New guy needs some help

S

Shane1

Reefing newb
So pretty much I'm starting from scratch with zero knowledge. I just inherited a fully funtional aquarium and i have no idea whats in it or how to care for it. So please help me out. I know there are 2 clowns some crabs and a snail. There are some tubes that I need help identifying and if there are even alive any more. Please point out anything you see that I need to be aware of or take action on. TIA.:bowdown:
Over all shot
DSCF1405.jpg


DSCF1396.jpg

DSCF1409.jpg

I'm kind of worried about this brownish looking stuff?
DSCF1406.jpg
 
Those tubes are vermatid snails... some people consider them an annoyance...
They cast out a "web" to catch food and it can be be irritating. If you don't like them you can super glue them shut.

Did I see in your introduce yourself thread that the tank was without power for a couple days?
Can you test your water?
 
Thanks for the info on the tubes
The tank was without power for about 2 days, it was also some what neglected for the last month or so. I have no way of testing the water. I do have a swimming pool test kit to keep my pool water in balance. Do any of the reagents cary over?
 
ErinCahir said:
Those tubes are vermatid snails... some people consider them an annoyance...
They cast out a "web" to catch food and it can be be irritating. If you don't like them you can super glue them shut.

?
Click to expand...

Now I am no expert by any means , but I do not know about super gluing a living creature as to not allow it to conduct its natural existence. Just saying.

-Owen
 
The ph kit for a pool may work foryour tank, but other than that you aren't really testing the same things

You need to measure at a minimum
Salinity
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

And it looks like you have somecoral in there as well as some nuisance algae, so I'd test for the following

Ph
Alkalinity
Calcium
Phosphates (for the algae)

If it's been that neglected, I'd start with a water change, and picking up a copy of
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner
 
Shane1 said:
Thanks for the info on the tubes
The tank was without power for about 2 days, it was also some what neglected for the last month or so. I have no way of testing the water. I do have a swimming pool test kit to keep my pool water in balance. Do any of the reagents cary over?
Click to expand...

I honestly have no idea...

You can take a water sample to your LFS (Local Fish Store) and they would be more than happy to test it for you.

I know you inherited the tank all set up... but these are some great articles to read anyway...
https://www.livingreefs.com/ideal-books-reef-keepers-t19535.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/water-chemistry-t31270.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/basic-equipment-list-t19611.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/why-using-tap-water-bad-idea-t19865.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/choose-your-fish-t27083.html
 
Northstar24 said:
The ph kit for a pool may work foryour tank, but other than that you aren't really testing the same things

You need to measure at a minimum
Salinity
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate

And it looks like you have somecoral in there as well as some nuisance algae, so I'd test for the following

Ph
Alkalinity
Calcium
Phosphates (for the algae)

If it's been that neglected, I'd start with a water change, and picking up a copy of
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner
Click to expand...

I did a water change following some articles on the web and watched a few youtube videos.
The kit I use to test my pool water with tests for all that you mentioned above except Phosphates. But I will still try and get a good kit. I'll look into that book.
Thanks
 
ErinCahir said:
I honestly have no idea...

You can take a water sample to your LFS (Local Fish Store) and they would be more than happy to test it for you.

I know you inherited the tank all set up... but these are some great articles to read anyway...
https://www.livingreefs.com/ideal-books-reef-keepers-t19535.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/water-chemistry-t31270.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/basic-equipment-list-t19611.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/why-using-tap-water-bad-idea-t19865.html
https://www.livingreefs.com/choose-your-fish-t27083.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the links. That should keep me busy for a while.
 
Owen, have you ever killed an ant or a fly? Same concept different situation, Erin is not the only one that does it, as i do too! many people kill them due to their ability to aggravate corals.
Shane, it is all preference you can kill it if you want, it may become an annoyance later on. But can i just say, those are some huge ass vermatids!! Haha
 
Looks like a Finger Leather or a Nepthia in there also. your going to need some snails and hermits to eat out the algae you have going on there, or at least to help out. What kind of water change percentage did you perfom? Clean the glass. the hard stuff that does not come off easy is coralline algae, thats the good stuff. What kind of power heads do you have? Water flow? Filter? Skimmer?
 
Thanks fro the replies and help everybody. I have no idea about the power head, flow or the skimmer? I can take pics and post them if you let me know where to look.
Question: how long does the pump need to run and how long do you normaly leave the lights on for? TIA
 
Shane1 said:
Thanks fro the replies and help everybody. I have no idea about the power head, flow or the skimmer? I can take pics and post them if you let me know where to look.
Question: how long does the pump need to run and how long do you normaly leave the lights on for? TIA
Click to expand...
The power heads, or pumps run 24-7, you never turn those off. The lights you can run from 7-12 hours. You can run your blue lights 24-7 but there is no need for that, unless your talking about moon lights, which are very dim, and can only be seen at night. Those you can run 24-7 if you wish, but not needed.
 
By blue, if you are talking about actinic lights, you should not leave those on 24/7. The ocean is not lit 24/7, so neither should your tank.

If you have LED moonlights, you can leave those on at night.

Daylights should be left on for 8 to 12 hours.
 
You are just running a fish tank without corals, so your light schedule is what ever ou want it to be. You don't even need to run lights if you don't wish to.
 

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