Joshifer

I've had him since Friday I believe. He's bout a inch a half long. The store told me if I bought wet live sand. Live water. And live rock and bio spira it would be instantly cycled and all that. Blew about $200 in there to start up. But I'm not worried about the money just don't want him to suffer/die

Well looks like petland was just out for my money my clown isn't eating And the poor things breathing fast staying at the top of the tank. Would anyone have room for a small oscerillis clown to fish sit while I stabilize my tank? I live in Woodbridge. I don't want him to die. Petland won't hold him for me while this stabilizes. I don't think he's sick probably just stressed. But I wouldn't know better I'm new to saltwater. Please let me know thanks. Or would it be worst moving him?

I appreciate it

Yes I tap it. I got it down to 25 over a few hours last night didnt wanna shock my clown haven't checked yet today. I'd like to try a easy coral but I'm told my LEDs aren't strong enough.

Know of any marine speciality shops. Maybe something that only deals in salt water in Woodbridge radius ?

I'm a beginner right now I just have fowlr. Gonna wait a while before trying corals.

That would be awesome thanks

Great thank you everyone. So kind and quick to reply. Just worried about my poor nemo

So the walmart RO vending machine would be ok to use? Or should I buy a bottle of distilled drinking water ? Either way I'd dose it with prime or amquelplus before using

How much water do I remove? I don't have 8 gallons cus of Rock and sand it's more like 5 or 6?

It's new. Setup aug 28th Theirs a oscerillis juvinile clown in there. Petland told me if I purchased live water rock and sand I can add a fish the next day he seems fine he's eating and swimming he's a little scared stays in a corner but when I put food he attacks it lol

Hi again. 8 gallon aqueon 12lbs of LR and about 2 and a half to 3 inches sand bed. Anyway i purchased a hydrometer today. I know their inaccurate but can't afford a refract til next week. It checked at 1.028 that's a bit high. I read online RO water would dilute it. My LFS was closed for the holiday I went over to walmart and noticed their RO vending machine. Would this be ok to dilute the salt? Maybe if I dosed it with prime and stuck a power head and heater inside it for a while. If I can do this method. How much water would I remove? I assume I would replace it cup by cup over a period of time. Any help greatly appreciated.

I wasn't sure which area to post this. I'm sure alot of you experts know not to buy from chain stores So I'm just reaching out to noobs like myself. I went to petco today. Looked around at their salt water fish. Those poor things. The clowns were a pale yellow crammed about 20 live ones and 5 dead ones in a tiny tank. Their were that I saw 5 dead ones looks like they been there a while. I even asked the clerk To remove the dead ones she said its fine its extra food for the peppermint shrimp and camel and cleaner shrimp which were also crammed into the same tank. Out of curiosity I purchased a cheap margarita snail from a separate tank (which doesn't matter they all come out of the same plumbing) to test their water at home. Ammonia 4.00PPM Nitrites 2PPM Nitrates 6PPM Using api reef master test kit. Their SG from my hydrometer was 10.19 but it could be wrong hydros usually are. That's more brackish then marine no? I dripped the snail for 2 hours in a qt I ain't sticking it in my nano any time soon. This is the petco in dale city Virginia. I assume their all horrible like this because I've been to a few petco that carried marine and their tanks were putrid. . As I was leaving a guy walked in with dead peppermint shrimp saying they died in the bag on his way home his recipt said he bought it less then an hour before he came back. And of course they wouldn't refund or replace.

Hi again. (Your gonna be seeing alot of posts from me since I like to ask alot of questions before trying something because I respect the life of all living things) I know theirs a contradiction here but the guy from LFS told me it would be ok to add a clown the next day after setup since I bought natures ocean live water. 12lbs of live rock with lots of feather dusters brittle stars and bristle worms in it). And Arag alive wet sand (had tiny snails and clams in it because i sifted the left over sand for about 20 mins to be sure i got all the animals out. and I used a capful of prime to neutralize any die off ammonia. So far the only dead thing I found was a red huge red feather duster it's tentacles are fossilized into the rock.or I could be wrong maybe it's alive or something else. But deffinatly a cream color tube and red sticking out stuck to the rock) Sorry for the huge post I know I'm less then a week into this but I'm curious about corals. I won't be adding them just yet ill let the tank establish a while. But what would be a good beginner coral with movement ? I don't like the mushrooms too much. And the light I have is the aqueon evolve 8 white LED and blue night light (I assume its their moonlight) I googled and saw a few people having success with this stock light. IMO it isn't very bright but at the same time isn't very dim. And the way I scaped my tank the light kinda spills downward hitting everything (besides inside my caves) I don't know their lumin levels so don't ask. But anyway what would work with this for a while with easy corals? Pet land has tiny clusters for $5 so it's not like I'd be throwing money away but again I don't like playing god and letting things suffer and die. (Also do corals emit ammonia? I assume if their alive they would. Especially if their dying/dead) again I won't be adding any for about a month. Once I learn how to keep them ill upgrade my lighting fixture. And Once I'm in this for several months ill upgrade to a larger tank hopefully Xmas I would love a huge wall unit 100+ gallon maybe with a 30+ sump. I just wanna start small I know In the long run it'll be cheaper going bigger but I want to be sure I can handle this before playing with God's creatures lives. I tend to my tanks religiously. Actually when theirs nothing to test or clean I just start poking around with random stuff because I'm bored. (Untangling wires rinsing the intake tubes and lids or reading the forums) lol sorry for the huge post. And since you read this far that means your passionate about this. What are some common hitch hikers I wanna be sure not to touch? So far I learned about bristle worms and their spines. Any other commonly found critters that'll hurt me or my clown? Also I know it's a small tank but would it be ok to add another small clown? This ones still small so the whole sex change thing hasn't occurred and he was alone in the pet store tank for over a month with a fox face rabbit. Thanks. Again sorry for the huge post. *edit* I'm home 7 days a week i dont work im disabled. and when I do leave it's only for a few hours to run errands and I actually LIKE doing water changes because I know my fishies appreciate it. So I'm gonna be on top of all params at all times. The reason I'm saying all this is because I've had alot of people tell me i can't neglect them and I have to put my time into them thinking Im just going thru a phase ill later get over. I'm really passionate about this. I've kept freshwater for years and I can count my deaths. 3 and they were common carnival gold fish, so Their pretty much overly taken care of, Sorry again for the huge post and life story.

Oh yeah totally I appreciate it and any other common ones off the top of your head like th bristle worm would be greatly appreciated. Maybe a "hitch hikers" guide the one I found wasn't very detailed it just said "so and so creature venmonous" "so and so creature beneficial" etc. etc. didn't offer any details.

I plan on upgrading to a much bigger tank once I get my hand in this.

I can water change with store bought distiller water ?

Where would I post want ad at ?

Would you suggest a skimmer this early? I can get my hands on one I just read alot of people not using skimmers this early. Also my pet store does ro refills. Or pre mixed salt refills since its only 8 gallons. Actually less cus all the rock I don't need much a jug will last a while.

I don't know what's in there yet I don't wanna get stung. I read a guide about hitch hikers alot of things have stingers and venom. So until I figure out what I got in there I don't really wanna touch anything. Everyday I find something new. Like these centipede looking things near the feather dusters I heard their spines get embedded in your skin.

Yeah totally great rock. Fiji. So far I found some star fish. A clam I thought was dead then it stuck its snorkel out. Everyday I find new critters. I really want the red feather dusters. And some hermits. Do clean up crew add to the bioload? Totally new here

I'm comfortable sticking my hand in freshwater. Salt water not so much cus theirs all kinda freaky living in it lol

Hi all josh here. For years I kept freshwater I decided to jump in the saltwater world. I currently have an aqueon evolve 8 I upgraded the return pump from 92 to 200gph. I also have an aqueon fully submersible filter hidden behind my live rock roughly 12lbs) Heater and air stone in back compartment. Using carbon stock carbon pad. I setup a few days ago using natures ocean live water arag alive wet live sand a whole bottle of bio spira and the 12lbs of fully cured live rock. I dosed a little prime to be sure to neutralize any rock die off. As my LFS (petland) said that was pretty much an insta cycle. I purchased a oscerillis clown. Juvinile. What is my options on a CUC?. I don't want anything expensive that can die. And I heard snails need to be turned over I don't wanna stick my hands in there every 20 mins lol. I need something cheap and hardy. My life rock has alot of white feather dusters in them I kind like them so what won't eat them? (Their not aptasia I compared the two) thanks.