First saltwater tank..

[corinne118s]

hey guys! I am just starting my first saltwater tank- a 10g nano. i know its going to be harder than if i had a bigger tank.. but i just don't have the space for one (or money!). anyways, i want to update everyone on my progress over the next few weeks so because i am sure i will have a lot of questions!

here's what i've done so far..
my 10gal tank! - Imgur

i do have one question.. the pump i have seems to be really strong (i'd assume is good) its 127gph or something like that. however, it makes all these bubbles that pop and spray on my lighting fixture. is this ok? i'm worried the clear cover on the fixture will dissolve or something lol. please let me know if anything is wrong!

i have one 1-2lb live fiji rock now i got from my LFS. i have about 10lb dry live rock on the way..probably over kill but i got a good deal. is dry live rock actually just dry rock?

 

[wvanderborg]

The bubbles slashing on your light cover are going to cause a salt sediment to build up as when the water dries and evaporates the salt reisdue will stay behind. I have to clean mine off about once a week. And dry live rock is just live rock that isn't culturized or at least not anymore. If u put a piece of dry live rock by a piece of cultured live rock eventually the dry piece wil culturalize but it can take weeks/months

 

[wvanderborg]

And I may be mistaken but 127 gph on a filter seems like overkill to me.

 

[circus clowns]

I don't think that power head is supposed to be spitting out bubbles, may b something's wrong with it, none of mine do that.

 

[brainless chef]

The air line tube conected to the powerhead is causing the bubbles. Just take it off and the boubbles will stop.

 

[Jlsardina]

It could be something as simple as the Power head is too high up. Try lowering it so that air does not get into the propeller. Also, depending on how long you wait to put base rock in you tank (make sure to rinse it well) you may cause another mini cycle due to die off. Most people will either put the base in during the initial cycle or cure it in a separate "tank" until the water in the tank (after several water changes) remains clear an not a yellow tint.

 

[corinne118s]

Ok so if I remove the line it will be ok? And I should be getting dry rock on Thursday and I will add to the tank. I dont mind if the cycle restarts but would it be ok to do that or should I add one at a time? I thought base rock doesn't matter how much you put in or when because it's not alive so it won't mess up anything.

Also, I think I ordered too much rock because it was cheap and I didn't know. How many pounds of rock should I have for a 10 gallon. I don't want it to be overloaded.

The power head options I had at my LFS had the ones labeled for 10gal and 20/30. The 10gal power head had 87gph. I heard you should get atleast 10xs per gallon so I went for next size up, 127. Will this hurt anything?

 

[carey]

I would remove the airline to the powerhead, that'll be a good first step.

I would aim for about about 15 lbs or so of rock in a 10g, give or take a pound. Just put in what looks good and see where youre at.

I think the powerhead you got will be fine, 127gph isnt really that much anyways, at least in a saltwater tank. lol

 

[Jlsardina]

Ok so if I remove the line it will be ok? And I should be getting dry rock on Thursday and I will add to the tank. I dont mind if the cycle restarts but would it be ok to do that or should I add one at a time? I thought base rock doesn't matter how much you put in or when because it's not alive so it won't mess up anything.

Also, I think I ordered too much rock because it was cheap and I didn't know. How many pounds of rock should I have for a 10 gallon. I don't want it to be overloaded.

The power head options I had at my LFS had the ones labeled for 10gal and 20/30. The 10gal power head had 87gph. I heard you should get atleast 10xs per gallon so I went for next size up, 127. Will this hurt anything?

Sorry- you are right about the base. My brain was tired lol. If you plan on a reef you want 20-25 lbs of rock. As far as the ph- with more rock the flow will slow down.

 

[corinne118s]

Ok so I unhooked the tubing and it works much better! I wonder why that does that? Anyways I can barely tell it's on now and no splashing!

I have two more questions though..

First: I have a hydrometer that isn't very accurate but enough to tell me ballpark numbers and give me an idea how fast the water evaporates. Anyways I noticed the number was about 1.028+? today so I added some more water. It's just filtered tap with dechlorining chemical- will try to find RO this weekend. How long slowly should I be adding the water? And how to I add salt when I PWC? when I started I just added prepackaged salt and it worked perfect.

Second: what vacuuming equipment do I need? Was picking some algae and waste off my live rock and now there's particles everywhere. I'm new to vacuums. In my FW I just clean everythig at once.

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[brainless chef]

The tubing lets in air making bubbles, doubling as a power head and a air pump at the same time. I use that feature in my protein skimmer.

 

[Qube]

Ok so I unhooked the tubing and it works much better! I wonder why that does that? Anyways I can barely tell it's on now and no splashing!

I have two more questions though..

First: I have a hydrometer that isn't very accurate but enough to tell me ballpark numbers and give me an idea how fast the water evaporates. Anyways I noticed the number was about 1.028+? today so I added some more water. It's just filtered tap with dechlorining chemical- will try to find RO this weekend. How long slowly should I be adding the water? And how to I add salt when I PWC? when I started I just added prepackaged salt and it worked perfect.

Second: what vacuuming equipment do I need? Was picking some algae and waste off my live rock and now there's particles everywhere. I'm new to vacuums. In my FW I just clean everythig at once.

Thanks for all your help!!!

As far as PWC's, you will want to mix up a batch a day or two prior. I use a 5 gallon bucket and place an extra power head that I have along with a heater. Once you get your salt, just add 1/2 cup per gallon and let it mix. I usually let mine mix 2 days, but I check my salinity after 24 hours to make sure I'm where I want to be. If your bucket has a lid, it's that much better to eliminate any evaporation during mixing. Also, invest in a turkey baster. It's the best tool I've come across to use for blowing all the sediment and detritus off your live rock. I usually do that about an hour prior to doing my PWC to allow for the filter to pick up all the junk.

 

[wvanderborg]

And as far as the salinity testing goes. Get a refractometer. Hydrometers are inaccurate and in my opinion useless. You'd be better off taste testing your water for its salt content.

 

[corinne118s]

Ok so my dry rock came in today but I'm confused. It doesn't look like the live rock I got it looks like dried sponge IMO. Any tips? Maybe it's just a different rock but it really doesnt look how I was expecting.

How should I introduce this? Also, on one rock there is green stuff is this just dried algea? I tried to get a picture..

 

[corinne118s]

ok so that was my bad. i ordered pukani and reef saver dry rock. doesn't look bad together in the tanks i've seen but does it actually allow coral or anything to grow? do you think this would look bad with my 1.5lb fiji???

 

[Jlsardina]

ok so that was my bad. i ordered pukani and reef saver dry rock. doesn't look bad together in the tanks i've seen but does it actually allow coral or anything to grow? do you think this would look bad with my 1.5lb fiji???

Lol. I have three or four types of rock in my tank in the end no one really looks at the rock. They look at everything else

 

[corinne118s]

Can I see pics of your tank? good to know i didn't just buy a bunch of rock that won't look good!!

I added one chunk of reef saver and one chunk of pukani. I actually really like the reef saver.. just hope its not too sharp!

What I have now seems almost like too much.. but i still have about 15+ lbs (BRS overstocked my shipment) sitting in a box. I guess i'll always find use for it in my next tank...









any tips on arranging the rocks would be good!! thanks!

 

[Jlsardina]

Here's a fts of my tank. There is about 400lbs of rock.

 

[corinne118s]

Wow nice you really don't notice the rock! Does it matter what coral I choose for a nano?

 

[wvanderborg]

Read into it before you make your choice. In a nano you can easily do zooanthinds or polyps. Just be sure to read care reqs for whatever you decide to go with. Zoos are a photosynthesiser while a lot of sun and star polyps are plankton filter feeders. Leathers would do good but can easily over run a nano depending on species. And if you have strong enough lights u might b able to do nems. A mini carpet would be pretty cool. I'm plannin on picking one up for my 25 gal reef.