New Tank Help
- Thread starter criketnest
- Start date
zman1
Active Member
Originally Posted by bunnyl99
When I top off my tank 3-5 gallon, I mix it w/salt???
You guys are saying to put RO/DI water (plain) into the tank to top it off? No salt?? What happens when the salt level gets low after awhile?? I keep my SG at 1.022-1.023? SWFO tank
Salt doesn't evaporate -- You only lose salt from the "salt creep"- splashing as 1journeyman said and I would add from Water changes ( Which you are puting salt in the change water) or from a leak or overflow then add saltwater back. It is negligible the salt loss due to creep IMO.
Salt creep - saltwater that splashed/sprayed on a surface, the water evaporated and left the salt behind.
When I top off my tank 3-5 gallon, I mix it w/salt???
Salt doesn't evaporate -- You only lose salt from the "salt creep"- splashing as 1journeyman said and I would add from Water changes ( Which you are puting salt in the change water) or from a leak or overflow then add saltwater back. It is negligible the salt loss due to creep IMO.
Salt creep - saltwater that splashed/sprayed on a surface, the water evaporated and left the salt behind.
wax32
Active Member
Right. Just add fresh RO water to top off for evaporation. The salt doesn't evaporate. If you test your water when the water level is low you will see a higher salinity (if a lot of water is missing). When you add fresh water you bring your salinity back down. Likewise, if you added saltwater when you top off you would see your salinity rise. That is how you would RAISE your salinity if you ever need to. You only use saltwater when you are doing your weekly water change or, if you need to raise your salinity.
houndhome1
Member
Hi,
I bought my wife a salt tank to cheer her up during chemo treatments. We had no idea what we were doing. I bought a 75gl tank. here's what we learned in one year. We don't use any fancy Ro units for water. We use Aquaquel to keep tap water safe for our tank. The damsel u put in will be fine. It was the same fish that we used. We had a water crash and had to remove all the water, they still suvived. The second thing, is invest in a good light source power compact of halide. WE bought enmones, because our lfs said they would be fine, they died and polluted the whole tank because our light source wasn't strong enough.
Buy as much live rock as u can afford but when u do place it in a bucket or separate tank for several days with a power head until it is cured. If u don't things will die and u will lose your tank water.
My last little note. Have fun with it but go SLOW! :jumping: :joy:
:cheer:
I bought my wife a salt tank to cheer her up during chemo treatments. We had no idea what we were doing. I bought a 75gl tank. here's what we learned in one year. We don't use any fancy Ro units for water. We use Aquaquel to keep tap water safe for our tank. The damsel u put in will be fine. It was the same fish that we used. We had a water crash and had to remove all the water, they still suvived. The second thing, is invest in a good light source power compact of halide. WE bought enmones, because our lfs said they would be fine, they died and polluted the whole tank because our light source wasn't strong enough.
Buy as much live rock as u can afford but when u do place it in a bucket or separate tank for several days with a power head until it is cured. If u don't things will die and u will lose your tank water.
My last little note. Have fun with it but go SLOW! :jumping: :joy:
criketnest
Member
ok went to LFS today. He said that they have alsways started their tank cycles with fish said the best way to get cycle going was to have fish "peeing and Pooping" in the tank. Maybe it takes longer this way. I bought both recommended books and a test kit today. Planning on testing tomorrow. Too late today. Woke up with a surprise that all my rocks have a brown coating Told that this is normal and the first growth that you get is brown. Not sure why he didn't mention cycle. Told me it is too early to start testing water for ph etc. said I probably would test anyway. Actually he said that my growth was early then asked me how many hours a day the light was on? I said How Many is it supposed to be on? (Dummy Me had left it on for 24 hours since tank was set up). So Now I am shutting the light off at night. I plan on reading the new book i got.
I am not really sure what kind of tank I want at this time in the long run. My daughter wants a starfish, son wants an eel, eventually I would like a lionfish but these are a long way off. I told my daughter that we needed to research fish before we decide. I want to read more.
Ithink that my heater is a 70 watt but I would have to read the package again. everything that was bought was on recommendation of lfs. My filter is an emperor 400 (4000?) bio wheel type of HOB.
Now just so that I am sure that I am thinking of the right thing the powerhead basically draws in air and moves the water around right? if that is right I have one of those.
Substrate is I think Algonite? Can't remember if that is what it was called. But I have fine sand texture and some that is slightly courser.
I will try to post pic of tank tomorrow if I can.
thanks again so much for all this help (I appreciate that BF got tank but he thought I could just buy some more fish today and add to tank I already have 8 damsels from his first trip to store while I was at work. He has had only FW tanks before)
Chris
I am not really sure what kind of tank I want at this time in the long run. My daughter wants a starfish, son wants an eel, eventually I would like a lionfish but these are a long way off. I told my daughter that we needed to research fish before we decide. I want to read more.
Ithink that my heater is a 70 watt but I would have to read the package again. everything that was bought was on recommendation of lfs. My filter is an emperor 400 (4000?) bio wheel type of HOB.
Now just so that I am sure that I am thinking of the right thing the powerhead basically draws in air and moves the water around right? if that is right I have one of those.
Substrate is I think Algonite? Can't remember if that is what it was called. But I have fine sand texture and some that is slightly courser.
I will try to post pic of tank tomorrow if I can.
thanks again so much for all this help (I appreciate that BF got tank but he thought I could just buy some more fish today and add to tank I already have 8 damsels from his first trip to store while I was at work. He has had only FW tanks before)
Chris
criketnest
Member
Originally Posted by Houndhome1
Buy as much live rock as u can afford but when u do place it in a bucket or separate tank for several days with a power head until it is cured. If u don't things will die and u will lose your tank water.
can I use anyold tank? Like buy a cheap 10 gallon to cure rock and mix salt water for that tank also?
Chris
Buy as much live rock as u can afford but when u do place it in a bucket or separate tank for several days with a power head until it is cured. If u don't things will die and u will lose your tank water.
can I use anyold tank? Like buy a cheap 10 gallon to cure rock and mix salt water for that tank also?
Chris
zman1
Active Member
Originally Posted by criketnest
Woke up with a surprise that all my rocks have a brown coating Told that this is normal and the first growth that you get is brown. Actually he said that my growth was early then asked me how many hours a day the light was on? I said How Many is it supposed to be on? (Dummy Me had left it on for 24 hours since tank was set up). So Now I am shutting the light off at night.
This is true, the LFS guy is correct - You can get this with RO water as well just not as bad.
Originally Posted by criketnest
My filter is an emperor 400 (4000?) bio wheel type of HOB.
Now just so that I am sure that I am thinking of the right thing the powerhead basically draws in air and moves the water around right? if that is right I have one of those.
IMO for a FO tank, this is not a bad HOB filter.. The E filters have carbon and you can put carbon in the second set of filters. It's rated at 400 GPH. how many power heads and what are their flow rates? If you have the venturi hose attached, I would take if off the power heads. Are the power heads attached to a tube for the UGF? You may be a little low on tank turn over and you will need at some point to reconsider the UGF and remove it.
Originally Posted by criketnest
Substrate is I think Algonite? Can't remember if that is what it was called. But I have fine sand texture and some that is slightly courser.
Chris
Aragamax or aragonite? If so, that's good - However, not a good mix for a UGF though.
Sounds link you will have a FOWLR, lighting will not be that important to start with. If your hooked you will be upgrading later anyway and upgrading and upgrading -LOL !
Good luck and have fun..............
Woke up with a surprise that all my rocks have a brown coating Told that this is normal and the first growth that you get is brown. Actually he said that my growth was early then asked me how many hours a day the light was on? I said How Many is it supposed to be on? (Dummy Me had left it on for 24 hours since tank was set up). So Now I am shutting the light off at night.
This is true, the LFS guy is correct - You can get this with RO water as well just not as bad.
Originally Posted by criketnest
My filter is an emperor 400 (4000?) bio wheel type of HOB.
Now just so that I am sure that I am thinking of the right thing the powerhead basically draws in air and moves the water around right? if that is right I have one of those.
IMO for a FO tank, this is not a bad HOB filter.. The E filters have carbon and you can put carbon in the second set of filters. It's rated at 400 GPH. how many power heads and what are their flow rates? If you have the venturi hose attached, I would take if off the power heads. Are the power heads attached to a tube for the UGF? You may be a little low on tank turn over and you will need at some point to reconsider the UGF and remove it.
Originally Posted by criketnest
Substrate is I think Algonite? Can't remember if that is what it was called. But I have fine sand texture and some that is slightly courser.
Chris
Aragamax or aragonite? If so, that's good - However, not a good mix for a UGF though.
Sounds link you will have a FOWLR, lighting will not be that important to start with. If your hooked you will be upgrading later anyway and upgrading and upgrading -LOL !
Good luck and have fun..............
zman1
Active Member
Originally Posted by criketnest
can I use anyold tank? Like buy a cheap 10 gallon to cure rock and mix salt water for that tank also?
Chris
If you are buying your LR right out of the LFS tank I don't think you will need to re-cure it.... IMO. If they have had it their tanks for some time.
If its mail order or in a box from the LFS( w/Walt... on it)... so called cured or uncured, then you would want to cure it outside of your display tank since you have livestock.
a $12 rubbermaid trash can and power head would work for curing (yes it needs to be saltwater just like your display tank). Using a skimmer with it would be the best. Do water changes and test. When the levels come down, put it in the display tank. Again, if it needs to be cured based on the comments above.
can I use anyold tank? Like buy a cheap 10 gallon to cure rock and mix salt water for that tank also?
Chris
If you are buying your LR right out of the LFS tank I don't think you will need to re-cure it.... IMO. If they have had it their tanks for some time.
If its mail order or in a box from the LFS( w/Walt... on it)... so called cured or uncured, then you would want to cure it outside of your display tank since you have livestock.
a $12 rubbermaid trash can and power head would work for curing (yes it needs to be saltwater just like your display tank). Using a skimmer with it would be the best. Do water changes and test. When the levels come down, put it in the display tank. Again, if it needs to be cured based on the comments above.
criketnest
Member
This brown growth that I have. Do I have to do anything to get rid of it? LFS said that I could "shake it off the rock" and then let my filter filter out the particles. is this Ok or should I do something else. BF is Pushing Cleaning Crew already. I keep telling him its too soon. I am going to add some water as SG is 1.026.
BTW I don't have an underground filter. Just the HOB one
Thanks
chris
BTW I don't have an underground filter. Just the HOB one
Thanks
chris
zman1
Active Member
Originally Posted by criketnest
This brown growth that I have. Do I have to do anything to get rid of it? LFS said that I could "shake it off the rock" and then let my filter filter out the particles. is this Ok or should I do something else. BF is Pushing Cleaning Crew already. I keep telling him its too soon. I am going to add some water as SG is 1.026.
You can shake them off or use a toothbrush. Just watch your HOB to be sure the 1st filter doesn't get to imbedded with the algae, you can put some saltwater in a bucket and shake the filter out. Turn the pump off if you pull the filters. Otherwise, it will throw a lot of junk back into the tank. I would wait on the clean up crew since your still in a cycle. It takes awhile for this to go away. When your cycle has finished, add a small clean up crew to help. Things in this hobby don't happen over night, be patient. It's like planting a garden... you just sowed the seeds, it will be a while till you can harvest. It only seems that bad things can happen over night -LOL
Originally Posted by criketnest
BTW I don't have an underground filter. Just the HOB one
Thanks
chris
My Bad - must have been confusing yours with another poster
mitzel
Active Member
Welcome to the forums .
Take your time , tell your BF slow down. In this hobby being in a hurry will only cause problems in the long run. WAIT on buying anymore fish.
I'm not flaming you but using fish to cycle is not very humane. imagine breathing toxic gas all day everyday untill your lung had cleaned the air of toxins. I'm not flaming its just that most people don't realize thats about what it is like. But you are on the right track. Dont worry We all felt over whelmed at some point in our experiance. keep reading and post and asking questions . most folks on here have very good advice.
Live rock live rock and more live rock be sure to cure anything that is questionable. Your LFS sounds a bit like it could be questionable on LR so when in doubt error on the side of caution and cure it.
If you have even the slightest intrest in corals be ready to sped some money for good lighting Mh or PC. Before you know it you will be buying just that one piece of coral and its all over then before you know it you will be a full on reefer. A pair of clowns and an anemonie are very peacefull to watch.
I definatly do not recomend a shark for your tank. the smallest sharks coral cat sharks get to be about 2 feet long. You also want to be very selective about eels too as many will grow way to big for your tank. A snow flake eel would most likely work. And a good Star fish IMO is the chocolet chip star. They are very easy to take care of. I will pull mine of the glass and sit it on a piece of frozen plankton and it will eat it . I do this every few weeks just to make sure its getting enough food.
Good Luck
Take your time , tell your BF slow down. In this hobby being in a hurry will only cause problems in the long run. WAIT on buying anymore fish.
I'm not flaming you but using fish to cycle is not very humane. imagine breathing toxic gas all day everyday untill your lung had cleaned the air of toxins. I'm not flaming its just that most people don't realize thats about what it is like. But you are on the right track. Dont worry We all felt over whelmed at some point in our experiance. keep reading and post and asking questions . most folks on here have very good advice.
Live rock live rock and more live rock be sure to cure anything that is questionable. Your LFS sounds a bit like it could be questionable on LR so when in doubt error on the side of caution and cure it.
If you have even the slightest intrest in corals be ready to sped some money for good lighting Mh or PC. Before you know it you will be buying just that one piece of coral and its all over then before you know it you will be a full on reefer. A pair of clowns and an anemonie are very peacefull to watch.
I definatly do not recomend a shark for your tank. the smallest sharks coral cat sharks get to be about 2 feet long. You also want to be very selective about eels too as many will grow way to big for your tank. A snow flake eel would most likely work. And a good Star fish IMO is the chocolet chip star. They are very easy to take care of. I will pull mine of the glass and sit it on a piece of frozen plankton and it will eat it . I do this every few weeks just to make sure its getting enough food.
Good Luck
wax32
Active Member
Originally Posted by criketnest
This brown growth that I have. Do I have to do anything to get rid of it?
It will just plain go away on its own. Once your cycle is done and you add your clean up crew they will enjoy eating any leftovers. No need to stick your hands in the tank and shake the it off. I know it's a mighty temptation but you want to keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. Just relax and let things run their course.
This brown growth that I have. Do I have to do anything to get rid of it?
It will just plain go away on its own. Once your cycle is done and you add your clean up crew they will enjoy eating any leftovers. No need to stick your hands in the tank and shake the it off. I know it's a mighty temptation but you want to keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible. Just relax and let things run their course.
criketnest
Member
Originally Posted by mitzel
Welcome to the forums .
Take your time , tell your BF slow down. In this hobby being in a hurry will only cause problems in the long run. WAIT on buying anymore fish.
I'm not flaming you but using fish to cycle is not very humane. imagine breathing toxic gas all day everyday untill your lung had cleaned the air of toxins. I'm not flaming its just that most people don't realize thats about what it is like. But you are on the right track. Dont worry We all felt over whelmed at some point in our experiance. keep reading and post and asking questions . most folks on here have very good advice.
I hadn't found this site until after BF bought Fish. LFS told him that is the way to cycle tank. If he had not bought fish already I would have done it with the dead shrimp after reading advice here.
but I want to thank you for all the advice. It is helping alot.
Chris
Welcome to the forums .
Take your time , tell your BF slow down. In this hobby being in a hurry will only cause problems in the long run. WAIT on buying anymore fish.
I'm not flaming you but using fish to cycle is not very humane. imagine breathing toxic gas all day everyday untill your lung had cleaned the air of toxins. I'm not flaming its just that most people don't realize thats about what it is like. But you are on the right track. Dont worry We all felt over whelmed at some point in our experiance. keep reading and post and asking questions . most folks on here have very good advice.
I hadn't found this site until after BF bought Fish. LFS told him that is the way to cycle tank. If he had not bought fish already I would have done it with the dead shrimp after reading advice here.
but I want to thank you for all the advice. It is helping alot.
Chris
1journeyman
Active Member
Originally Posted by criketnest
I hadn't found this site until after BF bought Fish. LFS told him that is the way to cycle tank. If he had not bought fish already I would have done it with the dead shrimp after reading advice here.
but I want to thank you for all the advice. It is helping alot.
Chris
Great to hear. Hope you continue to ask questions and stick around. It's a great community with lot's of information flying around all the time.
You'll see a few people tell you that tap water is fine. They are wrong. Tap water contains all kinds of minerals, metals, and chemicals that no amount of amquel can eliminate. As you add tap water you are slowly adding these impurities to your aquarium with no way to remove them...
Starfish, eels and lionfish might be a difficult combination, hehe. Probably possible (you'll have to ask some of the aggressive fish experts, I don't know much about eels) but know that any predator fish (eels, lions) will eat anything they can swallow.
Cleanup crews, like all inverts, are very sensitive to water changes. The bulk of any cleanup crew will die during a tank cycle. You are doing the right thing by waiting.
I hadn't found this site until after BF bought Fish. LFS told him that is the way to cycle tank. If he had not bought fish already I would have done it with the dead shrimp after reading advice here.
but I want to thank you for all the advice. It is helping alot.
Chris
Great to hear. Hope you continue to ask questions and stick around. It's a great community with lot's of information flying around all the time.
You'll see a few people tell you that tap water is fine. They are wrong. Tap water contains all kinds of minerals, metals, and chemicals that no amount of amquel can eliminate. As you add tap water you are slowly adding these impurities to your aquarium with no way to remove them...
Starfish, eels and lionfish might be a difficult combination, hehe. Probably possible (you'll have to ask some of the aggressive fish experts, I don't know much about eels) but know that any predator fish (eels, lions) will eat anything they can swallow.
Cleanup crews, like all inverts, are very sensitive to water changes. The bulk of any cleanup crew will die during a tank cycle. You are doing the right thing by waiting.