55 gallon fowlr

Nereaga

Thanks Radom for that link.... Today or tomorrow I will be working on removing as many of them as I can without popping them.... I dont like my LFS guys anymore, tells me what I wanna hear for him to make that $$$$$! I would love to just throw that rock out but it has all kinds of stuff on it..... I got like 5-6 feather dusters on it and 2 nice size nudibranches aswell.... and it also host small worms too.... really small pink ones and white ones too.... The money isnt the thing it was only $5 a lb, I dont wanna kill all the life on it, that is my problem........ Seems like a lot of work but I dont wanna throw it out....

Radom

Another thing to be careful are the pretty worms. You basically have two kinds, good and bad. The good bristleworms aka fireworms are pink, pinkish orange, or tan. They are great scavengers and should not be removed from the aquarium. However, the "bad" kind of bristleworm aka coral-eating fireworm (also caled bearded fireworm) is destructive and will prey on corals, soft corals and sea anemones. It got reddish to silver-gray body color and on back of the head it got frilled appendages ("the beard"). This kind is pretty rare and judging from all the bubble algae on the rock the LFS had that rock for some time so its unlikely you have the "bearded" fireworm. Moreover, be bristles on both worms are venom filled and can deliver a painful sting so careful if you want to remove one.

In your case I would watch them grow a bit more and then determine if you have the good or bad kind. It can be hard to make an accurate identification if they are very small since their color changes a bit as they age.

Nereaga

Thanks man, appreciate it. There is so much info to soak into my sometimes not functioning brain....lol and so much more to learn.

Nereaga

ok so today I came home and my tank is now covered with brown algae. All over the sand and rock. I read the cycling thread and I do now have oxygen bubbles rising from my sand bed everywhere and from the algae on my rocks... When is a good time to introduce my cleaning crew? My tank has now been running for 19 days now. My parameters so far are:
Salinity-1.025
pH-8.5(I'm going to get seachem 8.3 buffer)ASAP
Nitrates-20 ppm
Nitrites-.5-1
Ammonia-(Dont currently have a test kit, will get with seachem)
alkalinity-6ish(need a new test for this)

Should I wait a little bit longer until I add a cleaning crew? Just want your thoughts, I dont wanna do anything too quick. heres a couple pics. http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u205/nereaga/

Radom

I would wait till your ph and alkalinity is adjusted and once thats stable then add cleaning crew. From the look of your nitrite/nitrate it seems you should be done with your ammonia part but still dont assume its 0, get a test kit and make sure. On my tank I have added cleaning crew in week #3 and all survived just don't add too much at once. I would not add more than 10 hermit crabs till tank is more established due to food shortage.

Nereaga

what do you suggest for buffering alkalinity... does seachem make a product?

Radom

I use seachem product, reef builder carbonate or silmilar name (sorry at work now and not 100% sure on exact name). Next question I have is you said you have alkalinity around 6. What units you are measuring in, meq/l or dKH ?

Nereaga

Meq/l. Today i picked up some Kent Marine Superbuffer-dKH. (I also have Seachem Reef builder-raises carbonate alkalinity. Is that the same thing?) Kent Marine says it will stablize ph from 8.1-8.3, and keep alk. at 3.5-5.5 Meq/l. and use in 1-2 week interavals.

just picked up more tests kits today... Nutrafin/Hagen ones... I got pH, ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates.... still need one for alkalininty.... working on it.... I have cheap strips now for alk. but want to upgrade asap..

Ok new accurate readings.... always nice....

ph- 8.3 i was reading in my house and i have incadesants lights in my room, so im reading them outside and there is a world of a difference.
Ammonia- 0.1 Mq/L
Nitrites- 0.1-0.3 Meq/L
Nitrates- 10 ppm

Radom

Yep thats the same thing. Since my tank is stocked pretty heavy I use that product more or less daily to maintain my alkalinity around 4 meq/l and I add calcium every 2-3 days also. Never had problem with pH it always stays around 8.2-8.3 but alkalinity on the other hand will go down to 3 meq/l if i dont keep my eye on it.

Nereaga

Thanks radom