lighting, testing, and hermits

[cirrus]

Hey everyone, I have a few beginner questions.

Some quick background:

My housemates and I just set up a 40gal reef a few weeks ago using plenty of live sand and rock. We let it run for a week and saw no change in the toxin levels , so we added some nassarius, let those do their thing for another week (still no change, no deaths), and just added a blue chromis and a couple of hermits. I realize this isn't usually a good idea, but given that we used live sand and rock and the levels are stable, I figured we could try it (I'm ready to take them all back if need be).

Two days after adding them the water is still in good shape though, Nitrates ~0.2, Nitrite 0 and Ammonia 0.

My first question is about our metal halide. It gives out about 10 watts/gal. and we have it positioned about 10" above the tank. One of the owner of our LFS commented though that we should be careful with it, that it could "melt" soft corals and stress our marine life. What is your take on halides? It came with the tank we bought, so the previous owner was definitely using it as his primary light.

Second, what kind of test kits are generally the best (most accurate/affordable)? The little strips with color spots are so hard to read...

Finally, our hermits seem a little sluggish. A few crawl around, traversing the tank, but one seems to be holed up in a cave in the rock. Is that normal behavior for them?

Thank you!

 

[little_fish]

Hello and welcome!

I cant really help you with the lights, not quite my thing.

But, you hermits might be stressed from any small cycle you had, or they might have found something tasty to eat there. I wouldnt worry much about them.

Also Salfert makes the best test, but they are pricy. But API also makes great tests. They can still he hard to read, but they are much more accurate than the test strips. Also i would get those ASAP because you might actually be cycling but you dont know it because of the test strips.

If you are i would return the fish, and let the cycle finish its things. I would add some shrimp in there to be 100% sure you cycle.

But i would return those fish anyways because they are mean SOBs. They will harass anything else you will want to put in that tank, and might kill them. I would look into wrasses, gobies, blennies or maybe the dwarf angels. When stocking your tank try add the more peaceful fish first. But RESEARCH EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE!!!! I cant begin to tell you how many people dont do that and end up with serious issues on their hands.

But continue to ask any questions you might have, and research research research! I will make your life so much better!

Its going to be awesome!

 

[little_fish]

Also, i guess while we are on the topic, are you using RO/DI water? It will save you so much heart ache later on by prevent ugly algae and contaminating your tank with chemicals that will make it impossible to keep inverts.

 

[Tristan]

for the hermits. they do a lot of weird things that make no sense at all lol. ive had some just stay inside their shells for long periods of time and they turn out fine, so you dont need to worry about them. when you see one with no shell, then he's in trouble

 

[cirrus]

Yeah, I was planning to return the chromis in a few weeks before putting different fish in. We're using water from a pure water shop. I'm not exactly sure what the process is, but it's what they use at the LFS. Would you recommend using a water conditioner as well? Or are those uneccessary?

It's good to hear the hermits are probably just chillin out. Do they need any special foods? We've been giving our Turbo boiled lettuce, which seems to keep it pretty happy.

 

[Tristan]

nope. they are scavengers. if you fed them special food, they wouldnt be doing their job lol.

 

[little_fish]

No you dont need a water conditioner and it sounds like your water is fine - which is good, it can be a real pain in the ass to change over from tap. Although i would just double check that the water is either RO/DI or distilled.

And one you have algae growing in your tank you wont need to feed the turbo, but good for you for recognizing that he will need to be feed. Lots of people get a huge CUC before they have any real algae or detritus and their snails can starve.

 

[Bifferwine]

The lighting is not too strong -- it is on the high end of what you need, though. Instead of worrying about melting corals (if acclimated to the light, the corals will be fine), you just need to watch the temperatures in your tank. MH lighting can heat small tanks up.

 

[cirrus]

Ok cool, that's good to hear about the lights. I'll double check on the water too.

I think I'm going to stop taking advice from the guy at the LFS...the last time I was there he recommended I throw a freshwater guppy into the tank and let it die to cycle it. Sadistic much? Creepy.

One more question: we're seeing these coral-like white tubes about a 1/2" or more high with little feeder "tongues" coming out of them popping up on some of the live rock. Does anyone have an idea of what that could be?

Thanks again for all the help :wave:

 

[little_fish]

Sounds like some sort of worm or a feather duster, either way i wouldnt worry about it. But for future reference, it is much easier for us to identify stuff with a pic!

Ya, and many lfs employees are just in it for the paycheck and really know nothing about saltwater. Plus its their job to sell you stuff, and if that stuff dies - they you just come back to buy more. Win for them, lose for you and your livestock.

 

[cirrus]

Ok, I have a few new questions and I thought I'd bump this thread instead of making a new one.

So yesterday I found the torn up pieces of one of our hermits floating around the tank. RIP nameless mini crab... Is that usually a territorial thing between hermits?

Second, we're having a strange problem with our chromis - he seems to be afraid of the dark. After the tank light goes out at night he tends to turn very pale and float listlessly around the tank for a while before settling into a cave and hiding. We first noticed it after turning on the room light after the tank light had shut off (the color change was significant enough to notice even by the dimmer light of the room). It's happened a couple of times by now, but by the morning, he's bright blue again. Has anyone heard of anything like this before?

Thanks

 

[BL1]

Are you sure the thing floating around wasn't a piece of a molt? They look just like the actual crabs.

As for your fish, most fish will either change their colors or turn different shades as a defense mechanism when they sleep. It's totally normal.

 

[cirrus]

Jajaja, right as I read your message my housemate called from downstairs - our "dead" hermit crab was resurrected. Like you said, it was molt.

And that's really good to hear about the fish. All of the possible things that can go wrong are a little overwhelming at first, I figured I'd ask to make sure it wasn't something critical.

Thanks again

 

[ErinCahir]

Your hermits will also kill each other for a larger shell if they need it. Make sure you have some extras!

 

[Tristan]

+1 erincahir
also your snails. ive had a couple of snails killed. you may want to invest in some empty ones.

 

[little_fish]

Or you could go with an all snail CUC and avoid those nasty murderers.