new tank

[777_Aquatics]

Hey guys new tank set up here, i got a Waterbox 15 peninsula. So far the water has been cycling for 3 days straight, i have had a couple days already where i had to add some water because the pump was running dry. I am assuming that it is evaporating? either way the water is staying clear and starting to see some white film building up on the glass of the tank throughout? can anyone help with that? i will be posting when i start adding hermit crabs this week. let me know if anyone has any pointers on the tank set up and if i should start to add anything else to it.

thank you, - Sergio -

 

[AFHokie]

Welcome!

The tank has only been running three days and the pump is running dry? How much water do you have in it? I have a similar AIO and mine can probably go nearly a week before I hit pump level.

Of course that would be disastrous for my fish and so it’s never done that but that’s my guess based on my evap rate.

On that note you definitely need a system to keep the water level consistent. As water evaporates the salt doesn’t so your salinity will increase. There are many auto top off systems out there and also plenty of folks who just manually top it off each day/couple times a day.
be sure you are using RO/DI water, not salt water.

When you say cycling for three days is that with a cycling product or just running all by itself?

Hard to say what the white film is but it could be dust from the sand. It will often cling to the glass.

 

[777_Aquatics]

the water level seem to be good for the most part. i do have to top it off everyday maybe 16oz of RO/DI water.

the system is running all by itself no products are being used.

i started to scrape a small portion of it but did not want to continue was not sure if it was something good or bad.

thank you for the reply and information.

 

[AFHokie]

the water level seem to be good for the most part. i do have to top it off everyday maybe 16oz of RO/DI water.

the system is running all by itself no products are being used.

i started to scrape a small portion of it but did not want to continue was not sure if it was something good or bad.

thank you for the reply and information.

That new with nothing in it my guess would be particles from the sand. First they cloud your water and then collect and stick to the inside glass.

If you are not using any cycling product it can take many weeks if not months to establish a proper cycle. The bacteria will eventually colonize the natural way but it is a very slow process.

As for hermits or any CUC they need something to eat. If you put them in too soon there’s a good chance they will just starve. Now, if you leave the lights on and let algae grow they will have something to eat.

I can’t speak to adding any crabs or snails pre cycle…maybe some people do it but personally I either wait or use a quick start product like Fritz Turbo Start, Dr. Tim’s, etc. before adding any livestock at all.

Fish came first for me. A couple weeks later when I had decent algae growth I added the CUC.

 

[strawberryfish]

That new with nothing in it my guess would be particles from the sand. First they cloud your water and then collect and stick to the inside glass.

If you are not using any cycling product it can take many weeks if not months to establish a proper cycle. The bacteria will eventually colonize the natural way but it is a very slow process.

As for hermits or any CUC they need something to eat. If you put them in too soon there’s a good chance they will just starve. Now, if you leave the lights on and let algae grow they will have something to eat.

I can’t speak to adding any crabs or snails pre cycle…maybe some people do it but personally I either wait or use a quick start product like Fritz Turbo Start, Dr. Tim’s, etc. before adding any livestock at all.

Fish came first for me. A couple weeks later when I had decent algae growth I added the CUC.

+1 wait for hermits, unless your ready to feed them. They eat like hogs.