First timer

new_guy

new_guy

New Member
Hello everybody,
I am a new person to the whole " fish world ". I just got a 33 gallon salt water tank. I have about 9 fish and sand in the tank but that is it. Does anyone have any recommendations as to what else I should put in the tank in order to make it more " homely " for the fish? Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to what a starter, such as myself, should do for tank and fish care?
 
pensky

pensky

Member
I am a first timer myself :confused:
How long have you had your tank up?
I have a 29gal 3months old with 40#live sand and 15# live rock. Just regular lighting from my freshwater so I haven't gotten into the good stuff yet :jumping:
 
puffer32

puffer32

Active Member
Is your tank cycled? :confused: 9 fish sounds like to many in a 30. Do you have a skimmer and LR? What do your tests read?
 
jjlittle

jjlittle

Member
If you have not read many books on salt water aquaruims you need to 9 fish is an over load for that size tank and cold cause problems I would watrch you water perameter closely.I do hope you dont have any bigger fish in there and just small speices. You need to put some live rock in to help the filtration process & will also give your fish area to make there homes also make the tank look good. You need to slow down and take your time with salt water things need time to establish. I wouls hate to see you get discuraged by have a bad start.Do you have protien skimmer?Make sure you dont over feed.
 
jedi

jedi

Member
Lots to learn.
Slow down and read up on the newbie section and FAQ's. 9 fish in a new 33 gallon is WAY to many.
Jedi
 
new_guy

new_guy

New Member
Hey. How are you? I have had my tank for about a month now. It is a 33 gallon tank of saltwater fish. I am not sure how many #s of sand I have in there though....and no rocks yet. I am looking to get the tank filled up now that I have about 10 fish and they seem to be lively. How are you enjoying the tank so far?
 
bobothewizard

bobothewizard

Member
Give this one 1 month till crash time and all is dead. 10 fish no matter what size is too much for that tank. Once everything dies you will have the chance to start over. Some reading needs to be done on your part or you will be discouraged exrtemely quick.
 
new_guy

new_guy

New Member
I am not sure what you mean by cycled....so I assume that my tank is not. What is cycled? I do have a filter that runs 24 hours a day 7 days a week....and I am also confused by the terms skimmer and LR. What are those? I do have a hydrometer and it reads right where its should be. I also have a question for you. I am beginning to get a brown film on the top of my sand....the pet store guy tells me that it is just fish waste and leftover food decay....how do I get rid of that? Is that building up because I have not used my Nitrate, nitrite, ph balance test kit yet? I have been kind of lazy with that aspect.
 
new_guy

new_guy

New Member
I have been hearing that alot. That 9 fish is an overload. I have not read too much on saltwater fish which is why I am on this site. And yes they are all small fish. No big fish at all. I am going to get some live rock probably this weekend. Also, what is a protein skimmer and what would you consider over feed? I feed them once a day.
 
xjayx

xjayx

Member
First off...
The brown stuff you were talking about earlier is not fish waste and old food. It's Diotoms. They'll bloom in just about every new tank. Mine has them too, but once the silicates in your water are used up, they'll die off and your tank will look clean again...
Make sure you have a good clean up crew to take care of all the diotoms and waste. I'm sure with 9 fish in a tank that small, you'll deffinitely have plenty of waste.
Best way to keep your fish from dying if you're going to have that many fish is constantly testing your water and constant water changes.
Anyway, A protine skimmer is basically a divice that causes your water to bubble and foam up. It collects all the waste disolved in the water and that wasit is ejected up into a collection cup on the foam or as the bubbles fiz at the survace.
It's a must in this hoby, otherwise your fish will be swiming in their own filth.
And finally as for over feeding.
Some people will say only once every other day, some will say once a day, some will say twice a day.
Just don't give your fish more than they could eat in 3 minutes.
Once a day should be fine
 
new_guy

new_guy

New Member
Thank you for the guidance. I read the the 101 threads. They were very helpful. I wish I would have known about this web site before I got the tank and fish. It would have saved me some confusion. However, I do have a few questions. How long does it take for the Diotoms to die off? Because they are making my tank look very ugly and dirty. And also, How do I go about changing the water in the tank? I am going to buy a protein skimmer over the weekend. How much do they cost? Approximately of course.
 
kails83

kails83

New Member
You can use a hose to pull the water out, use it as syphon. Or at some pet stores you can buy a vacuum/syphon that hooks right up to your faucet and uses the tap water to pull the water out of your tank. It will also pull out some of the waste if you put it closer to the bottom. We have it for our freshwater tank and mainly only use it to pull water out of the saltwater tank. Do Not Put Tap Water In You Saltwater Tank though! To refill it go to your grocery store and get the distilled water unless you have a revese osmosis unit. Then you apparently can use tap water if you want to.
This is how we change our water. I don't know what other people do though. I have never asked.
 
new_guy

new_guy

New Member
How often do you change your water? And doesn't the Protein Skimmer serve the same purpose? Why would I need to change the water if I have a filter running 24/7 and I purchase a Protein Skimmer?
 
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