[kgeorge]

ok

[kgeorge]

Question for yall'.... My R.O. unit is in the kitchen and of course my tank is in the living room. I want an auto top off unit (maybe DIY....(ideas guys)) Any ideas to get the line from the kitchen without them in the open. Up the wall through the ceiling and back down? ( Would that be very nice ) The only other idea is under the floor? ( Cold/Hot problems I would imagine ) What have you guys done????

[kgeorge]

Would that be very nice was meant to say "would that work"?...... LOL, train of thought was somewhere else I guess!

[kgeorge]

HELLO..........! ^^^^

*Guys my ammonia is 0 ppm
*Nitrites are between .02 ppm and .05 ppm (I have checked them 5 times the last two days, 3 test strips and twice liquid)
*Nitrates are stayin at about 40 ppm

[Reefland]

Sounds like things are progressing nicely. It is common for a test to show a small level of nitrites, my guess would be that they are fine too. Sounds like your ready for a couple of hardy clean-up crew members to see how they do.

[kgeorge]

It's only been two weeks today since I put water into my tank!

[bguile]

Originally Posted by kgeorge

Question for yall'.... My R.O. unit is in the kitchen and of course my tank is in the living room. I want an auto top off unit (maybe DIY....(ideas guys)) Any ideas to get the line from the kitchen without them in the open. Up the wall through the ceiling and back down? ( Would that be very nice ) The only other idea is under the floor? ( Cold/Hot problems I would imagine ) What have you guys done????

It's difficult to suggest without pictures of what you have to work with but my suggestion would be to go with whichever is easiest. Since it's a pressurized system either should "work" meaning that it will get water to the tank. As far as an auto top-off directly in the tank...I wouldn't do it. A big question comes up in my mind thinking about it. What happens if the water doesn't stop flowing from the supply? Sensors get stuck, float valves that don't anymore. It doesn't look like you have any overflow protection in that stand, so would suggest running the line to the tank and place a valve on it. The kind you find (Reminds me of an old Prince song... ) in the quick connect section of your local HD or Lowes. I've even had one of those leak on me but I was able to catch it before it could do any damage.

Also, I'd recommend running the line under the floor. It's usually the easiest because some people have access to their basement ceiling/underside of floor.

[bguile]

Originally Posted by kgeorge

It's only been two weeks today since I put water into my tank!

Yep. Now time to start the next stage of the cycle with a cleanup crew.

[kgeorge]

What all would you recommend?

[Reefland]

The time frame doesn't matter, it is the water quality that matters. If the ammonia is at 0, and nitrites are as well, nitrates are low, it's time for some cleaners. I would recommend a small mix of snails to start, some Astraea's, Turbo's, Nassarius (if you have a sandbed), cerith, there are all kinds of great snails. Stay away from the crabbies though.

[bguile]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Stay away from the crabbies though.

I agree. I had them in my first displays and they're cool to watch but a nuisance. They fight each other, knock over unmounted corals, kills snails for their shells and most of all...they die off quick. A waste of money. Not a one will go in this tank.

[Samper]

Kyle if you want to talk about auto top off message DonW at Welcome to www.reefwerks.com. He has all sorts of very reliable gadgets for any application. The most reliable would be optical floats. He makes great products. As you know I run ATO and I trust them. The biggest thing is to have security measures in place such as a second or even a third float. It is too easy for me to forget about and leave water running so an ATO saves me time and headache. I prefer a mix of crabs and snails but there are a lot of anti crab people out there.

[Ratpack]

Originally Posted by Reefland

I would recommend a small mix of snails to start, some Astraea's, Turbo's, Nassarius (if you have a sandbed), cerith, there are all kinds of great snails. Stay away from the crabbies though.

Interesting, everyone I have talked to says the crabs are great and needed. Of course other than cleaning the excess food and such, I guess they aren't needed. What is recommended for that extra cleaning of uneaten food? I do a pretty good job of not overfeeding, but not a quarantee than none makes it to the bottom.

[bguile]

It's not to say that they are bad, it just depends what you're trying to accomplish and what you have in your tank. If you want to keep snails in your tank, then you might not want hermit crabs because they will kill for their shells. It's just their nature. I had a hermit crab that lived for at least a year and was small when I got them. Before it was over, he was in a turbo snail shell that was about an inch big!

I've never had problems out of Emerald crabs (I had 3 in a 90G) except that they stole food from corals and they did a good job of eating any rolling pellets that fish didn't eat. It was cool to watch them give chase as it rolled around the substrate. The cleaner and fire shrimp stole food too so...survival of the fittest I guess .

I plan on keeping a lot of snails in my new tank so I will not be putting any crabs at all. So to answer your last question my solution for bottom cleaners are the Nassarius snails, Cleaner Shrimp, and Fire Shrimp.

[Reefland]

Crabs are opportunistic omnivores, given the chance they will each your snails. Snails are much more beneficial grazers than crabs, so although crabs may be helpful in tank cleaning, they are not as helpful as snails, and will kill the snails that are doing more work.

[Ratpack]

Thanks for the info. I think when I make my sand change, I will pull all the little crabs out. Then replenish the snails since I have 5 shrimp that can do the bottom cleaning for me.

[kgeorge]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I'm probably going with some crabs... But also a lot of snails. I will try and get some this weekend and maybe a shrimp...

*Everything is at 0 ppm except for nitrates... it is at 25-30 ppm today.

[kgeorge]

Guys, the crabs and snails put in are all doing nice. My tank that I had all my stuff in is going seriously south since I took the rock out. I went ahead and put some a rock with mushrooms in 3 days ago because they looked terrible... Now in the new tank they have opened up HUGE. They look great! I'm worried about the fish in there. The levels are gettin worse and worse. I have 3 fish in there and a serpent star. When can I go ahead and put them in my tank. The levels of Nitrates are almost 0 by the way.

[charlie]

What fish do you have, and how long has this been setup? I think if you are cycled, you may be alright, but everything can be a risk this early into it.

[kgeorge]

clown, damsel, and a fish I brought back from the ocean. I think it's a type of blenny. (I can't find a pic of it anywhere). The tank has only been set-up 3 weeks on Monday. The live rock has been goin for months in the other tank I'm talkin about. My levels are all zero except for nitrates which is practically there. I'm afraid they are goin to die in the other tank. There is no sand and only a few big rocks I'm goin to give to samper to put in the tank he's doing for the school. oh and the levels of ammonia and nitrates were gone last Saturday (about a 2 week cycle)....