Just beginning.

[Cjazinski]

I've got a 55 gallon tank my dad had. He used it at one time with saltwater in it everything growing fine. Anyways, i bought 15lb's of sand not live and bout enought salt for 50 gallons. i mixed 10 pounds blue sand with 5 lbs of live and. the live and sand, some of the blue sand is left on top. i powered on the filter and left is sit for an hour, water is starting to get clearer. I don't know what kinda filter i have it sits in the water with a pump, and a heater all in one little thing. has one nozel sparying water out in the front. i have one coral rock that i had (from my dad) and added it to the setup. the blue sand is slowly starting to settel. the tank has 2 24' florcent lights. in it. My question is what do i do from here. just started it today.

Thanks for any help.

 

[saltcreep1025]

do some research... get the book "the conscientous marine aquarist" by robert fenner. We cant do all the work for you =P

first of all you need to figure out what kind of tank you want.

 

[Cjazinski]

I've been doing some research, i would like to just keep some fish, possibly later move on to some rock in there also. i do have a decoration rock in there. But more then likely the 1st cycle or so just clown fish or something easy to start with, i'm a beginner. not asking for you to do the work for me, i'm asking you for help.

Thanks.

 

[powderbluetang]

start with something like a flame angel very beautyful and colorful hearty and most of all peacefull here are a bunch of pics

http://images.google.com/images?q=flame+angel&ie=ISO-8859-1&hl=en

 

[Cjazinski]

By the way when i setup my tank i added the sand first. didn't mix it then added about 1/2 water, then added all the salt then the rest of the water. i'm reading forms as i go, and i'm thinking that might now have been very wise. thanks.

 

[Atari]

I'll go with rossv, at this point you should take a step away and invest in a book. Reading forums as you go is probably not the best approach and you may well overlook some very important details, aswell as waste money/livestock on mistakes that could have been avoided.

 

[lando]

Diddo...Do as much research as you can right now. It is much easier to start a tank when you have everything planned out and organized. Give it a couple of weeks and get a good book. Trust me, you will thank yourself for it later.

 

[Cjazinski]

addon

I've gotten a salt tester hydrometer or whatever, whenever i put it in the tank the needle just says right at the top, when i tested with tap water i got the same result any ideas. i have a 55 gal tank and used ocean 55 gal sal mix. thanks.

 

[saberry]

I am also starting my first saltwater tank and I agree that this as well as other forums can be a tremendous resource, but they should not be your only resource.

Do yourself a favor and go to the local bookstore or library and get a book on starting a marine aquarium - there are lots to choose from. Try to get something recent so you will be up to date with the latest information and techniques.

The book I picked up and just finished today is The Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums by Jeffrey Kurtz. I picked it up at Barnes and Nobel for $17.00 I compared it with a couple other books they had at the store and found it to be the most informative, and most in line with the information I had already gathered from this forum. Here's a link if you are interested http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...arine+aquariums&userid=BQv1axuTxS&cds2Pid=946.

Having a book on hand allows you to confirm much of what you may have read online and also gives you a single resource to turn to for an easy reference. After reading this book, I can definately tell you that I am very glad I did not start my tank prior to reading it, it has definitely prevented some mistakes I was likely to make.

Also, if you are able, you may want to ask your dad for assistance since he apparently has some saltwater experience.

 

[quarryshark]

And please qt all your fish before adding to your main. Will save big headaches down the line.