Kait's Tanks

HI everyone,

~ My oldest tank is my 3.5g Betta tank. Yes, I know Bettas should be in a 5 gallon but I tried that with mine and he was very inactive and pathetic looking to be honest. I moved him into a temporary 3.5g when something happened with the 5 gallon and he immediately perked up so I kept him there to see what he'd do. The temporary tank turned into a permanent one! He's been super happy in there for a few months now, it was a significant change in his activity, so I'm not going to mess with him! He went from flaring when he saw me, to swimming up and doing "tricks" aka booping the glass in my direction and doing a circle. I used to call him my jerk fish for flaring at me for no reason but now he's really sweet. His name is Andy, named after the Andamooka Opal since they're really pretty and have the same colors, and he's probably about 1 year now. I got him from Petsmart so according to google he was about 6 months to a year when I got him and I've had him for about 8 months now. So now that I'm doing the math he's anywhere from 14-20 months old (as of 6/16/18). If you saw this post before 6/26 you saw there was a huge plant in there that he loved. Unfortunately algae problems pushed me to add a live plant to the tank. I'm thinking about getting more but we'll see how this first one goes
Old tank (with the big fake plant)

New setup

I cleaned the volcano bubbler from another setup and put it in there on a super low setting (like 1 bubble every 5 seconds) and he seems to like it so far.

~ My next tank is my 20g. Edit- Snoot, my blue spotted puffer, died. I'm starting over with this tank and documenting it below.

~ My 3rd "tank" is my Crested Gecko terrarium but I'll stick to telling you about the fish unless someone wants me to include it Give the people what they want, right? lol

 

Nice! Are you thinking of getting more tanks?

 

Nice! Are you thinking of getting more tanks?

I'm transferring from community college to a 4 year school in about 6 months so not in the very near future but eventually yes. The puffer is definitely going to need a bigger one in the future so that would open my 20 gallon for maybe some clownfish and/or a small saltwater community if they still interest me at that point. I haven't looked into anything those are just off the top of my head right now

 

Love it. You've been popping up a lot on this forum Your puffer fish is gorgeous.

 

Love it. You've been popping up a lot on this forum Your puffer fish is gorgeous.

Thank you! I'm just so excited about him. Even my mom ("its just a fish you need to relax" lady) thinks he's adorable!

 

Thank you! I'm just so excited about him. Even my mom ("its just a fish you need to relax" lady) thinks he's adorable!

How much did he cost?

 

How much did he cost?

He was originally $29 but I had given them some fish so they gave me a 20% off coupon and I used it so I only ended up paying $23.99 before tax. There was a larger one for $46 but that size didn't work for my tank right now so I went with the smaller one.

 

He was originally $29 but I had given them some fish so they gave me a 20% off coupon and I used it so I only ended up paying $23.99 before tax. There was a larger one for $46 but that size didn't work for my tank right now so I went with the smaller one.

That's a good deal I got two frostbite clownfish for just $20.00. They were originally $90.00 a piece. I love the LFS employees.

 

That's a good deal I got two frostbite clownfish for just $20.00. They were originally $90.00 a piece. I love the LFS employees.

Wow that's awesome! I don't know mine well enough for anything like that yet. I'm brand new to the whole knowing there are REAL fish stores thing and not going to Petsmart to get them lol.. Snoot is my first non-petsmart fish

 

Wow that's awesome! I don't know mine well enough for anything like that yet. I'm brand new to the whole knowing there are REAL fish stores thing and not going to Petsmart to get them lol.. Snoot is my first non-petsmart fish

Haha, yeah. I go to the LFS a lot, so they know me very well

 

So today I washed the sand and filled a little over 3/4 of the tank with saltwater that I mixed in the bucket first. I work today so I'll go to the LFS tomorrow and pick up some live rock (and a powerhead) so after that's in there I'll top it off if I need to. If the water is a little cloudy because the sand hasn't completely settled, will that mess with the hydrometer and test kit readings? I just wasn't sure if it'd even be worth it to test today.
Lorekeeper stella1979

 

Nope, cloudy water shouldn't mess with any sort of readings on a test kit, and I wouldn't imagine it'd hurt a hydrometer either. A refractometer would be a great purchase as well.

 

Nope, cloudy water shouldn't mess with any sort of readings on a test kit, and I wouldn't imagine it'd hurt a hydrometer either. A refractometer would be a great purchase as well.

Okay thanks! I just got home so I'll get started on my tests and add a refractometer to the list

 

I think I came up with a new stocking list, let me know what you think. I wanted some different colors going on in there and I'm debating the black ocellaris' because they're pretty cool looking. I put them in the order I think they should be stocked but I'm not 100% sure. (stella1979 would you be able to check this?) I'm planning on getting the live rock tomorrow so any advice on what to look for in the rock to keep these guys happy would be awesome (assuming this list is "approved" ).

1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Emerald Crab
2 (Black?) Ocellaris Clownfish

*edit- and apparently a snail (supposed to be puffer food but he didn't eat it.. there were 2 but he ate one and I couldn't find the other even after cleaning all the sand so I guess it was hiding on the filter or heater)

 

Hey Kait! Glad to see a build thread from you.

Hmmm, shrimp are some of the more sensitive species that we keep, so shouldn't be the first thing in a 'new' tank. A new tank is what you'll have after a re-start. The stocking looks great, but I would do it like this instead.

Cleanup crew
snails - I prefer banded Trochus. Snails are great for the diatom blooms that arise in new tanks.

You might want to wait to stock any crabs. They'll need algae to munch on after all. Algae inevitably arises, but perhaps not until after the first fish and regular feedings.

Yellow Watchman (YWG) - Do you know that these guys will form a symbiotic bonding with a pistol shrimp? They'll live together in a burrow maintained by the nearly blind shrimp. The shrimp keeps house and the goby is the security guard. It might be worth looking into. The shrimp will not add much if anything to your bioload.

Emerald Crab - Like any crab, you might find a few reports of them going rogue and eating coral. Do you plan on having coral? Most of my online buddies love these guys and report that they are model citizens, but they make me nervous. Best to get a female if you can, as I've heard it's usually males that go rogue. They are great little cleaners though AND eat types of algae that other CUC won't touch, like bubble and bryopsis. Crabs in general are what you want for '3D' algae... that is, algae that's not flat and snails won't touch. Just about everybody ends up with gha at some point and emeralds and hermits are great little lawnmowers for the job. If you do plan on having coral, stick with reef safe crabs.

Fighting Conch - If you want. These guys are great for keeping the sand clean and aerated, which is a good thing to defend against the dreaded cyanobacteria. The conch will need occasional supplemental feedings of omnivorous fish foods when the sand is too clean for it to find it's meals there. They will eat just about everything that litters your sand though, detritus, leftover fish food, diatoms and hair algae that grows in the sand or low on rocks.

2 Occy or Percula Clowns - Finally!!! You can move rather quickly with your clean up crew, but I suggest you give your YWG at least 3 weeks to become truly comfortable before adding your little aggressors.


So... I really like to support the LFS as much as I can, but there are some things that are more than twice the price of what you can find online. I'd look at Amazon for equipment like powerheads and a refractometer. Bulk Reef Supply and Marine Depot are also good online vendors with competitive pricing,. Marine Depot has a great rewards program and BRS has free shipping.

 

If you haven't bought it already, I have some brand new spare refractometers from Marine Depot that I can sell to you 1/2 price if you're interested.
Just out of curiosity, which LFS are you going to in Virginia?

 

Hey Kait! Glad to see a build thread from you.

Hmmm, shrimp are some of the more sensitive species that we keep, so shouldn't be the first thing in a 'new' tank. A new tank is what you'll have after a re-start. The stocking looks great, but I would do it like this instead.

Cleanup crew
snails - I prefer banded Trochus. Snails are great for the diatom blooms that arise in new tanks.

You might want to wait to stock any crabs. They'll need algae to munch on after all. Algae inevitably arises, but perhaps not until after the first fish and regular feedings.

Yellow Watchman (YWG) - Do you know that these guys will form a symbiotic bonding with a pistol shrimp? They'll live together in a burrow maintained by the nearly blind shrimp. The shrimp keeps house and the goby is the security guard. It might be worth looking into. The shrimp will not add much if anything to your bioload.

Emerald Crab - Like any crab, you might find a few reports of them going rogue and eating coral. Do you plan on having coral? Most of my online buddies love these guys and report that they are model citizens, but they make me nervous. Best to get a female if you can, as I've heard it's usually males that go rogue. They are great little cleaners though AND eat types of algae that other CUC won't touch, like bubble and bryopsis. Crabs in general are what you want for '3D' algae... that is, algae that's not flat and snails won't touch. Just about everybody ends up with gha at some point and emeralds and hermits are great little lawnmowers for the job. If you do plan on having coral, stick with reef safe crabs.

Fighting Conch - If you want. These guys are great for keeping the sand clean and aerated, which is a good thing to defend against the dreaded cyanobacteria. The conch will need occasional supplemental feedings of omnivorous fish foods when the sand is too clean for it to find it's meals there. They will eat just about everything that litters your sand though, detritus, leftover fish food, diatoms and hair algae that grows in the sand or low on rocks.

2 Occy or Percula Clowns - Finally!!! You can move rather quickly with your clean up crew, but I suggest you give your YWG at least 3 weeks to become truly comfortable before adding your little aggressors.


So... I really like to support the LFS as much as I can, but there are some things that are more than twice the price of what you can find online. I'd look at Amazon for equipment like powerheads and a refractometer. Bulk Reef Supply and Marine Depot are also good online vendors with competitive pricing,. Marine Depot has a great rewards program and BRS has free shipping.

Okay, that makes sense about the shrimp. I really like the cleaner shrimp though, are you just saying I should I wait to stock one until everyone else has been in there for a few months without having any water problems?
Cleanup crew snails - I can definitely get a Trochus from my LFS. Would you reccomend 1 or 2?
Yellow Watchman- I didn't know that about the pistol shrimp, but I'll definitely look into that. Would I be able to have both the cleaner and the pistol?
Crab- I don't plan on having coral, I don't think my LED's would support it. I'll still try to get a female though just in case coral is in my future
Fighting Conch- I'll look into that. I apparently have a Nassarius snail now (uneaten puffer food- disappeared until last night). I didn't see it when I cleaned the sand but I've been watching it since I found it again and its spending most of its time buried in the sand (and making me really confused as to where it was when I took all the sand/water out). If I got one more, would they basically do the same thing? This Nassarius dude is kinda cool now that it decided to join the party... its like Where's Waldo fish tank edition
Clowns- Yay, I'm excited for these guys! If I end up wanting to get a pistol shrimp for the YWG would I need to do that before the Clownfish or can I decide that later on?

If you haven't bought it already, I have some brand new spare refractometers from Marine Depot that I can sell to you 1/2 price if you're interested.
Just out of curiosity, which LFS are you going to in Virginia?

I'm in NOVA too. I'm going to Centerville Aquarium off of 29. And I'm definitely interested in that!

 

Shrimp Oops! I forgot to include your cleaner shrimp!!! Sorry!ops: No, I didn't mean to infer that he should be added last, just plumb forgot him. You can add shrimp maybe a month or two in. You just want to give time for the tank to stabilize
a bit before adding them as they are very sensitive to ammonia spikes or high nitrates. Yes, you may have both a pistol shrimp and a cleaner shrimp as they will occupy very different spaces. The pistol is a wimp, not seen much and rarely leaves his burrow, (they're still cool and I love mine), while the cleaner will be out and about doing his thing and totally unafraid.

Snails I have 3 Trochus in my 20 gallon and they are all happy. Nassarius snails do spend almost all their time in the sand, but you should see them now and then when food hits the tank. I haven't had the best luck with mine honestly which may be because they are strictly carnivores and I feed the tank carefully and corals catch food too... leaving little leftovers for the nass snails.

Crabs You're probably right about your light, but once you've had this salty tank running for a little while and initial costs are further from the mind, a reef light won't seem like such a big purchase. Most FOWLR tanks don't stay that way for very long, so best to stick with reef safe critters anyway.

Fish The clowns will have little bearing on the introduction of a pistol shrimp so you can certainly wait on this... However, the pairing process may occur a little easier without crazy clowns in the tank. A clowns level of activity is enough to scare timid creatures into hiding, and you want your goby and pistol shrimp to share a hiding space.

You are one lucky aquarist to have Nart nearby. Beware his candy shop or you may be shopping for a reef light sooner than you think, lol. You should also consider checking in with his aquarium club, or just your local reefer scene as it seems to be a really great one. He's gotten great deals on fish, corals, and equipment via this club and fellow local hobbyists.

 

Shrimp Oops! I forgot to include your cleaner shrimp!!! Sorry!ops: No, I didn't mean to infer that he should be added last, just plumb forgot him. You can add shrimp maybe a month or two in. You just want to give time for the tank to stabilize
a bit before adding them as they are very sensitive to ammonia spikes or high nitrates. Yes, you may have both a pistol shrimp and a cleaner shrimp as they will occupy very different spaces. The pistol is a wimp, not seen much and rarely leaves his burrow, (they're still cool and I love mine), while the cleaner will be out and about doing his thing and totally unafraid.

Snails I have 3 Trochus in my 20 gallon and they are all happy. Nassarius snails do spend almost all their time in the sand, but you should see them now and then when food hits the tank. I haven't had the best luck with mine honestly which may be because they are strictly carnivores and I feed the tank carefully and corals catch food too... leaving little leftovers for the nass snails.

Crabs You're probably right about your light, but once you've had this salty tank running for a little while and initial costs are further from the mind, a reef light won't seem like such a big purchase. Most FOWLR tanks don't stay that way for very long, so best to stick with reef safe critters anyway.

Fish The clowns will have little bearing on the introduction of a pistol shrimp so you can certainly wait on this... However, the pairing process may occur a little easier without crazy clowns in the tank. A clowns level of activity is enough to scare timid creatures into hiding, and you want your goby and pistol shrimp to share a hiding space.

You are one lucky aquarist to have Nart nearby. Beware his candy shop or you may be shopping for a reef light sooner than you think, lol. You should also consider checking in with his aquarium club, or just your local reefer scene as it seems to be a really great one. He's gotten great deals on fish, corals, and equipment via this club and fellow local hobbyists.

Its okay I just wanted to check! Thanks for all your advice and help! I'm definitely excited for this tank. And you're right, this does seem like fuel for the addiction lol


What should I do with this snail until the tank is cycled? I want to just put it in a small container with sand and some water for the time being but I can see the trails and its been a lot more active than just a container would allow

 

That's a toughie... the snail can survive some time in a container, but probably not for very long without flow. Flow oxygenates the water and oxygen is something all creatures need. How about a bucket with a tiny nano pump?

I actually really love these little pumps and have four of them myself. They are super handy for small quarantine setups and we're currently using two for that. I still like to have a couple of spares around because they are cheap and just what you'd need in unusual situations like this. I've used them in buckets before when giving fish a medicated bath.

 

I’m in Nova too. Over in Ashburn VA.

I suggest you go to reef eScape. It’s the only LFS that I trust buying my fishes from. They quarantine their fishes for two weeks before selling.

Just send me a PM and let me know what you need and if you need help with anything. I have a lot of extra nano equipments and what not.

 

I’m in Nova too. Over in Ashburn VA.

I suggest you go to reef eScape. It’s the only LFS that I trust buying my fishes from. They quarantine their fishes for two weeks before selling.

Just send me a PM and let me know what you need and if you need help with anything. I have a lot of extra nano equipments and what not.

Thank you so much! I have to get ready for work so I probably won't be able to PM you until tonight or tomorrow

 

Thank you so much! I have to get ready for work so I probably won't be able to PM you until tonight or tomorrow

Take your time. Just offering help if you need it. I know how lost I was starting out.

 

Could I use this as a powerhead? Or is this a powerhead? For $12 I could get 2 for a little over 1/2 the price of this powerhead ( from the budget nano guide), and if its an issue of having an air stone to make sure there's enough oxygen in the water I'd definitely be able to do that.
If I'm completely misunderstanding the difference between this and a powerhead (if it's not one) please let me know. They seem like the same thing to me and I searched "powerhead" on Bulk Reef Supply and that $12 one came up in the results.

*edit- 2 to have one as a backup or to use while mixing saltwater for a water change.. 2 is what I'd like to have but at $45 I don't know that I'd do that
**another edit- What about the nano pump stella1979 suggested for the snail situation (in the mail)? Would that on one side of the tank, combined with one of the $12 things on the opposite side be similar enough to an actual powerhead?

 

Okay, first of all, Nart is away from home this weekend so may be out of touch, but I would check with him as he may have a sweet second hand deal on an old powerhead of his, and this guy takes good care of his reefy stuff.

Sorry, but the first link there is not a powerhead, it is more of a housing like what is on powerheads, but does not push water by itself. You should start looking at the GPH, or the gallons per hour rating that these powerheads have. You have a 20 gallon tank, yes? Your total flow, or the GPH of all pumps/powerheads/filtration that is on the tank should be at least 20x the water volume for a reef tank. This means you want at least 400GPH moving through your tank, and I can tell you that my 20 gallon long mixed reef gets more than that... at least 600GPH at all times and sometimes more due to the settings that vary the flow in my tank.

So, those nano pumps max out at 80GPH, not nearly enough for a 20g. Plus, you kind of need something you can easily direct towards the surface for excellent surface agitation and good oxygenation in the water. Full disclosure... I'm all about that flow, lol. I have two of the Jebao SW2 powerheads you linked above on my tank as well as an Aquaclear 70 all providing flow in my tank... but it is 30 inches long. Also, I prefer to have controls available that allow me to set flow speed and a sort of ebb & flow pattern, where they alternate on & off, on & off, creating a back and forth flow pattern in the tank. Throughout the day, there are also short periods of time where both are on, for short bursts of max flow. The corals appreciate the variation.

Anyway... I'm not sure what the dimensions are in your tank, and you could probably get away with a single SW2 if you added something like an Aquaclear HOB filter that would also provide some flow as well as a place for mechanical filtration, carbon, or even a little DIY refugium like Culprit and I have in our Aquaclears. I'm not even sure what kind of tank you have. Is it a standard 20g? High or long?

I cannot recommend varied flow enough. I didn't start my tank with SW2's but with Hydor Koralia 425GPH pumps, two of them. I got unlucky and one broke less than 4 months in, and replaced that with an SW2. I still had one of each though, so I didn't use the programming or vary the SW2 because the Koralia didn't come with a controller so only provided constant flow at a constant speed. My corals were doing well enough, but after hearing so much about how corals love an ebb and flow motion of the water, and knowing that to be true as it mimics nature, I wanted to create the same in my tank. I broke down and bought a 2nd SW2 and... the corals responded very well. I am sure that I saw better polyp extension, (PE, and good PE means happy corals), and I think the growth rate increased a little bit. However, Hydor Koralias aren't all bad, just not programmable, so it's either on or not, that's it, no settings, no varied flow, but will do the job and are cheaper than the SW2.

 

Okay, first of all, Nart is away from home this weekend so may be out of touch, but I would check with him as he may have a sweet second hand deal on an old powerhead of his, and this guy takes good care of his reefy stuff.

Sorry, but the first link there is not a powerhead, it is more of a housing like what is on powerheads, but does not push water by itself. You should start looking at the GPH, or the gallons per hour rating that these powerheads have. You have a 20 gallon tank, yes? Your total flow, or the GPH of all pumps/powerheads/filtration that is on the tank should be at least 20x the water volume for a reef tank. This means you want at least 400GPH moving through your tank, and I can tell you that my 20 gallon long mixed reef gets more than that... at least 600GPH at all times and sometimes more due to the settings that vary the flow in my tank.

So, those nano pumps max out at 80GPH, not nearly enough for a 20g. Plus, you kind of need something you can easily direct towards the surface for excellent surface agitation and good oxygenation in the water. Full disclosure... I'm all about that flow, lol. I have two of the Jebao SW2 powerheads you linked above on my tank as well as an Aquaclear 70 all providing flow in my tank... but it is 30 inches long. Also, I prefer to have controls available that allow me to set flow speed and a sort of ebb & flow pattern, where they alternate on & off, on & off, creating a back and forth flow pattern in the tank. Throughout the day, there are also short periods of time where both are on, for short bursts of max flow. The corals appreciate the variation.

Anyway... I'm not sure what the dimensions are in your tank, and you could probably get away with a single SW2 if you added something like an Aquaclear HOB filter that would also provide some flow as well as a place for mechanical filtration, carbon, or even a little DIY refugium like Culprit and I have in our Aquaclears. I'm not even sure what kind of tank you have. Is it a standard 20g? High or long?

I cannot recommend varied flow enough. I didn't start my tank with SW2's but with Hydor Koralia 425GPH pumps, two of them. I got unlucky and one broke less than 4 months in, and replaced that with an SW2. I still had one of each though, so I didn't use the programming or vary the SW2 because the Koralia didn't come with a controller so only provided constant flow at a constant speed. My corals were doing well enough, but after hearing so much about how corals love an ebb and flow motion of the water, and knowing that to be true as it mimics nature, I wanted to create the same in my tank. I broke down and bought a 2nd SW2 and... the corals responded very well. I am sure that I saw better polyp extension, (PE, and good PE means happy corals), and I think the growth rate increased a little bit. However, Hydor Koralias aren't all bad, just not programmable, so it's either on or not, that's it, no settings, no varied flow, but will do the job and are cheaper than the SW2.

My tank is a 24x12x16 20 gallon high. I have a HOB running to get some water movement at least while the tank is cycling and I’ll honestly probably keep it on there but I took the filter media out- there’s just some pieces of spongey stuff (honestly don’t know what it’s called but I used it for a DIY sponge filter) I added so I could just take a piece out to set up a quarantine or another tank faster in the future. Thanks for the clarification on what makes something a powerhead I’ll definitely check with Nart about that

 

Figured I'd update you guys- I ended up just emptying the tank. My friend had a Leopard Gecko she needed to get rid of and I like reptiles just slightly more than I like fish because I can handle them so I took her up on it. It was a tough decision though with all the work I put into the tank but in the end my mom probably would have had a hard time taking care of it for the couple months I'll be at college in the spring. Another gecko would be much easier for her with everything else she already has to do. Maybe I'll try again in a couple years.

 

Sounds like a smart choice, , but you can't give us this info without pics of your new baby! Fish... Reptiles... scales... you'll probably find that most fish lovers enjoy reptiles as well. I know I do.

Long ago, we moved to an apartment that didn't allow fishtanks. We had just moved from mountainous NC back to our hometown in SoFlo and I was dying to get back into the hobby after a 6 year break. Management saw me hauling a tank upstairs and told me I couldn't put water in it. So... I got a snake.

 

This is the new baby. I haven't come up with a name yet but I might stick with the name the other girl gave her- Jessie. She's apparently really good with handling but she hasn't really let me hold her yet so I'm gonna give her a couple days to settle in before I try. The only time I tried was transferring her from the carrier into the tank but she just tried to use my hand to get higher so she could climb out of the carrier so I just put her in and didn't hold her for more than a couple seconds. Her tail looks like it has a purpleish pink tint to it which I think is really cool. Its a little more purple in person than it is in that picture.


This is her tank... it's just tan and boring right now but that's just because I haven't had enough time to go get some live succulents (to put in the empty area). It's next to my Crested's tank which is a jungle so maybe that's why I think it needs more color lol

 

She's beautiful! I quite like the name too. Reminds me of a particular, well loved cowgirl.

Succulents you say? I just received my first few as a gift about a month ago, then bought a few more, and just potted my first succulent garden. Now I want a Leopard Gecko!