Salt water tank problem
- Thread starter sggavin
- Start date
sggavin
Member
i've got my Eheim canister working right now, when using that stupid plastic box hydromete it didn't give me a reading, so i used my glass one from home brewing kit, and that one gave me a correct reading, all is going good right now, just have to wait for the tank to loose the cloudieness 
bdhough
Active Member
Ok sounds good. Now once the smoke clears... You can go buy some live rock. You could also just by the coral branch decorations.
I recommend the live rock just because i can almost garauntee you'll want bigger and better once you get into this and live rock is what youll want. Live rock sustains micro life in the tank and grows beneficial algae for your fish. Thing is live rock is more expensive unless you shop around some.
Im not sure about the anemones but everything you listed doesn't require lights. So you can get a generic hood with a regular light fixture if you wanted. There again if you ever want to do corals you need to invest in good lighting. At least 3 watts a gallon.
Finally, and don't quote me, but i don't think you need a protein skimmer. Your regular filtration should do the trick. There ONCE again if you ever get corals you'll need a protein skimmer. It would also be a good idea to get a power head for your tank regardless of what you do just so that you have good water flow through the tank
Decide on some of this and get back to me
I recommend the live rock just because i can almost garauntee you'll want bigger and better once you get into this and live rock is what youll want. Live rock sustains micro life in the tank and grows beneficial algae for your fish. Thing is live rock is more expensive unless you shop around some.
Im not sure about the anemones but everything you listed doesn't require lights. So you can get a generic hood with a regular light fixture if you wanted. There again if you ever want to do corals you need to invest in good lighting. At least 3 watts a gallon.
Finally, and don't quote me, but i don't think you need a protein skimmer. Your regular filtration should do the trick. There ONCE again if you ever get corals you'll need a protein skimmer. It would also be a good idea to get a power head for your tank regardless of what you do just so that you have good water flow through the tank
Decide on some of this and get back to me
bdhough
Active Member
Once the water settles a bit you can get live rock whenever you want. Just make sure of several things
First you can get about 1.5 lbs per gallon. I would start off with about 20lbs. If you buy the rock online then you can't test it or see what you get but you might get it cheaper. If you go to a store they may cut you a deal AND you can test it. Look around. The test is to smell the rock ie dead things. If it smells bad then i wouldn't get the rock. You need to look for color on your rock. Any color is good except white. The more purple the better. Purple is coraline algae and good for your corals. Since your in your initial cycle you COULD get smelly rock but then i wouldn't get any fish as well to cycle.
You have 2 choices.
1 - Get 30 lbs of any type live rock you want as i described above (smelly or non) and a couple of hermit crabs 10 should do.
or
2 - 20lbs of non smelly, a couple of damsel fish preferably 4 green chromises, and 10 or so hermit crabs
I would get the second option buts thats just me. Smelly rock can mess up your water parameters and kill your fish while its cycling. With the non smelly your fish have a much better chance and things will still cycle. Even still option 2 your fish may die. Thats the risk you take when cycleing your tank. Thats why you should ONLY GET DAMSELS. They are hardy and will survive the cycle.
Ok two more things. One i say green chromises because they are fairly peaceful for damsels. Any other damsel will more than likely kill whatever fish you add once your cycle is over and some are a real pain to get out of your tank. Ask the fish store they'll tell you. Green chromises are keepable with other fish. Two, whatever option you get you have to let it sit for 4 weeks. Thats about how long it takes to cycle a tank.
I think thats it. I feel like im missing something since im writing 8 pages here. Ask away if you have questions.
First you can get about 1.5 lbs per gallon. I would start off with about 20lbs. If you buy the rock online then you can't test it or see what you get but you might get it cheaper. If you go to a store they may cut you a deal AND you can test it. Look around. The test is to smell the rock ie dead things. If it smells bad then i wouldn't get the rock. You need to look for color on your rock. Any color is good except white. The more purple the better. Purple is coraline algae and good for your corals. Since your in your initial cycle you COULD get smelly rock but then i wouldn't get any fish as well to cycle.
You have 2 choices.
1 - Get 30 lbs of any type live rock you want as i described above (smelly or non) and a couple of hermit crabs 10 should do.
or
2 - 20lbs of non smelly, a couple of damsel fish preferably 4 green chromises, and 10 or so hermit crabs
I would get the second option buts thats just me. Smelly rock can mess up your water parameters and kill your fish while its cycling. With the non smelly your fish have a much better chance and things will still cycle. Even still option 2 your fish may die. Thats the risk you take when cycleing your tank. Thats why you should ONLY GET DAMSELS. They are hardy and will survive the cycle.
Ok two more things. One i say green chromises because they are fairly peaceful for damsels. Any other damsel will more than likely kill whatever fish you add once your cycle is over and some are a real pain to get out of your tank. Ask the fish store they'll tell you. Green chromises are keepable with other fish. Two, whatever option you get you have to let it sit for 4 weeks. Thats about how long it takes to cycle a tank.
I think thats it. I feel like im missing something since im writing 8 pages here. Ask away if you have questions.
bdhough
Active Member
Crap now that i think about it option 1 is going to run you about 200 dollars while option 2 is about 150 ish. Do you have that kind of money or do you need another option?
Ask about the lighting for the anemone i don't know what it is. But corals = lots o lighting always remember that. If you get enough lighting you can get some very very nice clams called maximus. I think thats their name. (70-150 a pop, but one of the most beautiful things you can get)
Ask about the lighting for the anemone i don't know what it is. But corals = lots o lighting always remember that. If you get enough lighting you can get some very very nice clams called maximus. I think thats their name. (70-150 a pop, but one of the most beautiful things you can get)
bdhough
Active Member
Thats good you have half the battle won already. Another option you could take btw is 10lbs at a time say every 2 weeks until you get what you want. But while doing this no expensive fish ie only damsels and be careful which inverts you add. Some are sensitive. I think rule of thumb is about 1 cleaner, shrimp, hermit per gallon or gallon and a half.... Get a mix they all eat different things.
ddt
Member
I don't want to start any arguments here...but you may want to slow down a bit more and post some questions on either the reef of the new hobiest boards.
I think that the advise you will get will be different than you have gotten so far.
First, do not cycle your tank with a fish. Use a couple of coctail shrimp, you can find numerous explainations on how to accomplish this.
Second, if possible, get all of your live rock at the start. If you get more later it is critical that it is fully cured, if not it could but your tank back into a cycle. You may also consider getting rid of your crushed coral in favor of a deep sand bed. Do a search for DSB to see the benifits.
Lighting - if you want to keep an Anenome (lots of discussion on if as much as how) you need a lot of light. If you are going to cut corners the one place you do not want to cut is lighting.
Again, you are going about things the right way...slowly. But before you go any farther, post on the new hobiest board or reef board, that is where the sharks troll. I myself am just out of total rookie status and this is a great place to learn.
I think that the advise you will get will be different than you have gotten so far.
First, do not cycle your tank with a fish. Use a couple of coctail shrimp, you can find numerous explainations on how to accomplish this.
Second, if possible, get all of your live rock at the start. If you get more later it is critical that it is fully cured, if not it could but your tank back into a cycle. You may also consider getting rid of your crushed coral in favor of a deep sand bed. Do a search for DSB to see the benifits.
Lighting - if you want to keep an Anenome (lots of discussion on if as much as how) you need a lot of light. If you are going to cut corners the one place you do not want to cut is lighting.
Again, you are going about things the right way...slowly. But before you go any farther, post on the new hobiest board or reef board, that is where the sharks troll. I myself am just out of total rookie status and this is a great place to learn.