New here, from WI. Sick GSP.

[LongGrain]

Alright well I went in for a water test today. The Fluval Edge was still at 1.010 sg, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite (must be a pretty strong colony, having no ammonia with a gsp in a 6g tank!). The Large tank is at 1.020 sg 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, pH 8.1. I picked up some live rock and decorative rock (not enough quite yet, but its a good start) and set it all up in the tank. I drip acclimated my puffer for 2-3 hours in a bucket, starting with 2 quarts of water from the edge, waiting until it hit 4qts, then removing half the water, letting it drip back up to 4qts, removing half the water, etc. Then I put him in the new tank and he seems to be reasonably happy. His belly got whiter, his coloration is a bit better, and much of his ich has fallen off (hopefully won't regrow in the salt water).

So far so good I guess. The guy at the LFS got me a really nice looking chunk of LR, and I'll probably pick up more when I have more dough. He also recommended me a protein skimmer that he uses in all of his smaller saltwater tanks that he says he has great results with and said he can get it for me for $70 and has more coming in next week (I forget the actual name though.) And then I will probably pick up some power heads at the same time, though I'll probably get those online since his prices were through the roof! I think his cheapest one was a tiny aqua clear and they were 60 bucks each.

[Pufferpunk]

Not a bad price for a decent HOB skimmer. Glad he's feeling better!

[wagner7123]

I bet its a sea clone

[LongGrain]

that could have been it. I should have written it down.

if that's the case is it a decent unit for someone just starting out with a small saltwater tank?

And what powerheads would be good for a 37g tank with no coral? I don't want anything too powerful, my fish is pretty small still and I think he would get blown away pretty easy haha. Would 2 koralia nano 425gph be sufficient? Or would I need something more ilke the Koralia evolution 750gph?

[Pufferpunk]

Not if it's the above mentioned skimmer. and $70 is a rip-off for a Sea"clown".
2 K4s or 2 K Evos.

[LongGrain]

so 1500gph (40x turnover plus my filter) with 2 koralia evo's won't be too much flow? that seems like a lot. Most people I see suggest 20-30 for reef tanks (from what i've seen), and mine is just fowlr with one small puffer.

2x koralia nano = 950gph or ~26x turnover
2x koralia evo = 1500gph or ~40x turnover
2x koralia k4 = 2400gph or ~65x turnover

Not trying to argue, just trying to learn. I appreciate the advice.

[Pufferpunk]

The idea is to keep the detritus from settling, so the skimmer picks it up. With enough rock, the flow is blocked in a lot of places, so the puffer will find good dead spots. Or, he may just love to play in the flow! You could probably get away with K3s.

[wagner7123]

I have yet to find a good price on much of anything in a LFS. but those are Alaska prices (sea clone 75 for $145 on sale at the local petco) I was actually just trying to guess what it would be in the rest of the world.

edit

It's actually really dissappointing that I am paying more than double. well, not me really, I buy online shipping is usually pretty reasonable if you shop around.

[LongGrain]

This is what the tank looks like now with the night time lights on. I know I need more live rock and decor, but i'm doing what I can. Trying to have a skimmer, power heads, and more rock and stuff within the next 2 weeks.



You can see jerry along the glass on the left side.

[Pufferpunk]

You've got a long way to go there.

[LongGrain]

tell me about it, my aquarium is sitting on the floor in my bedroom..

[Pufferpunk]

Can you add some fake plants or something to make him feel more secure?

[LongGrain]

yea I'm going to get more things for him when I get paid this week. I still have to pick up a hydrometer anyway, and probably more salt so I can bring the sg up slowly.

anything in particular that they like? or should I just pick some plants that look natural.

[J-P]

awww he's so cute!

Glad he made it through the transition. I'd take it a little slow at this point. Don't use the day lights for a while. Just the room lights and the night lights. Since you have an HOB filter it will be messy with salt spray so have a rag handy to wipe it down daily.

Think about adding some dry rock to the tank. Your current live rock will seed the dry rock (which is much cheaper by the way) and will build up the bio filtration portion of the tank. Keep a bottle of Dr. Tims handy for water changes for the first little while.

Once you acquire the skimmer you can ditch the HOB filter. That should be the first priority. Power heads are good too and will help with the gas exchange which is what your HOB filter is doing now. Surface agitation is what allows the gasses to exchange.


For what it is worth,
I am really thrilled that he is adapting well to the new tank.

[LongGrain]

Hey thanks! Yea I'm going to get more dry rock to decorate/seed for bacteria as well as plants and stuff.

BUT, I'm concerned about something right now.

I know puffers like to curl up in a ball and take naps, but is it normal that my puffer is curled up and floating at the surface? his tail is tucked into his body and he's floating by the heater, I feel like this is bad... He's not doing it anymore, but for the last hour or so (since I turned the daytime lights off) he's just been hanging out by the top of the heater and not moving around much.

And his belly is a little sunken in, he looks skinny. Should I be feeding him more? and should I start treating him for IP's? I normally give him one or two baby ramshorn snails and a helping of 5-6 blood worms a day. I know he would eat more if I gave it to him, but I don't want to overfeed him either.

This guy is worrying me sick.