first saltwater tank

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tnice17

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
296
Location
CT
I just went from fresh to salt water in my 20 gallon long tank.

i am doing as much reading as i can but still in the gray area on a few things, i figured what better way to learn more than to start my own thread and get everyones opinion.

my filters were used in my last freshwater set up, they still have the build up on the actual filter pad.

my set up right now:

-20L
- T8 17w reef sun 50/50
- (2) Aqueon power filter 10 ( 100GPH each)
- air stone
- bio cube 14-29 protein skimmer
- 1 bag - bio active live aragonite
- medium live rock
- 100w heater ( temp at 77F)

PH is 7.8ish
1.022 salinity
Nitrate - 20ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Alkalinity - 300ish

i am using de-chlorinated tap water ( Instant Ocean reef conditioner)
also added Instant Ocean calcium booster

currently have 2 white/black mollys and 2 turbo snails in the tank

let me know how i am doing, ill tell you guys my future stocking plans later ( start with the basics now)
 
uhh, mollies? they aren't a full marine fish unless you acclimated them, and since its your first tank im not quite sure you did it over time, did you cycle the tank?
 
hai tnice17.....
how did u cycle the tank....its seems like u hve reading in nitrates but dont u tested for ammonia...??? u must cycle the tank before put in any live stock....and if u affordable to have HOB filter, its might be better for oxygen cycle rather than air stone....anyway just my 2cent....
 
some stores actually sell converted mollies. i'm not sure that's the case here though.

at first glance i'd say:
get rid of the airstone, stop using "calcium booster", ditch the bio cube protein skimmer, keep the 2 HOB filters but get rid of the dirty pads and put in new ones, and explain what "medium live rock" means.

you'll have to decide what you want to do with this tank- what will you keep in it? this must be decided before you do anything else, because your answer will direct you on how to set up this tank properly.

this is in addition to the basics of starting up an aquarium of course.
 
uhh, mollies? they aren't a full marine fish unless you acclimated them, and since its your first tank im not quite sure you did it over time, did you cycle the tank?

i just started the tank yesterday but i was told with the live rock and the bio active live aragonite that the tank should cycle rather quickly.

i dont plan on keeping them full time, i am aware they are brackish fish so i asked about them at my LFS and they said it would be ok.

hai tnice17.....
how did u cycle the tank....its seems like u hve reading in nitrates but dont u tested for ammonia...??? u must cycle the tank before put in any live stock....and if u affordable to have HOB filter, its might be better for oxygen cycle rather than air stone....anyway just my 2cent....

i have the test stripes and a dropper tester kit, the dropper tester has the ammonia test but says for freshwater at the top of the card. can i still use this for saltwater? i wanted to get a small bio load to help the cycle, is this not good? can you reword your sentence about the HOB filter? i dont quite understand what you mean.

some stores actually sell converted mollies. i'm not sure that's the case here though.

at first glance i'd say:
get rid of the airstone, stop using "calcium booster", ditch the bio cube protein skimmer, keep the 2 HOB filters but get rid of the dirty pads and put in new ones, and explain what "medium live rock" means.

you'll have to decide what you want to do with this tank- what will you keep in it? this must be decided before you do anything else, because your answer will direct you on how to set up this tank properly.

this is in addition to the basics of starting up an aquarium of course.

i got the bio cude protein skimmer from a friend for a good price, which is why i went with it. what is so bad about it? doesnt it perform the same function?

ill pick up new pads tomorrow. im not doubting what your telling, but what is wrong with the old ones? ( just so i can learn and understand it)

why is the air stone bad?

well its a live rock, medium is just the size reference from the store. my apologies for not clarifying.

i would perfer FOWLR tank
 
saltwater and freshwater for sure had different chemical for their test kit...yes u need to cycle but fishless cycle....read the article from the site how to cycle your saltwater tank....

(2) Aqueon power filter 10 ( 100GPH each)->
i believe this is hang on back(HOB) tank filter....
 
^^^ yes they are HOB filters, is there anything wrong with using a HOB filter?

i already took the air stone out

PS - ill run out to the store and get a shrimp :)
 
you don't need a shrimp unless you plan on removing the mollies. your LFS is giving you bad advice about starting a tank with mollies. you should do a fishless cycle IMO.

an airstone is going to create a lot of "salt creep". that's salt buildup on the top/sides/back of the tank from tiny splashes over time. there is also controversy about how the bubbles may negatively effect the fish.

live rock is used because of it's natural look, but more importantly it's surface area. it's got a good amount of surface area to hold bacteria. it's recommended to have a pound to a pound and a half of live rock per gallon. 20 or so pounds worth would be a big help here. a FOWLR utilizes live rock as a natural filter.

those bio cube protein skimmers are not very useful. i would rather be diligent on my water changes than have to stare at that thing in my 20 gallon tank every time i look in. i firmly believe that tanks under 30 gallons (unless they have a hidden area for mechanical components) shouldn't have protein skimmers. unless of course you like that sort of thing...changing out air stones on a regular basis, and the aesthetics.

nothing wrong with using HOB filters. i said to change out the pads to start fresh with a nice clean tank. no reason to add filth captured from your fresh water fish.
 
you don't need a shrimp unless you plan on removing the mollies. your LFS is giving you bad advice about starting a tank with mollies. you should do a fishless cycle IMO.

an airstone is going to create a lot of "salt creep". that's salt buildup on the top/sides/back of the tank from tiny splashes over time. there is also controversy about how the bubbles may negatively effect the fish.

live rock is used because of it's natural look, but more importantly it's surface area. it's got a good amount of surface area to hold bacteria. it's recommended to have a pound to a pound and a half of live rock per gallon. 20 or so pounds worth would be a big help here. a FOWLR utilizes live rock as a natural filter.

those bio cube protein skimmers are not very useful. i would rather be diligent on my water changes than have to stare at that thing in my 20 gallon tank every time i look in. i firmly believe that tanks under 30 gallons (unless they have a hidden area for mechanical components) shouldn't have protein skimmers. unless of course you like that sort of thing...changing out air stones on a regular basis, and the aesthetics.

nothing wrong with using HOB filters. i said to change out the pads to start fresh with a nice clean tank. no reason to add filth captured from your fresh water fish.

i removed the mollys and put in a shrimp about ten min ago.

found someone on craigslist who has 30lbs of live rock, selling at $2 a pound. i plan on picking some up this afternoon. thanks for the info about the pound/gallon. i like to have things a bit overkill, would it be bad to go with more?

i am not going to looks right away, having a stable tank is more important to me than looking at the protein skimmer. i try to find some good articles about them. would it hurt to have it? i can always hide it behind some live rock if i get sick of looking at it.

i thought keeping the old filters would be beneficial because of the bacteria growth on the pad. but then again im not the expert here, lol.

ill pick up a better saltwater test kit today as well.

did adding the live aragonite have any benefits? i thought it would give me an advantage in the cycle process.

thank you for your help Mr_X!!
 
the thing about too much rock is- you want to be able to create an environment where you have decent flow throughout. you don't want dead spots or just a pile of rock. plus, there is the aesthetics aspect.
my advice would be to add as much rock as you can while still limiting dead/no flow spots and it still look pleasing to the eye.

the live sand might have some bacteria on it, but i wouldn't hold my breath.
 
ok i understand about the rock.

i like amount of movement in the water with one HOB filter on each back side of the tank, so thats good. the HOB filters have a lot of surface movement on the top of the water so does that help with not needing a protein skimmer?

i am reading about protein skimmers, and it seems some people just do PWC to take care of the surface build up.

would keeping the skimmer be good if i cant get around to a PWCs? i am full time student so some weeks i have more time than others.

i am also turning it off now to help the cycle ( from what i was reading)
 
there should be no surface buildup. a protein "skimmer" is a name given to them, but it's not actually a component that skims from the surface. the correct name for them is foam fractionator. they make large amounts of bubbles and organic compounds stick to the bubbles' surfaces and rise with them to the top of the chamber where they fall over the side and are able to be removed.

you are getting these confused with "surface skimmer".

to stop a film from the surface, you only need to aim a power head or some flow device towards the surface to agitate it. the HOb filters might be doing that as they pour back into the tank actually.
 
there should be no surface buildup. a protein "skimmer" is a name given to them, but it's not actually a component that skims from the surface. the correct name for them is foam fractionator. they make large amounts of bubbles and organic compounds stick to the bubbles' surfaces and rise with them to the top of the chamber where they fall over the side and are able to be removed.

you are getting these confused with "surface skimmer".

to stop a film from the surface, you only need to aim a power head or some flow device towards the surface to agitate it. the HOb filters might be doing that as they pour back into the tank actually.

gotcha, thanks for clearing that up for me. ill keep it in the tank and turn it back on once my cycle is complete.

do you have any other suggestions on what will help my tank?

so far i have...
-get new pads
-more live rock
-removed the air stone
 
i think you are good. add the live rock, wait a few weeks and start checking for ammonia and nitrite to go down to zero.
btw, i would want all of the live rock in the tank before i added the shrimp, unless this rock is already established/cured and is transported in buckets/bins fully submerged in SW. - and even then, check for ammonia spikes.
 
i think you are good. add the live rock, wait a few weeks and start checking for ammonia and nitrite to go down to zero.
btw, i would want all of the live rock in the tank before i added the shrimp, unless this rock is already established/cured and is transported in buckets/bins fully submerged in SW. - and even then, check for ammonia spikes.

i got the live rock from the store that was already in an established tank.

the live rock i am getting today, i just spoke with the guy and he said its in his tank already go.

i already have a cooler ready, and he said he can provide water to transport it in.

i dont want to jump the gun by asking this question, but are there any hearty fish? the beginning of Jan i am starting my new management classes and between commuting to school/work load, once my tank is cycled, if i get a fluctuation of something i would be devastated if a fish passed.

would anything from an established tank help my cycle? im sure the owner of this live rock i am getting has a decent setup if he has 50lbs of live rock to sell. lol.
 
yes, if this rock is truly from an established tank and already has a strong bacteria colony on it, and is transported so as to limit die-off, you might be able to skip the cycle and just experience a diatom bloom on the new surfaces.
i'm not saying this is the case. i still think you should expect a cycle and test accordingly.
 
off to petco now to get new pads, and maybe a underwater flow pump to help eliminate the dead spots once i get more rock.
 
yes, if this rock is truly from an established tank and already has a strong bacteria colony on it, and is transported so as to limit die-off, you might be able to skip the cycle and just experience a diatom bloom on the new surfaces.
i'm not saying this is the case. i still think you should expect a cycle and test accordingly.

fantastic. sent you a PM.
 
just got a test kit and two new filter pads

pH - 8.0
Ammonia - .25
Nitrate - 2.5 low range
Nitrite - .1
 
tnice17, u are in a cylce process....just wait and see until ammonia and nitrite = 0.....after both reading 0, u can do 30% PWC and add fish slowly....
Good job!
 
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