any suggestions on our 1st tank

[j&j,s tank]

We bought a 75 gallon tank 3 weeks ago and a 8 pound live rock 2 weeks ago and a damsel fish last night for our first starter fish. We was wondering if we should just stick with live rock or should we add base rocks too. We are open to any suggestions you can give us on our aquarium we are new to this hobby. Also at what point should we had a protein skimmer to our tank. as i said we are new to this and want to go slow and do everything right any suggestions on what steps to take next would be apperciated. Thanks

 

[airforceb2]

Hello and welcome to SWF.com!!
congrats on your new tank!! I know how exciting it can be to start something new. First of all, did you get any test kits and a hydrometer? What is your temperature? What kind of substrate(sand) do you have? A skimmer should be added immediately. Get a book called "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. It will teach you a lot about salt water fish keeping.

 

[j&j,s tank]

We have a hydrometer the reading is 1.022 the water temp is 80 degrees and we put 40 pouds of dry sand and 40 pounds of bio-activ live aragonite reef sand in at atart up

 

[aquapro_1]

Another good book is "Saltwater aquariums for dummies". It goes in depth about what systems are avilable & how they work. Also the fish and the best for beginners. Number 1 rule...NEVER ASK QUESTIONS TO LOCAL FISH STORE EMPLOYEES!!!
Any doubts get online and surf the web!! ANy questions come back & ask away. So many people with different tanks & inhabitants.

 

[scotts]

First off Welcome to the board. Sit back, relax and read as much as you can here.

Then also for starting off right you get this.

You asked about base rock and live rock. Well if you put any rock into your tank it will eventually become live rock, however I am not talking about the rock from your garden. I have put completely white rock into my tank and within months it had coralline on it. A couple of things that may help you is the search button, it is at the top right of this screen. You can search this forum and learn things you may not have even know to ask about. Now to get on my soap box. Research EVERYTHING before you buy it. On impulse I bought a beautiful 2" fish. Later found out it was not reef safe, completley changes colors and grows to about 18" long.
Have fun with your new obsession.
Scott

 

[fishmamma]

This not so much advice as sharing some thoughts......I have never used a damsel to cycle, BUT I have read so many times on this board that they are nearly impossible to catch and remove once the tank is filled with rock after the cycle. If you think this damsel has a home forever than pay no attention to what I just said, but if it may go from it's PITA behaviors in the future you may want to consider removing it now before adding anymore rock and using an alternative method to cycle. :joy: Oh, and IMO hydrometers are inacurate (from experience), invest in a refractometer when you can, you will not be sorry!

 

[houndhome1]

welcome, we sounded just like you guys a year ago, Just a few thought and helpful suggestions that we found out the hard way.
1, live rock must be cured for at least a week before placing in a tank. We use a large bucket with a powerhead( it's used to move water).
2, I don't know what type of water u have, well or city. We found out the our city water has a high ammonia count, we kept doing water changes but the levels never went down. We found a product called Amquel that neutralized the water before added it.
3, when u think u have enough live rock, add 40lbs more.
4. to save money, buy dead rock for the bottom layers then add the live on top. The dead rock will convert when your tank sets up.
5, be ready to hemmorage a lot of money. Salt=money