Phosphate/Calcium Issues Continued

That last one is me trying to lure my FW Mississippi Map Turtle into the salt tank! (just kidding)

I dontknow about anyone else, but there is a good lesson to be learned from all of this:

If you are new to salt, you might not want to buy a really badly maintained 14 gal tank! #1 - It is too small - parameters fluctuate easily. #2 - With so many question marks already (being a noob and all), questions become almost impossible to answer, since we have no clue that the previous owner put in the the tank. He could have been topping it off with tap water for all we know.

For me, I knew I wanted to get into the hobby. The tank was in a business that was moving, and I had 2 days to buy it. I paid $150 but he ended up iving me $40 for the fish in the tank.

So $110 for (possibly) poisoned live rock, substate that needed to be thrown out, and tank that needed to be scrubbed for 8 hours, and endless question marks as to WHY things aren't balancing out...

Yea, next time - when I start my 55 gallon reef, I am buying everything brand new (or very lightly used). It was not worth the money I "saved," especially after I spent $100 figuring out the problems!

I did lean a lot though, which is what it is all about, right?

Thanks guys.

 

Hey Jim -

No prob - the additive is:

SeaChem's Reef Calcium Advantage (powdered form)

 

Well first, it's "afterwards," not "after words." ;D (no offense). :-[

Second, why do you feel I can't "handle" the comments? Do I have to agree with everything that is said here regarding water chemistry because I never did a SW tank before?? I mean seriously. Can you explain why I need to do some more research when YOU came in here, read that my amm/trites were 0/0, and my trates were less than 5, and concluded that MY TANK IS CYCLING????

Raising Oscars and Piranhas, we don't test for Calcium. SO I need help understanding the delicate balance between Cal/Alk/Mg. Reefers with lots of SW experience don't understand the chemistry behind it. I want to. And even though I dont have SW experience, I have been cycling tanks the same way SW people do since I was a kid trying to make Sunny/Bass tanks out of rubbermaid containers.

So when someone tells me my tank is cycling when it is clearly not cycling, I think it's my obligation to tell you that you are wrong.

Again, please explain how you see 0/0/<5 for amm/trites/trates, and conclude the tank is cycling.

Im interested to see if you "can handle my comments."

Lets get this little debate out of the way, and after words, I will buy you a drink. (no offense)

 

Oh and thanks for the calculator.

 

Hello new2salt, 1st, thank you for correcting my english;D My russian is better than my english 2nd, I based my statement on the fact that even when you introduce any livestock to any system, even a hundred year old tank, you will always go through a small cycle. The lenth of the cycle depends on alot of factors, which in your case I knew very little. Not to mention that I wasnt the only one that made that statement. I changed my 45gal tank to the 90 gal( 8 yrs ago ) that I have now and it went through a small cycle. And all I did was to transfer everything from the 45 to the 90 and add the water that was missing. Same LS, LR, bio balls, everything. I left FW decades ago so I really dont remember, but FW is way different than SW. I came in here to learn more and to share my exp. and knowledge with others, and to talk to ppl that share the same passion that I do. As for you not being able to handle the comments, thats the way you sounded on paper. If your not studying law, you should. You would make a great lawyer;D As for that drink, make mine a corona with a lime please.8)
Luna

 

hey New2Salt! you used to keep suunies/bass as a kid? i currently do! haha im 14 so im a kid, and i m reliving your past! i have a pumpkinseed, a largemouth, a smallmouth, and a channel catfish in a 10gallon. they are what got me interested in fish keeping in general.

 

haha i said "suunies"! i meant sunnies. lol

 

Ok I think we agree. I can handle any comments, but if I feel like someone is wrong, I will say it. Sorry if I wasn't as tactful as I could have been.

 

Not a problem, but I will hold the drink against you!!

 

Bro, you are gonna kill those fish! Haha wow.

I think it's great that you are trying to keep these fish. They are amazing to watch. But they are VERY difficult to keep happy because they are so dirty. Please read the following with an open mind.

#1 - When it comes to keeping bass, sunnies, and cats, you need at least 7-10 gallons per inch of fish. These fish produce sooo much more waste than your average tank fish. They eat live food, and are generally very sloppy.
#2 - Smallies should not be kept in tanks unless you have built a stream or if your tank is very long with great flow. I would put him back in the river/stream you got him from until you can get a better tank.

Im sure you notice your water is very dirty. This is eventually going to kill your fish. Do your fish a favor. Let them all go except for MAYBE the pumpkinseed sunny (very pretty fish). If the sunny is larger than 1-2 inches long, you need to upgrade your tank.

If you are going to keep them anyway, get a stock tank from your local garden store. You can get an 80-100 gallon tank for like $50. This way, at least the fish will have room to move. Make sure you do LARGE water changes, and have a very good filter on hand.

Finally, I have a priceless tip for keeping these fish. You need to get the smallest ones possible. To do this, get a fly rod from WalMart for like $20. Use really tiny flies, and you will catch really tiny fish.

Having smaller fish will help keep your wasteload down. I tie flies for fly fishing, so if interested, I can send you some for free.

Matt