johnlocke
New Member
Hello all,
I'm new to the forum and have set up my first saltwater aquarium. I have had a cichlid tank for a while, but finally needed to get myself two ocellaris clownfish.
I have not bought them yet, but the tank is set up and cycling right now. It is a 20g. This post might get long, so I apologize in advance and thanks to those enthusiastic and helpful members that answer them.
1.) I have very find sand for the bed, but every time I move it around the slightest bit it stirs up and causes an awful fog. In fact, I can hear the filter picking it up and getting stuck and grinding the fine particles. This is annoying and I'm worried that as I add live rock or other ornaments to the tank, it will keep doing this. If I have fish in there and need to move something, will it keep doing this and if so, will all that dust and sand being stirred up harm my clownfish?
2.) There is a lot of foamy build-up around the water line, sticking to the heater and filter and thermometer. It wipes off easy, but this seems unique to my saltwater tank. Never had this foamy stuff on the freshwater tank. Any comments on what this is, how to get it to go away, and what it means? I'm cycling my 20g with two shrimp right now that are about 50% completely rotted away...maybe that has something to do with it.
3.) If I don't get a protein skimmer right away (or at all) how much work will I need to do for this tank? I've read they aren't necessary and do actually remove some helpful elements from the tank... but generally they are good. I would like to avoid getting one if that only means a bit more work on my part. However, if they perform a certain function that no amount of extra work on my part can do then let me know, not many clear articles about these things that I could find.
4.) What's the best way to test for ammonia and other important aquarium parameters? I've always just used cheap test strips and, specifically for ammonia, it's difficult to tell what "shade" it exactly is. Anything more accurate, or any advice on the most reliable way? This question, I guess, also applies to my freshwater tank.
5.) I'm getting 20 pounds of live rock sometime next week for this also. My tank is already cycling... will putting this live rock in speed up or slow down the cycle process that is already going? It should be pre-cured.
6.) Ah! Almost forgot... does the salt in the salt water eventually dissolve itself completely? I stirred it all very thoroughly when I put it in, but I can't help but wonder how much is enough. If it eventually dissolves on its own, then I should be good. I noticed when testing the water with a strip yesterday it appeared that there were tiny salt specs on there... like they weren't fully dissolved. Kind of worried about that... I stirred it thoroughly for a few minutes with a spatula when I mixed it but I'm new so maybe it wasn't enough?
Thanks again for any expert tips anyone has in regards to these questions.
JohnLocke
I'm new to the forum and have set up my first saltwater aquarium. I have had a cichlid tank for a while, but finally needed to get myself two ocellaris clownfish.
I have not bought them yet, but the tank is set up and cycling right now. It is a 20g. This post might get long, so I apologize in advance and thanks to those enthusiastic and helpful members that answer them.
1.) I have very find sand for the bed, but every time I move it around the slightest bit it stirs up and causes an awful fog. In fact, I can hear the filter picking it up and getting stuck and grinding the fine particles. This is annoying and I'm worried that as I add live rock or other ornaments to the tank, it will keep doing this. If I have fish in there and need to move something, will it keep doing this and if so, will all that dust and sand being stirred up harm my clownfish?
2.) There is a lot of foamy build-up around the water line, sticking to the heater and filter and thermometer. It wipes off easy, but this seems unique to my saltwater tank. Never had this foamy stuff on the freshwater tank. Any comments on what this is, how to get it to go away, and what it means? I'm cycling my 20g with two shrimp right now that are about 50% completely rotted away...maybe that has something to do with it.
3.) If I don't get a protein skimmer right away (or at all) how much work will I need to do for this tank? I've read they aren't necessary and do actually remove some helpful elements from the tank... but generally they are good. I would like to avoid getting one if that only means a bit more work on my part. However, if they perform a certain function that no amount of extra work on my part can do then let me know, not many clear articles about these things that I could find.
4.) What's the best way to test for ammonia and other important aquarium parameters? I've always just used cheap test strips and, specifically for ammonia, it's difficult to tell what "shade" it exactly is. Anything more accurate, or any advice on the most reliable way? This question, I guess, also applies to my freshwater tank.
5.) I'm getting 20 pounds of live rock sometime next week for this also. My tank is already cycling... will putting this live rock in speed up or slow down the cycle process that is already going? It should be pre-cured.
6.) Ah! Almost forgot... does the salt in the salt water eventually dissolve itself completely? I stirred it all very thoroughly when I put it in, but I can't help but wonder how much is enough. If it eventually dissolves on its own, then I should be good. I noticed when testing the water with a strip yesterday it appeared that there were tiny salt specs on there... like they weren't fully dissolved. Kind of worried about that... I stirred it thoroughly for a few minutes with a spatula when I mixed it but I'm new so maybe it wasn't enough?
Thanks again for any expert tips anyone has in regards to these questions.
JohnLocke
