New and some questions ...

[FKBOO]

Hi everybody , I'm new here .forums looks cool!!

I just started a small reef aquarium and I had some dumb question I guess but I dont know anything so ...would be cool if you guys could help me a bit .

here's my questions ,

1--I put 3 live rocks in my 2 days old aquarium , I was just wondering how much time those it usally take to see some stuff grow or ...whatever..
like if I dont see anything change in a month those it mean I do something wrong ???

2--How long do I have to wait if I want to put one or 2 small fish like small clown fish let say....

3--and has for the coroal , I didn't buy any light there's one double neon that came with the aquarium and its pretty bright in there but I know that I cant get every coral , but would be cool if someone could tell me the easiest one to keep alive I should get first .

last question for now lol sorry if I ask alot.

what temparature should I put the eater for the water if I want a clown fish ..

thanks a million I really really appreciate it if you guys can help .

 

[Jimbo7]

Before we can answer those questions you should post your tank size, wattage of lighting and what type it is. Also you said 3 live rocks, does that mean 3 pounds or 3 different pieces? You should post cumulative pounds of rock and any other equipment you are currently running.

 

[austinsdad]

Cruise thru the Articles section of this site. You got some reading homework to do

Especially read about "cycling" a tank.

Welcome to AA.

 

[FKBOO]

its a cube 10 G

I dont really know how many pound tho , the lady at the aquarium shop told me that those 3 live rocks where enough if I wanted to put one or 2 small fish ???

I'm not really interested in fish , maby like I said a clown fish small or 2 but thats all for now I'm just interested in seeing the reef get (alive)

I have an 80 gallon ready but I just wanted to try with something smaller at 1st than put alot of money in a big one and kill everything in it ....

let me know if that helps answer my questions or some of tehm ... thanks

 

[melosu58]

The very first thing you must do is cycle the tank. Read this article to see how to do it. It is very important that you cycle the tank.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html

 

[austinsdad]

Might be easier to learn in the larger tank. More forgiving than a 10g experience. Especially if you don't do your reading and research before buying and adding "3 rocks".

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Welcome to aquariumadvice. It's good that you're asking questions at this stage because as the others here have mentioned, the questions you're asking show that your fish store isn't being the most helpful or informative. The article section here is a good start, but there's also a couple good books that are worth the money:

The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner

And a good starter book for corals:

Aquarium Corals by Eric Borneman

In a nutshell, you need to cycle that tank before adding anything living. The links already given will help you understand how to do that. It will take between 4-6 weeks to cycle the tank, so that should give you plenty of time to read up on what you're getting into.

Agree with austinsdad... while it's kind of counterintuitive - smaller isn't easier when it comes to saltwater. If you have a 80g that you intend to start, then start with it and use the 10g for a quarantine tank for new fish. Small tanks are hard to keep and probably result in more people leaving the hobby frustrated than more people sticking with the hobby.

 

[FKBOO]

Oh man seems so complicated !!!! WOW !


I knew I had to wait to put some stuff in the only thing I did was put the correct salt amount in the water with the hydrometer and I put my 3 small live rock in there . so the salt in the water is ok , I leave the light on during thhe day and close it at night when I go to bed .

the only living thing in my tank is live rock and crush corals in the bottom that I rinced before putting in .

Ill go tomorrow buy a kit to check the amonia I guess ....????

what should I do now ?

I know the shop sucks thats why I came here , I think they just want to sell stuff to me cause they know I dont know anything ....

 

[austinsdad]

Get a test kit today. No guessing. Want the kit with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

So, that's what you do now. Focus on the test kit to see if any and how much ammonia is present. You could be in the middle of a cycle depending on the size of those 3 rocks and whether they were cured or not.

I'd suggest a 3 step approach now.

1) get the test kit and check the water. 2) get one of those books recommended above. I liked Fenner's book (only ignore the cycling with fish method he mentions - so outdated now). 3) Plan on moving into the 8o gallon tank.

Honorable mention - ditch the crushed coral in the 10g and use fine, aragonite sand instead. Curshed coral will NOT be your friend in the longrun. Harbors nasty stuff after a while and harder to clean/vacuum than sand.

 

[FKBOO]

you guys rules ! Ill give you news really soon .


thanks !