Just Bought A Tank! Need A Little Help Please!

aaron childs

aaron childs

Member
Hello all. I have read over the forum earlier, and boy this stuff sounds very fun, but last night I just bought a 29 Gallon Tank, and all the set-up equipment. I used crush coral as the bottom base...Can I add a kind of sand though to give it an ocean effect? Also, the water is cloudy from the residue of the crushed coral. Should I wait for this to settle to the bottom before I add salt? If someone please has the time, I need a step by step learning of what to do after the water is in and I have the filters all set up and heater. PLEASE HELP...I WANT TO LEARN!!! Thankyou!
-Aaron
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
BREATHE, AARON, BREATHE!!!! Now, There are aolot of questions that need to be answered first. What kind of tank do you want? Have you read and understand about cycling? Why did you use crushed coral instead of sand? (not a major thing, really, but sand is much better IMO.) In all actuality, you should have mixed the salt into the water before adding it to the tank. Did you use tap water? You may want to take it out and start over. I've heard of some people adding salt after the water is in the tank, but I don't know how it is done. Your water will be cloudy for a day or two, but will settle down, if you decide to keep it in there. And any sand you add at this point will settle to the bottom, leaving the cc on the top. My best advice is to read, read, and read some more.
Maybe someone can back me up on this? Personally, I think he needs to empty the water, and mix it before adding it to the tank. Opinions?
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
If you are going to leave it in there, you can pour the water in on top of it. You will need a specific gravity meter. You will also need a bucket, and some reverse osmosis water if you can get it. You can get it at Walmart, or your lfs for about 35 cents a gallon. It will save you a headache later if you use it now. You want your specific gravity to be about 1.023, or 1.024.
 
aaron childs

aaron childs

Member
Okay. So after I get this gravity meter? (Where Should I get this at?) What is the step by step for pouring the water back into the tank with the salt? (If I leave the crushed coral in there) But if I leave the crushed coral in there, I can add sand after I ass the new water, or what?
-Aaron
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
Go to the fish store to get the specific gravity meter. As for the sand, you really shouldn't mix cc and sand. Most people on this board will recommend a deep sand bed, of at least 4 inches. This helps with the biological filtration of the tank. When you put live rock in your tank, it turns your sand into live sand, which is an important part of the nitrogen cycle of your tank. If you put the sand in with the cc, it will only sink to the bottom, and critters won't live in your cc like they do the sand. As for the water, mix it up to the right specific gravity I'd say about 10 gallons at a time. It really has to be mixed well. If you have a powerhead, use it to aerate the water and salt. Use a half a cup of salt to begin with, and start adding it a little at a time until you get to the right s.g. Then, just pour it in. Your tank will be cloudy for a while, but as the bacteria builds up, it will settle, and cloud up less.
Reverse osmosis water is just the way it's been treated. you get it at the little kiosk in walmart or the lfs.
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
First figure out what you want to do with the tank.
Crushed coral is more suited for a fish only tank
If you wish to do a reef tank then i would empty your tank ditch the coral and get some sand....
RO water is pure water just two H's and an O. What you SHOULD have done was buy some instant ocean and added that to your RO water. You should add one half cup PER gallon of water. THEN put the water in the tank. You can still drain things and start over.
Either way this process will take you 24 hours... You must let the newly salted water distribute and settle some. During that time i would recommenda as others would to go buy a book on salt water aquariums and start reading.
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
Live sand from the fish store, or Fine aragonite works well too. The later is cheaper and both will perform the same over time. Live sand just comes with the "live stuff" already while aragonite will take time to develop its own "live stuff"
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
You want to buy aragonite. If you are lucky enough to have a home depot that sells "Southdown playsand", you are in luck. It is 100% aragonite. If not, you can get aragonite at the lfs...for 3 times the price. If you look on this site, they sell live sand. I've never bought any sand online, but other people have, and have been pleased with it. I think in the end you will be much happier with the sand rather than the crushed coral. Actually, aragonite is crushed coral. It's the size of it that matters. You want it to be very fine.
 
luvnluk

luvnluk

Member
IMO...mix the salt in RO/DI water in another containter (measure it with a hydrometer obtained from your lfs - 1.023, and let it aeriate for a day). I would go with a deep sand bed - this seems to be the best for biological filtration.
 
aaron childs

aaron childs

Member
I have some instant ocean that I got with the tank last night, so what should I do? I want to have a Live Rock and Fish tank. Let me know your thoughts. SO i should not use Well water? What type of sand should I buy?
-Aaron
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
It's just reverse osmosis water. Sometimes you can buy it by the gallon at Walmart. It's labeled "drinking water", not spring water, and if you read the label carefully, it will say "reverse osmosis"
See my last post on sand to answer your sand question.
 
ntvflgirl

ntvflgirl

Member
I don't guess it really matters. Your tank will be cloudy either way. Let me do a search on it, and maybe I can get some good advice from someone who has done it more than once.
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
1 empty your tank to just the glass.....
2 buy some RO water from the fish store. Just ask they should know. If they don't then find aonther store....
3 Buy some aragonite. There is some kind of ratio/formula. I've seen about 1.5 to 2 lbs per gallon. I think you said your's was 35? So go with 50 that should be good for now.....
4 Put said sand into tank
5 mix instant ocean 1/2 cup per gallon of water
6 add mixed water to tank
7 sit back and let the filters run. Your tank needs to settle for a couple of days
8 GET A BOOK AND READ :)
9 Once the sand settles come back and ask whats next. Its fairly easy but you aren't going to add much anything life wise into your tank for a couple of weeks
10 GET A BOOK AND READ :)
BTW NEVER add well water. It does unbelievably bad things to established tanks.... Worry about that later.
 
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