in there to clean your water!?
As far as the other powerhead goes, it's on the other side of the tank, and it's an aquaclear powerhead.
What's a FTS??

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

FTS = Full tank shot.

 

[BlueSi4]

Thank you!!!

FTS = Full tank shot.

 

[KathyC]

Thanks Kathy,
I have to do a water change either today or tomorrow, so i'll place the heater behind the rocks, but im a little bit worried about the filter. Can the skimmer do the job of cleaning the tank by itself? I thought you always need a filter in there to clean your water!?

No filter needed when you have a skimmer.
Ta-da!! Less equipment!!
Your entire tank is your 'filter'. You think you need a filter to get rid of fish poop, uneaten food, and clean your water. In a reef tank, your inverts & bacteria eat all of that stuff and your skimmer does the remainder of the job of cleaning your water.

Chief...Oriol is picking up some more L/R today..we talk a lot via PM..but thanks for bumping it up in case he missed it. :hug:

 

[BlueSi4]

No filter needed when you have a skimmer.
Ta-da!! Less equipment!!
Your entire tank is your 'filter'. You think you need a filter to get rid of fish poop, uneaten food, and clean your water. In a reef tank, your inverts & bacteria eat all of that stuff and your skimmer does the remainder of the job of cleaning your water.

Chief...Oriol is picking up some more L/R today..we talk a lot via PM..but thanks for bumping it up in case he missed it. :hug:

Ok, thanks for clearing that up, the filter will come out sometime this week, a couple days after i do the water change.
I think i will have to add some more Hermit crabs, since mine (10 of them) seem to be getting lazy and spend most of the day on the rocks "sleeping".
I will also get about 20lb of live rock today, pushing the total of LR in my tank to about 45-50lb. As soon as i get the rock in, i will start getting rid of the crushed coral.

 

[KathyC]

Why put the rock in before you start taking out the crushed coral?
Ideally you want your rock to be placed on the very bottom of the tank (not on top of the sand). Certain fish, movement of water from the powerheads and your inverts will eventually move the sand out from under the rock and your 'reef' will collapse, possibly shattering your tank.:bigeyes:
Wherever you are going to place the new rock, please remove the crushed coral from beneath it first!
btw - you will still need to add more rock..you are aiming for 1 1/2 to 2 X the amount of rock as compared to your water volume for your L/R to perform as a a biological filter.

Oh, and your hermits are up all night working. Cut them a little slack..lol

 

[BlueSi4]

UPDATE!!!

Bought a T5 fixture with 2 atinics, 2 white ones (not sure on the name lol) and 3 moonlights, plus 20lb of live rock. It looks awesome!!
I also removed as much crushed coral as i could, going to work on it more tomorrow.
I've been using a fish net to remove the crushed coral, is there anything else i could use? I tried using the vacuum but it won't take the coral, i guess it's too heavy.

 

[nycsicktank]

as far as i know, using the net is the best method i used.

 

[BlueSi4]

alright, here are some pics, the water is still a bit cloudy from the sand