Salt Water Rookie

[Saltwaterfishgirl]

Howard like he said. So you have a cup of saltwater... Over time it will evaporate... The salt salinity stays the same but the "volume" of actual water decreases.

So as posted above, keep a 2 1/2 gallon plastic container if purified water available in the house so it stays room temperature. You can buy it at kroger, publix blaa...

When you actually do a 25% water change thats when you replace with the salt mix. Make sure you spend time mixing it very well. Later when you get inverts or coral the salt pieces that don't mix can sit on them and burn them.

This week when i change my water ill make a you tube video you can watch. I have like this whole system... And two kids running around me while i try to do it. Lol

 

[Reeffanman]

From the sounds of it you can throw a shrimp in and then learn to curb your patience it's Gunna be a while. This is a great time to reasearch a stocking list and while you are at it I'd throw a qt filter in your tank so it cycles also.

 

[Howard11]

Just tested ammonia it's at .5ppm. My hydrometer is at 1.021 so I'm trying to bring that up slowly. Also I noticed my heater isn't working right so ive got to get a new one. Any suggestions on who I should go with?

What do I do in power outrages?

 

[Howard11]

From the sounds of it you can throw a shrimp in and then learn to curb your patience it's Gunna be a while. This is a great time to reasearch a stocking list and while you are at it I'd throw a qt filter in your tank so it cycles also.

Patience won't be a problem, I had no idea how much this stuff cost. I had fresh water tanks my whole life and they were simple filter heater bubbles fish. I guess you can say I'm eager to get started just not eager to pay $200 for skimmer 50 bucks for new heater. 100 bucks for new hood 60 bucks for new bulbs. And sO on

 

[Sniperhank]

Indeed. But welcome to the addiction. To start out though, you don't need to have a skimmer. You can hold off on your lights too, as having them on during your cycle will only promote algae growth.

Just fill up your tank, add sand and rock. Toss in an uncooked shrimp and figure out what your must have fish or coral is going to be. That will help you out figuring out what you are going to need. If you know what it is that you can't live without, then you will know what kind of lights you'll need, if you will want a fuge, and what fish can go in around it. Wish I would have done that when I started...would have saved me a ton of cash.

 

[Saltwaterfishgirl]

The aqueon heater

 

[Howard11]

Your 100% right it's an addiction. Everytime I go out its another 40 bucks at least. Just got a new heater and thermometer. I got what looks like mice turds in my tank guessing that's diatoms?

 

[Bearchumjs]

Your 100% right it's an addiction. Everytime I go out its another 40 bucks at least. Just got a new heater and thermometer. I got what looks like mice turds in my tank guessing that's diatoms?

LOL! Maybe a mouse tried to take a drink of the saltwater, didn't like it and then pooped in your tank?

I'm finding this thread very informational. I want a saltwater tank and I have NO clue as to what is needed or how to go about doing it. I'm just trying to get my FW tank to do right. Good luck!

 

[Howard11]

Glad this thread could help. Is there a way to post pics from my iPhone?

 

[Saltwaterfishgirl]

Yes reply then you see the little plus sign button.... Hit that and upload from camera

 

[Howard11]

I don't haves plus sigb

 

[Bearchumjs]

I don't haves plus sigb

It may say "advanced" next to the send button. You can upload from camera or from your photo album.

 

[Howard11]

Dosing with a shrimp tonight

So the tank is finally up to heat. By the way i have the thing turned all the way up its for a 30-60 gallon tank (mine is around 47gallons with water and sand) 18.25 x 18 x 36. And its only reading about 72 right now is that fine?

So i'm going grocery shopping tonight and i'm going to dose it with a shrimp.

To save money for now can I go with simply base rock? I have live sand and it'll cultivate and make my rock live by the time the fish are ready to be put in right? How do people make there formations so tall with all those small rocks? I tested my ammonia last night again and it read the same (shouldn't it be going down since i haven't dosed it yet)? At least I think it read the same I'm color blind so these test are hard for me.

Oh and I almost forgot my hydrometer is reading 1.022 which is showing a bit low from what I hear. I have added more salt but I don't want to over do it and have to drain it right now? Is there a calculation per gallon to raise the hydrometer by .001 that'd be great.

One last thing....i'm kinda confused on the whole sump thing, I've done a lot of reading but, I don't really understand the baffles and the huge advantage to one? And powerheads for my tank what do you think would be right...3?

 

[Reeffanman]

Of that's as hot as your heater is getting
I would upgrade to about 150 -200w.
The sump can do many things for you. It can house equipment. Like skimmer, reactors, filters, heaters ect... This frees up alot of plumbing and room in the display, leaving the display more appealing and less cluttered. I can hold a refugeium, which helps keep nitrates down. Temp housing for problem or troublesome fish or Inverts.
And also adds volume to your tank

 

[Howard11]

well i keep it a 66 degrees in my house and its in the basement and I don't have the lights on yet, when summer comes I keep the temp at 69 degrees so it'll probably change quite a bit. But yeah I'm gonna get a bigger heater. Or should I just get a second one?

The more reading I do the more I get confused....water changes with live rock / coral (eventually)....live rock doesn't like to be exposed to the air right? So how do I do water changes when it is near the top? And I know coral cant be exposed to air so how do you do that? Do i have to rearange while doing changes?

Lastly I dosed it with a shrimp last night readings were .5 ammonia .3 trites and can't remember trates off the top of my head I think they were 30 or 50. So when do I do my first water change? At the end of this week or while cycling do I not do water changes? How often do I dose with shrimp whenever they finish it up?

 

[Sniperhank]

I'd get a bigger heater and keep the other one for an emergency.

As for water changes, if you don't have a sump/ato you would remove water from your dt and make sure not to expose the corals. It doesn't matter to much for LR as long as it isn't out for a long period of time. This shouldn't matter as when you are going to do a water change, the water should be heated up to the temp of your tank and have been mixed. I use a 5 gallon bucket with a spare heater and spare powerhead. Plug both in and leave over night.

If you just put your shrimp in last night, I wouldn't even be testing nitrites or trates. It'll take awhile to build up all of the BB you need. I'd only test ammonia until it is all gone and see what the nitrites are up to as they will be slightly behind. In terms of water changes, I wouldn't change your water until you are done cycling. Once you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and only nitrates left, dose the tank again to make sure that the ammonia vanishes in a short amount of time, like 10 hours. If this is so, then do a large water change and you are officially cycled.

 

[BabyDee17]

Ive been reading this forum, and Im new to this too. Howard, check out the stickies on GETTING STARTED.. they help alot as well good luck

 

[spoonman]

You can check out my build thread in my signature. I posted every day step by step of the cycling process for my 29 gallon.

 

[Howard11]

Ive been reading this forum, and Im new to this too. Howard, check out the stickies on GETTING STARTED.. they help alot as well good luck

I've read all the stickies a few times, lol. But I didn't see anywhere where it said what to do when draining the water, especially if where your draining to will expose live rock or coral. Also haven't found if its ok to put just base rock in there for the cycle (i have live sand and was thinking the base rock would come alive by the time I was ready for fish)

Lastly how do i put fish / inveterates' in my tank without putting any of the nasty fish store water in the tank....without exposing them to the air....just do the drip method until I've flushed out most of the fish store stuff?

But I think I've decided on what I want.
2 clowns
couple hammer corals
red mushroom
peppermint shrimp 1 or 2?
lawnmower blenny
A blue tang
and a Royal Starfish
banded coral shrimp
what else should I add for a clean up crew?

 

[TLTGF]

Your list looks good with a couple exceptions: the blue tang needs a minimum of a 6ft tank, a 180 gallon is recommended.

Also the starfish, although this is a hardier one, most don't do well in home aquariums. Just a heads up.