gravity

[Ljk]

So like on my other thread i am looking to get my first octopus and i was wondering if there is anything that i have to know about keeping my 8 legged friend safe and happy in the tank.

I know that i must not have any traces of copper as this will kill them.

Is there anything else that i need i know this soulds silly but i dont want to get it wrong.
What sort of gravity do i need to be looking at?
how often do i change the water and at what percentage?
i currently have a 60G tank but what sort of skimmers, and power heads etc do you recommend?

I have been told that i should use 3/4 live rock and the rest tubes tunnels etc, and use 50% live sand is this the case or can you suggest something else or better?

sorry to batter your heads with so many questions

I would really appreciate some help and advice cheers

 

[asid61]

What do you mean by 3/4 live rock?
Check the articles tab at the top of the page, the "care" section should have all the answers you need.

 

[DWhatley]

I've not found them particularly interested in tubing and dispensed with any kind of artificial den offering. You need to provide den areas for beginning size to ending size and assume you will initially be housing a small animal that will grow so arrange your LR to accomodate a variety of sizes. Roughly 80 pounds of LR is traditional but weight is not the best measure. Rock with lots of holes weighs less but filters more.

General recommendations are to size your skimmer at twice the tank capacity (ie one that is rated at 120 gallons or larger, too large is only a consideration for placement).

Target you salt at full ocean strength (most FOWLER tanks will be kept at a lower the salinity to reduce parasite problems). Somewhere between 1.023 and 1.026 seems to be appropriate (FOWLER tanks are usually kept at about 1.021 SG).

Water change (and substrate cleanup) varies between keepers. I change 5 gallons a week regardless of tank size in the theory that the smaller tanks need heaftier changes than the larger ones. It is important to disrupt your bottom substrate (and suggested to blow off your rockwork) while you are changing your water and target the areas you are disrupting with your siphon. Your discarded water should not look clean.

Many of us use Koralia's to add water movement. They have an advantage of a spread out intake and are less likely to cause arm damage than a traditional power head. I do not cover mine but there is risk in not doing so. Traditional power heads will need the intake octo proofed.

A sump is recommended to more easily octoproof the top and keep the hardware both convenient and away from curious arms.

 

[Kerrick]

I may be wrong... Only been in the hobby for a couple of months. But all the local Gurus and salt LFS owners in my area recommend around 50-100% water changes a month but spread out every day.

For example: For my 46 gallon tank(and 10 gallon sump) I would do 1 gallon water change a day including the skinmate water that I pulled from my skimmer in the volume.

This would after the full month mean that I had done 30 gallons of water change. This method allows you to keep levels of everything constant and doesn't shock the system. Plus... its really easy to do a 1 gallon water change as opposed to a 20 or 30.

That being said... I slack a little and do 1 gallon every couple of days and usually change out about 10 gallons a month this way.

Also.... As far as salinity goes. I believe you can keep a reef(and I would assume cephs) andywhere from 1.021-1.026. The key for salinity/alkalinity I've been told is to maintain as constant a specific gravity as possible. This also plays into the smaller water changes thing as you are less likely to shock your system with a spike or dip in gravity. I myself run my tank at 1.025 and sometimes it gets as high as 1.026... I have nine cuttles and they are doing well.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ljk]

brilliant i just need as much help as possible tbh and this is excellent with the 3/4 i mean 3 quarters being live rocvk the rest being either tubing or normal rock is this ok or do you guys suggest to have live roick all the way through?

i think that i will only have my octo in the tank tbh as this gives me more time to pay it is as much attention as possible im so excited

 

[devi]

brilliant i just need as much help as possible tbh and this is excellent with the 3/4 i mean 3 quarters being live rocvk the rest being either tubing or normal rock is this ok or do you guys suggest to have live roick all the way through?

I think the thing that's confusing is 3 quarters of what? The general recommendation for fowlr is 1lb of live rock to every gallon of water, I'd aim for that but remember that the more porous rock is better for filtration purposes than denser stuff, so basically if you find 2 10lb rocks and one is twice the size than the other then you want the bigger one.
When picking rock think about hiding spots for the octo, so holes and caves are ace.

 

[asid61]

By 3/4 do you mean that 3/4 of the rock you put in will be live rock or do you mean 3/4 of the tank will be filled with live rock
Note: remember to look up your octopus supplier on TONMO before ordering to get an idea of what species your looking at.

 

[Ljk]

The live rock amount not how much in the tank if that makes sense

 

[devi]

Dead rock or other stuff in your tank is for decoration only and has no effect on the amount of live rock you put in. Put the proper amount of live rock and if you want to add decoration then feel free.

 

[Thales]

Dead rock or other stuff in your tank is for decoration only and has no effect on the amount of live rock you put in. Put the proper amount of live rock and if you want to add decoration then feel free.

Depends on the rock. Almost any rock you put in will become 'live' over time.

 

[Thales]

So like on my other thread i am looking to get my first octopus and i was wondering if there is anything that i have to know about keeping my 8 legged friend safe and happy in the tank.

I know that i must not have any traces of copper as this will kill them.

Is there anything else that i need i know this soulds silly but i dont want to get it wrong.
What sort of gravity do i need to be looking at?
how often do i change the water and at what percentage?
i currently have a 60G tank but what sort of skimmers, and power heads etc do you recommend?

I have been told that i should use 3/4 live rock and the rest tubes tunnels etc, and use 50% live sand is this the case or can you suggest something else or better?

sorry to batter your heads with so many questions

I would really appreciate some help and advice cheers

Cephs are tricky. Have you kept a saltwater tank before? You might want to consider keeping one with cultured fish and corals for 6 months to a year before going with a ceph. All too often people new to SW get 'recipe' type advice for ceph keeping and end up sad, so it might be better to develop your saltwater thumb on easier animals.