New tank set up

[JennyPenny]

I have been reading about setting up an opae ula tank ever since I saw the awful ecosphere post on Facebook. I bought a 2 gallon tank and used about 3/4 inch of aragonite gravel/sand as substrate, and have a few small pieces of coral. I plan to get some lava or limestone rock very soon so my shrimps will have hiding places. I don't have a test kit yet so I don't know my parameters, but I can take a water sample to my local fish store for analysis. My sg is around 1.015 and I have a light on about 14 hours a day. I see some small amounts of film on the surface of the water. The tank has only been set up since Dec 20, so I'm guessing it's probably too soon to get snails as there is no algae. When do you know you can put the snails in? I was thinking about ordering some microalgae from Mustafa and then waiting a few weeks to order the snails along with about 15 shrimp. Thanks!

[Mech]

wait 3 - 4 weeks then put some snails in, id advise a test kit if you want to know whats happening in your tank all the time and know if you need to do any water changes to keep nitrites down etc. be sure to use marine salt and RO/distilled water only and you will be good to go.

[JennyPenny]

Do you think I could order the microalgae now, or should I wait until I can have the water checked? I think I'll get one of those API test kits for the water.

[KenCotigirl]

Hello JennyPenny nice to have you here. I would think getting the microalgae and a few snails now would be fine. The algae and snails i believe is helpful in adding good bacteria to your tank. Send some pictures of your tank.

Ken

[Varanus]

You might also review the topics I made concerning my own step by step set up of a tank. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5771

[JennyPenny]

Hello JennyPenny nice to have you here. I would think getting the microalgae and a few snails now would be fine. The algae and snails i believe is helpful in adding good bacteria to your tank. Send some pictures of your tank.

Ken

Thank you!
I'm not sure it this will work or not. I'm going to try to add a picture. My little tank is still very bare and I really need some more rock before I add the shrimps.

[JennyPenny]

You might also review the topics I made concerning my own step by step set up of a tank. viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5771

Thanks for the link! I will read your thread.

[Varanus]

Hello JennyPenny nice to have you here. I would think getting the microalgae and a few snails now would be fine. The algae and snails i believe is helpful in adding good bacteria to your tank. Send some pictures of your tank.

Ken

Thank you!
I'm not sure it this will work or not. I'm going to try to add a picture. My little tank is still very bare and I really need some more rock before I add the shrimps.

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Yeah, the shrimp love to have lots of places to hide and things to climb on.

[KenCotigirl]

I am not artistic but I would go with something vertical. Fan coral. Shrimp go it. Does not block your view. Adds lots of surface area. Who wants their shrimp to hide.

Ken

[JennyPenny]

I am not artistic but I would go with something vertical. Fan coral. Shrimp go it. Does not block your view. Adds lots of surface area. Who wants their shrimp to hide.

Ken

I'm going to take your advice and get a fan coral. Thank you!

[JennyPenny]

I ordered a test kit for my tanks but in the meantime took water samples to some fish stores today. The first store turned me away because they had no trained employee to test my water. The second store treated my water, but used those little strips. The employee said my tank was fine except for the ammonia levels. I can't understand why it would be so high-around 1.0! All it has in it is aragonite and some corals. I was going to order algae and snails note but should I perform a water change and then wait for my test kit to arrive so I can retest first?

[Varanus]

I ordered a test kit for my tanks but in the meantime took water samples to some fish stores today. The first store turned me away because they had no trained employee to test my water. The second store treated my water, but used those little strips. The employee said my tank was fine except for the ammonia levels. I can't understand why it would be so high-around 1.0! All it has in it is aragonite and some corals. I was going to order algae and snails note but should I perform a water change and then wait for my test kit to arrive so I can retest first?

What water did you fill the tank with initially? Tap water may contain ammonia to begin with and that may be the source here.

Still you want some ammonia in the tank to start the cycling. Provided it is not at deadly levels you may want to leave the water alone and add the algae and snails. The trumpet snails are very hardy and the algae will help clean the water.

[JennyPenny]

I used distilled water from the grocery store. I also used the distilled water to rinse the substrate. And I used reef salt, not aquarium salt.
Thanks for the advice, it sounds like I could go ahead and place my first order.

[KenCotigirl]

JP the problem is your tank is not fully cycled. It takes a month or two. If you started December 20 you will have high amonia and then high nitrites. Whether fresh, brackish or full salt you need more time. Do not add any shrimp. They are very sensitive. Adding algae and snails may speed up the process. Even if doesn't they add appeal till your tank is cycled.

Ken

[JennyPenny]

My tank is still empty for cycling and I'm going to test tomorrow. If ammonia isn't too high, I will probably order snails and algae. I did rearrange my corals and I bought a new coral while I wait for my sea fan to come in the mail. There's a nice later of bio film on top and even some kind of white chunky bits. When I put in the new coral I noticed that the water on top is quite warm from the light, while it's much cooler in the lower part of the tank. I've never had a filterless or still water tank so perhaps that's normal. Hopefully that's not going to be a problem for the shrimps when they come. Here's a current picture.