Newbie first salt aquarium.

[fruziek]

HI i these started my 1st saltwater aquarium. For fish only. I bought live sand with all the bacteria inside of it and small bag of crushed coral for bottom. For filter i bought Fluval 206 rated for 45 gallons and mine is 36" inch that is i think 30 something gallons. I also got Aquaclear powerhead, 20 to 50 gallons. I got my salt to 020, My pets store lady told me to get it between 019 and 021 do when i buy fish from her it will acclimate better. Is that correct? I bought 2 damsels to start cycle process. I have a question do you change water during cycle process? If yes is to more often or less then after it is cycled? Or the same.

 

[geridoc]

You should not change water during the cycle unless the ammonium levels rise too far. For a fish-only tank a sg of 1.020 is just fine, so you are on the right track. I am sorry that you are cycling with damsels for a variety of reasons. First, water conditions become harsh during cycling, and as a biologist I hate to see any organism subjected to such hard conditions, even damsels. I say "even damsels" because these are a hearty and evil fish. They will become very territorial to the point that they may even draw blood from your hands when you reach into the tank. If you plan to remove them, good luck - they are expert at avoiding capture, and will hide in the rockwork. Most people eventually resort to removing all the rock in order to capture these devils. Finally, you should plan on changing water weekly although most people, with the best of intentions, don't manage to keep to that schedule. I guess I change 30 gallons in my 220 gallon system no less than monthly, sometimes twice a month, but not weekly. But I use a skimmer and an algae scrubber, so conditions are pretty good. Do you have a source of RODI for mixing water and replenishing after evaporation? This is very important.

 

[flower]

Hello, and welcome to the site.
I have one rule I live by...NEVER, EVER ask anybody at a fish store for advice, or information on how to do anything. Go into the store knowing what you want or need. Your very first purchase should be a how to book on keeping saltwater aquariums. That way you have at least a working knowledge of what your are doing, and will know what questions to ask. This site is a treasure of information, and everyone is always willing to help.
About damsels, not only what GeriDoc said, but they will kill all other fish you put in the tank less timid then themselves. Since you added fish to cycle, you now have to "soft" cycle, and it takes longer. Every time you see any ammonia, do a water change. That will keep your little devils alive during the whole ordeal. One thing you need is your OWN (Lab type) WATER TESTS... API tests are not accurate, and will read super high nitrates when there is no problem...I use SeaChem myself, and Instant Ocean or Salifert are also good brands.
You do need a source of RO (Reverse Osmosis) water. I personally don't suggest you get a RO/DI unit because that water is undrinkable for humans. RO is usable for the fish and for you to have bottled water on hand for cooking, drinking and top off or water changes. You can also get RO water from any refill water station, at almost every grocery store. The fish store will charge you double to quad-triple what it would cost in a store. Walmart sells RO water for 37 cents a gallon by me, the fish store charges $1.50 a gallon. I strongly suggest that you never use tap water to set up your tank, it will cause algae nightmares down the road.
Oh, and crushed coral is not suitable for many SW critters, they like to dig, and the stuff is very hard to keep clean. Sand would be a much better choice.

 

[fruziek]

Another question I need to reposition my aquarium. if I suck out all the water from aquarium and reposition it and put it back. What would happen? Would that make my cycle go back to beginning?

 

[jay0705]

Generally no. If you use the same water. I moved and did the same but I only used about half old water the rest was new. But my sand bed was aged and had a good bacteria level at the time I moved the tank

 

[fruziek]

I was only 3 days to my cycle

 

[jay0705]

Ah ok you could get a mini cycle but not horribly bad

 

[geridoc]

Most of the beneficial bacteria in a tank are on the surfaces: the tank walls, rocks and the top layer of sand. There are very few bacteria actually in the water column. So, if you drain the tank but keep the glass walls of the tank, the rock and substrate moist you will be OK. If your comment that "I was only 3 days to my cycle" means that you were on day three of cycling the tank, then you have few bacteria to worry about except, perhaps, on your live rock, which you should keep moist anyway.

 

[fruziek]

ii kept it wet sand and crashed rocks. Now i putted water back. Its cloudy. Can i put fish in to cloudy water? Last time i did it with a dish so it would be clear. But with water already in the sand and crushed rocks. It was cloudy. So i added water as best i could but it turned a somewhat cloudy. Last time i didn't haw problem wtth cloudy water?

 

[jay0705]

You want to let the water settle b4 adding fish. Test your water and then go from there

 

[fruziek]

can you cycle without fish?

 

[jay0705]

Yes def. That's how I do cycle my tanks. I use live rock to cycle mine. Now not all lr is equal. I use lr w lots of life on it. By putting it in the tank any die off starts the cycle.i wait about 3-4 wks for my tank to cycle. If you don't want to use lr. Use a piece of raw table shrimp. Take it out of the tank after 24 hrs that will start the cycle as well

 

[fruziek]

How much live rock do I need for 30 gallon aquarium for good cycle process.

 

[aquariumgirl16]

I use 1 pound per gallon.

 

[jay0705]

That's about rt. Now u can mix lr and base rock over time the base turns to lr

 

[fruziek]

I tested my water after 13 days of cycling and everything except Nitrite 2 is right on. Nitrite is at 1.0.

 

[fruziek]

Its almost time to put in regular fish my PH is a bit low but I added Marine buffer to rise it to 8.3. What type of fish should be best after damsels. which I woud get ride of. By returning them to pet store for store credit. Its like 3 hours after I put buffer and it rose to 8.4? will it level off?

 

[geridoc]

With damsels already in there, a great white shark might be good:rotfl: as for the pH issue, you should first try to figure out why it is low. In a new system it may be due to nitrogenous waste, or to insufficient surface turnover, which leads to the accumulation of CO2 and acidification. Simply adding buffer is only a temporary fix, and you will continue to have pH problems unless you figure out the problem.

 

[fruziek]

I bought couple of fish over time a pink bar guby, 2 clown fish, Heniocus Fish, and 2 shrimp. I also got a anemone and a feather duster. Had my tank for almost 3 months. I was thinking about putting more live rock in it haw 3 medium size pieces. Any tips for curing it. A video of step by step would be nice from youtube but i personally cant find one where it shows all steps. My first 3 pieces i these dumped them to aquarium, i waited 30 min before and put some water from aquarium every 5 min. Didn't know that you haw to cure them then. Also gonna buy Tea Cup Macro Algae,Green Spicifera Macro Algae, so that it will look nice, and remove nitre. I was thinking about starting to get my water ready for corals, are those the only ones i need to test for pH, alkalinity, Nitrate, phosphate & calcium. Or are there any others. Do i haw to buy buffers to get it to right level. or should i wait for it to get to the right level by it self. Is it possible to post pics in the forum of my aquarium?
TY

 

[silverado61]

I'm new to sw also (I started my first tank about the same time as you) but personally I think your tank is way too young for corals and your water has to be pristine. Let alone, an anemone or a feather duster. And even if your tank cycled in only a month, that means you've added 4 fish in only 2 months. Your populating your tank too fast and will have trouble keeping up with the bio load. Keep a close eye on your parameters. You could be headed for a tank crash. If it crashes, it'll take everything alive with it. As Flower would say, "patience grasshopper". I've had my tank for almost four months and all I've got are Hermit Crabs, Mexican Turbo Snails, a couple of Urchins and some Macro. And I've made plenty of mistakes to get where I'm at now. Listen to everybody here. They're Aquarists and they speak from experience. They're not trying to sell you something you don't need or aren't ready for yet.

Yes, you can add photos. Just upload them from your computer to your profile. Then you can link them to here.