Should I or shouldn't I

[pluff]

:) Ok everyone a quick question? My FOWLR been cycling for 3 weeks now and here is the results so far.

PH = 8.5
TEMP = 76
SALT = 1.021
AMMONIA = 0
NITRITE = 0.3
NITRATE = 50:angry:

Now my question is should i let it go another week or can i go tomorrow(Saturday) and get a Damsel,and some more live rock to put in the tank:confused: To be honest i'd like to at least have at least 1 fish in the tank over the holidays :)....Should i do a small water change to bring down the Nitrate level? Any help would be appricated :santawink

P.S.:santasmil Merry Christmas All:frazzled2
Remember think SMART Don't Drink And Drive:cheers:

[afss]

First i would consider bringing your temp up to btw 79-81, and salinity to 1.023


Damsels are fairly hardy fish, and you would probably be OK as long as you drip lined him for a while . Are you running DSB? I remember you had thought about it, if you are your nitrates should start to trail off sometime soon. I would also think it would be ok to add more rock.
I would not add more than one fish at the present time, and if you are going to go with a damsel i would go with a blue or green chromis, fairly peacful damsels.
BTW what do they charge for stuff down east live stock etc.
Thanks
Scott

[pluff]

Ok after i posted the temp part i did turn up my heater:)And yes i do have a DSB.My water is down about a inch so i will add some more salt to it to bring it up some.Prices down here are crazy:sad: ..For the Damsel i seen at the LFS was a black and white striped one,witch cost $12.97 thats the only kind they have.I'm gonna go out to the other LFS and see what she has but her prices are way out there:sad: prolly $20.00 + from her.Live rock here is about $14.00 LBS but i told the dude i wasn't paying that so he gives it to me for $10.00 LBS,as i told him i will just order it off the net,plus he knows i have African Cichlid tanks and if he wants my business he better sharpen his pencil,as i showed him all the stuff i bought from MOPS.So now i think hes gonna treat me fair:rollface:

[afss]

For those prices you might want to se if there are any good stores in Maine.. the money you could save would easily cover your gas, and it would be a cool trip. I'll try to keep you in mind next time i am coming through to Nova Scotia and if you want anything around that time i can pick it up here and transport it to you. I know i have picked up some second hand live rock from a store (rock that was in someones tank) for 4.00 a pound, and it was fairly nice stuff. At even at 10 dollars a pound (11.50 after taxes) you might want to look into shipping in from somewhere.
Scott

[pluff]

Yeah tell me about it:),but my whole concept about starting a SW FOWLR,if it works and i have no problems,then i'm gonna prolly get rid of my African Cichlids and turn both of those tanks into SW.Then i will take the huge spending spree and buy prolly $3000.00 worth of equipment and live rock online.As we speak i have about 5000.00 tied up into my Africans.So i want to make sure i can get this working first.The money is not a problem,its i just want to spend it right :)

:snowman2: :santawink :rudolph: :dance: :fish: :cheers: :frazzled2 :santasmil

[afss]

Spending it right is for sure, but spending it wisely should be up there. Supporting local bussiness is a good thing, but not when they are fleecing you. IMO a damsel shouldn't be much more than 7-8 dollars, unless it is some sort or "rare" (not sure if there is such a thing) damsel.
The live rock still sounds expensive at 10 dollars, but I bought most of mine when i lived in FL and got it at 2.00 a lb if i remember right.
I'm sure money isn't a problem, but IMO it is better to spend wisely and in return you get more for (and out of) your tank :-)
Scott

[Kenzy]

Originally posted by afss
For those prices you might want to se if there are any good stores in Maine..
Scott

Unfortunately not a good time to be crossing the border with livestock. I'm not sure if fish are included in CITES, but I don't think it's worth ther risk of having it turned away at the border.

Personally I would wait another week before adding anything to your tank. I'm probably a bit on the cautious side, but your still showing nitrites and until they are undetectable I would wait.

In fact I'm in the same boat as you, I've got another week before I feel comfortable to begin stocking my tank.
With the holidays coming I know that I'll have friends and relatives over and will have to explain why I got a tank up and running with nothing in it.;)

[afss]

I'm not sure, but i think the only things covered by CITES are LPS and SPS corals. I called CITES a few weeks ago, and they couldn't even tell me what i couldn't take and told me that as long as what i was bringing across was for personal use that I should tell the border that i had aquarium suplies and tourist souviners or ornamental rocks. I don't suggest you try this, but it just goes to show that they don't really have their act together

Scott

[Kenzy]

Scott,

Ya I know, been there, done that!:)

To Customs Officer:" Ya, aquarium decorations thats all it is!":spin:

It would be nice if the Customs people all played by the same rule book. If you ask 6 different people you get 6 different answers.