New to saltwater tanks.

[jsa83]

hello!.. i just recently had my last freshwater fish pass away. .. been thinking about getting new freshwater fishes but i think i want to try out saltwater fishes. .. i went to petsmart/petco/sharkaquarium yesterday and bought a bunch of products that i think i will be needing.

46" gal bow aquarium with stand w/ light
45 lbs of top fin gravel
Fluval 305 external canister filter 70gal
Instant Ocean sea salt, 25gal (i will be going back this week to get another 20-25)
Marineland 200watt heater
stick-on hydrometer and thermometer

i have not bought any fish because i am still doing research. i probably have been to 4 petsmarts and 3 petcos around my location and i can honestly say that no one i spoke to knew what they were talking about. a few even said they only knew freshwater. that is why i decided seek info online. i THINK i have a good foundation on how to take care of fish but my only concern is when it comes down to chemicals to help balance the tank.

i bought API Stress Coat and API Stress Zyme. are these products helpful? i am also considering buying Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit - Saltwater - Fish - PetSmart
when i go back to get the rest of the sea salt.

people say don't use tap water but if i use the API stress coat it should remove the chlorine? correct?

can i just mix the water and sea salt in the aquarium? i know people recommend buying a garbage container from a hardware store but right now space is limited for me. eventually i will buy a bucket to help mix when i do my partial water changes. so can i fill the tank up and mix the salt in? .. 45 gals of water and then add the 45 cups of sea salt.

sorry for all the questions but i really want to get this right the first try. it's not fair for the fish if i bought them right now at the beginning so i want to do as much research as i can.

any other recommendations? .. product suggestions? ..

thanks!

 

[melosu58]

Moved to the SW getting started forum.

 

[mr_X]

hi. you might want to get a large can of salt. you will end up using it. you don't need any chemicals to balance the tank.
sea salt isn't mixed 1 cup per gallon. it should have instructions on the box/can, but you need to check the water with a device that measures specific gravity. you might be able to get away with a hydrometer, but i recommend a refractometer. it's about 15 dollars more, but a zillion times more accurate. you can find them on ebay.

return the gravel and buy some aragonite based sand, or crushed coral. if you don't like having to vacuum the substrate, choose granules slightly larger than sugar sized. the smaller the granules, the less spots for uneaten food and fish turds to get caught in. the reason you want a calcium based substrate is because it naturally buffers the PH.
i don't know about stress coat and stress zyme. if you decide to use tap water for this tank you can use "prime" or "amquel" to make the water safe.

you can mix the initial fill water right in the tank, but you can't add salt to the tank after you have livestock in it.

you cannot buy fish now. you will have to cycle this tank first. you've kept fresh tanks so i am guessing you know about cycling a tank.
many people do this with a piece of shrimp or fish from the supermarket. something to create ammonia.

 

[cmor1701d]

Good advice from Doug above. I'll add some reading material for you.

Start with our Articles section, then move on to some specifics.

Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank

How to cycle your tank with out the use of fish

Quarantine article

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure: A Quarantine Tank for Everything by Steven Pro

Refugiums

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

+1 on Mr. X.

Tap water is acceptable but you probably want to test your tap water. Nitrates and Phosphates cause algae, and are present in most municipal water systems. That's why most people invest in an RO/DI system (<$100 on ebay), purewaterclub items - Get great deals on Household Series, Aquarium Series items on eBay Stores! or when I get in a pinch I go to Wal-mart and fill 5g Home Depot buckets with Culligan water for 37 cents/gal.

You can go ahead and but bulk salt because you will use it. I buy it in the 200g box (4 bags). For Instant Ocean the mix is 1/2 cup to 1 gallon of water, that bring salinity up to about 28-29 for me. I keep my FOWLR tanks at 31-33 and reef at 35.

I'm a Seachem Prime fan also. You don't need stress coatings unless you have sick fish in most cases.

+1 on refractometer. Hydrometers are worthless.

National Industrial Supply items - Get great deals on Refractometer, Refractometers items on eBay Stores!

 

[ChizerBunoi]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Idaho-Tank]

Most people I know that go from FW to SW never go back.. Its more work, more money, and more challenging but more rewarding IMO. All great advice above! I would X2 on the Refractometer and RO Water.

Try to do things right the first time and use this and sites like this - where you can learn from others mistakes.

 

[abdhalim2]

+1 for all above...and get your test kits.....

 

[jsa83]

hey .. thanks a lot guys! i got the specific gravity right. ... took your advice and got a refractometer. i also bought live rock. i put it in around 3PM yesterday. the water was crystal clear when i left for work @ 8AM today but when i got back home @ 6:30PM the water was very cloudy. what could have caused this? ... i was told the best way to cycle is with live rock. ... what should i do to fix the cloudy water? ... a worker at an aquarium store told me that it would clear up in a month!!! .. is that true?..

i bought a marine test kit... ammonia was at 0 when i tested it and then gradually went to .25-.50.. how can i bring it down? ... pH level is @ 7.8-8.0 .. how can i get it to 8.2?

and thank you so much! you guys are great help!

would the cloudiness go away if i do a water change?

 

[jsa83]

heres a pic

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

i bought a marine test kit... ammonia was at 0 when i tested it and then gradually went to .25-.50.. how can i bring it down? ... pH level is @ 7.8-8.0 .. how can i get it to 8.2?

You need to let the tank cycle, that will take care of the ammonia. pH will be out of whack until the cycle is done. Worry about that later, cycle the tank first.

 

[jsa83]

some say let it be and have the cloudiness clear itself over time. do i have to do PWC any time soon or how soon should i do it?

 

[abdhalim2]

u need to test for nitrite and nitrate....i believe u have had read all the articles related to this hobby....when u saw your ammonia reading is 0 and spikes in nitrate, then u will have to do PWC...about the cloudiness water, let it be...it will clear sooner depends on your filter type....

 

[mr_X]

it should clear up in a couple days. you are cycling the tank now- you don't want to do a water change at this time. you want to see ammonia. it's going to come down on it's own. the PH is fine. just let the tank do it's thing and wait.
i think you are going to need more live rock though. i would use about 40-50 pounds for a tank that size.

btw, that substrate looks like some pretty large granules. you might have some maintenance with it. is that that top fin gravel you bought?

 

[jsa83]

i think you are going to need more live rock though. i would use about 40-50 pounds for a tank that size.

btw, that substrate looks like some pretty large granules. you might have some maintenance with it. is that that top fin gravel you bought?

i was thinking about getting more live rock later on. its ok to add it later just as long as its cured? ... the LFS had live rock for $10 per pound. .. i didn't want to spend more than 40-50 that day on live rock...

yup its the top fin gravel i bought... i'm willing to do the maintenance for the gravel.

 

[jsa83]

and when i bought the live rock i picked it out of a tank that contained fish already. was that a good idea? .. they also had rock in a tank all by itself.

 

[mr_X]

then you'll have to vacuum the gravel regularly, and you won't be able to purchase any sand dwellers, since you'll have no food for them. that gravel is meant for fresh water applications.

sure you can add rock a little at a time, but i wouldn't trust the lfs that it is truly cured. (awful expensive for rock too!) generally what i see stores do is have a bin for their rock. they sell it off a little at a time and since it's sat in this tank for a month or more, they call it cured, however, they are regularly adding new shipments of rock to these holding tanks that's uncured. unless they have separate, heated systems for cured rock and new rock, and they have some procedure as to not mix the two ...i would be cautious and expect all rock to be uncured.
is this a regular thing, pulling rock from that tank with the fish in it?

 

[jsa83]

ok .. i just added 10lbs of live rock so in total i have about 18-20 pounds. i will be adding more within the week . hoping to get about 40lbs like you recommended mr_X. my ph is at 8.0-8.2 ... nitrate and nitrite are both at 0 ... ammonia is at 1ppm.. what should i do next? any PWC?

 

[abdhalim2]

juz wait and lets the nature do their work....i would at more LR while at a stage of cycle because when u add LR after finish the cycle, as Mr X mentioned that the LR might not be cured LR...this will results mini cycle for your tank.....JMO.....

 

[mr_X]

detectable ammonia means you are in the beginning of the cycle. the water is toxic at this point. abdhalim said it right- sit and wait.