WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW???????

Beau is hosting the January Meeting this coming Saturday the 14th at 6PM.  It will be BYOB as well as a snack to share and raffle items are always welcome.  It has been requested that there be “NO SHOES” on the carpet due to it being a whitish color.

He doesn’t have a tank to view but we will have plenty to discuss in hopes that it will get the NEW YEAR off to a good start.  The annual membership fees are due, so now would be a good time to get them in to our Treasurer Stacey Hahn.   Fees are $20 per individual or $25 per family

Attendance was low at the election meeting in November and no votes were taken at December’s meeting so we have decided to take votes for anyone that didn’t get the opportunity in November and will be attending this meeting.  
We will add the votes to November’s ballots and the announcement will be made during the meeting so we can go forward.
NOMINATIONS:
President:  Jim & Nacho
V. President: Ed, Bo & Daniel Leigey
Treasurer: Stacey
Secretary: Carmen & Angie

Let’s hope the New Year brings new members, returning members and new ideas.  The club is always willing to take suggestions to get the most out of the hobby we all enjoy.

Please PM Nate C. by clicking here for directions if you are not a club member.  

Club members can click here to go to the club member only forum to get directions.

Hope to see you all there!

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[luvnsalt]

I am not sure if this is the right spot to post, but I'll give it a try......Ok, so I am starting my 10th week and so far I have 1 clown fish 10 hermits, 5 turbo snails, 1 peppermint shrimp, and a bubbletip anenome.....I have been feeding just frozen shrimp and that is all. Since I got the shrimp I have been puting a capful of Iodine in the water every week but that is all I add. I just got some Xenia this weekend and am wondering what all I should be feeding or adding to the water. I really want to do all this correctly. My tank is 75 gallons and I am still in the building stages so every little drop of experience is appreciated!!! Thanks. :?

[Yellotang]

First I have to ask you a couple of questions.
#1 why are you adding Iodine? Iodine levels only drop after very long periods of time in which no water changes have been done.
#2 What kind of lighting do you have?
#3 what kind of test kits do you have?
#4 what is your water source. IE tap, RO, RO/DI?
#5 How many pounds of live rock do you have?
#6 What kind of filtration system do you have?

You will have to fill us in with a complete run down of your system before any of us can give you any suggestions.

This may sound complicated and I would be lying to you if I didn't agree. But, we can make every step in this hobby a much easier and painless as possible adventure.

[mikeydog]

You've lost all those critters??  First off what kind of filtration are you using (ie..  Wet/dry, live rock how much??)).  What are your water parameters..  Salt, temp, amonia, nitrates itc...  Secondly I would never thin of putting something as Fragile as an annenome in a tank for at least 6 months, manybe even longer..  You need to take your time with salt water.  The water takes quite a bit of time to cure and be real healthy for critters.  Especially something like an annenome..  I would pay real close attention to your Amonia levels, and your nitrates..

Have you had algea blumes yet??  Are you using RO/Di water??

Oh and welcome to the club..  There is a ton of knowledge here for your use..

Thanks
Mike

[luvnsalt]

Oh, my gosh...no I haven't lost ANY critters. Everything is wonderful in my tank, I just don't WANT to lose any of my babies. So, I was asking if I should put in anything extra in. The guy at the fish store said I needed to add the iodine for my shrimp to molt. I will only tell you all my set up if you promise not to shun me...... :cry:    I don't have a million dollars and so far I am doing allright. No, I have not had any algae blooms, all my numbers are fine and have remained fine. Salt is where it should be as well. Nitrates, Nitrites, and ammonia are at 0. ph is 8.2-8.4-and my tank is clear.

[angelscrx]

Hey Luvnsalt I would pull back on the iodine.  Not really necessary for shrimp to molt and you should test for it unless you are adding per the novice instructions.  I add two drops per week in my tank and only started that when I had an RTN (Rapid Tissue Necrosis) outbreak on two corals.  No issues since then.  Your xenias could use some phytoplankton or cyclopeze (sp?)  Give me call if you me to come over and check out your tank?  Le t me know if you still have my number?

[luvnsalt]

Thanks Angel. Yes, I was doing the novice instructions. But, I will stop. I have only done it twice. I can't find your number. It must have come off my phone. I would appreciate it if you would checkout my tank sometime. Again....no laughing. It is doing good so far. I have only had a little diatom here and there. As soon as I turn off my lights though, it is gone.  

[luvnsalt]

Sorry YTang, I didn't really answer your questions. Here goes:
1. I was told to add iodine.
2. lighting is 300 watts of compact flor.
3. The saltwater master kit.
4. I started with tap, but since have added R/O for top offs, etc.
5. only 40 pounds of live rock so far....well 30# was base rock, but it has coraline on it now so I think it is considered live now. 60# live sand. I know I need more rock and I buy a little every couple of weeks.
6. filtration is the typical hang on tank.....I am getting a protein skimmer soon, I promise. I am constantly looking.
7. thanks to Angelcrx, I now have 3 powerheads.
I am constantly trying to do things right and I know it takes alot of time to get a nice habitat. As far as the anenome goes, nobody told me I couldn't have one. So far, it is doing great. Hopefully, it will be the one exception to the rule. Thanks for all your imput.

[Yellotang]

Sorry YTang, I didn't really answer your questions. Here goes:
1. I was told to add iodine.
2. lighting is 300 watts of compact flor.
3. The saltwater master kit.
4. I started with tap, but since have added R/O for top offs, etc.
5. only 40 pounds of live rock so far....well 30# was base rock, but it has coraline on it now so I think it is considered live now. 60# live sand. I know I need more rock and I buy a little every couple of weeks.
6. filtration is the typical hang on tank.....I am getting a protein skimmer soon, I promise. I am constantly looking.
7. thanks to Angelcrx, I now have 3 powerheads.

1. Stop adding Iodine. No one has ever proved to me that we have to add anything but calcium and alk to a tank. Doing easy water changes once in a while is much safer and productive then trying to play chemist.
2. You will find that your lighting is inadequate. I hate to be the one telling you this, but it is true. I would rather state a fact then just say, “No your lighting is fine.” when it is not. But you can add these as your resources allow.
3. OK test kit but very inaccurate. Go for Salifert test kits if you really want to know what your water parameters really are.
4. Good.
5. Mass amounts of live rock is over rated. As long as the rock is nice pieces and on the larger side with plenty of flow. Excellent with adding the rock slowly.
6. Skimmers are the heart of the system. Water is the blood of the system. Lighting is the energy of the system. Everything else is kept alive by those three things. Approach your tank with the KISS method. (Keep it Simple Stupid or the Keep it Stupid Simple)
7. Over time, you will figure out if you have enough in tank flow or not. You will see it.

The only other suggestions I can give is slow down. Nothing is worse then loosing a lot of life because of impatience. At four to the six month mark is the time when people should be thinking on adding fish. One year mark is when you really start adding corals. This is a long process and not an instant hobby. Most of the people on the boards that have had long term success agree that the longer it takes to establish the tank, the more stable it becomes.

[luvnsalt]

OK. So, do I need to get rid of the Xenia? What about my lights? 2 of them are acetenic and 2 are the white. That makes up 260 of my watts. I also have a 40 watter. I have heard all over the place that I need a skimmer and I am going to get one. I was trying to hold out til Christmas because it is on my Christmas list......hopefully I will. I will stop using iodine. I really thought I was going slow. I don't really have much. I guess I will slow down even more. Do I need to test for calcium?

[Ed]

Luvnsalt,
     You do not need to get rid of your Xenia.   In fact, watch it and see how it reacts.  Your Xenia will remove nitrates and usually tell you when there is a problem in your tank.   Steve Tyree does not use skimmers for filtration.   He uses sea squirts, sponges, clams, other animals for nitrate removeal.  
Your tank is going to continue to cycle.   You just do not want it to cycle hard.   So the waiting game or other means of removing nitrates.   The goal is to keep a stable ecosystem that can maintain itself.    Your rock as it ages will become better and better at removing amonia and Nitrates.  
True, If you had a  good skimmer it would pull phospates,nitrates, and amonia out through the process of skimming.    You may want to check out other skimmers around you before you buy one to see how they work.   Mean while, you can use charcoal with your over the back filter and do water changes.      There are a few members that will be willing to give you charcoal.   I am one of them.    
Luvnsalt,
when you do a water change, make sure water is same temp, salinity as water you have inside the tank.  Never mix salt inside the tank.  Do it in a bucket with a powerhead and heater until it is up to same temp as in your tank.   Your lighting needs to stay about the same photo period.   Meaning you need to run your lights on a timed cycle daily.  Timed photo period creates less stress for animals.  Any animal that stresses creates amonia.  
We love talking about this hobby, we all have oppinions, we have a little experience to back that,  But each tank is different.   You can set two tanks up alike and they usually react different due to lighting, temp, etc..
I hope to see you at next meeting or if you are close by stop by for some charcoal.  
good luck,
  Ed

[luvnsalt]

Ed,
Thank you. I can at least breathe now. I have to admit, I went into complete panic mode when I started reading all the negatives. Because I really thought I was doing well. I am running charcoal in my filter now. I took out the actual filter (white cottony thing) because the people on Reef Central said it would trap nitrates. I don't mind buying a skimmer, I just have to find one that I understand. :? How often do you recommend water changes? I have a little 10 gallon tank that I was going to set up for a quarentine tank.....should I? I am coming to the next meeting for sure. Thanks again.
Luvnsalt

[angelscrx]

No need to panic we all have done a lot of the same things you have done.  When Ytang and his wife first came over to my place to look at my tank they saw I had bioballs in my sump and said that I should get rid of the nitrate factory!  I always thought that was one of th best waste disposal methods :oops: .  So I did some research and asked a lot of questions and they were right.  That very weekend out came the bioballs.  I appreciated them for taking the time to come and help me out.  For a long time I was relying on what I found on the internet but not everything has pictures and no two tanks are the same.  So for someone to come over and give me some honest feedback was a great help.  Since then I ask people what they think I should be doing?  I would rather have someone tell me that I need to change something than to lose corals or fish because they said I was doing fine.  Come to the meetings you will have fun and learn a lot like I have.

[luvnsalt]

Please don't get me wrong. I am very happy to have you all helping me! Nothing like strength in numbers!!! I know that everyone is only trying to help. I am sorry if I came accross ugly. I was upset with myself, no one else. It is really hard when you are a beginner because I have Auqa Tropics telling me one thing and Amazon Bay another and then everyone else in between!!! :x I have really been trying and I really want this to work so I will be patient and I will for sure come to the meeting next month. Trust me when I say....I am soaking it ALL in!!!

[Rico]

Hi Luvinsalt and welcome to the forum.

First of all, I think you are doing great to have a tank with as much in it and still alive with it being so young.  Obviously you are doing enough right to keep it going and not have it crash.

I have been in this hobby for 9 years and am just starting up my 4th tank.

Here is my 3 cents worth on this thread.  

Reducing the iodine is good, it is necessary for crustatians (crabs and shrimp) to molt but onlly for that.  We often use it at much higher strengths for medicinal purposes, but that will come later for you.

Definately get a protien skimmer, one of my first that is inexpensive and does a good job is the Turboflotor.  One of our club members (Todd) just added one of these to his system.

Do 20% water changes at least once a month, after you get the skimmer you may be able to change less frequently, until you add more animals.  The water changes remove the wastes from the animals.

The lighting you have is adequate for most all soft corals and some large polyp stony corals.  Your anenome will want a lot of light and will move to get in a position to receive as much light as possible.  If it is a bubble tip, or condylactis it will probably survive fine, if it is a carpet, you may have a problem.  Once you get comfortable in this hobby you will find out what type of corals you will want to keep.  If you choose small polp stony SPS, you will find that you will need a LOT more light and current in the tank..  This will all come in time and I would not worry about it now.  Remember we must first learn to walk before we can run.

Good quality test kits are a must, and remember that you really should not put anything in your tank that you cannot test for.  Salifert kits are very good.  I prefer the SeaChem kits for Calcium and Alkilinity.

If you do not have a lot of corals that consume high amounts of calcium, i.e. SPS or clams, your calcium levels will be maintained through the water changes.  However  I found that when I had to add calcium manually (before the calcium reactor) the best method is to use a two part system such as ESV B-Ionic system or the two part system from Two Little Fishys.  These systems are easy to use and keep the Alk and Calc at the proper levels.

Use of carbon is good, however it will remove any Iodine you add.  You may want to use it only 3 days a week. Eitehr way it is not a big issue.

As was previously stated in this thread, the 3 things that make the most impact on healthy corals is Light, Current, and Calcium, along with clean water..

Dont be aftaid to ask for help, there is lots of here.
Rick

[Les]

Hello Lovinsalt,
It was only a few short years ago that I went into Aqua Tropics and asked "what do I need to get started in saltwater"? Well, the learning curve has been steep, and I find myself reading everything I can find on the hoppy. One of the best things I've heard has been the statement that "if what your doing is working for you, then think real hard about changing things". There seem to be few hard and fast "rules" about reef keeping. The only thing that comes to mind, and maybe the only thing people will agree on is the need of salt. I have found that you can ask ten people the same question and you'll get ten or so different answers.
One of my issues on my 180 tank was lighting. I asked many times on different reef forums and got many opinions that were stated as hard facts. I finally followed what a coral grower used, (to a point) and it has worked so far.
This club has been very educational for me and I really enjoy the discussions at the meetings.
I wish you the best of luck
Les