Just Started Salt Water Experience Today!

[ifirefight]

Originally Posted by texanboy81
Mixed slat and water and the water chemicals to take chemicals out of tap water.

I guess nobody noticed THAT part.

You should use RO/DI water.

 

[bs21]

or distilled water or buy natural ocean water(comes in box at fishstore). reason for this is to reduce impurities in the water such as metals, chlorine, phosphates, etc.... which aren't necissarily taken out with a tap water conditioner. Some just cause alot of algea and others can cause bigger problems such as copper will kill alot of beneficial life in the tank. Distilled and RO water can be bought at grocery store for usually less than $.75 a gallon which can be cheaper than buying your own RO unit depending on how much water you go through. Also some will disagree saying by using "pure water" as opposed to tap is bad because you also remove good things from water but i disagree because with "pure water" you add those good things back with the salt mix you use.

 

[nixis]

I just wanted to post on starting of your tank. I just started one about 2 months ago and the cloudiness is normal it will go away in a day or so. I set my heater and let it get going. I believe it is suppose to be 76-79 at first I had mine at 87 due to local fish store told me that, but with the help of people on this board I got it down...Thanks everyone! I personally would dd lots of live rock that helped with the cycling of my tank, as for fish I personally waited a month before I added any but its your choice. I have never heard of the shrimp thing but I am very new to this hobby. Other than that it just takes patience, and I have very little of that so you will be fine. Its a wonderful hobby, I have enjoyed it so much, but beware its addictive...good luck, can't wait to see pics of your tank.

 

[jimmy 4]

Originally Posted by puffer32
Why make a fish suffer from burning gills when an uncooked already dead shrimp will do the trick!

Burning the gills of a fish makes my day, oh yeah

 

[bs21]

Originally Posted by Jimmy 4
Burning the gills of a fish makes my day, oh yeah
kidding or not that kind of post doesn't help the person who has questions and is in need of help it just antagonizes an argument

 

[mombostic]

Originally Posted by Doahh
Animal abuse is for dogs and cats...
I said don't compare it to a person because people keep saying that if someone puts a little kitten down to sleep rather than performing a $900 surgery (they say "would you do that to your kid?") it is also a bad thing to do

If anyone is going to keep ANY animal for any purpose it is their responsibility to take care of that animal to the best of their abilities. Yes, this even applies to an animal that will eventually be processed for food use. It especially applies to an animal that is a pet. If we are going to participate in removing animals from their natural habitat and enclosing them in a glass box, then the least we can do is do our best to make sure they have a clean, appropriate place to habitate! There are lots of animals kept as pets besides dogs and cats. The comparison made about the surgery vs. euthanization has nothing to do with using a fish to cycle a tank! It's more about the attitude--well, it's just a fish so I don't have to take any RESPONSIBILITY or anything.
Excuse me while I put away my soap box.
To the original poster, it's a whole lot cheaper to just buy the raw shrimp, and when it's done, you're done--you don't have to try and catch a fish and take it back to the LFS. Seems a lot simpler to me, anyway.

 

[jimmy 4]

Ok I was wrong about the adding the fish thing. My LFS told me to do it when I started the whole saltwater tank thing. Now thanks to this thread i know better. Ill use dead shrimp from now on. Please lets drop the whole animal rights debate on this thread.

 

[mombostic]

My apologies for doing what I gripe about other people doing--getting too far off topic! Consider it dropped.

 

[bigskyreef]

TexanBoy - check the top thread in this forum called " a list of extremely helpful threads for all hobbyists." There is some really good information there that you can browse. Also a good book will help you learn lots. Don't worry about the cloudiness, it's normal when starting and will take some time to settle out. The whole shrimp vs. fish food vs. live fish vs. live rock boils down to this: your tank needs to start it's nitrogen cycle, which is the breakdown of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. By adding any of those things you give a source of ammonia which then the bacteria will have "food" and begin to colonize your tank and to break down wastes. It is essential to build up this bacteria population in your tank so that when you start adding fish and critters, there will be bacteria ready to break down their wastes. Best of luck, go slow and research before you add things, you'll save money and frustration.

 

[bigskyreef]

Also try looking in the archives and FAQ section, there you will find lots of good info, too.

 

[spookey]

just take your time