My 1st Saltwater Tank 75 Gallons!!

msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Well Hi everyone, I am just totally excited about my first salt water tank and the learning experience. It's been a pretty fun journey so far. I think I stare at the tank more then my new TV..LOL ..
I started my tank on April 3rd, and have been hooked since. Let me just say the worse part of setting a tank up was making the water. I will NEVER do that again! I am still having issues with the salinity. After a week the tank was slow to cycle so I added that Turbo start stuff..Very happy with the outcome. I started with 23 pounds of live rock which one of them had button polys on it! then the hunt began. I added an additional 60 pounds of live rock, and 6 hermits, 3 turbo snails, 2 chromis (which died) and 3 peppermint shrimp. Also Just added a nice size Tube Sponge. I am going to try to put fish in again this weekend. My water salinity is a lil low but i've been topping it off with Salt Water from the store, and My PH was low so I added Calicum Blocks. I need to get rid of a small amount of Phosphates. Any advised is always appreciated as I am a novice. Well Posted some pics to keep anyone who is interested in the loop...



 
trigger11

trigger11

Member
Looks like you are off to a good start.

There were a couple of points in your post which caught my attention.
1. You mentioned you were adding calcium blocks to raise the PH. Calcium should only be added to increase calcium levels. And even then, you need to test what the calcium level is so you would know what amount to add.
What is your PH at? If you are anywhere between 7.9 and 8.5 then it is ok. Actually, I would be more interested in knowing how your alkalinity is. In my experience keeping the alkalinity level at a stable value is the best thing to keep the PH at the right levels. If the alkalinity is too low that could be the reason why your first two fish didnt make it.
2. You had mentioned you were going to be trying to add some new fish this weekend. IMO I would wait on adding the fish until all of the water parameters are in check. Especially since you have only been set up for a couple of weeks. Take things slow and you will see great results.
Out of curiosity are you using a refactometer to test the salinity? If not then I highly recommend getting one. They are so accurate I only test mine about once a month now.
Welcome to the boards and best of luck when you are ready to add the new fish.
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
I have no clue what the plant is but it grows like a weed. I talked to the fish store guy that I got the rock with it, said it wont harm anything.
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Originally Posted by azul1994
http:///forum/post/2571366
Looks good. What type of lighting do you have?
The lighting is the Coralife Lunar Aqualight Deluxe Series-48" (4X65W) with 4- 3/4W Blue-Moon-Glow LED Lamps However I think they are starting to bother the temperture of the tank. I have glass under the canopy with the lights sitting on top of them. I have a cat and he is VERY interested in the tank and this is the only way to keep him out of it. Thinking about switching to T5 lights, when I bought the tank originally thats what came with the setup.
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Originally Posted by trigger11
http:///forum/post/2571302
Looks like you are off to a good start.

There were a couple of points in your post which caught my attention.
1. You mentioned you were adding calcium blocks to raise the PH. Calcium should only be added to increase calcium levels. And even then, you need to test what the calcium level is so you would know what amount to add.
What is your PH at? If you are anywhere between 7.9 and 8.5 then it is ok. Actually, I would be more interested in knowing how your alkalinity is. In my experience keeping the alkalinity level at a stable value is the best thing to keep the PH at the right levels. If the alkalinity is too low that could be the reason why your first two fish didnt make it.
2. You had mentioned you were going to be trying to add some new fish this weekend. IMO I would wait on adding the fish until all of the water parameters are in check. Especially since you have only been set up for a couple of weeks. Take things slow and you will see great results.
Out of curiosity are you using a refactometer to test the salinity? If not then I highly recommend getting one. They are so accurate I only test mine about once a month now.
Welcome to the boards and best of luck when you are ready to add the new fish.
I was advised by the "advanced Fish Guy" to add the blocks to bring up the PH by the adding the Calicum.
I dont remember what my PH was but I did buy a testing kit last night to do the test myself instead of bring samples to the fish store. I am going to test all my levels tonight

You know patience is the hardest thing

Nope i have a hydrometer right now - looking to get a refactometer instead as I found out the hydro one is VERY inaccurate. My hydrometer reads 1.23 but when I bring the sample to the store it reads 1.19. So I'm still working on it!! But hopefully the test tonight should tell me my AK.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP!!
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Today I added some new Banggai Cardinals. They are super cool. Everything seems to be running smoothly. My 3 Chromis eat like crazy if I would let them, and all the critters seem happy too.

I will post some new pics later tonight, Gotta resize them 1st :)
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Well I finally had time the other night to resize the photos. In the meantime I added a Toadstool Leather Coral. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures!




 
fishfreak1242

fishfreak1242

Active Member
Wait, you have power compacts? I would highly recommend that you get either t-5s or metal halides if you plan on getting any harder corals. You should be fine for right now with the lights you have and the corals that you have.
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Originally Posted by fishfreak1242
http:///forum/post/2618182
Wait, you have power compacts? I would highly recommend that you get either t-5s or metal halides if you plan on getting any harder corals. You should be fine for right now with the lights you have and the corals that you have.
Yea I know I need T5s if I want harder corals but Soft ones should be fine for right now. Eventually I might upgrade but for right now i'm done working on the tank. I actually lost a bengaii cardinal for some odd reason. Everyone seems happy and the water tested fine, who knows. Just weird as I have had him a month. I'm starting to get pink spot in the sand. I don't know if this is coraline or some fungus but like I said the water tested fine. I was actually surprised but I think my peppermint shrimp had babies. It looked like the tank was littered with white lint or something - when I went up to the tank it was hundreds of tiny shrimp. I don't know if any survived as the fish were in heaven eating them left and right. I guess it's just back to the waiting game to see what will happen.
 
tomato clown

tomato clown

Member
Very Nice MsJenn!! I just picked up a 75gal tonight and this is very nice to give me some ideas for the planning stage.
What LFS do you hit? I may be able to point you in the direction of some "Good" LFS's in our area. I've been to almost every one of them in the past as well within the last 3 weeks. We have a lot that stay open for a few months then just close down, so I'll tell ya where the long timers are.
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Originally Posted by Coral Keeper
http:///forum/post/2622525
What is that tube like coral? Is it a sponge?
Sorry for the delay in replying - I never get notifications when someone post a comment on my thread. Yes the tube coral is a sponge. I don't think it is going to make it. I have been feeding the tank but it's starting to look like part of the sponge is turning pale. who knows!
 
msjenn1979

msjenn1979

Member
Originally Posted by TriGa22
http:///forum/post/2624769
Wow huge leather. Nice tank
Thanks a bunch!! It's been very happy. I kept moving it around the tank but the thing would shrink and fall, finally it decided it was happy right there. All the fish love playing on it.
 
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