Ask Nano Questions and Find Information (Nano Expert Albert Thiel)
- Nano Build
- Thread starter revhtree
- Start date
- Tagged users None
You can just use the link as there are no specials going on right now ...
Yes that is a good idea and I would not add any Hermit crabs as I do not trust them ... they can turn on you and decide to start feeding on what you do not want them to feed on, including sometimes even other Hermit crabs to get their shell ..
Thanks I did receive it and I sent you the link for downloading the e-Version. Thanks and enjoy ... and if you have any questions let me know ...
Paul B
10K Club member
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Reef Of The Month
Article Contributor
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
I agree, use these instead. :fear:
Sun1914
Active Member
Thanks guys.
I ordered one a few days ago from my local exotic pet shop. Not 100% sure what's included in the crew. Lets hope there are no hermit crabs. I learned with the 2 I use to have that they can't be trusted....learned that when my 2 became 1.
It will be my first time introducing anything new to the tank since I got it. Any suggestions?
Ps. Al, I'm reading the book but figured I would ask my question since I dont want to jump to any specific section. Rather read through it.
I ordered one a few days ago from my local exotic pet shop. Not 100% sure what's included in the crew. Lets hope there are no hermit crabs. I learned with the 2 I use to have that they can't be trusted....learned that when my 2 became 1.
It will be my first time introducing anything new to the tank since I got it. Any suggestions?
Ps. Al, I'm reading the book but figured I would ask my question since I dont want to jump to any specific section. Rather read through it.
Yes hopefully there won't be any and if the store is local you can always bring them back or not take them, and get something instead. There are a number of snails you can add and hopefully they will be part of the Crew you are getting ... e.g. Nerite, Nassarius, Cerith ones.
And if you are going to add a fish consider a Citron Goby or a maybe a juvenile Banggai Cardinal ... those would be just fine.
Enjoy the reading ...
Sun1914
Active Member
So I'm sure I was over charged but I got 5 emerald crabs, one which looks reddish and seemed to have a sack of eggs on the under belly, 10 turbo snails and 10 sand bed snails 100 bucks. Allocated them for about an hour and half and added them in the tank. After about 15-20 mins they seem to be settling in and moving about. The sand bed snails don't seem to be moving much though.
Seems a lot for what you got but then it was a local LFS and they tend to be more expensive than what you can get online ... The color of the one Emerald I would not worry about, it will turn green .... Do you know which snails you actually got ? Or post some close up pics and I'll figure it out for you.
Also some of those CUC's need a little longer to get used to your tank conditions so nothing to worry for now ... note that Large snails cannot turn themselves over, so if they are upside down for some reason, and it happens, you need to turn them over yourself, or they will not make it.
Pics please .... Thanks ... so far so good ...
Sun1914
Active Member
Good morning,
Thank you for the reply Al, you are a great help. I will take pics later this evening. All the turbo snails are right side up. A few have dig themselves into the sand bed. Guessing that's a good thing. The smaller white shelled snails (don't know the exact name sorry, way too much info to process to retain everything I've read or been told in the last 48 hrs or so) are pretty still, they don't move much and was told not to worry if they end up on their side or back.
Made the mistake of not cleaning off my live rock as well as I should have. Wasn't sure how to be honest with you. Didn't want to wash it under tap water but the crabs seem to be eating away at the algae on the rocks. Noticed this morning there was still a bit of debris floating around in the tank as well as some air bubbles here and there which is new to me. After my first water change a few weeks ago the tank seemed to have settled and cleared up again within hours but I did notice the sand bed a bit dirty still once settled but with this change and the critters added there's a lot more movement so I guess that would explain the particles floating about and air bubbles.
Al, here's another question for you...I've been reading and thanks to your book I know a bit more on the advantages and benefits of a sump and refugium but for some reason the guy at the store thought I was crazy to want to go that route for a 29g . Claims it's a waste of $$. What do you/you guys say? And if you all have any suggestions as to a brand or type I should look into please let me know.
Ps.
My wife is catching on that this is gonna be an expensive hobby to get into but I say it's cheaper than strippers. LOL
Thank you for the reply Al, you are a great help. I will take pics later this evening. All the turbo snails are right side up. A few have dig themselves into the sand bed. Guessing that's a good thing. The smaller white shelled snails (don't know the exact name sorry, way too much info to process to retain everything I've read or been told in the last 48 hrs or so) are pretty still, they don't move much and was told not to worry if they end up on their side or back.
Made the mistake of not cleaning off my live rock as well as I should have. Wasn't sure how to be honest with you. Didn't want to wash it under tap water but the crabs seem to be eating away at the algae on the rocks. Noticed this morning there was still a bit of debris floating around in the tank as well as some air bubbles here and there which is new to me. After my first water change a few weeks ago the tank seemed to have settled and cleared up again within hours but I did notice the sand bed a bit dirty still once settled but with this change and the critters added there's a lot more movement so I guess that would explain the particles floating about and air bubbles.
Al, here's another question for you...I've been reading and thanks to your book I know a bit more on the advantages and benefits of a sump and refugium but for some reason the guy at the store thought I was crazy to want to go that route for a 29g . Claims it's a waste of $$. What do you/you guys say? And if you all have any suggestions as to a brand or type I should look into please let me know.
Ps.
My wife is catching on that this is gonna be an expensive hobby to get into but I say it's cheaper than strippers. LOL
You are welcome ... the large snails are the ones that have to be right up and that seems to be the case so you are all right with them. The other white ones, not sure which ones as there are quite a few that are white but if they are the ones with the longish cone looking ones then yes they can upright themselves easily, so not to worry about those.
Snails and CUC's will stir up the sand bed or substrate and loosen some of the detritus, but that should get caught in your filter .... now on the bubbles .. not sure why you see those so I hope that you do not have anaerobic areas in the substrate ... when you smell the water do you smell like a rotten egg type smell as that would mean that you do have anaerobic areas in the sand and that hydrogen sulfide is being produced and that is not good. if that is the case you are going to have to stir up that sand and do immediate water changes so that any H2S that may be present is removed and so the black areas in the sand are being eliminated as well ... anaerobic activity is not good at all and you should not see any black areas in the sand.
I am not saying that such is what you have but when bubbles rise from the sand that is a strong possibility.
Give me an update on that and on the smell you perceive.
On a 29G you can set up a sump and a refugium and it is not wasted money, but it is not a necessity but it certainly would improve nutrient control in the tank as long as the refugium is populated with macro algae such as Chaetomorpha and maybe some red ones such as Dragon's Breath ... and maybe even mangroves ... but that would be something you can do at any time, not necessarily now ... read up on it in the book so you understand it better ...
Well Hope all this helps and yes ... depending on what you equip the tank with it can become a little pricey ...
Sun1914
Active Member
No rotten egg smell well, at least not last night. It smells like salt water. I do have some dark areas in the sand bed underneath the top layer but, I wouldn't call them black. If this is the case but immediate water changes what do u mean exactly; like weekly rather than every 2 to 3 weeks?
The bubbles aren't many but I did notice them this morning floating to the surface here and there throughout the tank. They don't seem to be coming out from under the sand bed but more from under the live rock. What do cause these anaerobic areas to appear?
The bubbles aren't many but I did notice them this morning floating to the surface here and there throughout the tank. They don't seem to be coming out from under the sand bed but more from under the live rock. What do cause these anaerobic areas to appear?
Well then you are OK ... and if you see dark spots your CUC's will hopefully move the substrate around enough so they disappear, otherwise when you do a water change siphon water out of tank and hold the hose over the spots briefly and they will be gone.
What I meant by immediate water change was IF you had H2S being released from the substrate. Since there seems to be none you do not need to do so.
And on water changes do one every week ... maybe 10% or so. If you read in the book you will see what I do ...
When you saw the bubbles ... were the light on or off ? If you have algae growing underneath the rocks they can release oxygen bubbles but that when the lights are on and photosynthesis is taking place and if they do not smell bad then they would not be H2S.
Also if the bubbles are coming from underneath the rocks could you have anaerobic areas there (areas where there is no oxygen and so H2S starts to develop but they would give you a strong smell not like saltwater ...
Sun1914
Active Member
yes, lights were on.
My apologies again for so many questions....especially now that I have the book but like I said I don't want to skip around in the book just to find my answer(s). I rather read through it.
But my question as far as lighting goes, Is there any benefit or harm to leaving my blue light on during the day? I have no timer as of now and so besides natural sun light that comes into my home office where the tank is located. I don't turn on the lights (2 white, 2 blue) until I get home at around 5:30pm and turn them off at around 9:30-10pm. During the night hours I run the 3 small blue LED's. So my question is, is that good practice? and can I leave the 2 blue on during the day since they have some natural sun light coming into the tank already?
I promise this will be my last question until later tonight when I post the pics...lol
My apologies again for so many questions....especially now that I have the book but like I said I don't want to skip around in the book just to find my answer(s). I rather read through it.
But my question as far as lighting goes, Is there any benefit or harm to leaving my blue light on during the day? I have no timer as of now and so besides natural sun light that comes into my home office where the tank is located. I don't turn on the lights (2 white, 2 blue) until I get home at around 5:30pm and turn them off at around 9:30-10pm. During the night hours I run the 3 small blue LED's. So my question is, is that good practice? and can I leave the 2 blue on during the day since they have some natural sun light coming into the tank already?
I promise this will be my last question until later tonight when I post the pics...lol
Since you really do not have anything in the tank that requires special light considerations I would not leave them on ... and of course having sunlight shining on the tank is something you are going to have to assess as if the nutrients in the tank water are high you will get algae growth on the glass and even on the rocks depending on nutrient levels.
Also I do not think that right now you need moonlight ... and how strong are those blue LED's if I may ask.
Also do you have any nuisance algae growth right now?
Sun1914
Active Member
don't know the strength but there the small 3 led's that come on the hood of the biocube set up.
some green hair algae on the rocks and back wall..also some red slime on the back wall and a bit on the live rock.
according to your book, some of those air bubbles I saw may be trapped air with the algae...(see, i've been reading...lol)
some green hair algae on the rocks and back wall..also some red slime on the back wall and a bit on the live rock.
according to your book, some of those air bubbles I saw may be trapped air with the algae...(see, i've been reading...lol)
Similar threads
