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[mds1977]

well i just set up my first salt water tank it is small only 20 gallons but i thought i would start small and the eventually buy bigger when i have more space. but so far everything seems to be running fine. i have always had freshwater. i have live sand, coral and synthetic sand i bought awhile back for my fresh water fish since it was compatible for both fresh and salt. so this weekend i got 6lbs of live rock not very much but for the size i have i think its just right. the only thing is i have a few things on the rock that i havent been able to identify. one is a purple lookg mushroom thing another is a long green plant it reminds me of donkey tail (house plant) if you know what kind of plant that is, and a little yellowish orange thing that looks like a flower almost like a carnation. and i seem to have a few little worms. i am sorry i dont have a camera or i would post pics here for you guys to see. does anyone know of a good site where i can find all of these things to identify them. anyway all i want in my tank are a few fish and live plants etc. not much so any suggestions are helpful. i dont have a protein skimmer yet that is on my list of things to get. i have a filter and a power head. i want to know also what temp my tank should be at i think i read somewhere it should be at 75-82? does that sound right? so i will take any suggestions on what to add to my tank. or what you think would be the next step. i still need a nice lighting kit as well since mine doesnt have a place for dual light bulbs.

 

[hot883]

Welcome to the forums. Everything you need to know is here. You can do searches to find out most info. or do a post like you did here. If you search, more than likely someone else has already asked the same questions.
Now the purple stuff on the live rock is probably coraline agea, (good), the little flower sounds like a zoanthid (good)anf the plant sounds like claurepa also good. You got very nice hitch hikers thats for sure on those rocks. Temp should be around 78-80 and not fluctuate more than 1-2 degrees during the course of the day. Start your cycle with a raw shrimp to begin ammonia. Please do not use fish to cycle the tank. very cruel and harmful to the tank, plus damsels are usually used and they will become mean and extremely hard to catch. Hope this helps and ask if you have more ???'s Barry

 

[rainfishy]

Hi, welcome to the board.
I would recommend getting atleast 20lb of live rock, it's really good for filtration. Not really sure what sand your talking about, is it live?
There is a thread on here called hitchiker ID, you could look on there for the things that are on your rock.
Again welcome and good luck with your tank.

 

[carshark]

well.. first of all welcome. second the skimmer will good for you but it wont be needed until your cycle finishes. I do suggest getting about 15-20 more lbs of LR. it will be very very beneficial for natural filtration plus looks good too. as far as the "carnation" looking things, and mushroom things you mentioned. couldnt tell ya without a pic what they are, but it is cool, and you have your first corals without even knowing it. ill attach a picture of a good aquacultured rock that has zoos, and shrooms, all very cool, but will die quickly if they do not have excellent water parameters and some decent lighting. more than just your typical NO lighting. they will probably not make it, but it sounds like you have a great source for good LR. the temp can be in there just fine. if you are going for fish only, which is recommended as a newbie, id keep the temp around 77-80. there is a lot left out in my post, Im hoping others will chime in too...

 

[mds1977]

ok the sand i got is called CaribSea Aquarium Sand i got it at petsmart but i do have live sand as well i had to go to ***** for that. but i have recently found some little hole in the wall fish stores which have been really cool and very helpful.

 

[hot883]

Thats good sand. So you have water in the setup already? What is the specific gravity? Should be right around 1.024 or so. I suggest using a raw shrimp and throwing it into the tank to get the nitrogen.ammonia cycle going. Do you have water testing equip.? Until you get, can you take samples to your local fish store (LFS)? The cycle will take 4-6 weeks to complete.

 

[carshark]

Originally Posted by mds1977
ok the sand i got is called CaribSea Aquarium Sand i got it at petsmart but i do have live sand as well i had to go to ***** for that. but i have recently found some little hole in the wall fish stores which have been really cool and very helpful.
I would strongly recommend not going to "chain pet stores" mom and pop places are great. but make sure you compare your information that they tell you. there is a lot of opinions out there, triple check everything. books, magazines, and this message board are excellent sources for you. "Conscientious Marine Aquariast" by Bob Fenner is an excellent book, almost a bible for hobbyists, and can help you get good ideas for what you want to do.

 

[carshark]

Originally Posted by hot883
Thats good sand. So you have water in the setup already? What is the specific gravity? Should be right around 1.024 or so. I suggest using a raw shrimp and throwing it into the tank to get the nitrogen.ammonia cycle going. Do you have water testing equip.? Until you get, can you take samples to your local fish store (LFS)? The cycle will take 4-6 weeks to complete.
another good source for cycling is uncured LR. so when or if you decide to get more LR which is strongly suggested, ask them for uncured LR. that way the die off from that rock should kickstart a good cycle for you, and will cure while you are cycling..

 

[ktsdad]

First of all -- Welcome to the best hobby one can have!
One word of caution for a newbie....
Small tanks are a little harder to keep than larger ones.
I understand that when you start out you really don't want to spend lots of money to go big - so most people start small.
But water parameters can go sour in a small tank very quickly and have very severe results which tends to turn most people off of the hobby. Don't get discouraged.
So the only advice I will give is take your time and learn as much as you can about things before you commit and you should do well!

Good luck!

 

[mds1977]

that is my plan to take my time lol that way i can learn as much as i can so i can get a bigger tank but believe me i am already starting to hear a 55 gallon calling my name

. i did buy some books and have been looking around the net for a few months now. any good books out there anyone can suggest.