phastroh
Do Not Listen To Me!!!
Ok I am 18 days into my Package from TBS.
My water is as follows.
PH - 8.2
Alk is dead center on the chart
Ammonia .30PPM
Nitrates - 35 then today 45-50 like they went down then back up
Nitrites are down to I think to 20 - They are down from the highest on the chart to the next lowest.
Sorry I forgot the numbers on the chart but hopefully you can see the trend as all of these were very high a week ago. Except the PH and Alk have been steady.
My calcium is 425 to 450 so that is fine.
I just got some good info from D2 about changing my sump socks every couple of days and not more than a week. I was waiting over a week not knowing they should be done so often.
I figure this will be very helpful in the future. I have 3 sets so I can surely have a clean set ready. I do have some ready already so I have no excuses.
I soaked them in the 1 to 10 bleach and water and rinsed them with hot water for a while after taking them out. I still feel nervous about using them but there shouldn't be any bleach in them and they are very very white.
I have only done one water change because I have been watching only the ammonia which never went over .5PPM but had I even checked the Nites or Nates I would have done it sooner. I was supposed to do it yesterday but it will have to be today.
I will do like 23 Gallons out of 85 like I did before. It sucks because I have to dump 6 gallons of RO/DI from my system because I have no where to store it and I use 2, 3 Gallon jugs the water is in to empty the water to my tub.
Basically I turn on the water pump then shut it and use the power of gravity to fill one 3 gal bottle then switch the tube to the other one and by the time I get back the 2nd one is over half full and I go like that till I am 21 gallons down.
Nothing was in the air in my tank at this point except the red plant at the top. i do not know what it is but you can see it here and tell me.https://www.livingreefs.com/my-tampa-bay-saltwater-package-t31885.html Just go to page 3 I think.
It was out of the water for like 20 minutes last time but it was still wet.
It is a huge attraction to the Blue Legs but they seem to be eating the tips. It makes it look sort of messed up but you can't tell unless you get really close.
What else... I have been trying to snag a few gorilla crabs and I have a medium sized one but he hides a lot. Almost got him but I did smash a tiny one. I went to grab him and that happened so sorry dude. I can toss them in the pond behind my house.
My Goby is doing fine and my Anenomes see just fine a s well. Chunk of shrimp every 2 or 3 days seems to be good. I may try to keep it to 2 because one of them ate it so fast like he was starving. It will probably eat it everyday I bet. The other one seems not as interested in the shrimp but will eat it eventually.
He/she is still down the back of the tank behind the rocks and it is hard to get it shrimp. I took 4 shishkabob stick and used epoxy to make a long stick to reach everywhere. Works good but the wood had turned to dust and some has blown around the tank.
I still feel like all my snails and crabs are still around and brittles I see. Once in a while I see the Cucs. Haven't seen one in like a week.
I mention this because I have the popping and cannot catch the Mantis. No luck. I wish I had a small submarine to hunt that fool(s) down. I hear the sound but no matter what can't see it and I don't see cracked shells around.
I did see in the beginning what looked like smashed shell but that was before I put in the critters in.
Just wanted to post an update and give you all something to read about my tank.
Thanks for reading.
My water is as follows.
PH - 8.2
Alk is dead center on the chart
Ammonia .30PPM
Nitrates - 35 then today 45-50 like they went down then back up
Nitrites are down to I think to 20 - They are down from the highest on the chart to the next lowest.
Sorry I forgot the numbers on the chart but hopefully you can see the trend as all of these were very high a week ago. Except the PH and Alk have been steady.
My calcium is 425 to 450 so that is fine.
I just got some good info from D2 about changing my sump socks every couple of days and not more than a week. I was waiting over a week not knowing they should be done so often.
I figure this will be very helpful in the future. I have 3 sets so I can surely have a clean set ready. I do have some ready already so I have no excuses.
I soaked them in the 1 to 10 bleach and water and rinsed them with hot water for a while after taking them out. I still feel nervous about using them but there shouldn't be any bleach in them and they are very very white.
I have only done one water change because I have been watching only the ammonia which never went over .5PPM but had I even checked the Nites or Nates I would have done it sooner. I was supposed to do it yesterday but it will have to be today.
I will do like 23 Gallons out of 85 like I did before. It sucks because I have to dump 6 gallons of RO/DI from my system because I have no where to store it and I use 2, 3 Gallon jugs the water is in to empty the water to my tub.
Basically I turn on the water pump then shut it and use the power of gravity to fill one 3 gal bottle then switch the tube to the other one and by the time I get back the 2nd one is over half full and I go like that till I am 21 gallons down.
Nothing was in the air in my tank at this point except the red plant at the top. i do not know what it is but you can see it here and tell me.https://www.livingreefs.com/my-tampa-bay-saltwater-package-t31885.html Just go to page 3 I think.
It was out of the water for like 20 minutes last time but it was still wet.
It is a huge attraction to the Blue Legs but they seem to be eating the tips. It makes it look sort of messed up but you can't tell unless you get really close.
What else... I have been trying to snag a few gorilla crabs and I have a medium sized one but he hides a lot. Almost got him but I did smash a tiny one. I went to grab him and that happened so sorry dude. I can toss them in the pond behind my house.
My Goby is doing fine and my Anenomes see just fine a s well. Chunk of shrimp every 2 or 3 days seems to be good. I may try to keep it to 2 because one of them ate it so fast like he was starving. It will probably eat it everyday I bet. The other one seems not as interested in the shrimp but will eat it eventually.
He/she is still down the back of the tank behind the rocks and it is hard to get it shrimp. I took 4 shishkabob stick and used epoxy to make a long stick to reach everywhere. Works good but the wood had turned to dust and some has blown around the tank.
I still feel like all my snails and crabs are still around and brittles I see. Once in a while I see the Cucs. Haven't seen one in like a week.
I mention this because I have the popping and cannot catch the Mantis. No luck. I wish I had a small submarine to hunt that fool(s) down. I hear the sound but no matter what can't see it and I don't see cracked shells around.
I did see in the beginning what looked like smashed shell but that was before I put in the critters in.
Just wanted to post an update and give you all something to read about my tank.
Thanks for reading.
Last edited:
