Thinking about a saltwater tank...

[okapizebra]

Yay!! Good to hear!

 

[okapizebra]

So the salinity should stay the same as long as I always top off with distilled water, correct? And the key to keeping it consistent would be to pour in the exact salinity level when doing WCs... I was worried this was going to be hard, but it doesn't seem so scary lol

 

[okapizebra]

Okay, it's a long way away but... does it matter which fish I put in there first? I was just planning on putting the firefish in first.

 

[okapizebra]

One more question... Do I need to add .002 to my hydrometer readings?? I read somewhere that you're supposed to due to temperture. My hydrometer says "ideal for use in water temps of 68 to 85 degrees" I haven't been adding this.

 

[obscurereef]

Yeah it's not too bad once you get a hang of it! When your cycle ends you'll probably have a diatom bloom so maybe get some CUC members and see how they do and if everything is well put in the firefish . Never heard that you needed to add .002 to your hydrometer readings...Tank looks nice!

 

[Gregcoyote]

Hydrometers are notoriously wrong. Be sure to tap it to clear any bubbles. A refractometer on EBay is about $50 and something you should put on your Christmas list.

Good luck, my son started with 9 gallon nano and had such good success he has graduated to a larger reef.

 

[okapizebra]

Right... inverts first then firefish. Thanks!!

Well no can do for the refractometer for christmas... I'm going on a cruise and I'm not getting anything for christmas this year. :/ Thanks!

Is it normal for the area around the tank and the tank to smell... salty? It's almost kind of stinky. I'm pretty sure it is the decaying shrimp... because if I smell the pre-mixed water it doesn't really smell like anything, if not just a little salty. But it's like I get wafts of the smell around my room (the tank is in my bedroom) and it's pretty strong.

 

[Crystal A]

Yup that's the shrimp. It's a smelly process.

 

[okapizebra]

Now there's more than one reason I want the cycle to hurry up and finish!! lol

 

[okapizebra]

I printed out a color chart for the saltwater master test kit. I emailed API to see if they'd send me the actual color chart which would most likely be better than this one I printed out, but will certainly suffice for now. I hope they do send me one. Proves you can easily get stuff if you just ask! lol.

I hope since I used live sand and rock my cycle will go faster.

 

[Beengirl]

When you're adding fish, add the shy/peaceful ones first so that they can claim an area before the bossier ones come in. Firefish is a great first fish! Just know that he might hide a couple of days.

 

[okapizebra]

Will do, sounds good! I've heard they are rather shy. After the firefish, which should be my next addition? I am planning on adding one neon goby and one yellow clown goby. Does the order for these make a large difference? I'm thinking the neon goby?

 

[Beengirl]

Will do, sounds good! I've heard they are rather shy. After the firefish, which should be my next addition? I am planning on adding one neon goby and one yellow clown goby. Does the order for these make a large difference? I'm thinking the neon goby?

They're both peaceful, so doesn't really matter, actually. Whichever you find first, I guess.

 

[okapizebra]

Sounds good

 

[okapizebra]

Okay, there's this tiny half-starfish thing on the glass in the tank. I tried attaching a pic but the app crashes everytime on my phone and it won't let me email myself the pic for some reason... And my camera charger is missing so I can't attach pics that way either! Lol. And idea what it is?

 

[okapizebra]

The more I look, the more little critters I see on the rock as well. Lol

 

[spoonman]

Okay, there's this tiny half-starfish thing on the glass in the tank. I tried attaching a pic but the app crashes everytime on my phone and it won't let me email myself the pic for some reason... And my camera charger is missing so I can't attach pics that way either! Lol. And idea what it is?

If it is small and white with an odd shape, it is probably an asterina star. Check the hitch hiker link in my signature.

 

[okapizebra]

Yes, that is definitely what it looks like. Your link is very helpful, thanks!

 

[spoonman]

No problem! Very common and harmless.

 

[okapizebra]

Good to hear. I also found this tiiiiny little green bug-like thing. Plus these things I think could be feather duster worms... but I have no idea. They are just white tube looking things.