100 litre reefmax aquael

[Chris182]

Hi guys Thought I would show off my (literally) brand new marine tank The tank is a reefmax 100L tank which came with everything a newbie like me would need. I had to purchase the powerhead seperately which I did. I now have the saltwater (ready mixed from LFS), crushed coral and LR in the tank! It is still a tad murky and my camera is from a Iphone so apologies for the poor quality. I believe I will need to wait a while now before I add anything like Clean up crew, coral or fish. How long would it take to be able to add those things? I haven't tested the water yet. Should I do this immediately?

I have a plastic salinity tester, which came with the tank. The readings are off the scale though!! This was ready mixed water from lfs so is it likely the reader is incorrect? Was I supposed to mix it with standard ro water?

I am totally new to this, and am looking forward to developing my own little reef

Cheers

Chris

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[Chris182]

Today I found what I believe to be amphipods! At least 3 of them!

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[Zer0]

Looks great! Keep us updated with any new additions! This tank looks promising.

 

[Chris182]

Thanks

As you can see I have rearranged the LR today. Was so excited to see those little things come out

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[carey]

There are some excellent articles on fishless cycling on this site. i would highly recommend you check them out.

I would get an API freshwater master kit you will need this to cycle your tank. You also should get your own hydrometer to check salinity, even bette would be a refractometer from ebay for about $30.

Your rockwork looks great! keep us updated as to how your cycling goes. If you have any questions just ask, the people here are great!

 

[Chris182]

Tank

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[Chris182]

Hey, Got a test kit and did my first water test today! Results:
Calcium: 360
KH: 12 dkh
Phosphate: 0.5ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
Amonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm

I have a reef grow kit which includes Calcium, Coral Buff and Magnesium though im a tad reluctant to use it right now as I have no idea what im doing lol. Any help on what I should be doing will be appriciated.

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[iDream]

Scape looks awesome!

 

[Zer0]

Scape does look awesome! Wow! Nice tank dude, you should be proud. You going to be making this a reef?

 

[iDream]

As far as those chemicals you probably won't ever need them. PWCs will help replenish any lost trace elements, it'll be all you need in a small tank

This is all only if you're doing a reef though.

Your phos is kinda high, I believe it should be <.01

 

[Chris182]

Thanks for the comments guys. Yes I'm planning on making this a reef can't wait for the full cycle so I can start adding some colour and little critters

How do I reduce the phos?

Another possible dumb question guys, when topping up with plain ro water, is it necessary to make sure the temp is the same as the tank water? Or would it not really effect the tank and tank mates?

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[iDream]

Well now since there isn't anything in there it doesn't matter, but later on it should be the same temp.

I'm not sure how to reduce the phos, maybe test your RO water or the water you're getting from your LFS, find out where it's coming from

 

[Chris182]

Hey guys, found this little feather duster

There is also a couple of green things which I don't know what it is. Anyone else known?

Sorry for poor quality, will def need to invest in a decent camera

 

[iDream]

I can't really tell myself

Try this site: Xtalreef

 

[Chris182]

Thanks for that. Looks like bubble algae

 

[Chris182]

What should I use to clean the glass guys? I currently have salt residue on the tank which I would like to remove?

 

[iDream]

I just use a rag so I don't touch it myself and make sure it doesn't fall back into the tank. Do you mean clean the glass as in the inside from algae? I use a magfloat and a razorblade

 

[Chris182]

Yea inside but not for algae as I don't have any on the glass yet, just some salt residue. Perhaps a mag float will do

 

[iDream]

Salt residue on the inside? I'm thinking it might be something else, can you get a clear picture of what it looks like?

 

[Chris182]

It's just white markings from the salt. It's not thick or anything, just makes it hard to see into the tank.