Hi all im new and have a few questions

killaz

Member
hI all, im new to the salt water world. I have always done the freshwater thing. Now what i set up my tank i was given water from an existing tank,(already cycled) i have 6 fish two anamies (i suck at spelling) and some live coral. My main question is what type of chemicles do i need to be puttingin my tank? What should i look out forin a marine tank? Thanks forthehelp.
 

nycbob

Active Member
no chemical u hv to put in. with regular water change, the nutrients should be replenished. u need to get a reef test kit. unless u r keeping sps corals, no chemical is needed as stated b4.
 

mcbdz

Active Member

WELCOME to SWF.
First, it will help to give some info on what you have.
Tank size
filtration
lr/ls?
lights
Did it all come from an established tank or only the water?
Have you tested for anything?
These are what you need to test for and please post actual numbers when posting not, everything is good.
SG
amm.
nitrites
nitrates
phosphates
PH
alk
cal.
mag
and anything else you may test for.
Please list the livestock you have added:kind of fish, inverts, and corals.
This will help us to help you.
 

killaz

Member
Ok i think i have it all.
2 yellow tail damsels
1 yellow tang
1 4strip damsel
2 ocellaras
1 lawn mower bleney
1 midas bleney
banded sleeper goby
6 hermit crabs
1 chocolate star fish
55lbs live rock
25lbs live sand
mushrooms
polups
some soft coral
Sabae anemone
long tenicle anomone
My pump is a rena xp3 175 gallon max flows 350gph
My tank is a 65 gallon tank. All the water came from an established tank, from my local saltwater dealer.
My PH is at 7.8
amo is 0
no2 is 0
no3 is 0
 

geridoc

Well-Known Member
The only mention you made of cycling is that you used water from a cycled tank. It that is the extent of it, then you are going to have a big problem. The beneficial bacteria do not live in the water, but on solid surfaces. The live rock and sand will help, assuming that there was no die-off during transportation. Keep an eye on the ammonium levels - if they begin to rise I would use Amquel Plus as directed on the bottle. Otherwise, just enjoy the tank, and don't add anything other than top-off water and water changes.
 

tarball

Member
Originally Posted by GeriDoc
http:///forum/post/2510073
The only mention you made of cycling is that you used water from a cycled tank. It that is the extent of it, then you are going to have a big problem. The beneficial bacteria do not live in the water, but on solid surfaces. The live rock and sand will help, assuming that there was no die-off during transportation. Keep an eye on the ammonium levels - if they begin to rise I would use Amquel Plus as directed on the bottle. Otherwise, just enjoy the tank, and don't add anything other than top-off water and water changes.

 

ophiura

Active Member
The starfish is not reef safe and will eat your anemones and corals. Anemones and corals also need advanced lighting (ideally metal halides, but at least PC or T5). Multiple anemones and mixed coral can be a recipe for disaster (they can kill each other).
I also agree with the above post...the water did nothing but transfer old water.
The hobby is very different from freshwater - FAAARRR less forgiving, and mistakes happen quickly with catastrophic consequences. It sounds like you've been going pretty fast, unless this is a 6 month old system (in your care). Otherwise, there could be serious problems. IMO, you are already and full stocking fish wise...
I would definitely take it slow, ask lots of questions, and pay very very close attention to the tank parameters and such.
 

killaz

Member
the live rock, sand, and fish all came from his circulating system. should i dump the star fish?
 

horsin1963

Member
depends what you are talking about when you say "dump" the star fish. if you want to keep the corals then take him back to the LFS and ask him for a reef safe star.. he does look cool but he will eat things you dont want him to..
 

sly

Active Member
It sounds like you may be looking at several problems. First, as has already been mentioned, that starfish my endanger your corals. It would be best if you gave it back to your fish store if you can. Also, it sounds like you have stocked too many fish too quickly. I have found the best success by adding only a few fish every month or so. Give your tank time to stabilize and then add more as long as your ammonia and nitrite levels don't start to rise.
Basically your tank has a biological filtration system. This is composed of a group of bacteria which live in your filters and sand. This bacteria consumes fish waste and helps keep your tank clean. (If you already knew this, sorry... just restating). When you add fish, you increase the bioload on your system. It takes the bacteria about a month to grow up to the new level needed to keep up with your fish waste. That is why if you add too many fish too quickly, you will not have enough bacteria in your system to handle all the waste. When this happens, toxins in the water will start to rise and you may face a tank crash, killing your fish.
Your pH sounds too low. It should be around 8.3. If you haven't done a water change in a while then I would start here. Changing your water is one of the best things you can do to get everything back in line. If you need to raise the pH you can use baking soda or pH up solution... but do it slowly. You need to give your tank a few days to adjust to any changes you make.
When it comes to dosing your tank with chemicals... first you need some test kits. Never dose anything you don't test for. What chemicals you need are dependent on what your particular tank is consuming. Start by testing for calcium and magnesium. Once those levels are known, then you can start dosing for that. You have some corals and so your calcium levels will depleat over time. You will eventually need to dose your tank with calcium... but first test your water. Regular water tests will show you how much calcium is being consumed on a regular basis and you can use that to know how much calcium you need to dose. You need a magnesium test kit because calcium and magnesium form a careful balance in the tank. If one goes too high, it will cause the other to crash. You don't want to add too much calcium or else you will lose your magnesium and your corals will suffer.
I would start by testing for calcium, magnesium, iodine, strontium and alkalinity. If any of these levels start to drop, then that will tell you what you need to start dosing in your tank.
 

killaz

Member
the tank has been up and running for about 2 weeks or so. If this were going to go drasticly wrong when should i expect this to happen.
 

mrmaroon

Member
I am not trying to be overly harsh in this reply but: If I were you, I would take back all the fish but a few of the damsels. If you don't you run a pretty high risk of killing everything. I did that when I got into the hooby 15 years ago. Got way to excited and killed a lot of fish. Your local store is not doing you a favor. Sounds like they are just trying to make $. Your tank needs to cycle for much longer than two weeks before you add such a large bio-load. I think that you have way to many fish in general if you are going to keep corals. Also, IMO that tank is too small for a tang. Anemones are also pretty hard to keep. You should wait a long time before trying those. Did you test the water recently, or did the LFS tell you that was what the water tested at when they gave it to you? I would be suprised it is that "clean" when you have so much in that tank.
Good luck with everything. Great that you found the board and ask a lot of questions. Try to find a good book too.
 

killaz

Member
here is what i have tested so far. So far it looks good.
My PH is at 7.8
amo is 0
no2 is 0
no3 is 0
 

horsin1963

Member
One more thing you should know is your PH will drop at night when the lights are out.. if you just tested it and its 7.8 it might be ok during the midday.... I have found that my ph is about 8 to 8.1 at night 8.3 to 8.4 during the day... read about the chemicals that you add to your tank for different things and the time of day to add these and correct ways to test for them.
if you tested your ph now 7.8 and want to add something to raise it at noon with out testing again you could raise it to much hope that makes sence... these guys here give out alot of good advise but sometimes leave out little things.... good luck
 

horsin1963

Member
Many people use Damsels to cycle there tanks IMO please dont put that little guy through that.. throw a raw shrimp one that is uncooked into it, two at the most. let it start the bacteria cycle. when you see the ammonia start to rise take it out.. ghost feed small amounts every day after that test and watch your levels. when they read how they are reading right now then the tank is ready for "A" fish. remember with every fish comes a bio load. everything you add to the tank has a bio load... let your new friend get adjusted to his new home and his new home get adjusted to him.. With everything comming from a tank from a LFS that was well established it shouldnt take long for your tank to establish itself... Take no chances trust in only yourself, research everything you want to put into the new aquarium. Its up to you to make shure that your tank mates get along not your LFS owner...
any Q's on who will get along just ask here... again good luck and GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU..... Brian
 
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