NEW to Salt - Help, setting up a 90 gal.

mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
I am taking my 90 gal. tank from african cichlids to salt (fish only). I will explain what I have done so far and any comments or help would be great, thanks. First I sold all my fish, and did a 75% gravel vac, water change. I am keeping my sand and crush coral. I have a 405 fluval canister filter, witch I have all new media for. I have over 90lbs of TX holy rock that I have cleaned very well so I could reuse it. After I cleaned the TX holy rock and put new media in my filter I did another 50% what change (just because). I then got salt and did another 50% water change adding salt to the new water. I was able to get my salt to 1.024. I let the tank run for 4 days and had my water tested. Everything looked good but my nitrates where very very high. Tonight I did another 50% water change (gravel vac.). My question now is should I have gotten rid of the sand and crushed coral? What could make my nitrates high? Have I did anything wrong to this point? Thanks for all your help.
 
rickross23

rickross23

Active Member
SW tanks go through a cycle. This is why your nitrates are high. The cycle can last from 2 weeks to 2 months. Be patient and watch your parameters. DO NOT add fish during the cycle.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by mychaelfelts http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3477447
I am taking my 90 gal. tank from african cichlids to salt (fish only). I will explain what I have done so far and any comments or help would be great, thanks. First I sold all my fish, and did a 75% gravel vac, water change. I am keeping my sand and crush coral. I have a 405 fluval canister filter, witch I have all new media for. I have over 90lbs of TX holy rock that I have cleaned very well so I could reuse it. After I cleaned the TX holy rock and put new media in my filter I did another 50% what change (just because). I then got salt and did another 50% water change adding salt to the new water. I was able to get my salt to 1.024. I let the tank run for 4 days and had my water tested. Everything looked good but my nitrates where very very high. Tonight I did another 50% water change (gravel vac.). My question now is should I have gotten rid of the sand and crushed coral? What could make my nitrates high? Have I did anything wrong to this point? Thanks for all your help.
You should have taken everything out of the tank, rinsed it all with a garden hose completely and then stuck it in an RO/DI bath for about two weeks to let phosphates leach out of it... then do constant water changes with RO/DI water.
The reason your nitrates are so high upon startup is because you are probably using dechlorinated tap water as well as old and nasty rocks which have already sucked up a lot of nitrate and phosphates.
What salt mix brand are you using? You know not to use like pool salt or rock salt... it has to be a marine salt mix from an actual pet store...
When you do water changes, you take saltwater out and you put aged (24 hour old) saltwater back in at the same salinity and temp.
When you top off your aquarium, only use freshwater... and it has to be a specific type... RO/DI water which stands for Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water. RO/DI water is stripped of all nitrates, phosphates, minerals and chemicals - so it does not cause problems with water quality.
Most people these days have ditched crushed coral completely and have opted for sand. Crushed coral is fine to use, you just have to gravel vac' it once a month or so during a water change. A lot of saltwater creatures can not live in crushed coral because it is too course of a substrate - so it may be beneficial to switch to an actual sand substrate.
Please check out my thread : Guides for new hobbyists you will learn a lot of useful information.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/guides-for-new-hobbyists
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3477470
What is TX holy rock?
Texas holy rock - it's commonly used in cichlid tanks because of all of the holes that cichlids can swim through. It's quite interesting - and can be used as base rock in saltwater aquariums. However, it's just not quite as porous as the typical base rock we use.
OP - Once you have your nitrate/phosphate and water situation under control you need to invest in some quality live rock.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3477471
You should have taken everything out of the tank, rinsed it all with a garden hose completely and then stuck it in an RO/DI bath for about two weeks to let phosphates leach out of it... then do constant water changes with RO/DI water.
The reason your nitrates are so high upon startup is because you are probably using dechlorinated tap water as well as old and nasty rocks which have already sucked up a lot of nitrate and phosphates.
What salt mix brand are you using? You know not to use like pool salt or rock salt... it has to be a marine salt mix from an actual pet store...
When you do water changes, you take saltwater out and you put aged (24 hour old) saltwater back in at the same salinity and temp.
When you top off your aquarium, only use freshwater... and it has to be a specific type... RO/DI water which stands for Reverse Osmosis DeIonized water. RO/DI water is stripped of all nitrates, phosphates, minerals and chemicals - so it does not cause problems with water quality.
Most people these days have ditched crushed coral completely and have opted for sand. Crushed coral is fine to use, you just have to gravel vac' it once a month or so during a water change. A lot of saltwater creatures can not live in crushed coral because it is too course of a substrate - so it may be beneficial to switch to an actual sand substrate.
Please check out my thread : Guides for new hobbyists you will learn a lot of useful information.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/guides-for-new-hobbyists
SnakeBlitz33 - Thanks for the information. So at this point should I go buy RO water to do another water change? If so how much of a change should I do? If not how long will my tank need to sit as is to make all levels good for fish? The salt I am using is Seachem Reef Salt. I did not plan on getting RO water this early, but if I need to I will. The fish I plan on getting first are Green Cromis, is that a good starter? The second fish I planned on getting are banggai cardinal fish.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Since you are just doing a fish only tank, just keep topping off with ro water for now and keep doing about a 30% water change per month mixing ro with your salt. Seachem reef is a great salt, but instant ocean is cheaper and perfect for fish only systems.
Depending on what lighting you are using, you may get a significant algae bloom. Go ahead and add some macroalgae to your tank anyways.
Add a little live rock and a small piece of uncooked shrimp and buy yourself a basic saltwater test kit right now. It will save you hundreds of dollars in fish.
You got a good fish list going. Chromis are perfect starter fish. So is a pair of clownfish.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3477582
Since you are just doing a fish only tank, just keep topping off with ro water for now and keep doing about a 30% water change per month mixing ro with your salt. Seachem reef is a great salt, but instant ocean is cheaper and perfect for fish only systems.
Depending on what lighting you are using, you may get a significant algae bloom. Go ahead and add some macroalgae to your tank anyways.
Add a little live rock and a small piece of uncooked shrimp and buy yourself a basic saltwater test kit right now. It will save you hundreds of dollars in fish.
You got a good fish list going. Chromis are perfect starter fish. So is a pair of clownfish.
SnakeBlitz33- Thanks again for the information. Macroalgae? Can I buy that at my local fish store? A "little" Live Rock, 5, 10, 20lb? and a piece of shrimp? What will the shrimp do?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
You should be able to purchase macroalgae - some type of caulerpa or chaetomorpha algae or you could maybe get it free or almost free from a hobbyist near you.
By a little live rock i mean maybe 10 to 20 pounds. It will give you enough diversity of life forms and provide the bacteria you need for the nitrogen cycle to start.
When you add your live rock to the tank, adding a small piece of shrimp to your tank will be an ammonia source for the bacteria to start using it as a fuel for growth. Once a significant source of bacteria is built up, your ammonia and nitrites drop to zero. This is the point at which your cycle is "complete" and you can add a small fish or two. That is why it is essential to buy test kits right off the bat - to test to see if your water still contains ammonia or nitrites still. If it does, dont add a fish yet and wait for the cycle to end.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3477586
You should be able to purchase macroalgae - some type of caulerpa or chaetomorpha algae or you could maybe get it free or almost free from a hobbyist near you.
By a little live rock i mean maybe 10 to 20 pounds. It will give you enough diversity of life forms and provide the bacteria you need for the nitrogen cycle to start.
When you add your live rock to the tank, adding a small piece of shrimp to your tank will be an ammonia source for the bacteria to start using it as a fuel for growth. Once a significant source of bacteria is built up, your ammonia and nitrites drop to zero. This is the point at which your cycle is "complete" and you can add a small fish or two. That is why it is essential to buy test kits right off the bat - to test to see if your water still contains ammonia or nitrites still. If it does, dont add a fish yet and wait for the cycle to end.
Long week of work, I am ready for the weekend to use your help! I will see what I can do about the macroalgae and I am going to buy live rock and shrimp so I can get this cycle started. Thanks SnakeBlitz33.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3478417
Yeah, it is stupid heavy. I personally don't like it either in saltwater tanks, but it is the OP's choice. I mainly used it to aquascape cichlid tanks.
I did not want to wast over $300 in rock, that is the only reason I am using it. I wish I could get out of it what I have in it, just one of those things. Wish I had $300 for new rock. Snake I did get 18lb of live rock I have done one ghost feeding, and I have ordered 3 med. green chromis. Thanks for all your help.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Naw, i understand completely! I have a 50lb chunk of it myself that i will be using in my next tank. :) i also try to save money whenever possible.
Heck, i know where i have over 500 pounds of base rock buried. When it comes to rock, im like a squirrel. Lol!!!
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3478462
Naw, i understand completely! I have a 50lb chunk of it myself that i will be using in my next tank. :) i also try to save money whenever possible.
Heck, i know where i have over 500 pounds of base rock buried. When it comes to rock, im like a squirrel. Lol!!!
Now if you can remember were you buried your money your troubles would be over. lol
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Just a suggestion....rock costs so much and if you have enough base rock why not just order the tiny critters and let them set up house in the base rock. It's much cheaper to purchase some copepods, amphipod, bristle worms and if you get some macro all those little guys are in there. Even the tiny serpent stars can be purchased.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
All is well in my tank just added 5 SM Green Chromis. I also got a water test kit to check water myself. I am looking to add banggai cardinals in a month or so and work on adding fish every couple months. Thanks for everyones help.
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by mychaelfelts http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3479180
All is well in my tank just added 5 SM Green Chromis. I also got a water test kit to check water myself. I am looking to add banggai cardinals in a month or so and work on adding fish every couple months. Thanks for everyones help.
Are you QT these fish, because if you are not you are playing Russian roulette. Most LFS tanks are tied together with other tanks so the fish in the tank you are buying from may look healthy, there could be one in a few tanks over that is not. It only takes one ick parasite that will eventually infect your entire tank.
 
mychaelfelts

mychaelfelts

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Limpid http:///t/391893/new-to-salt-help-setting-up-a-90-gal#post_3479442
Are you QT these fish, because if you are not you are playing Russian roulette. Most LFS tanks are tied together with other tanks so the fish in the tank you are buying from may look healthy, there could be one in a few tanks over that is not. It only takes one ick parasite that will eventually infect your entire tank.
QT??? New to this what is QT? I am buying from a store that I have worked for and have very clean tanks. LFS? Thanks for the help.
 
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