New to Salt Water

[Bdonaldson]

Hi everyone,
I have been a member on this forum for a while now I have freshwater planted tanks. 3 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to try a small reef tank so I setup a 4 gallon evolve tank and the guy at Petco which i was told is their saltwater tank expert. He said to use their natural sea water to start the tank and to get some RO water to top off with. He said that once I put my live sand and rock in that it should be ready in 2 weeks.

Based on the Petco expert's advice about the tank being ready in 2 weeks I ordered a Catalina goby, pistol shrimp, some hermit crabs, snails and 4 very small coral frags. I had the company deliver them on the 14th witch is when my tank was due to be ready. After the 2 weeks past the parameters on the 4 gallon were stable. Everything looked good to me. I did have to adjust the salinity down to 1.023. I acclimated the stock and added them to the tank.

I also ordered some other small frags from a guy on Aquabid. I have been emailing back and forth with this guy about my tank and he recommended that I start the tank over because my corals were not opening up. He stated that the zoanthids should open up by the second day of being in this tank. So he tells me to start the tank over because something is wrong with my tank. He didn't like the depth of my sand bed either witch was 4 inches. And that's only because that's the smallest bag of live sand that I could find. He tells me to get the reef salt by instant ocean and mix it with RO water which I have done. He doesn't want to ship the corals that I got from him until the zoanthids that I have open up. He says they are the best indicator of what's going on in the tank.

Since I had to start over I decided to upgrade to the evolve 8 gallon tank witch would resolve the issue of the sand bed being to deep. So I cleaned the new tank, took the critters out and put them into a one gallon tank with an air stone while I switch the sand and rock over to the new tank. I did that this morning. I cleaned the 4 gallon out and placed my critters in there until I can move them over to the new tank.

This Aquabid guy is telling me that reef tanks do not need to be cycled. Is this true? I had to cycle the 4 gallon based on what the guy from Petco told me. I wanted to check with you all before I did anything else. Sorry for the long post I wanted to give you the whole story.

Stock includes:
Catalina goby
pistol shrimp
some cleaners
4 coral frags
2 sand sifter snails

 

[Reygan2]

Hi everyone,
I have been a member on this forum for a while now I have freshwater planted tanks. 3 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to try a small reef tank so I setup a 4 gallon evolve tank and the guy at Petco which i was told is their saltwater tank expert. He said to use their natural sea water to start the tank and to get some RO water to top off with. He said that once I put my live sand and rock in that it should be ready in 2 weeks.

Based on the Petco expert's advice about the tank being ready in 2 weeks I ordered a Catalina goby, pistol shrimp, some hermit crabs, snails and 4 very small coral frags. I had the company deliver them on the 14th witch is when my tank was due to be ready. After the 2 weeks past the parameters on the 4 gallon were stable. Everything looked good to me. I did have to adjust the salinity down to 1.023. I acclimated the stock and added them to the tank.

I also ordered some other small frags from a guy on Aquabid. I have been emailing back and forth with this guy about my tank and he recommended that I start the tank over because my corals were not opening up. He stated that the zoanthids should open up by the second day of being in this tank. So he tells me to start the tank over because something is wrong with my tank. He didn't like the depth of my sand bed either witch was 4 inches. And that's only because that's the smallest bag of live sand that I could find. He tells me to get the reef salt by instant ocean and mix it with RO water which I have done. He doesn't want to ship the corals that I got from him until the zoanthids that I have open up. He says they are the best indicator of what's going on in the tank.

Since I had to start over I decided to upgrade to the evolve 8 gallon tank witch would resolve the issue of the sand bed being to deep. So I cleaned the new tank, took the critters out and put them into a one gallon tank with an air stone while I switch the sand and rock over to the new tank. I did that this morning. I cleaned the 4 gallon out and placed my critters in there until I can move them over to the new tank.

This Aquabid guy is telling me that reef tanks do not need to be cycled. Is this true? I had to cycle the 4 gallon based on what the guy from Petco told me. I wanted to check with you all before I did anything else. Sorry for the long post I wanted to give you the whole story.

Stock includes:
Catalina goby
pistol shrimp
some cleaners
4 coral frags
2 sand sifter snails

I'm new to sw too and I happened to stumble across an amazing fs with an extremely knowledgeable owner who spent a considerable amount of time answering any question I could possibly think of. I checked out her shop and she has the most beautiful, healthy corals and fish of all kinds. That speaks volumes to me. She also has a policy that she won't sell anyone a fish without a water sample and knowledge of their tank. With that being said, here's what I can offer based on similar questions.

As far as your sand bed, you do not need anywhere near 4 inches. I only have about 2 inches and was told it was too deep.

Catalina gobies are cold water fish and actually need a chiller from what I've read and been told.

I personally would trust the aquabid guy's advice. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about. With live rock and sand, according to my source, you could very well be ready for fish, depending on how cured your rock is of course.

Not sure what test kit you're using, but API test kits are certainly not ideal for sw testing according to my source and research

Please keep in mind this info is based on someone's experience and is subject to error. As I'm sure you know there are so many variables in this hobby and many ways to achieve the same thing. Good luck to you!

 

[George9]

Hi everyone,
I have been a member on this forum for a while now I have freshwater planted tanks. 3 weeks ago I decided that I wanted to try a small reef tank so I setup a 4 gallon evolve tank and the guy at Petco which i was told is their saltwater tank expert. He said to use their natural sea water to start the tank and to get some RO water to top off with. He said that once I put my live sand and rock in that it should be ready in 2 weeks.

Based on the Petco expert's advice about the tank being ready in 2 weeks I ordered a Catalina goby, pistol shrimp, some hermit crabs, snails and 4 very small coral frags. I had the company deliver them on the 14th witch is when my tank was due to be ready. After the 2 weeks past the parameters on the 4 gallon were stable. Everything looked good to me. I did have to adjust the salinity down to 1.023. I acclimated the stock and added them to the tank.

I also ordered some other small frags from a guy on Aquabid. I have been emailing back and forth with this guy about my tank and he recommended that I start the tank over because my corals were not opening up. He stated that the zoanthids should open up by the second day of being in this tank. So he tells me to start the tank over because something is wrong with my tank. He didn't like the depth of my sand bed either witch was 4 inches. And that's only because that's the smallest bag of live sand that I could find. He tells me to get the reef salt by instant ocean and mix it with RO water which I have done. He doesn't want to ship the corals that I got from him until the zoanthids that I have open up. He says they are the best indicator of what's going on in the tank.

Since I had to start over I decided to upgrade to the evolve 8 gallon tank witch would resolve the issue of the sand bed being to deep. So I cleaned the new tank, took the critters out and put them into a one gallon tank with an air stone while I switch the sand and rock over to the new tank. I did that this morning. I cleaned the 4 gallon out and placed my critters in there until I can move them over to the new tank.

This Aquabid guy is telling me that reef tanks do not need to be cycled. Is this true? I had to cycle the 4 gallon based on what the guy from Petco told me. I wanted to check with you all before I did anything else. Sorry for the long post I wanted to give you the whole story.

Stock includes:
Catalina goby
pistol shrimp
some cleaners
4 coral frags
2 sand sifter snails

Reef tanks do need to be cycled. If you have a lot of live rock in the tank, them most likely the cycle will be fast, but you still have to add an ammonia source and test every couple days. It took me three weeks to completely cycle the tank.

I think you're moving way too fast and it's why the zoas aren't opening. Add an ammonia source to the new tank and let it cycle. You might be able to get a lot of live rock and possible bypass the cycle, but you need probably a good 10 lbs of rock and decent flow through it.

After the cycle, add the fish. Wait a week or so then add the clean up crew. Corals need a stable tank and you should wait on adding any. Is there a way you can take the ones you have back?

 

[Bdonaldson]

I'm new to sw too and I happened to stumble across an amazing fs with an extremely knowledgeable owner who spent a considerable amount of time answering any question I could possibly think of. I checked out her shop and she has the most beautiful, healthy corals and fish of all kinds. That speaks volumes to me. She also has a policy that she won't sell anyone a fish without a water sample and knowledge of their tank. With that being said, here's what I can offer based on similar questions.

As far as your sand bed, you do not need anywhere near 4 inches. I only have about 2 inches and was told it was too deep.

Catalina gobies are cold water fish and actually need a chiller from what I've read and been told.

I personally would trust the aquabid guy's advice. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about. With live rock and sand, according to my source, you could very well be ready for fish, depending on how cured your rock is of course.

Not sure what test kit you're using, but API test kits are certainly not ideal for sw testing according to my source and research

Please keep in mind this info is based on someone's experience and is subject to error. As I'm sure you know there are so many variables in this hobby and many ways to achieve the same thing. Good luck to you!

Thank you, I will keep all of that on mind while going through this period.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Reef tanks do need to be cycled. If you have a lot of live rock in the tank, them most likely the cycle will be fast, but you still have to add an ammonia source and test every couple days. It took me three weeks to completely cycle the tank.

I think you're moving way too fast and it's why the zoas aren't opening. Add an ammonia source to the new tank and let it cycle. You might be able to get a lot of live rock and possible bypass the cycle, but you need probably a good 10 lbs of rock and decent flow through it.

After the cycle, add the fish. Wait a week or so then add the clean up crew. Corals need a stable tank and you should wait on adding any. Is there a way you can take the ones you have back?

Thanks Thats what I thought. i cycled the 4 gallon In 2 weeks without a ammonia source. I had 6 pounds of rock in the tank. I added more when I went to the 8 gallon tank. I have at least 10 pounds of rock now. I have the flow on high, lights on and heater in. The Catalina goby and pistol shrimp were doing fine in the 4 gallon tank. I just couldn't get the zoanthid to open up. The other corals were ok. I was testing every day so I could make any corrections needed. I use a reef and saltwater master test kit to do my testing. I can't take the critters back because I ordered them online.
I will test both tanks today and wait a couple of days and test again just to keep an eye on things. I will do like you suggested and add fish first after cycle finishes. Then cleaner crew and corals last. Thanks for your help.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Ok I tested the 4 gallon nano that has the livestock in it. Here are the readings

Ammonia = .5
Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
KH = 8
PH = 8.2
Calcium = 18 = 380
Phosphate = 0
Salinity = 1.024

Do you think I should do a partial water change? I won't be able to test it again until Monday since this tank is in my office at work.

I decide to wait until Monday to test the 8 gallon nano. If its cycling by then the nitrate and nitrite readings should appear.

 

[Bectan01]

Definitely do a water change, any amm is going to be harmful to your livestock. So you have the 4g with the livestock in and no rock is that right? Regular water changes will be needed to keep that amm in check - I would be testing that tank everyday until the 8 is ready...

 

[Bdonaldson]

Definitely do a water change, any amm is going to be harmful to your livestock. So you have the 4g with the livestock in and no rock is that right? Regular water changes will be needed to keep that amm in check - I would be testing that tank everyday until the 8 is ready...

Ok thanks. I did a water change before I went home. I will go check on it tomorrow. I have one small piece of rock in the 4 gallon with the livestock. The rest of the rock is in the 8 gallon tank. Ok I will do daily tests to check parameters On the 4 gallon while the 8 gallon is cycling. Thanks a lot for your help. I will give an update on Monday on both 4 and 8 gallon tanks.

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah, don't listen to the aquabid guy or the petco guy. Next time you should come here when you have questions

The 4" sand bed you had was just fine, although a bit deep for your tank BUT upgrading to a bigger tank was a really good move. In general the smaller tanks are harder to manage. For future reference, a gravel siphon is an excellent tool for removing a sand substrate.

Zoanthids can take a week + to open up and they will only open if they like where they are placed. I have 2 different colonies of the same exact zoanthid, one of them is opening up while the other is giving me trouble and not wanting to open.

Reef tanks certainly do need to be cycled. Imho; him telling you that they don't automatically disqualifies him from giving advice, ever; as well as making all previous advice given null and void.

What corals do you currently have in your tank?
Also, what light do you have in your tank? I've noticed that if my zoanthids weren't getting enough light that they sometimes wouldn't open up.

 

[huma-huma]

Yeah, don't listen to the aquabid guy or the petco guy. Next time you should come here when you have questions

The 4" sand bed you had was just fine, although a bit deep for your tank BUT upgrading to a bigger tank was a really good move. In general the smaller tanks are harder to manage. For future reference, a gravel siphon is an excellent tool for removing a sand substrate.

Zoanthids can take a week + to open up and they will only open if they like where they are placed. I have 2 different colonies of the same exact zoanthid, one of them is opening up while the other is giving me trouble and not wanting to open.

Reef tanks certainly do need to be cycled. Imho; him telling you that they don't automatically disqualifies him from giving advice, ever; as well as making all previous advice given null and void.

What corals do you currently have in your tank?
Also, what light do you have in your tank? I've noticed that if my zoanthids weren't getting enough light that they sometimes wouldn't open up.

+1. I can't tell you how many times members on here have gone to a "knowledgeable" source and been completely mislead, only to come back to AA and get the right help. AA is your best bet if you want to be successful in this hobby. sure we have our disagreements and debates, but in the end the info always helps us to learn. Please do yourself a favor and take a step back and slow down a bit. its extremely easy to get anxious and excited, which normally results in impulse buys and actions. (impulse= terribly bad) id focus on getting your tank properly cycled, then move into the coral aspect. also keep in mind that smaller tanks (nanos) are harder to maintain and balance then larger tanks.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Thank you all for your kindness and advice. I should have known better and started hear first. It is easy to get swept up in the whole thought of these beautiful creatures and want everything right now. I will definitely slow it down from hear on out. I will ask Aquabid guy to hold off on sending my order until i get this tank cycled. I am glad to be a part of such a caring community of people.

 

[Bdonaldson]

Hi,

Just thought I would give an update on my nano tanks. The 4 gallon that houses the livestock is doing ok. I have to do a partial water change on it every day sometime every other day depending on my test results. The 8 gallon is still cycling. I am starting to see some brown algae on the rocks. I am guessing that's a good thing. How long do you all think it will take for the 8 gallon to finish cycling? And, can you use spring water or distiller water to top off and to mix the salt in to make the saltwater?