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30 Gallon Adventure: R

R

Ryan88

Alright so I toke whoever advice it was to create just ONE page for everything. So I toke everything out after lunch. Assembled them on my patio to see what I would want. Anyway I think it looks really good now. Im alot happier :) Anyway The clown is still doing well inverts I hope are alright but everyone seems good. Also I finally hooked up my AC 30, no refug but I hooked it up for extra filtration. I might turn it into a refug and I could use some tips on that. So I'd basically have 2 skimmers running, which would help alot. I just kinda paced myself and I think it came out really well, i posed some pics on how the tank looks now. Im sorry for adding so many topics, I will continue to post everything here and only here. I appreciate all the advice everyone has given me thus far and I'd like to say thanks in advance for everything in the future. I dont catch on that quick and I thank you all for baring with me. I ask many questions and I appreciate all the answers. Anyway take a look at these 2 pics and let me know what you think.




P9200384.jpg





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Ill be researching the AC refug. but Id apprecaite some tips on how to convert it.
 
R

Ryan88

Tonight I've decided to really get started on buying new lights. I'm not going to tighten my belt at spending a good amount of money. I really need to get these lights but I'll be researching all night to see what I can find. Anyone else spots something let me know. I'm pretty much going to go with a T-5 4-6 bulb combination
 
R

Ryan88

Also I wanted to say that Im finding that the saltwater fish on eBay are amazingly cheaper then these stores. My neighbor with her tank just ordered a bunch of stuff that all was good, so Im going to give it a whirl. Im going to get that serpant starfish, I really want to try it. I know that I'll have to acclimate it for about 3 hours, so I'll just see what happens.
 
R

Ryan88

haha, look like I'm the only one here. But anyway I found this just now

30" SOLAR T5 AQUARIUM LIGHT HOOD & FREE LEGS 6 X 24 W
On eBay for 215.00

Best thing I've seen so far. I made up my mind that I want to have my lights ordered or bought by next weekend.
 
F

Finious

Try a site called Aquatraders. I have the T-5's from there that I have been using on my 30g for about 3 months now. My softies love it.
 
R

Ryan88

The only one I found on there was
30" 380W Metal Halide System w/ Electronic Ballast
209.00- FREE SHIPPING

This one does give me...
*

External 250W Electronic HQI Metal Halide Ballast with On/Off Switch
*
Internal Compact Fluorescent Ballasts
*
Three On/Off Switch, 1 for CF, 1 for LEDs, 1 for Cooling Fan
*

Individual Power Cords for Separate Timer Setup
*

Non-Corrosive Powder Coated Aluminum Housing
*

Heavy Duty Cooling Fan
*

Tempered Glass and Clear Acrylic Lens Covers
*

Highly Polished Reflector
*
Mounting Legs Included

FREE ITEMS w/ Metal Halide System Purchase
1x Odyssea 250W DE HQI Bulb 15000K
2x Odyssea 65W Compact Fluorescent Bulb Actinic Blue
4x Dual Bluemoon LED


I don't know if thats to advanced me for at this point, I mean its my 1st upgrade in lighting for a marine tank. I'd just would like others opinions and advice on it before I go and spend over 200$ for something I really don't know to much about.
 
J

JerseyWendy

Ryan,

There are a few things I want to say, please don't take offense.

If I'm not mistaken you are maintaining your water quality by buying saltwater from Trop and topping off evaporated water with distilled grocery store water, correct? If you haven't already done so, please invest in a refractometer to test your salinity. Swing-arm devices are prone to be quite inconsistent and not very reliable and/or accurate all the time. Check the salinity of the store bought saltwater BEFORE doing a water change, and make necessary adjustments before you do a water change. How often do you do water changes?

Invest in some good test kits, like Salifert. Test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium regularly, especially since your tank is still fairly new and will go through changes with time.

IMHO, maintaining good water quality is just as important, if not more so, than providing good lighting. You can slap the most expensive light fixture on your tank and it will do you no good if the water parameters are not within acceptable levels, or are fluctuating too much all the time.

Some animals are more forgiving than others, so until your parameters are stable, please stick with what you have, and don't add any unneccessary life stock.

The best advice I can give you is read, read, and read some more. Research anything and everything. The more you know, the more confident you will become. There is such a plethora of information on the web that it can be quite overwhelming, but don't let that discourage you. If you don't understand something ask questions, but I promise you'll find many questions answered if you take the time and look for them. :)

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Be P A T I E N T with your setup. You will be rewarded in the long run.

---
Wendy
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Hey Ryan...listen to Wendy she knows what she is talking about. Trust me or check out her tank.

Those are the same lights I have. If you want moon lights ask Jim..the seller if he can add moonlights.
It is good price better then the website...like I said before depends supply where he sells what cheaper. For six bulbs that is a good price.
 
R

Ryan88

Well Im guessing I should just get a whole new test kit? If I have to then I mean I will. I just wish someone would kinda guide me in the direction I should be heading in. 1st its good that I'm getting a starfish, then I should hold off on doing it for water purposes. I mean if the parameters werent good I would think that the clown wouldn't be doing well. But I'm not going to be rushing anything, I just really want to pick a direction and follow it. I feel like I'm going down multiple roads all at once, and its a really bad feeling.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Ryan88 said:
Well Im guessing I should just get a whole new test kit? If I have to then I mean I will. I just wish someone would kinda guide me in the direction I should be heading in. 1st its good that I'm getting a starfish, then I should hold off on doing it for water purposes. I mean if the parameters werent good I would think that the clown wouldn't be doing well. But I'm not going to be rushing anything, I just really want to pick a direction and follow it. I feel like I'm going down multiple roads all at once, and its a really bad feeling.
Click to expand...

Ryan - fish tolerate a lot more than inverts or corals. Just because a fish is surviving in a tank -doesn't mean the water is good. An extreme example is placing a fish in freshwater bath/dip. It will be fine for a short period of time. On the other hand - that would probably be lethal to a snail.
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

Hey Ryan,
Unfortunately a reef tank requires multiple roads. A suggestion that I would make is that you need to learn what you need to schedule maintenance wise for your tank.
There are many different "schedules" out there. But let me give you an idea on how to start.
Daily: feed fish, turn lights on and off, top off water, check temp.
Weekly: water change, test PH, Ns, PO Ammonia now, Ca, Alk and Mag when you have corals, empty skimmer.
Monthly: clean pumps ext.
Yearly: replace light bulbs.
There is a lot more you can do and probably need to do that I didn't write....get a book and reed some schedules that are suggested. If you cannot find a good source LMK and I will get you something.

If after a couple weeks of testing everything is good(and stable) then you can feel more secure getting your starfish.
The idea, and starfish are very sensitive to fluctuations, is to create a good and stable environment.

Refractometer is a must...if you have a test kit tell us what your parameters are so we know. It is very important to have that information. Maybe you have a test kit that will work. I found that Ca test kits are the most pain in the butt.
 
J

JerseyWendy

Ryan, I didn't want to discourage you in any way, but what do you think would happen if you got the starfish and it died? They are not the smallest critters, you know, and I'm afraid a decaying starfish will foul your 30 gallon in no time at all.

I completely agree with JR about making a schedule. A saltwater tank is not something you can really ever neglect without running into major problems. You had said you didn't top off any water yet, which baffles me because I know you must have had quite some evaporation over the past what.....4 or so days? If you've never topped off, your salinity surely must have gone up. And if you top off all the evaporation at once, you'll end up with a drop in salinity - perhaps a drop that's too sudden and too much for some of your lifestock.

---
Wendy
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

it's weird that you are showing ammonia. Is it possible to bring a sample to Trop and ask them to test for ammonia?

Ammonia is typically a sign that your tank is cycling...or your test isn't right.
 
R

Ryan88

Test cant be right because everything else is down which I believe is a good sign. Granted I only have 1 clown fish and a little bit of a cleanup crew, but my water seems pretty good. I am going to get a refractometer definitely, but for now things look alright. Im still pursuing lights.
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Ammo is the first step in the cycle. You can have ammonia AGAIN because of the system starting a new cycle due to a change in the feeding or bio-load. With a 30g tank the water is very sensitive to changes. My guess is that you'll see the trites & trates begin to rise next. Just because a tank cycles once doesn't mean that it can't see a second, third, fourth cycle. It all depends on how fast you add things to the system and how capable your system is of handling the changes in bio-load.
 
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