Today I was given a wonderful gift by a man that wanted out of the hobby. Apparently he brought home a tang from a store and didn't quarantine it. It killed all the fish in the tank in a matter of days. So he Freecycled the whole thing, and I happened to be the blessed beneficiary of a 55 gal salt water setup, with everything. tank, sump, pump, bioballs, air pumps, and a bunch of rock. oh, food, salt, hygrometer, etc. everything.
I have a couple of issues. This is my first salt tank. I took some pics. I assume all this coral is "live rock." I will set up everything and let it cycle. I am in no hurry for fish. I still have a half gallon of ammonia from a FW cycle I just finished last month. So we have FW fish to watch as this tank does its thing. Is that it? just dose the ammonia like I did the FW?
Now, this rock, doesn't look like it is enough, really, so I will have to get more base rock. Is there just regular rock looking rock, or is it all going to look like this stuff?
I have some sand that someone may have gotten off a beach and may have been using in the FW tank. I have heard it is illegal to take sand and rocks from the beaches in FL so if this is true, I will definitely let my friend know not to do that again.
the gentleman said that he dropped the lights into the tank, and now they do not work. So is the ballast blown? or the bulbs?
And Finally, he had two snails and two hermit crabs. They are now in about 1/4 gal of water. do they need anythng special before I set up the tank? should I feed them something? I know my freshwater snails love veggies.
thanks
I have a couple of issues. This is my first salt tank. I took some pics. I assume all this coral is "live rock." I will set up everything and let it cycle. I am in no hurry for fish. I still have a half gallon of ammonia from a FW cycle I just finished last month. So we have FW fish to watch as this tank does its thing. Is that it? just dose the ammonia like I did the FW?
Now, this rock, doesn't look like it is enough, really, so I will have to get more base rock. Is there just regular rock looking rock, or is it all going to look like this stuff?
I have some sand that someone may have gotten off a beach and may have been using in the FW tank. I have heard it is illegal to take sand and rocks from the beaches in FL so if this is true, I will definitely let my friend know not to do that again.
the gentleman said that he dropped the lights into the tank, and now they do not work. So is the ballast blown? or the bulbs?
And Finally, he had two snails and two hermit crabs. They are now in about 1/4 gal of water. do they need anythng special before I set up the tank? should I feed them something? I know my freshwater snails love veggies.
thanks