• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Final check

Not needed immediately but a good idea to put in somewhere along the cycle process to keep water flowing around the LR and helping the dead stuff to exit to the filter.
 
Do I need the LR in the tank to start the 3 month countdown? A description of everything needed would be helpful. Thanks so much. Iv been lookin into an internship at the national aquarium in DC or the aquarium in Baltimore... Sadly I cant apply for 2-3 years... Im starting to think that I might want to be a marine biologist. When Im a successful marine biologist Im going to give a shoutout to TONMO which I believed influenced my choice. Good thing I signed up for AP Marine Biology next year. :biggrin2:
 
Yes, the LR is the primary ingredient of your cycle and has to be in the tank before you begin your count down. It will contain the starter bacteria and appropriate growing media that needs to grow for your biological filtration. After the first month and a half or so (at the point you see no nitrates) you will start increasing the bioload by adding your clean-up crew and then feeding the tank.

Here is an article I found that you may want to read as you think about getting started. Note that he mentions knowing what you are planning to put in the tank before you begin is helpful and may alter how you set up the tank. For an octopus, longer cycle time is required (and really should be required for any tank, short cycles are the primary reason for New Tank Syndrome, the die off of most of what you put in the tank). Additionally, you will want a specific gravity of ocean water (1.026) rather than the standard lower salt content he lists for fish (the lower salt content is thought to help minimize parasites but octos need full salt and the higher end of the PHP scale.

Depending upon what you use as a "filter", you will need water movement (even an air pump and air stone with help) and by the time you are into your first month you will pretty much need to have everyting on my list above and your protein skimmer by the end of the second month.

Cool that they offer Marine Biology as an AP course. Nothing even close in my day :old:. My best friend in high school found a college that would let you roll your own science degree so she created a marine ciriculum in the bio department.
 
Thanks for the link, it helped a lot. It didnt mention anything about plants, can I add saltwater plants to my aquarium? Are there any types to stay away from?
 
Thanks, thhats a decent price. Iv found that Amazon has the absolute best prices on nearly anything. Iv been finding products that I like, then enter it into amazon and they are alway $5-$10 cheaper than on any supplier site and half of the time you get free shipping. About the skimmer Im not sure. The 125 got horrible reviews and the 65 got good but still some bad reviews.
 
speaking of amazon, i found a powerhead im going to get from them. my question is, do i need a 400gph powerhead or a 600gph for a 40 gal tank? they both have great reviews and they are cheap with free shipping. $25 for the 400 and $28 for the 600. (octo only tank, no corals etc)
 
Ok, I just got the Koralia 2 powerhead for $28. Its 600gph and from what I have read, people compair it equally to tunzee which I guess is a very expensive powerhead. If anyone is lookin for a new powerhead I reccomend getting a koralia from amazon.com. They make bigger models such as the koralia 3 which is 850 gph I believe, and its $31 or so with free shipping. Im glad I found out about this. In case I forgot to mention, they all have 5 star reviews
 
There are not many true saltwater plants, some seagrasses (that don't do well in aquariums and are usually illegal to harvest) and the mangroves that need FW misting as they don't get their water from the ocean. What we use instead are saltwater algaes that look like plants. I know of none that can't be used with any marine environment. You will need to do some research on the various kinds as some will (calupera specifically) overrun a tank and then try to reproduce sexually (vs sending out roots) and release all the absorbed nitrates back into the tank. There are numerous colorful ones (all are octo safe with the above caution in mind for maintaining water quality) but will often need replacing every few months. I keep rooted halimida in my tanks for some green color and there are a couple of other rooted algaes the you might like to try in the substrate. The more colorful are more expensive and generally not rooted but come in bright reds and oranges that can add interest for awhile but are short lived and expensive.
 
Ok. I remember seeing at my lfs assorted sea grasses and I wasnt sure if they were SW or FW. I just figured an octo might like to hide in sea grass or something.
 
I can just about guarantee the grass you saw, as well as any plants, are FW. Unless you have a LFS that specializes in SW (not just has a few tanks and usually won't have FW) you will need to look on-line for macro algaes. Getting them directly from the collector will give you the longest life span. Alternately, if you have a reef club and can get to their meetings active ones often have swap meets or members who will sell/give you some.
 
Google: Reef Club your city your state. If your specific city does show up, try a larger closer one (for me it would be Reef Club Atlanta GA, if I use Gainesville I only find Florida clubs).

Once you find one in your area, you will be able to see the primary focus of the group, how often they meet and how active they are and if there is a charge for joining. Typically, active groups meet monthly or every other month at one of the member's homes or at a LFS (you can check your LFS's physical bulletin board as well, usually aquarist groups will post there). Discussions and swaps are usually for corals and algaes but not fish.
 

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