My First Tank (60L)

Ok cheers guys!

Is it possible to get the rock to seed from nothing? If I pull all my rock and dry it out like you suggested - maybe put it in front of the dehumidifier for a few days. Will I be able to get it living again without a seed - will it just take longer? Its just that I don't know anyone else with a tank and to be honest don't trust either shop to give me rock or sand without it possibly causing me more issues!
 
Yes you can!

I would leave the rocks in the sun for a few days, that should hopefully dry them out nice and good. You can also put them in a light bleach and water solution. Then just change out the water (tap work just fine for this) with a dechlorinator every day until you cant smell the bleach and then do it once more.
 
Yay! Thankyou so so much little_fish!

I would be lost without you guys :(

You are all really a blessing! Sorry to be so annoying with all my questions!
 
No really, what is annoying is following exchange

Person: Why did all my fish die?
Me: I dunno, did you cycle your tank at all?
Person: No, do I need to? I though I could just dump 10 huge fish in one tiny tank and everything would be groovy
Me: <palm right to the forehead>

So as long as we dont go there, its all going to great :)
 
Well the last thing I want to do is needlessly kill lots of Fish, hence the questions and wanting to get this right!

:-)

Thanks again,

Tim
 
little_fish, you reminded me of a topic I read on some other forum I found by searching a question on Google.

It was some guy who bought a 15 gallon tank...that day he bought a snowflake eel, two lionfish, a blue hippo tang and a bunch of damsels.

The topic read something like this:
"Help I can't find some of my fish and others aren't looking so good!"

Part of me found it funny, a bigger part was sad for those fish. :-/
 
If you're starting it over anyway you might as well buy new sand. I could be wrong but whatever you're trying to kill in the rock could live in the sand or at least hitchike in it. Why risk it? Sand is cheap (here anyway).

As for water...it's just water. Might as well redo it. Take extra care and do it right and it will reward you later. :-)
 
you can just rise and dry the sand as well, and threads like that make me so sad and upset. This hobby tends to have a horrible reputation and how can we ever defend ourselves when you have dozens of hobbiest out there who function like that for every one that cares. At least that guy bothered to get online to figure out what is wrong, many dont even do that much.
 
Ok, so here comes try number 3 :)

Set the tank up again last night - now just getting the salt levels adjusted and have a prawn ready to get the cycle kick started again. (Hopefully Ive killed off the pests)

On a side note could you guys advise me on lighting - I have read so much and now my heads spinning and I'm more confused than when I started. Currently my tank has a single T5 at 24W.

The tank dimensions are

2 feet (60cm) L
9 inch (23cm - at sides middle bows out) D
16 inch (40cm) H

Its 60L or roughly 16 Gallon I think

What would be the required amount of lighting I would need to allow this to handle Corals?

Cheers!

Tim
 
This is the light I use on my 10 gallon tank. For the price, you can't beat it. With 3 other tanks I didn't want to spend hundreds$$$ on a light for the 10 gallon so I went with this, but you could also look at a 24" AquaticLife or Current Nova Pro if you want to spent more and get a much better light fixture. But my corals are doing fine under this light although I will probably look to change out the bulbs sometime in the next few months for better ones, but I'm not in a hurry to do so.
T5 Quad 24" Aquarium Light Strip Marine Coral Reef Cichlid LED 96W 4x 24W Bulbs | eBay
 
Thanks Mike,

Appreciate the info and link! In that case I think I will most likely just go ahead as a fish only tank. That way I can save the extra money and put it towards the planning of a much bigger tank in the future.

I think I will go with the advice of a pair of clowns and my cleanup crew. Do Shrimp aquate for much as far as Fish capacity in the tank or are they classed as cleanup crew and therefore a positive to the tank?

Would be quite keen on a Fire Shrimp and possible a Pistol or two (for stirring/cleaning the sand up a bit) Would that be ok with the two clowns?

Added the dead prawn to the tank about 24hours ago, reading .5 for ammonium a day or two more and I should get my spike :-)

Cheers,

Tim
 
Ok Im confused...

Ammonium Readings after adding the prawn.

1. 24hours - 0.5
2. 36hours - 1
3. 48hours - 0.5

I have just done that third reading and was shocked to see the ammonium drop back - the prawns still in the tank looking and smelling gross.

I measured Nitrites and they went red instantly - does this mean I am already well into cycling and have missed the ammonium spike somewhere between tests?

Or should I leave the prawn in and keep waiting?

The last thought I had was to remove the prawn wait for the nitrites to reduce then maybe add another prawn after that to make sure...?

Any Advice...? - just confused since with my last cycle I saw ammonium go off the chart. Where as this time I haven't seen it go too high at all...

Cheers

Tim
 
If you saw a nitirite spike you can take the prawn out. No need to keep it in. The tank already has the ammonia necessary to cycle.
Also, ammonia and ammonium are different things, just fyi.
 
Ahh ok thanks,

Didn't realise the difference there - so to measure ammonia you take the ammonium and ph values and compare the two to work out the ammonia? Is that right?

I have only being measuring ammonium - thanks for that clarification found the chart at the back of my test kit book :( Don't know how i missed that one!

Well yay for cycling :)
 
Its this one here:

The Sera-Aqua Marine Test Box

I got confused cause it says ammonium/ammonia - assumed they must be the same but then further on in the test book I just saw theres a diagram where you take your ammonium vs ph readings and it tells you your ammonia.
 
Don't worry I haven't confused nitrites and nitrates though haha - took me awhile to learn and understand the difference and there place in the cycle but I got that one haha
 
Day 3 of the cycle

Ammonia 0
Nitrite >5mg/l
Nitrate >100mg/l

(nitrate nitrite both went to the highest reading instantly)

Ph is sitting around 8.5

Well no more Ammonia so 1 part of the cycle complete - now for the nitrite to subside :-)

Also no sign of the Digitates returning so far, so hopefully I've managed to rid the tank of them. (still early days yet tho)
 
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