New Salt Set Up

[baron1282]

I did the shrimp method as well. Took me two and half weeks to cycle. Not bad considering. No real smell. I would suggest you put the shrimp into some clean panty hoes. That way when it breaks down you can easily take it out with no mess when the cycle is done. As far as fish goes, here is a list that you can keep in a ten gallon..

Nano Fish

I think there is some awesome fish in that list! I am thinking of starting a 20 gallon tank myself!! I think a lot of people want to go salt water because of the clown fish, but they are not the coolest fish out there. Plus the ones I had jumped out of my tank and did nothing but swim at the top of the tank. Not every entertaining. :-(

Liveaquria is a good site for advice on fish and how to keep. Also for a ten gallon I would only suggest maybe 3 small fish. You wouldn't want to overpopulate your tank and make it harder to keep things stable. A 10 gallon is going to be hard to keep, but if you test the water and do water changes weekly you should be fine.

Also for an Anemone your tank needs to be up for a good six months first. Also the lighting for them can be expensive. So keep that in mind! Lighting for corals really drives this hobby up.

 

[Pisces3473]

Thanks to you all, I really do appreciate the advice and helpful hints. I don't mind using the Damsels for a first fish. The lfs said they would take them back if they're healthy and give me credit toward a different fish. I also threw in about 6 Hermit Crabs. I put in a Golden/Yellow Damsel and and Yellow Tail Damsel. They're tiny and really good at hiding, I had no idea how many good little spots I put the tank for them to disappear. Took me 10 minutes to fine the yellow one after I put them in the tank. I gave them a nibble of food, that brought them out of hiding. I know I went against a lot of your guys advice and I may regret that, but I didn't get any email notifications since last night. Again, I want to thank you all for your input. Here's a pic both fish are in this pic, and I'll keep this thread updated as I go.

 

[baron1282]

The issue with using the fish to cycle is they won't be healthy after the cycle. The ammonia is building up while they do their thing. This will burn their gills and cause them to breath harder. They are hardy fish, that's why they are used to cycle. They might make it, but their life span would be cut short. Your essentially asking them to swim in their toilet with no system to take the sewage out. It is considered by a lot of hobbyist to be crual to the fish. I did this method for my freshwater tank, and I lost every fish in the tank. I was so upset that I put my tank up for a long time, until I studied what went wrong and that's when I decided to go salt.

If you can catch them, I would take them back and get your money back. The shrimp method really builds up a better bacteria colony for your future fish. My tank is so strong with bacteria that I can't hardly do anything to mess up my water.

Please don't take this as me being "GOD" among the fish. I have messed up a lot in this hobby. I have learned and I am happy there is a place like this to learn from others mistakes. This is just my opinion! If you decide to keep the damsels, do at least a 50% water change every week, to bring the ammonia down to give them more of a fighting chance to live though the cycle. Also I heard this product would greatly help your tank cycle, this will also help the damsels live though the cycle. This stuff will almost instantly cycle your tank.

http://store.drtimsaquatics.com/One-Only-Live-Nitrifying-Bacteria-for-Saltwater-Aquaria_p_48.html

Also a damsel is a nice looking fish, if that's all you want to keep. Yet they require a 30 gallon tank to be really happy, as they like to dart around the tank.

Good luck with the this new hobby of yours. You will be going nuts in a few weeks. My wife already hates how much I talk about fish. LoL

 

[TheTodd]

Dr Tim's works. Your tank will cycle in less than a week, which exposes your fish to days of ammonia versus weeks. I cycled my tank with that product and two Chromis. Both lived, appear healthy and even survived through an outbreak of marine velvet that killed all other fish. Go figure.

 

[Dmann]

Dr Tim's works. Your tank will cycle in less than a week, which exposes your fish to days of ammonia versus weeks. I cycled my tank with that product and two Chromis. Both lived, appear healthy and even survived through an outbreak of marine velvet that killed all other fish. Go figure.

Dr Tim's one and only works.

Read the "damsel horror stories" thread I started on here. It's a good read.

 

[Pisces3473]

From my understanding of what the fish store told me, the tank is ready to go due to the fact that the water was already cycled from their own tanks and the live rock also came from their tanks. I will put in some stabilizer today to help the tank out. I thought a seeded tank took much less time and wouldn't need to cycle or if it did, it would be a mini cycle with far less Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Is my understanding on both these points incorrect? I'm really not trying to be inhumane to these fish, in fact it's quite the opposite, I don't want them to suffer. I trust the owner of the shop is going to give me good advice, perhaps that's naive...

 

[Beginneraquariumowner]

Some LFS owners I'd wager you could trust. That said however I too am in the process of setting up my first SW tank. It's about week three and my cycle is complete so now I've got my clowns in. I however did start out with what I was told were "chromis" to help get the cycle started. Upon introducing them to my tank I did some research and found out that what they sold me were indeed damsels......needless to say it was a lot of effort to get those guys out of my tank! I sold them back to the fish store! I also purchased an l.e.d fixture from the same place, loved it until I found out it wasn't the newest model with timer and that I over paid by nearly $100! I returned that as well.

Moral of the story fact check everything the lfs tells ya it'll save you time, money, and hassle!

 

[baron1282]

No one here is saying you did anything wrong, or you shouldn't trust some LFS. He is correct that his water and rock will help keep the ammonia down, more so if you were to start everything brand new. Just make sure you do at least a 50% water change every week for about 4 to 5 weeks. Test your water every day as well for the first few weeks.. If you see a build up in Ammonia do a 50% water change!!

Just with my experience and with my brothers tank, A cycle will happen anyway, and nothing will stop it. It might not be as bad as a full blown cycle, but it will cycle.

Just watch the fish and make sure they are not breathing heavy, and watch their gills. Make sure that they show no signs of burn, just some red around their gills is common sign.

Like I said, I like Damsels. I think they are the perfect starter fish for someone like you. A yellowtail damsel would be cool in your tank. Honestly I think you should just keep the damsels for your tank and go with that. Be warned they are bullies to other fish, so you can't really have anything else but Damsels!

 

[Pisces3473]

It's been 24 hours and I've got some new number to look at. Hydrometer Reading: SG 1.022 and 30 PPT. Ammonia still at .25 from two days ago and I put in some stabilizer hopefully that will help to settle things down/ move them along. Calcium is way low but I figure that will take some time 13 drops and dark pink. Carbonate is 143.2 which was 8 drops I believe. Got the Fluval E-50 and tank is holding steady at 79 deg. I topped up with RO.

I tried to look at the fishes gills but they're such good hiders it's difficult to really see. I will keep the Damsels until I'm ready to do something new. I really wanted to pick up some Zoo's but decided the tank is not ready yet. The new hood is from Marineland Nice LED with two settings Blue and/or White. Here's a pic

 

[SaltwaterNuB]

Tank looks good. I used the damsel method when I first started my tank. I put 5 into my tank. I lost 2 and returned the other 3 once cycle was all done. They were a pain in the butt to remove. Especially since my tank is 135g. Don't get discouraged.

 

[Pisces3473]

Day 5

So far so good. All the Hermits seem to be moving and in different locations (not all the same, so I know it's not the current...) I can only see the Yellow Tail and the other just blends so well with the rock and the sand Readings for today:

Hydro - Just above 0.021 sg and .29 PPT
Amonia - still at 0.25 ppm and holding consistent since first reading.
Calcium - I stopped after 12 drops and the color was only at dark pink.
Carbonate - 9 drops
PH - 8.2 same since this all started.
Added - 1/2 cap of stabilizer.

I'm guessing that Calcium, Carbonate, Phosphate, etc, will come into line as the tank establishes itself. If any of you see something strange happening in these numbers please let me know. I've noticed the Hydro readings seem to have the most fluctuation so far (both decreasing). I know it's early and I'm anticipating this becoming more of a challenge.

 

[somethingsfishy]

Your SG is low and is dropping. I'd bring it back up to around 1.026.

 

[Pisces3473]

Your SG is low and is dropping. I'd bring it back up to around 1.026.

How do I go about doing that? Add more salt water? I've been topping up with RO water. Do I need to buy more salt? The LFS said that SG should be about 1.021 - 1.023. The fun has begun!

 

[somethingsfishy]

First, you should never add salt directly to your tank. Mix some up in a separate container and then add it to your tank. I was always told .026 was ideal as it was closer to natural saltwater.

 

[Pisces3473]

Day 6

First, you should never add salt directly to your tank. Mix some up in a separate container and then add it to your tank. I was always told .026 was ideal as it was closer to natural saltwater.

I just talked to lfs and she told me they keep their tanks and 1.025 SG. Since that's where I'm going to be getting my stock I will try to match them as much as possible. I've got some salt water that I didn't use when I was setting up the tank so I just topped up with that and will monitor the hydro daily until I get where I wanna be.

Here's the readings for today:
Hydro: (after topping up) just below 1.022 SG and 30 for PPT
Ammonia: .25 & holding
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 143.2 or 8 drops of test solution
Calcium: Off the Charts, I stopped counting after 13 drops or 520.
Added: Koralia 240 Powerhead and some Stabilizer

Is it possible to have the Calcium too high? I know the target is around is to be around 400-500. Any advice on bringing the Calcium level down? Should I not worry about it?

The tank is still crystal clear:

 

[baron1282]

to be honest with you I never tested for calcium. Had my tank up for about 4 months now. No problem.

 

[Pisces3473]

Day 7

After looking all over the site here for ideas and other options, I decided to rearrange the tank. I liked the pinacle look and went for that, there's still openings at the bottom to allow for descent flow. I've been topping up with SW and my SG is coming up a little at a time. I've started shopping for light fixtures so if you've got any suggestions, I'm listening. I've looked at the Taotronics which many people seem very 'high' on. They almost seem a bit too good to be true. Anybody with personal exp with the Taotronics?

Here's today readings:
Hydro: 1.022 SG & 30 PPT
Ammonia: .25 ppm
Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate: 0

Added SW & Stabilizer.

Here's a pic with the LR moved around.

 

[Pisces3473]

I ordered this light. Mr. X and AQ both approved this light. Although stating it could be a bit of overkill with a 10g. That's the reason I got the dimmable one. Here's the link. And I'll be posting pics and reviews as my tank becomes more established.

Readings for the day are:

Hydro: 1.022 SG and 30 ppt.
Ammonia: still holding strong at .25 ppm (when will this spike ever happen?)
Added: SW and Stabilizer

Here'a a link to the light I've ordered:

Amazon.com: TaoTronics TT-AL09 Dimmable Aquarium Coral Reef LED Grow Light (120W Output, Blue/White Ratio- 28:27; Two-Year Warranty): Pet Supplies

 

[Pisces3473]

I've been aquascaping and have realized that I need to get some more LR. Shocker... I'm currently at 1.5 lbs and I guess I'll be getting to that 2lbs or possibly more. I've also noticed after a week, now the Damsels are swimming around a bit. It's funny cause as soon as the tank is settled in I'm getting rid of them and adding my new inhabitants. I'll be needing CUC and I wanted ask what all of you are using. I'm still bringing up the SG and I think that's gonna take some time. As always your thoughts and comments are appreciated. I also started researching UV sterilizers. I found this one:

Amazon.com: Green Killing Machine Internal 9 Watt UV Sterilizer with Power Head: Pet Supplies

 

[baron1282]

You might not want to add more live rock. it seems like you got a lot, and depending on the fish you are going to get they need room to swim around in. You got to remember one thing when it comes to live rock. It's not about how much it weighs but how pores it is to allow Bactria to grow. Just because you got the weight does not mean you got the Bactria colony.

The light looks good, you going to do a mini reef I take it.