my gsp wont eat snails!

[Rafa214]

I think for now I would keep them in high bw and I have noticed that mine get along very well they are always together and do not act aggressive toward each other.

[SammyDee]

Cool definetly wanna see pictures. If I were you though I'd start by adding a sand substrate this way it's all cleared up by the time your new baby comes along. A lot of pplhate it but puffs love it. I'd definitly use some kind of marine substrate. It make you ph stable too where puffs like it. 7.8-8.3

[Rafa214]

what kind of sand can i use in bw??

[SammyDee]

I think all types do work but I got mine from the LFS and it's a fine white sugar grain sized. And it made my ph perfect. It was a dry dead sand. Made from crushed coral. I prefered the white sand to encourage bright bellies and good contrast to fish and other things. Just rinse out alot before adding it too the tank.

[SammyDee]

If you consider play sand I forget what can be in it but it can be bad for fish tanks. I thinks it's a pesticide for kids in sand boxes err something. Best thing would be to pick it up at a LFS. I meant to say also the sand is crushed aragonite. There also another type I like it's a lil bigger. Like a fine gravel. If you stay BW it may be better cuz it's easier to vacuum. It's also white. Cuz Im not sure what you could have for a clean up crew like hermit crabs err... Whatever. All I remember from the period I was BW before marine was that animals were very limited, and even more with puffers. Someone else would have to recommend something for ya. In my marine tank I have hermits to clean up excess food etc. Even thou they may be eaten the gsp's leave them alone. For now... But they cheap 12 for 12 bucks they small too about 1" tops

[Rafa214]

so do u think its easier to go full marine??

[SammyDee]

Umm Id say it's more checking on it than FW. I cycled my tank from Fw to BW to SW as fast as I could. I really wouldn't have gone marine except for the GSP. I am no expert of marine. There is soo much in marine. But overall I am doing less Smaller WC than compared to when I was BW. I just didn't care for BW bc of the constant 50% wc in BW. And now I still do weekly wc only it's 25%. So I save a lil tiny bit on salt. But that's all spent on other things for the tank eventually. I still go thru salt thou. Best part about going marine wS being able to buy tankmates. And yes there are some for BW I just never could find em and if I did it wasn't anything I liked. But I knew that I always wanted to try marine just not so soon. But overall I enjoy it a millions times more when I watch it. It stays very clear with the use of my skimmer. And I just dig the flow I can play with and my powerheads. It's all really fun. And just looking at the live rock is amazing to me. Imagine it with a few easy corals for a beginner like my self and I'm very happy. I have 2 3" GSP with 2 3" maroon clownfish ( effin sweet looking) one 4" yellow tang and two small 2" yellow tail damsels. All getting along well. Plus a few hermits and SW snail ( which my GSP have zero interest in). Also a few corals and feather dusters which everyone leaves alone too. Overall it's a few bucks more in the initial setup. But the years you spend enjoying it becomes well worth it. I furnished a complete SW system( except for live stock) from craigslist. Picking up one or two peices of equipment along the way thru BW territory. I spent 150$ for a 55g with wood stand and canopy. 100$ for a sump and skimmer. 75$ for a brand new CPR overflow ( best HOB overflow ever IMO impossible to have a flood also got thru CL) and my return pump for 60$. Then I had to get tubing etc. And that was cheap. Powerhead was 45$ need another thou. I say for 600$ -1000$( including sand/rock/ some corals/livestock) you can have a nice easy to maintain marine tank as long as you spend wisely. And if you take your time learning and accumulating the stuff needed it won't seem like a ton of $$$$$ lol. I really need to show y'all some pics but I can't ever get em up. I'm trying to do thru my iPhone and even if I did the pics suc so I'm trying to have a buddy who's a film editor make a vid me with an HD cam. I want to show TPf and thank them all for how successful and least stressful my Aquaria XP has been. Thanks to them I have have a tank I could only envy years ago. But likei said I am a Noob to SW some I'm sure there'll be plenty of bumps along the as with anything new. It's only been SW for about 1.5 months so Im just hoping all stays well and no issues. And hoping for massive purple coraline algae to take over my live rock. Looks way prettier that way.

[SammyDee]

Afterall that I didn't even answer your ? I would say BW is easier but marine is somewhat easy too. It's all about your personal prefences. A BW or FW tank can still look amazing..

[Rafa214]

so wen i get the 75 gal do u think i should cycle it on full marine?

[SammyDee]

Umm if you can. Then just drip acclimate the new GSP over a few hours using an airline tube to create a syphon which should be a slow drip into the bucket of water your ne puffer came in. But you'll need a sump,skimmer, return, overflow and somewhere down the line a better light and possible an RO/DI unit if you decide to try a few corals etc. I'd do two gsp and add some other cool SW fish and whatever else. But even in SW you are still limited with tank mates bc of the puffers but just do your research and ask lots of ?s and you'll be fine. It it possible to cycle the 75g with just sand, and live rock and using a HOB filter. But I would highly recommend using an overflow to a sump with and in-sump skimmer. You will be extremely happy withthe clarity of the tank and the organics that the skimmer removes. Things that are invisible till you empty the cup of skimmate. Basically all I do every other day is empty my skimate and do a wc 25% a week. While making sure to mix my salt well hours before adding and declorinating it as usual. I have yet to begin dosing my tank. Bc I have corals that need hardly anything to live. But it always helps them thrive to have them under a proper light and proper levels of calc etc. Much to still learn on my end but by 2 weeks I'll be dosing and have a much better light. Dosing is not needed in FOWLER ( fish only with live rock) in a reef system it's typical use an RO/DI unit but you can get away without it in FOWLER systems but I'd still try to find one bc it helps with keeping nuisance algae to a minimum.

[SammyDee]

Sorry for all the typos my phones stupid predictive text messes me all up. Hopefully you can still understand me.

[Rafa214]

this makes me get nervous it sounds so complicated!

[SammyDee]

so wen i get the 75 gal do u think i should cycle it on full marine?

Some ppl recommend starting FW to BW then to SW but I hated BW and yes " you use more salt putting them in SW right away why not go BW and save a few bucks along the way" this is true so it's another personal preference. If I could do it again I'd skip the whole raising the SG .002 a week thing and would just started it SW. But I didn't have an extra tank so my choice was limited. As long as you cycle tank with a SG of 1.020-1.025 and add live rock and still do water changes when nitrite and ammonia is high replacing it with the same SG SW it'll eventually cycle as full marine. It won't harm the puffer skipping BW either. Essentially you save the headache of playing with SG changes and the wondering and worrying about if your tank is handleing the SG change or crashing.

[SammyDee]

It's really not as complicated as it all sounds. The hardest part will be understanding the cycling and bacteria needed in a tank. Think about it I see 10 year old on YouTube do it well. You can too. It seems confusing but you wanna look at it as challenge that you will be succesful at. Expecting bumps in the road( same as FW/BW). Just get the proper equipment and all will be well. Another thing I would recommend later down the road would be a UV sterilizer. That would also help but isn't crucial. If your not worried about the cash for a marine tank go for it. It's not looked down upon to go BW. I was just simply giving you my opinion.

[Rafa214]

i also got another question. is a protien skimmer needed if i decide to go with bw?