New to fish...

[daftboy]

Here is what I have...I know I should have probably not filled it with tap water but it was the only thing I could get :/...I did use stress coat and a chlorine killer..right now im waiting for all the sand to settle.How should I place the live rock I have in there, it does not seem to stable. I sat it on the glass and then put the sand in around it... please any help would be great.
1. Tank size. 28 Gallons
2. What type of tank and how long has it been running? 4 hours..Right now it is just a salt water marine tank
3. Water parameters. Water temp 77.8 F 1.023 Salinity
4. Set up. Fiji live rock,17 lbs, Live Sand,Canister:Fluval Multi-Stage 05 series 205,180GPH,T-8 over head single fluorescent 20w Pennplax FL20,150 watt heater
5. Livestock. None
Anything I should do etc.. ? This is my first tank and not really sure about anything

 

[cmaxwell39]

The first thing that you need to do is let your tank go through its natural cycle to build up bacteria populations that deal with fish waste. This is called "cycling" a tank. You can do a search for it on here as there are many ways to accomplish this. I would recommend that you cycle without fish.
I like to put in a raw shrimp or some frozen fish food to get my cycle started. Then it is just going to be a waiting game. You will need to start testing your water parameters every few days.
The first thing that will happen as the shrimp/food breaks down is you will see the ammonia come up. Then the ammonia will go down and the nitrite will come up. Finally the nitrite will come down and the nitrate will come up. Once the ammonia and nitrite are at 0 and there are nitrates present the tank has cycled and you should be ready to add a small hardy fish.
Sounds like you are off to a good start. Welcome to the addicting world of saltwater aquariums and welcome to Saltwaterfish.com.

 

[walt.c]

I'm sure others will disagree but I have been using tap water in my 90 gal. fish / live rock / live sand tank for close to six years and have had excellent success. 3 of my 5 original fish are still with me and doing great. I mainly use API stress coat + when mixing the water.

 

[daftboy]

ok so i brought water to my local shop to get tested today...the readings where strange to guy apparently...i don't know if these are 100% correct but...there was a purple one,lime green, and i think a yellowish one...the guy was really mummbling..which kinda of made me angry..either way I think I will be going to a different pet store tomorrow..but he said I need a water conditioner which I picked up...does this sound right ?
Ammonia .50..this i know was right..
Nitrite 4.0 i think i can't remember
and i guess Ph 3 or so?

 

[eric b 125]

you might want to take it easy with the chemicals. let your tank go through its cycle. you should get some water tests so you dont have to drive all the way to the lfs, to hear some dude mumble incoherently only to buy some chemicals you dont need. just so you know, i use tap water as well, and my tank is very healthy. once i am ready to start with corals, i'll buy a ro/di unit, just to be safe. you can call your local water company and get detailed water reports. a few times a year they will dose the water with conditioners like chlorine and it will affect your tank. welcome to the boards!!!

 

[daftboy]

Thanks...so should I stop using a water conditioner ? or continue to use it like he stated? I am using Seachem Stability

 

[daftboy]

Here is a picture.

 

[daftboy]

So I went to another store today...they said pretty much my water sucks...lol...and i need to probably remove about 20% every week...does this sound right ?

 

[deejeff442]

where did you get the rock?
looks nice seems to have some purple coriline on it which is good.
might want to get 20 lbs more.
i dont use tap water but i think all you need is chlorine remover for it.
it takes around a month to cycle a tank.
put some frozen food in the tank and let the system run a while the rock might have eneough die off on it to cycle it itself.
dont do any water changes for a couple weeks.
i would definitly get yourself a test kit and a refracter for the salinity.
when the ammonia comes up it will come up fast then the nitrites will follow
once the nitrites come maybe a 20% water change then let it go untill they come down.
dont get confused between nitrites and nitrates.
ammonia and nitrites will kill a fish but you can have some and will nitrates .
nitrates dont effect fish a whole lot but they will affect corals.
it will be tough to keep the nitrates down the first 6 months.
good luck

 

[deejeff442]

just took a look at your tank you will need to add at least 1 powerhead to that tank. i suggest a koralia #2 or #3 pump

 

[daftboy]

deejeff....what they told me is that my levels should not be at the levels they are ....and my Ph is at 3...need a buffer ?... Ill go get a test kit today and give you real numbers...then maybe you can help me a lil better...

..they said my nitrites and my nitrates should be close to nothing when you start a tank...then they will spike etc...but instead mine a high up...i dunno

 

[deejeff442]

have them test your tap water .
ph dont go down to 3 even tap water is i think 7.2
if you mean 8.3 thats good.
the salt mix should have the ph at 8.0-8.4
on a new tank the ph might go to 7.8 but should come back up pretty fast.
dont use buffers they only temporarily work and dont solve the issue.
go to petsmart and get a saltwater test kit .thats the one i use.
the directions are easy to follow.
also need to spend the $40 for a refractormeter for salinity
the plastic hydrometers are junk.
dont put any chemicals or any crap the lfs tells you.
the is hobbie takes patience lots of it.
there are alot of people with years of experience on this forum.
we are more than willing to help you.
you will see hardly any of us trust lfs
i like to go to them around here and ask questions and see if they know anything.usually not.sounds like you have a couple bad ones.
definitly add a powerhead though and some more rock.
let us know if you need help and we shall come

also if the trates are up check to see if the ammonia went down.the lr probably kicked off the cycle 4 or 5 days would do it.
ammonia usually turns to nitrites pretty fast.
if they are high then give it till the weekend and check again.
i wouldnt do any water changes just let the tank cycle on its own.

 

[daftboy]

Ok so I went to the LFS and got more rock im sitting at 31 pounds now of Fiji...Also got a lvl 1 blower..400gph..plus my canister filter puts me at 580...that should be enough I hope...any other things I should do ?

 

[deejeff442]

nope just put in the rock and pump and let the tank go .
start using your test kit to get used to reading it.
as long as the nitrates dont get over 40 or 50 i wouldnt do a water change
just watch untill the nitrites start coming down
also on new tanks after a few weeks you will get an algea bloom that it also normal.
maybe look into a phosphate reactor for $50 from two little fishes.
thia will keep the algea more under controll.

 

[daftboy]

What is a that ?phosphate reactor?

 

[daftboy]

So this is the first test I did..i dunno if I did it right but yea

pH looks 7.8-7.9
Ammonia .25
Nitrite looks like 1.0..this one i am not sure...it kinda looks like the 5.0 as well

Nitrate looks like 10

 

[deejeff442]

ph is a little low but acceptable it will come up.
want 8.2-8.4 but dont worry about it.
the other readings look like it is starting the cycle .
i would just let it go to the weekend and retest.
a phosphate reactor is a fancy name for a plastic tube that holds phosphate media.look online for two little fishes phosphate reactor.
it will help get rid of phosphate which algea thrives on.
they are pretty cheap.

 

[daftboy]

New setup

 

[deejeff442]

looking good,
is that a koralia pump on the right?
just let it cycle for a few more days and check the water .
it takes at least a few weeks to do a full cycle.
what fish do you want to get.
you should come up with a wish list so we can help with the introduction order .
also might want to pick up a 10-20 gallon tank for a qt if the display tank gets ich.i just got a case of it in my 350 gallon system and had to put 300 lbs of lr in my 90 gallon and i am treating my fish in the 350 gallon .what a pain ,i think i got the ich from some corals i added.which is rare for corals to carry ich but it happens.
ich is the biggist pain in this hobby.
i havnt had ich in a long,long time.

 

[daftboy]

Yes that is a koralia pump # 1 I believe...needed more flow in the tank..its at 580 GPH.....Fish im not too sure yet..Ive been going through the different ones in the fish section...I do like some of the shrimp as well ..like the fire shrimp.