Hello to these forums

[Acrylic]

Hello everyone.

I've been reading these forums for a week or so and I like what I've seen.

I recently turned 30 and as a reward for surviving this long my folks will cover $1,500 worth of a gift of my choosing. I chose to get an aquarium.

:bounce:

Now I am a complete beginner when it comes to keeping an aquarium, but my plans are hopefully relatively modest.

Time to resize some pictures I've taken so I can post them, and then I'll describe what my setup is like so far.

In the meantime you'd best put on your newbie armor as I'm sure to attack you with wonderful newbie questions!

:D

 

[Acrylic]

So here is a picture of my aquarium as of two (?) days ago.

It's all rather basic, I think. The tank itself is glass, a Perfecto/Marineland 90 gallon.

I'm using an Eheim 2217 filter. I believe this is referred to as a canister filter, am I right? I'm not down with all the lingo so bear with me.

There's 90+ lbs of miscellaneous live rock in there, along with 80 lbs of argonite sand/crushed coral. The live rock had been at the fish store for a couple months in the shop's sump and in various display tanks. This being the case, I didn't seem to have much of a cycle with my tank after I'd set it up. (Or maybe I'm not being patient enough)

At any rate, the lighting is simple, just one fluorescent bulb. I'm not worried about lighting right now, as I don't plan to get corals or anything light-dependant anytime soon.

I do want to get one or two powerheads to get some water circulation at the surface. I know I've got the spray bar deep in the tank, but I wanted good circulation around my rocks.

I've got little bugs (pods I guess) running around on the rocks, although in very modest numbers.

After testing the water for a couple days, the main parameters were all in line, zero ammonia, zero nitrites, zero nitrates (as near as I could tell with my test) and my Ph was 8.3 just last night.

This being the case I went ahead and introduced 10 turbo snails yesterday. I dunno if there's even enough algae growth to support them, but figured I'd give it a try. If they don't make it, at least I'll get a proper cycle, right?

I've got a heater also but it's not installed. My water temp is sitting pretty at 74 degrees.

That's about all I can think of right now. Any advice or concerns at this early stage would be appreciated.

 

[Acrylic]

Here's a picture of a few of my snails, exciting I know!

Anyone have any photography tips for taking pictures of your aquarium? Lights on/off? Flash on/off?

 

[yote]

Welcome to the reef.
We love those newbie questions.They give us a good excuse to up our post count.:mrgreen:

 

[Acrylic]

How long does it usually take for a moderator to come along and approve a post? I tried posting a reply with some pictures a couple hours ago and no sign of them yet.

 

[yote]

The easiest way to post pics is to upload them to either the gallery here or on photobucket and copy and paste to your post.
Mods dont have to approve the pics.

 

[yote]

https://www.livingreefs.com/forums/reef-photography/10544-how-post-pictures-living-reefs.html

This may help.

 

[Acrylic]

I will try again then. Assuming this works, the first picture is my initial setup with live rock (some 90 lbs of it) and argonite sand/crushed coral (80 lbs).

Just using an Eheim 2217 pump/filter at the moment.

I definitely want to get a powerhead or two. I have a heater but the tank seems to have settled at 74 degrees so I haven't put the heater in just yet.

My water parameters seem to be good so yesterday I went ahead and introduced 10 turbo snails. Here's a few of them hanging out.

I had written more in my original pictures/posts but now I just want to see if this will work.

 

[Acrylic]

This is the text I get when I try to post a reply with pictures in it:

"Thank you for posting! Your post will not be visible until a moderator has approved it for posting. You will now be taken back to the forum. If you opted to post a poll, you will now be allowed to do so."


Edit: This is after following the instructions in that walk-through you linked. I am using Firefox - I don't know what else to try.

 

[joeman]

I seem to remember that the first time I posted as well.... I'm sure Biff will be along soon...

Approve of your choice by the way - I couldn't think of a better way to spend a few $'s :-)

So do you your already have the tank? Is that the 'Acrylic' reference?

.... and welcome!

 

[Acrylic]

Acrylic is a name I've been using for my computer game characters for a long time. It's also associated with my hotmail account. I've just been using it for so long, it's almost become an alter ego.

My tank is 90 gallons, glass.

It's all set up right behind me. My snails, introduced yesterday, are chilling out on the rocks. Neat little buggers.

Edit: I also use acrylic paints when I get around to actually doing some art. (Not very often lately)

 

[LionFish]

Acrylic is a name I've been using for my computer game characters for a long time. It's also associated with my hotmail account. I've just been using it for so long, it's almost become an alter ego.

My tank is 90 gallons, glass.

It's all set up right behind me. My snails, introduced yesterday, are chilling out on the rocks. Neat little buggers.

Edit: I also use acrylic paints when I get around to actually doing some art. (Not very often lately)

What Pc games do you play ? Im a gamer as well

 

[Bifferwine]

Okay your pictures should be showing up now :)

I don't know why it makes a mod approve some pictures but not others. It doesn't happen every time.

Those are astraea snails, not turbos. I don't think there will be enough food in there for them -- they will probably starve. Usually you introduce the snails after your fish, so that they have someone to clean up after.

I don't think your tank has even cycled yet. Which means, if I were you, I'd start one before you add fish so that it's ready to go when you want to add them. The easiest way to do this is to use a piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store. Just throw it in your tank and let it rot. Watch your parameters. Ammonia and nitrite will spike, then nitrate will spike. Once ammonia and nitrate hit zero again, then you should do a water change to get the nitrates down.

A spray bar will eventually clog with salt. You should get at least 3 powerheads for a tank that size.

That's a good canister filter, but if you are wanting to keep more than just a few fish, you should look into purchasing a good protein skimmer. Canisters can eventually lead to nitrate problems, and if you have a good skimmer and plenty of live rock, your tanks filtration will take care of itself, for the most part.

Anyways, I think that's all I've got for now! Welcome, and feel free to ask, ask away.

 

[Acrylic]

Thanks for the reply Bifferwine.

Now this thread is a big mess of duplicate photos and posts by me that will make no sense, chronologically speaking. Oh well.

Couple things come to mind, so I will ask them and let the thread die...

I was under the impression that snails eat algae. Is biological waste from fish and what-not their main diet then?

If my snails die (no big deal) could their rotting corpses be used to trigger my cycle?

Is the main importance of a tanks first cycle to establish a healthy amount of bacteria in the live rock?

As it is, I've got bugs running around the surface of my live rock and substrate. I took this as a sign that my tank had cycled (along with my water tests). My live rock had been at the store for a couple months in their sump and various display tanks and it didn't seem like I'd get much die-off.

Once I get some powerheads, will the canister filter even be necessary?

Well, that's enough questions I think. :)

Thanks again.

 

[Bifferwine]

Snails do eat algae. Fish waste creates algae.

Their bodies MIGHT trigger a cycle, however a few dead snails in a 90 gallon tank might not be enough to do it.

You are exactly right about the cycle. And to establish bacteria in the sand bed. Even though your rock was already cured, adding fish might start another cycle, since the bacterial population may not be high enough to handle the added bioload.

The powerheads just move water. They don't filter it. So if you add powerheads, you will still need some form of filtration, whether it be from your canister filter or a protein skimmer.

 

[Acrylic]

For Lionfish:

These days I'm playing Bioshock, and am still finding things to do in Oblivion. I used to be hooked on WoW, but I finally got tired of that treadmill. Currently looking forward to Age of Conan, mostly. I've been playing computer games for about 25 years now, haha - I started young.

 

[ReefKeeper]

those do not look like turbo snails ... they look more like Astrea snails to me. keep in mind that Astrea snails can not turn themselves back over if they fall and land upside down.

sounds like you are well on your way ... any questions just ask.

OH yeah ... welcome aboard !!

 

[Acrylic]

Alright Biff, another quick question...

Is there no way to edit the descriptions for pictures after they are uploaded? I've got the snail picture saying they are turbo snails.. I don't want to spread misinformation. Can you as a moderator just delete the pictures I've uploaded so I can start from scratch? I uploaded one to the Tank category, and two to my members area. If you can delete them, please do!

I guess I'll buy a frozen shrimp and drop it in the tank and trigger a cycle. I'm in no rush for fish, and at least I'll have some shells lying around for some hermits when the time comes. :shock:

Thanks! Getting good vibes from this community already!

 

[Bifferwine]

I can't modify things in the photo gallery. At least I don't think I can. I'm not that powerful, you know!! ;) Don't worry about the mis-label. It's not a big deal.

 

[yote]

How long have you had the rock in your tank?
With that much cured rock,you may not cycle at all.
I say that as long as you have no ammonia or nitrites,then go ahead and add one maybe two small fish and watch the parameters for a couple of weeks.

At the LFS I help at,were always setting up new displays with cured rock and live sand.These set ups are fully stocked with fish and corals the same day and rarly have any problems with them.
Just keep in mind this really isnt the right way to start a tank though.