Going to start my tank this weekend

[SSpiffyShrimp]

Totally new to the Opae Ula. After a move to a place where there really wasn't a good place for a real aquarium, I haven't had one for a decade or so and I miss my aquatic critters. Someone's post on Twitter led me to these and I'm ready to start.

Since the place I plan on putting the tank is a shallow mantle, I'm going to buy something like this, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00591C0F8/ (Tetra 3-gallon half-moon tank), some coral or aragonite sand, and some reef salt this weekend. I have some lava rock from near the Idaho Craters of the Moon National Monument that have been sitting outside for quite a few years: I'll oven sterilize them before I use them. I have unlimited access to deionized water, so I'll take a couple of 20L carboys home with me for cleaning and setup. I also have access to lab-grade analytical equipment for pH, salinity, and nutrients, so figuring out when the tank is cycled will be easy. I'll order a Mossball and snails next week to get it up and running.

From everything I've read here, it looks like I have things pretty well figured out to get it going, am I missing anything?

One question, will operating the filter that comes with that kit help get the tank cycled? With my schedule, it's going to have lots of time; I won't be around to get the shrimp put in until mid-February, so it will have lots of time to stabilize.

[Mustafa]

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like you're on top of everything from what I can tell. No, you don't need the filter at all, not even for cycling. I recommend just letting the tank do it's own thing. You want the bacteria to fully establish themselves on all tank/container surfaces and not inside a filter (which you'll then remove at some point along with the bacteria).

Keep the updates (and photos hopefully) coming!

[Varanus]

Indeed, I only ran the filter that came with my tank long enough to clear up the finer dust that was in the sand (didn't take long) before removing the filter for good.

[InSoOverMyHead]

My filter has been turned off since the shrimp made their way into the tank. I'm probably going to keep it off unless I can get a little sponge to put on the end so they don't get sucked up. Glad to see you're starting your tank, this forum has been super helpful to me and you should definitely listen to all the advice you get here

[SSpiffyShrimp]

The rocks I'm planning on using are in the oven at~190°F and will be there for a total of 6 hours at temp, then allowed to cool in it. I started them in a cold oven so no thermal shock, and want to be sure they reach temp to the middle since there are so many pores.

Carboys of water sitting in the garage., Just need hardware to get things rolling. I'm thinking of getting a cup or two of Puget Sound water to throw in at the start. I'll still need to add reef salt to get to brackish, but that might bring in some biota to jump start the cycling.

[SSpiffyShrimp]

Tank is set up. Here's a photo:

First day

To figure out how much sand to use, I added a half inch of water, then measured the amount of water, in this case, 3 1/2 cups.

SG is 1.012, about the middle of the recommended range. I'll bring a pH meter home from work to check that, everything else I'll ignore for a month or so.

This is the tank I used, I couldn't find the one I wanted locally. https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-29002-Cres ... B0032B0Y7S

[SSpiffyShrimp]

Now clear! I put the filter in and ran it for a couple of hours just to clear it up, then removed it. Light is on a 12/12 timer.

I decided to not get some Puget Sound water, current Sound temp is about 40F, anything there would die at room temperature and lower salinity.

[SSpiffyShrimp]

Mossball and macroalgae ordered. I'll give them a couple of weeks, then add snails.

[KenCotigirl]

Nice start. You have a good plan. Keep the updates coming.

Ken

[SSpiffyShrimp]

It's been a week, and no visible growth yet. I'm holding off getting snails until they have some food. Maybe I'll take in a water sample and put it under the microscope at work to look for swimmers.

[Mustafa]

Visible algae probably won't show up until 4-5 weeks into it. Just an FYI.

[SSpiffyShrimp]

Thanks Mustafa. Snails ordered.

[SSpiffyShrimp]

I bought a test kit. The lab guy says he needs a full liter to test for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, too much from my little tank.

Current conditions:
pH 8.0
NH3. 0
NO3 0
NO2 0
SG 1.011

The Post Office seems to be holding my snails hostage. 31 hours, SoCal to sorting facility, it's been almost 40 hrs and they haven't moved the 4 miles to the delivery post office. They're tough, right?

[Varanus]

They're tough, right?

Some of the toughest creatures around, but all the same I hope they will be okay.

[Mustafa]

Call the post office (or go there) and let them know about this. I checked the tracking and there is no reason for the box to be sitting there except someone maybe forgot about it. Unfortunately I can't do anything from my end about the package. It's a local issue.

The Post Office seems to be holding my snails hostage. 31 hours, SoCal to sorting facility, it's been almost 40 hrs and they haven't moved the 4 miles to the delivery post office. They're tough, right?