another 10g fowlr build

dylan94

Ya I heard about that too. I think it's just because the bacteria eat the shrimp, therefore speeding up the cycling process. It's so exciting, setting up a new tank. Aren't you anxiously awaiting tomorrow? I know I would be... I am and I am only setting up my tank in a few weeks or so.

Good luck with the setup:)

wake49

Don't worry about the dead shrimp. The Live Sand and Live Rock will be chock full of beneficial bacteria. The "cycle" that you think of in relation to Freshwater tanks dont really matter to us on the marine side. We are more concerned with the tank being mature than cycled. The cycle in my tank took about a week, maybe less. It took my tank about a month for it to mature. First you will get a reading of zero in Nitrites and Ammonia, and a small reading in Nitrates (5-20ppm). Next you will see a Diatom Bloom, as the rocks and sand will get a rust-colored algae growing on them. Once this comes and goes Alkalinity and Calicum testing become vital. You want a reading of 8-12 dKH (Alkakinity) and 400-450 ppm (Calcium). Next you will see microfauna, such as copepods and amphipods. They will look like little "lice" on the glass and sand. When Coraline algae starts to set in, you are ready to quarantine your first fish.

teddyzaper

please dont go with that skimmer, that isnt really that good, the concast area is not large enough for the skimmer to do much. as for those fish, a 10gal is way to small for 3 fish. i would do the firefish and the clown, the watchman needs more space because they eat on stuff in the water and on the rocks (forgot what its called) the taam nano skimmer doesnt work, i got one and the impeller didnt even run and the whole thing just looked horrible, i recomend spending at least $100 on a skimmer, i got this:
http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaC_Nan...AC3431-vi.html and it is absolutly amazing, it produces so much skimmate and the skimmate is a dark tea color! http://www.marinedepot.com/CPR_SR2_P...ISVSUH-vi.html this is also a nice skimmer, but its in tank so it might be distracting.

you will also need a hydrometer and a saltwater master test kit, reverse osmosis water and of course a light.

in a 10gal a chocolate chip starfish will get WAY to big for the tank, i would recomend sticking with the shrimp, some hermits, and some snails for your CUC. also i would go a 4-6inch sand bed for biological reasons :P

i hope this helps and i hope you do good on your tank, ill be stopping in to look at this thread often because this seems very interesting.

trukgirl

Thanks Wake. :)

I just ordered the saltwater tanks for dummies book off Amazon since all these online "guides" I've been reading for so long are SO inconsistent with some things. The "for dummies" books have never steered me wrong LOL!

Teddyzaper - the reason I am not getting a $100 or even $75 skimmer is that my husband would flip his lid. The only reason i got him talked into this for the 10g is that it wouldn't cost a ton. I'm going to be spending enough on everything else for it. So unfortunately I have to go with something cheaper. Once I can prove myself with this tank, we are going to start investing in a 75g or (hopefully!) 125g & the equipment.

I already have a master test kit, light hood, and I am not going to mess with RO water for now... I have a great LFS abt 2 miles from here, that sells pre-mixed ro saltwater.

How long would it take a chocolate chip starfish to get too big for the tank?

trukgirl

Dylan - it is DEFINITELY exciting! Especially treading into brand new territory!! LOL

The LFS opens at noon, so I'm hoping some time this afternoon I'll have some pics!! :D

trukgirl

Off topic, but... Oh yay! Just figured out I can logon, reply to threads, even see pix on my blackberry on here! :)
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dylan94

I can't wait to see pictures. How deep will your sand bed be?

trukgirl

I decided to go with the 1" sand. Not to mention that a 10 lb bag of live aragonite sand was $20!

I got some nice live rock. One of them looks like a large piece of a branch-y coral. And I am pretty sure I saw a LARGE hitchhiker on it... a snail w/a black & white shell. :)

Everything is up and running! However... pics are a bust right now, it looks like a smoke bomb went off in the tank from the sand and initial water placement! LOL! Its so thick you can't even see halfway into the tank.

trukgirl

Its really starting to clear up... I should be able to take some pics by the time the sun goes down! (I'm in central time)

trukgirl

OK... its still kind of cloudy, but I took a few pics! Check it out in my aquariums tabs.

Its so odd, but I am pretty sure I've seen several teeny tiny animals of some sort, about the size of a grain of rice?? They seem to be deliberately moving, not moving from the current.