ilwis Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 so with very little persuasion my wife has just agreed to let me set up a small salt water native tank :happy1: so i plan on going for a quick look tonight to see if i can find some jewels and anything else of intrest (if i see a oucupus and catch it i will be the happyest man in the world) but my question is about the jewels and other such creatures from what i understand jewels are poisionus so do i need gloves? or anything special to handle them? any way to know what ones to stay away from? i know a bit about the fish so im not too worried about them and i know most sea weeds need alot of light so any hints tips stuff i should know? im planning on starting it with salt water from the sea so i know all is perfect with the water (any good ideas on how in the car? ive got a chillie bin so thats my best option so far but water can still splash out through the opening of the top) ive had a few salt water native tanks that have worked well in the past but i never tried anthing other than dead rocks and fish (fish were alive and most released that way too the few that didnt make it went to dinner with other fish)(as in other fish caught and ate them) so any help would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Not to be a killjoy but why are you going looking for stuff tonight if you haven't even set up a tank yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Also, once you've captured something and had it in your tank, never release it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 the best thing if you are going to try marine is slow down, develop patience and look at getting a cycled system before adding livestock temperate (cold) marine take longer to cycle and won't enjoy temps over 20 degrees for too long patience grasshopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilwis Posted November 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 not really looking for stuff to take tonight just looking for when im ready to set it up so i know where i can find everything most of the things i found are all brown plants and ostyers (didnt tanke anything) i really want to find some jewels but ive never seen brightly coloured ones around thats why i was looking to hopefully find some and a place to find some good fish and if i use sea water and sea sand ect it speeds up the process id just add the fish slowley anyway its just the other stuff i find is hard to get ive got a nice cool spot checked out already so im not worried about the temp it sits around 18C most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 if i use sea water and sea sand ect it speeds up the process a popular misconception Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 the live sand will contain lotsa live bacteria to speed up the cycling, but it will also contain lots of organism's that will add bioload (I counted 200 cone snails in my 2L of live sand, thats just what I could see) so its probably going to counter itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 have you an actual count on the amount of live bacteria in the live sand? low bio load and water changes are more productive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 24, 2012 Report Share Posted November 24, 2012 Our sand in NZ is mostly silica sand. It's non porous so the bacteria count is low compared to live rock. Sadly, there's no way to cheat this into going faster. It takes as long as it takes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 low aerobic bacteria count, high anaerobic count (I'm talking about estuary sand though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 :smot: I would guess that estuary sand/silt/mud has much higher nutrient input so could support higher counts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilwis Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 Is there a reason why people don't use more bio balls or ceramics in their filtering then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 They tend to be nitrate factories as they trap detritus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 25, 2012 Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 low aerobic bacteria count, high anaerobic count (I'm talking about estuary sand though) only when you get deeper into it then you are using anaerobic to set your tank up not ideal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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