Hello From South Africa

[theoilartist]

Hi, I happened to stumble onto this site as I was researching for my new hobby. You guessed it, Nano tanks. I don't have any experience in this but after reading some of the posts in this forum, I think I'm in good company.
I'm starting out with a 35l standard tank that I had some tropical in for my kids. I live right on the east coast of SA, so I've gone for "wild" water straight from the big blue. I also bought some LR and boy is it expensive here. I'd like to see if I can afford another piece later in the month. So it the meantime I'm letting the tank cycle and smiling at my kids sitting and staring at an otherwise empty tank. LOL

 

[D1s]

And welcome to the forumHello

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Hi and welcome to our forum Oilartist...... I am from Limpopo Province in South Africa and live in a little village called Amandelbult (near Thabazimbi)

You will find our members are extremely knowledgable and always ready to assist..... so do not spare the questions if you have any..... Also share your experiences freely and........ we love photographs....... Show us soon.....

Nogmaals, baie welkom hier by ons..... jy sal dit geniet.

 

[lljdma06]

Hi, I happened to stumble onto this site as I was researching for my new hobby. You guessed it, Nano tanks. I don't have any experience in this but after reading some of the posts in this forum, I think I'm in good company.
I'm starting out with a 35l standard tank that I had some tropical in for my kids. I live right on the east coast of SA, so I've gone for "wild" water straight from the big blue. I also bought some LR and boy is it expensive here. I'd like to see if I can afford another piece later in the month. So it the meantime I'm letting the tank cycle and smiling at my kids sitting and staring at an otherwise empty tank. LOL

Welcome to the salty side.

35l is small for a first SW, but if you follow some crucial first steps and are up on your research and maintenance, I personally think it's very doable. The zoanthid/Yuma garden in my signature is an example of what can be done with a tank that size, though I stock at a different rate that I don't recommend you follow. But you can get an idea.

L

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Phew!!.... thanks for that very civil and very helpful response llj.... @ theoilartist...... lljidma here (as the leader of the Salties) will be your mother until you are established..... (just for a moment there I thought that she's gonna comment about too many "boertjies" on this site) ....

 

[ALW]

lljidma here (as the leader of the Salties) will be your mother until you are established.....

Oh no! Unlucky my friend

 

[lljdma06]

lljidma here (as the leader of the Salties) will be your mother until you are established.....

Oh no! Unlucky my friend

OH!

I'm no leader of anything, nobody else wanted this job! I was the only one crazy enough in the mod team to keep Saltwater right now. LOLOLOL Have fun, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

I won't hold it against you that you're from South Africa. Gotta post pictures of your braii, though. Ludwig's famous for them.


Oh, is your LR cured or uncured. If it's uncured, you really gotta add it all at once, otherwise, you'll get a cycle every time you add something. How much LR did you actually add? PICTURE TIME! Thank you. This will help. You'll need between 8-10 pounds of LR for the size tank you've got.

 

[theoilartist]

lljidma here (as the leader of the Salties) will be your mother until you are established.....

Oh no! Unlucky my friend

OH!

I'm no leader of anything, nobody else wanted this job! I was the only one crazy enough in the mod team to keep Saltwater right now. LOLOLOL Have fun, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

I won't hold it against you that you're from South Africa. Gotta post pictures of your braii, though. Ludwig's famous for them.


Oh, is your LR cured or uncured. If it's uncured, you really gotta add it all at once, otherwise, you'll get a cycle every time you add something. How much LR did you actually add? PICTURE TIME! Thank you. This will help. You'll need between 8-10 pounds of LR for the size tank you've got.

Hi Again, cured or uncured? Not to sure about that. Maybe I should have asked. All I do know is that it's expensive and fortunateely I have a very understanding wife that didn't seem to mind me spending that money on some rocks. I did go into one LFS and walked out after checking their stock out. Talk about sad, no wonder they were cheaper than the other places. I have about 2.5kg of LR in my tank and I've already noticed some "little wormy things". (I'm very new to this but learning daily) I'll see what I can arrange with some pics of my new reef and my next braai. i hope nobody gets offended if I have a fish braai. Those are some of the best to make.

 

[theoilartist]

All seems to be going well with my tank. No diatoms as yet but from what i've read I suppose that is the next stage that my tank will go through. What if it doesn't happen??
Does that mean that the tank isn't cycling? I don't have any test kits but I found out that the LFS will do the tests for me (at a small price). The guy at the shop said that I must bring a water sample once the tank has been running for a month. Any additional suggestions would be great.
I'll post pics as soon as I can organise a camera.

Cheers for now,
theoilartist

 

[theoilartist]

No Comments. hmmmm, maybe it was because I like to EAT fish and mentioned that on this forum. Better check to rules to see if I need to mend my ways.

Regards,
Theoilartist

 

[lljdma06]

No Comments. hmmmm, maybe it was because I like to EAT fish and mentioned that on this forum. Better check to rules to see if I need to mend my ways.

Regards,
Theoilartist

No, I love fish, and think the idea of a fish braai is fantastic. YUM!

Cured LR - LR that has sat in tanks for a while and have already experienced the necessary die-off. This is great to get because usually you can add it straight to your tank without a problem

Uncured LR - LR that has not gone through this process. While not bad and much cheaper than cured, even if you remove all the obviously dead stuff, you'll still get die-off and the resulting spikes of ammonia, nitrite, and then nitrate.

Pictures will help a lot. I can then tell if you have enough.

L

 

[theoilartist]

yipeeee someone read my post. Thanks for the advise. I think I must have cured LR then. ATM I only have 2 chunks( about 2kg) in the tank. I think if I had to put more in there won't be space for the water or .
I'll try sort out pics this weekend. Maybe has heard that i've been good.

Regards,
Theoilartist

 

[theoilartist]

Okay folks it seems that pics are what everybody seems to respond to in this forum. Not to worry, I also do better with picture books.
So i took a pic with my phone. Not great but it made me realize that I need a lot more rock.

http/s1182.photobucket.com/albums/x453/theoilartist/Salt%20Water%20Journal/

 

[lljdma06]

Here ya go, now everybody can see.

Next time, copy the image tag and insert it into the post, then you can see the picture in the post.

Oh yeah, lots more LR. Don't worry, common mistake. I had to add more LR too. You can't really think about creating an amazing scape, though it is possible. You have to go in thinking about creating a filter for your tank. The LR is your filter. The more you have, the better off your system will be in the long run. Don't skimp on the quality and go for good quantity.

L

 

[ALW]

Here ya go, now everybody can see.

Next time, copy the image tag and insert it into the post, then you can see the picture in the post.

Oh yeah, lots more LR. Don't worry, common mistake. I had to add more LR too. You can't really think about creating an amazing scape, though it is possible. You have to go in thinking about creating a filter for your tank. The LR is your filter. The more you have, the better off your system will be in the long run. Don't skimp on the quality and go for good quantity.

L

I wouldnt say too much more LR, about another 5kg most.