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  • uncharted territory

    over the weekend my wife and i picked up a picotope 3 gallon aquarium kit. The water in our tank came from a pet store we where told that we could start adding livestock the next day. The tank is up and running with a little live rock and a green mandarin goby we plan to toss in a seahorse soon. Im kind of nervous iv never had a saltwater tank and just going with the flow for now. Is there anything i should look out for or pay extra attention to?

  • #2
    Originally posted by justjuice View Post
    over the weekend my wife and i picked up a picotope 3 gallon aquarium kit. The water in our tank came from a pet store we where told that we could start adding livestock the next day. The tank is up and running with a little live rock and a green mandarin goby we plan to toss in a seahorse soon. Im kind of nervous iv never had a saltwater tank and just going with the flow for now. Is there anything i should look out for or pay extra attention to?
    What you need to do is
    1) Never to come back to that store again.

    2) Go read up on tank cycling or nitrogen cycle, on Mandarin goby and on sea horse.

    Comment


    • #3
      +1 on rage

      myjohnson put up a ton of great links in our saltwater section. I would start with reading the two about Filtration and Water parameters.

      If you are new to Saltwater, starting to feel a little 'saltwater-curious', or want to post a SW Tank Journal, post here.


      Dragonet info
      Basically they will get pretty darn big, and a 3 gallon doesn't have the bottom area for them to forage. I would take it back and get a fish that is smaller. Any reputable fish store will take a fish back and give you credit toward a fish that better suits your needs. If that store wont take it back, I know many places that will take it and give you credit at their store, regardless of where you bought it.

      LiveAquaria nano fishes is a good place to start looking for your fish. They don't have a designation for smaller than 10 gallons, but most of the fish listed at 10 gallons will actually work in smaller setups. I'm not suggesting you buy from them, but you can get ideas about what works for you. Most fish stores will keep an assortment of nano fish, and if not, will put some in their next order if you ask nicely.

      Seahorse info is actually not the easiest to find. Most sites are all "fluff". This link is possibly the most black and white writing I could find. I would not keep a seahorse in a tiny tank. They cannot handle any changes in temp, salinity, or any N-based chems. Since the 3-gallon is so small, those happen on a regular basis. They also need hold-fasts, which basically means stuff to hold onto. I wouldn't suggest putting a sea-horse in anything less than a 30 gallon tank.

      Sorry to rain on your parade. I know you were probably really excited about these fish (reason why they fly off the shelves in stores). I would rather see you happy with a fish that will be happy as well, than put someone through watching a fish slowly die. Especially in a first tank, it often leads to people never returning to that area of the hobby. Best of luck, and keep us updated.
      75 planted (Being Renovated)
      Endlers
      gobies
      lots of nanos

      Comment


      • #4
        lol

        Comment


        • #5
          No offense, but i do not recommend anything less than 30 gal that is equipped with at least a skimmer for anyone that is just starting out with saltwater. It is extremely difficult to keep water parameters consistent and clean in a small tank. For small tanks, evaporation is a HUGE deal. Even a little bit of evaporated water will cause the SG to rise quite dramatically and could kill critters. I have only ever had one 3 gal picotope, but i had that plumbed into a 20 gal sump / refugium with skimmer.

          I hesitate to have even a single mandarin in my 75 gal reef, let alone a little 3 gal picotope. Unless painstakingly trained, mandarin dragonets will only do well in a tank full of pods. Live brine shrimp is NOT a suitable stable food for mandarins regardless of what the store says. They will slowly starve to death.

          I have 6 erectus seahorses in a 75 gal tank and the are each about an average 5" tall. I'm afraid that if you keep them in a 3 gal pico, their heads will be sticking out of the water!

          For your proposed setup, without additional filtration / skimming, i would hesitate to put anything more than a single antanna goby and perhaps couple of zoa polyps/

          Take your time and do a lot of research. Otherwise, you're going to find out real quick that saltwater tanks can be a mini hell.

          I recommend wetwebmedia for your reading pleasure



          If you want to keep a 3 gal without refugium / skimmer, then please realize that your maintainence regiment is going to involve daily partial water changes and constant topoff with RO water (NOT TAPWATER). If you are not prepared for that, i would stay away from a small tank for now. Go for a 29 or better a 55 instead.
          Last edited by nacra99; 10-11-2010, 11:11 AM.
          www.ventralfins.com

          Comment


          • #6
            Those picos are not very easy for a beginner. You can drastically shorten your cycle time, but you would need to buy a piece of live rock (about 2-3 pounds in size for a 3 gal) that was already in someones well established tank. and a little live sand from an established tank. the cycle would be maybe a week long. With a 3 gal pico, your really looking at just keeping easy corals like zoos or mushrooms with a good pc or LED light. and then a shrimp or something. There really aren't any fish that do well in a 3 gallon tank. They might live for 6 months, but at some point will have a drastically shortened life span in that small of a tank.
            Softie Reef

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            • #7
              Originally posted by rage View Post
              What you need to do is
              1) Never to come back to that store again.

              2) Go read up on tank cycling or nitrogen cycle, on Mandarin goby and on sea horse.
              take a chill pill

              Comment


              • #8
                i guess i have no other choice but to start a thirty gallon tank

                and yes i will take the goby back asap
                Last edited by justjuice; 10-11-2010, 07:39 PM.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hey justjuice

                  Welcome to the dark side. Although the advice youve gotten so far might sound harsh, It was just to help you out. You're making the same mistake as most new guys starting off in saltwater. Impulse buying will only cause you heartache. Losing fish and or money.

                  If you're serious about trying saltwater, there are tons of links here, nano reef, marshreef. Do yourself a favor and do a little bit of reading before heading off to buy anything else. Always research before buying anything. Don't hesitant to post questions. Like now sometimes responses might be rough around the edges but its because they want you to be successful.

                  The reason why you have to wait for a cycle is to wait for the right bacteria to grow in the tank. That bacteria breaks down fish pee/poop as well as uneatten food. If there's not enough right bacteria then your fish is swimming in pee and poop soup. It will eventually die... This is an extreme simplification. Look up the beginner links.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The problem with saltwater, is that it is not very forgiving. They require consistent levels with very little deviation (yes I'm being redundant). In the wild, bodies of freshwater change constantly, and in some cases, even dry up. Freshwater fish have evolved in the ever-changing environment, and are completely fine with slight variations in water chemistry. In saltwater situations, fish are use to having an entire ocean to dilute changes in chemistry. On an ecological level, this stability has allowed saltwater fish to take on the crazy shapes and colors that we love.

                    I really enjoy saltwater tanks, and I always encourage people to try them. There are endless possibilities that are all relatively easy. The bottom line is that saltwater tanks take more careful preparation, and a precise execution.

                    My suggestion: Take the goby back, and get a small amount of live rock (3 lbs or so) with your balance. Let your tank mature for 3 weeks. During that time, you can precisely plan what you want. Talk to your fish store and ask them if they can put your fish in an order. With a few weeks notice, they should be able to. If not, I can point you to some who can.
                    75 planted (Being Renovated)
                    Endlers
                    gobies
                    lots of nanos

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      well the goby whent back and the tank has like 4 lbs of live rock. and in a few weeks plan to toss in a dwarf seahorse. I read that they do very well in smaller tanks and only reach about 2in in lenght. any objections?) I still plan to start up a 30 gallon sw tank. I will be at the auction this weekend to pick up a few things to get it started.

                      thanks for all the help

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        ... Here is a link

                        http://www.worldofseahorses.com/dwarf%20basics.htm

                        Technically I wouldn't recommend seahorses to anyone new to saltwater. Drawf seahorses can be very hard to keep, esp for small tanks. They are very sensitive to temperature. I've seen people having to use chillers to keep seahorses. They do better in small tanks as in a 14 gallon Biocube not a 3 gallon pico.

                        Unless you're ready to spend several hundred in equipment and constantly monitor the tank. I would skip sea horses. Try some clownfish or something else easy to care for. But one thing is for sure, I would not put any marine fish in a 3G tank. There are some small gobies that you might be able to get away with but even then only someone experienced with saltwater should try. Grab a cheap 20g tank to start off. You can keep 2 clownfishes in a tank like that. Cheap and easy....

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Also consider that most seahorses and pipefish won't take anything but live food. Enjoy culturing baby brine...
                          75 planted (Being Renovated)
                          Endlers
                          gobies
                          lots of nanos

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by justjuice View Post
                            and in a few weeks plan to toss in a dwarf seahorse. I read that they do very well in smaller tanks and only reach about 2in in lenght. any objections?)
                            I kept dwarfs for a while and they are definitely very interesting to keep. They will do ok in your 3 gal tank. Plant some nice caulerpa in there. Besides helping to suck up some of the nutrients and to give them something to hitch on, it'll make the tank look pretty.

                            Do also realize that dwarfs eat newly hatched baby brine shrimp as a staple. Which means you are going to have batches of brine shrimp brewing somewhere EVERYDAY - 365 days a year! Also, unless you decapuslate your BS eggs before hatching, you will definitely have a hydroid problem down the road (very common with brine shrimp), so you might want to think of having some panacur ready down the road just in case.


                            Originally posted by justjuice View Post
                            I still plan to start up a 30 gallon sw tank. I will be at the auction this weekend to pick up a few things to get it started.
                            Sweet! Pick up a skimmer & a refractometer if you can.
                            Last edited by nacra99; 10-12-2010, 10:00 AM.
                            www.ventralfins.com

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by justjuice View Post
                              well the goby whent back and the tank has like 4 lbs of live rock. and in a few weeks plan to toss in a dwarf seahorse. I read that they do very well in smaller tanks and only reach about 2in in lenght. any objections?) I still plan to start up a 30 gallon sw tank. I will be at the auction this weekend to pick up a few things to get it started.

                              thanks for all the help
                              Well, my 1st post was meant to shock you into doing the research needed to keep these animals alive.

                              It's more than just your money, these are living things.

                              How do you like it if people bring home cats and dogs and don't care for them so that they die?

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