New to the Hobby

Hello Again! I have a new question (already, i know)

Is it possible to use oysters as part of my aquascape? I live on a harbor where I can harvest a few shells, not whole live thing, and add it to my tank. Is it possible that it could serve as a substitute for live rock? I would still keep the 75 pounds of live rock but just add to it with the oysters.
 
I'm going to have to let someone else answer that. I know that there are coastal members here that take stuff from the ocean to add it to their tank, but the idea of bringing in a parasite or something awful like that freaks me out...

And don't worry about the questions! We love them here!
 
mmmmm, I'm not really sure if I fully understand but.... I would make sure there is nothing living on them, Prolly boil them to kill off everything first before introducing them into your tank.
 
Hi and welcome!

Live rock is useful because of all its surface area -- lots of places for bacteria to colonize. Live rock is very lightweight and porous because it has so many nooks and crannies. Oyster shells are pretty solid, and there isn't a lot of surface areas or pores in oyster shells. They won't serve the same purpose as live rock.

Depending on how many bulbs the light has, you may need to upgrade lighting. As Erin said, those lights are not worth what he said they were.

Definitely pass on the anemone, at least for the first year. Clowns don't need an anemone to be happy, and they will have the same hosting relationship with many other things in your tank, including corals that are much easier to keep than anemones.

It sounds like it comes with a lot of stuff. That's a fantastic price for that setup.
 
Yep i was worrying about the parasite issue, too. I'm not sure if I would consider boiling it, because then wouldn't all the good bacteria die off of it? Also, i've seen parasites on sea trout i've caught, but never on any shells or oysters. I would look over them for sure, but I guess theres no way to test for microscopic ones, is there?
 
Thanks Biff for the advice! I had a fealing he was pulling my leg on the lighting issue, and I'll make sure to ask about the bulbs. I guess the oyster part is out of the question - I was just wondering If i could take advantage of the ocean I live by! I was wondering also, (i'll most likely have to drain the water to transport the set-up) to help with the beneficial bacteria if I could add a little bit of sea water to the mix, because of the bacteria already aquainted in the sea. But would there be too much bad bacteria?
 
The bacteria lives in the sand and the rocks, not so much in the water column... so seawater wouldn't really help in that aspect. I don't know if anyone has mention this yet, either, but it will be much less hassle to get rid of the existing sand and get new stuff.
 
Welcome to the site! Sounds like a good score. There are some really nice wrasses out there. I not a clown fan myself, but I do kind of like the tomato clown:mrgreen: But dont tell anyone.
 
Piratefish said:
Welcome to the site! Sounds like a good score. There are some really nice wrasses out there. I not a clown fan myself, but I do kind of like the tomato clown:mrgreen: But dont tell anyone.
Click to expand...


I'm telling......

HEY EVERYBODY!!!! I GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!

hehe
 
Welcome to the site! The tank seems like a great deal, but (as others have mentioned) if you want to keep corals (and possibly an anemone in the far future) make sure that the lighting is adequate. Also, I wouldn't use oyster shells or water from the ocean because you never know what parasites, algae, etc. that you may introduce to the tank by accident. Instead, bring containers (coolers, trash cans, buckets, etc.) when you pick up the aquarium and save the water from the aquarium to use when you set-up the tank in your house (this water will already have plenty of beneficial bacteria). As Erin mentioned, you may want to scrap the sandbed, OR if you use the sand that the tank comes with I'd recommend rinsing the sand with RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionized) saltwater and then putting it back in the aquarium (this should help prevent ammonia spikes as well).

As far as fish go, clownfish would be a good choice. However, clownfish can be very territorial so you may want to add them to the tank last (after you decide on the other fish that you may want). Good luck, and feel free to ask any questions. That's what we're here for. :Cheers:
 
Thanks guys turns out the deals down, my dad's not liking to 55 gallon. Thanks for all your help though! I really wished it could've worked out, but read my thread about the 29 gallon biocube he'll let me get in the New to reefing section!

Thanks again! ):
 
aquaaddict11 said:
Thanks guys turns out the deals down, my dad's not liking to 55 gallon. Thanks for all your help though! I really wished it could've worked out, but read my thread about the 29 gallon biocube he'll let me get in the New to reefing section!

Thanks again! ):
Click to expand...

I saw a JBJ 29 Gallon cube at the LFS in Roseville today. I got to say it looked bigger than I expected and was pretty impressive to see in person. It's a good tank for an all in one setup. If you want something that's more standard, you could go with a standard 29g tank but you'd just have to get all the equipment yourself instead of having it all there for you.
 

Similar threads

Mike
  • Sticky
New Member (Owner 😲)
Replies
0
Views
715
Mike
Mike
F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
Mike
We're Back!
Replies
0
Views
644
Mike
Mike
M
Novice needing advice!!
Replies
0
Views
1K
montgrl99
M
R
New to the hobby
Replies
3
Views
1K
SantaMonica
SantaMonica
Back
Top