New tank, need some pointers please?

[jjgomillion]

I just set up my 29g, already i am seeing some cool things. I only have 7 bs of live rock now, but i am going to go back and boost my stock up to 20lbs. I have already seen a featherduster, some red tube coral (i am sure it has a name lol) and some green and some red sponges. Of course they are all very small, but it is so interesting. Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings! If anyone has any full tank photos they would like to share please do!!! I want to set up a natural setting and want it to be very diverse and colorful. I also am not sure about the PH, amonia, nitrate and nitrite levels. I purchased a test kit and understand how to work it, but what should I be trying to acheive? What do my levels need to be at? And if they are off how to I get them where they need to be? I know this is a lot to ask. I really need a mentor in this I guess...lol
Any suggestions are VERY welcome!!! Thanks in advance!!!
Jessica

 

[steven the fish]

If you are just now setting the tank up then you will experince a spike in amonia and nitrates, that is normal. Try to acheve 0 amonia, Ph- 8.2, i think the nitreates are soposed to be at 0-20

 

[steven the fish]

Have you been to Holloman AFB?

 

[clown-lover]

PH, amonia, nitrate and nitrite levels
Well first off....welcome....I, myself have joined this forum and I have found it most helpful....
You'll need a book....I have and would reccomend 'The Conscientious Marine Aquarist' by Robert M. Fenner. It's a great book for beginners on how to set up a tank and keep good healthy water levels. He is VERY preachy though when it comes to adding fish and inverts....so I would get another book for that when the time comes.
As for your questions on levels....here is a list of some good stable levels to keep your tank at:
Water Chemistry Parameters To Achieve
pH - 7.8 to 8.4
ammonia - less than 0.01 ppm
ammonium - less than 0.25 ppm
nitrate - less than 25 ppm
nitrite - less than 0.1 ppm
temperature - 72 to 80 degrees (depending on what you intend to keep in your tank)
specific gravity - 1.020 - 1.025 (this too will vary)
Now please correct me on these if I am wrong....I too am still learning and have no intention to act like I know everything....
Good Luck Jessica

 

[jjgomillion]

ok, my amonia has not "spiked yet". Or at least I dont think so. How long will it take for this to happen and what will a spike be. My amonia is 0 now.
No I have not been to that base. What branch is that?
We are stationed at RobinsAFB in GA

 

[jjgomillion]

Clown,
How do I test for ammonium? That is not in my kit. Is that something that my LFS will do?

 

[clown-lover]

Ammonium is just a type of ammonia
Ammonia = unionized ammonia
Ammonium = ionized ammonia
Both can be tested with seperate test kits....I have yet to test it myself....ammonia is what I test for.
If you are just testing your saltwater, the basics to test for is
pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate
When you get into reefs you'll need to test for phosphate, alkalinity, and calcium.

 

[michaeltx]

a few things these values arent all that correct.
ammonia - less than 0.01 ppm
ammonium - less than 0.25 ppm
nitrite - less than 0.1 ppm
all these levels should be at 0 anything above is harmful (now test kits dont go down this low unless its a professional set of tests all our home test kits should read 0
nitrate - less than 25 ppm
these numbers should be as low as you can get them if it is a reef tank. at high levels it is toxic but low levels are ok Fo I think can be around 25 ppm though
temperature - 72 to 80 degrees (depending on what you intend to keep in your tank)
specific gravity - 1.020 - 1.025 (this too will vary)
most will agree that 1.023 to 1.026 is closer to natural seawater and thats most keep there tank at or close anyway
I have never tested for ammonium I have heard of it but never tested.
as far as your ammonia unless you add something to kick start the cycle you may never see it. especially if you are using cured rock.I would get up to 20-30 # of LR and let it sit for a few days and test if your still dont read any you might want to throw ina pinch of flake food to get the cycle going. I would suggest shrimp but since you have life already showing up this will raise your values but not as high as shrimp will .
Mike

 

[clown-lover]

See there Jessica, now that's someone who knows what he's taking about....all those levels came for that book that I have.....just goes to show you that I need a new book.....or I should just stick to this site as my new bible....lol

 

[michaeltx]

O wow that looks a bit preachy HUH wasnt meant to be. I cut and pasted the list just wanted to seperate them LOL
MIke

 

[michaeltx]

thoughs values might be about right (not real sure what it is to the minute scales) but for the home aquriest trying to test that low its impossible so the red is what you want to strive for on our home kits.
and dont use any one source as a know all get all the info that I need place check out different things. take all advice and then decide whats best for you.
as soon as one book comes out there is someone else thats printing another. reef keeping changes as fast as what computers do. there is always someone experimenting improving etc. on all ideas so be open but actualy look at what is getting said and see if its practicule some things just really arent.
Mike

 

[jjgomillion]

wow! Thanks so much for all the info! This MB is really good. As far as a reef tank...you cant have reef without LR but you can have LR without reef. Correct. So the LR I have already has some sorts of thingamabobs on it (for lack of better names lol) but I have not added any coral myself. Should I upgrade my lighting to help the poor fellas grow, and what should my tests read for a reef? Also, how fast does this sort of thing grow? Everything I have read says, "fast-grower" or "will multiply quickly". Another thing, if I am able to purchase "frags", does that mean I am getting a very small peice of alive coral and it will attach to my LR and grow? Once again lots of questions! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[michaeltx]

right LR is a bacteria covered pourous rock that a lot of critters live in. on corals attach to. but you can have LR and no corals but a reef just isnt a reef without. you get a more natural look with it.
what lights do you currently have? and what type of corals do you want this will be effected by the light you need.
things can grow very rapidly it depends on the coral and your system and lighting. colt coral for example.
I have one a nd a friend of mine has one. he frags his every 2 weeks and everytime I go over there i can see a noticable difference in size.
mine on the other hand doeant grow as fast as his I have to frag about every 2 months. so the same coral cn grow at 2 different speeds.
a frag is a baby version of the orignal mother coral. and will grow into the full size version. alot of people rather get frags so that the can watch them grow and they are cheaper or can be traded to fellow hobbiests.
test readings
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate as l0ow as possible
Ph 8.2-8.3
calcium 450-500
phosphates 0
silica 0
copper 0
alk 8-12 ( if I remember right)
Mike

 

[jjgomillion]

ok, well, right now i have your basic aquarium lighting. I had it from when I had my African Cichlids in there. I am not sure what the watts are. It came with my aquarium set up. Will the light that I need to upgrade to be able to fit in my current hood? I am not sure what kind or coral I would like. I have heard that musroom corals are easier to care for. I do not want something just yet that requires special attention. I am too new. I dont want the things to die. I will probably be able to get more specialized stuff later in future I hope. Do you have any pics of your reef that you can share? What do you have in your reef tank? And what do you run on yours? Lighting? Filters? Also what should my temp be for my water? Does it differ for certain types of coral? Also, I have seen pics of reef tanks that go all the way to te top of the water. Is this good to do? Seems to me that if your water evaporated too much the stuff at the top could die if you didnt replenish the water fast enough. Another thing, when the water evaporates, does the salt evaporate too? Do you just add water or do you add the water salt mixture?
PS - I am full of questions! But I'd rather ask than go blindly and lose a lot!
Thanks!

 

[jjgomillion]

Does anyone on these MB's trade or sell frags? Are there any types that I should steer clear of?

 

[jjgomillion]

How long should I wait before I add these critters?

 

[michaeltx]

do you have a canopy or plastic hoods that fit over the tank sheilds?
wow LOL
Do you have any pics of your reef that you can share?
web page
What do you have in your reef tank?
large colt
finger leather
BTA ( not advised though very dificult critter)
zooanthid polyps
green star polyps
yellow polyps
frogspawn
hairy mushrooms
blue mushrooms
red and maroon mushrooms
bubble coral
cabbage leather
button polyps
exenia
pink star polyps
sun polyps
torch coral
flower or rock anemone
gorgian
chilli coral
unknown leather
and an unknown coral
even had a couple of montipora frags that did ok but didnt grow at all.
And what do you run on yours? Lighting? Filters?
I have Metal halde/power compacts on my tank and usea natural fitration method with a sump under my tank and powerheads.
Also what should my temp be for my water?
76-82 is the normal that I see I keep mine at 80 degrees
Does it differ for certain types of coral?
yes there are some corals that need cooler water but most everything that you will find for sale wil do fine with this temperature
Also, I have seen pics of reef tanks that go all the way to te top of the water. Is this good to do? Seems to me that if your water evaporated too much the stuff at the top could die if you didnt replenish the water fast enough. Another thing, when the water evaporates, does the salt evaporate too? Do you just add water or do you add the water salt mixture?
with a sump and overflow weather its predrilled or a hang on style wil keep the tank at a certain level and the sump water level will drop as the water evaporates so there is little chance of the corals getting exposed to air. but most corals will be fine with a little expsure there are some natural reefs that at low tide the upper layer of corals are out of the water for hours at a time .
as the water evaporates the salt will stay in the tank so you top off with fresh water. you will have to topoff daily to keep the salinity where it needs to be.
have you ever used copper in your tank?
Mike

 

[michaeltx]

on the main page there is a forumn called trading and classifieds/
that are many corals to stay clear of depending on your lighting you will have to decide what lights that you want before that question can be answered right.
you will need to wait until you get a good grasp on what you have and where your wanting to go with the tank. and the proper lighting and water chemistry.
Mike

 

[jjgomillion]

do you have a canopy or plastic hoods that fit over the tank sheilds?
I have a basic plastic hood with cutouts in the back for filter and protien skimmer. long Flourescent? light. (kinda like the ones you see in classrooms butthe length of my tank)
wow LOL
told you I needed a mentor. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And what do you run on yours? Lighting? Filters?
I have Metal halde/power compacts on my tank and usea natural fitration method with a sump under my tank and powerheads.
Metal halide/power compacts - are these something I should look into? Do you use a bio wheel or something else?
I tried to make a sump, all I got was a big mess...lol So I returned my in-sump skimmer and bought a Seaclone 100 to hang on the back. Looks sharp and I dont have to worry. Phew. I am sure that if I knew what I was doing I could've been more succesful w/a sump. But I wasn't and I decided to leave that to people like you....lol
have you ever used copper in your tank?
No I havn't should I?
Have you or anyone else ever purchased anything for your tank on ----? just curious. Seem to have a lot of cool items, but i am skeptical about buying live things over the web.
Jessica

 

[michaeltx]

I have a basic plastic hood with cutouts in the back for filter and protien skimmer. long Flourescent? light. (kinda like the ones you see in classrooms butthe length of my tank.
you have a couple choices on lights.
1) you can take a buy a premade hood with the lights that you want or
2) buy a canopy and get retrofit parts for lights that will mount directly under the canopy.
before decideing which you want you have to figure out what corals that you want more than likely to get your feet wet mushrooms polyps ans leathers. in that case you go with PC(power compacts) or VHO(very High out Put) lighting. both are good.
Do you use a bio wheel or something else?
nope just the natural biological filters with the LR and sand.
if you want to keep corals NEVER use copper in the tank it is deadly to them thats why I ask it has a habit of soaking into the silicone and leaches back into the system and really isnt a good tank for anything other than fish.
I havent personally but befoer you buy from them check the user feedbacks on them and see what others have said about there dealings with them. there are some off of that it would be a cold day in H*ll before I ever sent them money LOL
but there are some regulations aboout misleading or theft by deception that can deal with stuff like that. but thats one of my fears about ordering off there aswell.
the sump takes some time to get right but in the long is better to have but it can be added in later if you decide that you want one.
Mike