just a bit of help please

Johan van Aardt

I love marines [R.I.P.]
Joined
11 Jan 2009
Posts
1,432
Reaction score
4
Location
cape town, table view
i have about 6 kg of quite good qaulity live rock in a 60 liter tank along with coral sand and a hermit crab, i have two pumps 1 to make my waterflow stronger and the other i got with the tank witch i think is to pull water trough the filtration systym in the back, i have a 100 watt heater that is set on 24 degrees. and my tank is 27 degrees constantly. for filtration i have two bags of the white round stuff i am unsure of the name and one bag of activated carbon. also there is a big blue sponge in the back.

do you have any recomondations for me as well I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW HOW LONG I SHOULD WAIT BEFORE ADDING FISH. my tank is now 4 days old.:biggrin:

water qaulity being tested almost daily to ensure i can treat anything before it goes out of hand. i will add photos shortly.

one more thing wich kind of anemone is the easiest to keep because i want to put one in after a while for the two clowns i plan on getting
 
Firstly, we need pics of the white round stuff, it sounds like ceramic rings which are not great if you have live rock, the carbon is good, you will also need a phosphate remover in there as well.

Testing will show you when you can add anything, when the test results of ammonia, nitrite and phosphate are zero, and the nitrates are falling you can add your clean up crew, then after a couple of weeks of steady results you can add your fish, anemonies shouldn't be considered for at least a year, due to their very delicate nature - most tank bred clown fish don't need nems to survive.
 
Hi Johan van Aardt and welcome to Marine Aquariums of South Africa!
 
hi Johan:) welcome to MASA great to heve you here, i hope we can help you along with your journey into marines:)

there is lots for you to read on here and so much to learn with salty things, but its all fun and a great hobby, with MASA guys giving advice you'll catch on really fast.

As mike says we need a few pics to really help you, but with cycling there is no set time frame. Each tank is different depending on a number of factors, the only way to know is to test.

Could you list your water parameters for us?
 
Hi Johan.Welkom to MASA:wave2:

The typical cycle can take anything between 6-8 weeks. That time will be reduced if you have rock from an established tank.Rather wait it out and take it slow:)Only bad things happen quickly in this hobby;)
 
welcome boet, patience is the name of the game here.. the tank will take a little time to settle as mentioned and unfortunatley by adding fish in prematurley it ill cause disease and stress.. as for the white things i also suspect them to be ceramic rings which are comonly used in filtration systems.. unfortunatley due to them being too effiectien if i can put it that way they quickly convert disolved pollutants from ammonia-nitrite-nitrate.. seeing as we have so many filtration devices specialising in this area you should be looking at something to convert the nitrate into free nitrogen.. this is where your homework on a DSB begins..

i will leave it at that for now.. enjoy your stay with us..

les
 
Hi Johan - I think Mike is 100% correct.
The "White round things" are MOST likely ceramic noodles.
The BEST thinkg you can do, is to remove them from your tank, as well as the sponge. You can keep the activated carbon, BUT, you will have to replace this every 2 to 3 weeks or so.....
Best suggestions for your nano:
1) remove the ceramic rings
2) get some live rock rubble (many small pieces of live rock), and place them here in the section where you have the ceramic noodles at the moment....
3) remove the sponge as well
 
Welcome Johan - a few of us stay out here in table view/parklands/melkbos.... shout if you need help
 
Welcome to MASA Johan, hope you learn a lot and enjoy your stay. The reason the water tested fine after a day is because there is nothing in the water to show. Was way too quick to add the hermit, I hope he survives the cycle. Like mentioned by some of the other guys, a cycle takes 4-6 weeks. Please be patient and don't add anything else until then. Only after that time and after the water parameters are all in check, then you start stocking - slowly, to give the bacteria time to adapt to the extra bio-load.

And as far as anemones goes, not recommended to add an anemone before at least 9 months, I would say a year is even better. They usually die if added before then.
Take it slow, bad things happen quickly in the marine world. This is a very rewarding hobby, and to see a tank cycle is so exiting cause everyday you see something new growing on the live rock. You gotto have patients. Take it like this, while your tank is going through its cycle, you can read up on things you're not familiar with or what fish you wanna keep and their specific needs.
Enjoy it :wave2:
 
Welcome to MASA Johan!! Ditto on what henkhugo said!
 
Welcome to MASA

What lighting does the tank have, as this can be an important aspect when it comes to nennies.
 
Back
Top Bottom