hey im new to this. just would like to introduce myelf.

N

nubz

Guest
Hi everyone my name is Dan im new to SW. So far this site has been really informative and i have read alot of good info here. I just started my tank less then a week ago and any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My tank and equipment:
72G Bow front all glass tank
2 Koralia 1050 power heads
Remora AquaC skimmer with a Maxi jet
Marineland Penguin filter 350
Aqueon heater
I dont have my lights as of yet but ill be hopefully picking them up later today and ill post what my guy at the lfs said i needed.
I have around 120lbs of liverock and 60lbs of livesand. Ive been doing my tank readings like everyday cuz im just so excited about this cuz i have been wanting to do this since the first time i seen a sw tank when i was 8yrs old just never had the money or place to do it. anyways here are my readings as of 4pm yesterday
Specific gravity= 1.027
pH= 8.3
Ammonia= 0 ppm as of today
Nitrite= 0 ppm
Nitrate= 5.0 ppm
well thats what i have and hopefully ill get some good info back i look forward to the help and advice. I dont have a good enough camera right now but ill try and post some pics from my iphone later on if i can figure out how to do it lol.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
So have you added anything to the tank like a shrimp or fish food to start your cycle going?
I'm all for having alot of rock in your tank for natural filtration, but 120 lbs seems excessive. Even at 1.5 lbs per Gallon of water that is 112 lbs.
It's all good as long as the fish you buy are the kind that won't need a ton of swimming room.
 
N

nubz

Guest
thats what i thought for the liverock too but their smaller in size and the only reason i got that high is cuz of 3 big rocks that i stuck in there for the base of it. yea i went to the store and bought raw shrimp.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
welcome ,what you thinking for fish?
i have almost 300 lbs of lr in my 250 but like you said i have some 12-14 inch rock pieces that weigh a ton.so the tank looks perfect with all the caves i created.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

Hello, and welcome to the site!
Your SG is a tiny bit high...Unless you have an auto top off, bring it down to around 1.024 at least. That way with evaporation the SG won't get too high. Ocean water is 1.026..I know nothing is in your tank right now being only a week old but I thought I would give you a heads up.
 
N

nubz

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///forum/thread/384421/hey-im-new-to-this-just-would-like-to-introduce-myelf#post_3367519
welcome ,what you thinking for fish?
i have almost 300 lbs of lr in my 250 but like you said i have some 12-14 inch rock pieces that weigh a ton.so the tank looks perfect with all the caves i created.
thank you, i dont kno on fish yet but iam still in the process of picking out my CUC first so i can get that going. If anyone would like to throw some ideas as to what and how many that would be great. As in the LR i have only 87lbs of the little stuff but those 3 i said where big lol so really im only somwhere around 112-116.
 
N

nubz

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/384421/hey-im-new-to-this-just-would-like-to-introduce-myelf#post_3367522

Hello, and welcome to the site!
Your SG is a tiny bit high...Unless you have an auto top off, bring it down to around 1.024 at least. That way with evaporation the SG won't get too high. Ocean water is 1.026..I know nothing is in your tank right now being only a week old but I thought I would give you a heads up.
how would i drop my SG, would i just pull some sw out and replace it with fresh?
 
mr btldreef

mr btldreef

Member
Hello there and welcome.
To drop your salinity do a water change...maybe about 10%. Without salt. I noticed when I do my water changes.... 10% weekly, for every 5gallon bucket I fill with RO water I add 2cups salt. I then use a pump to mix it and bring up to temp for about 24 hours.
Sooo to drop .001 in salinity I don't add salt to 5 gallons of RO the next water change. Granted most people use different salts but I noticed that this has worked for me with corallife salt, reef crystals, tropic marine, and aqua vitro.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Welcome!
Since nothing is in the tank yet, I would just add fresh RO and take out some of the salted water but mr btldreef's idea will work once you have things in your tank and you don't want to shock by dropping too quickly.
Are you testing your salinity through a swing arm hydrometer, a floating hydrometer or a refractometer? Swing arms are usually inaccurate.
Might want to look into an auto top off unit, especially if the room your tank is in gets hot (especially in the summer).
 
N

nubz

Guest
Thank you Mr Btldreef and i take it Ms Btldreef lol?
As of right now i am using the swing arm hydrometer are there better ones out there? i pretty sure i need to do a water change anyways to but since my sg is up i should jut do it with ro water right?
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
look into a refractor for the salinity .they are around $80 but worth it .the one you have is never accurate.it could be off a bunch
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
damn looks like i missed another deal.i am waiting for the other site i joined to send me some deals so i can order my mp40's
 
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