Saltwater Aquarium

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hammad

Guest
I have setup 90 gallons saltwater tank on 18 Feb 2012. its being more than 10 days. Live rocks are there. sand is getting brown day by day. Daily 10 hours lights are opened in aquarium. Live rocks are changing colors into pink, red and dark blue....
I found many invertebrates in live rocks as well...I have sump sytem as well with protein skimmer, cotton filter and bio ceramics as well............
please advise when to add the fishes and which fish in the beginning.....
please advise if UV sterilizer is necessary for my saltwater aquarium or not.
regards
Hammad
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Welcome to the site!
What have your water tests been reading? You don't want to add anything until you have an ammonia spike and then everything levels out at zero.
As far as fish, what type of fish are you thinking about?
UV is a personal choice, some people run them, others do not. I run one on my 180 reef tank.
 
H

hammad

Guest
thanks for the reply..well i didnt test ..i am going to buy test kit for it.......as far as fishes are concerned, i dont want sharks, ray fish and lion fishes..i want those fishes which create good atmosphere.......
I heard that UV light is good for fresh water aquarium............
 
H

hammad

Guest
my new aquarium sand is turned into brown color from white color...is it a good indication for new reef aquarium?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
It's just part of the new tank process. The brown is diatoms. They'll eventually go away over time. In order to know what your tank is doing, you need to test for certain things: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, calcium, alkalinity (carbonate hardness), etc.
I highly recommend you read through some of the New Hobbyist recommended threads.
 
H

hammad

Guest
thanks for your advise....... i have checked all necessary tests which are OK.. please advise which fish i should add first and when should i add another one.
regards
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammad http:///t/390752/saltwater-aquarium#post_3462134
thanks for your advise....... i have checked all necessary tests which are OK.. please advise which fish i should add first and when should i add another one.
regards
You've only had your tank running for 10 or so days, you have to wait and continue to test parameters.
What are your readings?
What test kit are you using?
Have you seen an ammonia spike yet?
You haven't even told me what type of fish you would like, so I can't advise you on what order they should go in the tank, etc.
Did you read through the New Hobbyists recommended threads on cycling a new tank, etc?
 
njbillyv

njbillyv

Member
It seems unlikely your tank is already cycled unless everything came from an established tank and was transported properly. Still, I doubt it's cycled yet. Give it time, rushing only leads to dead fish. As for fish, you really need to do some research and make a good fish wish list in advance of adding anything. What's the saying, measure twice cut once.
And whatever you do, stay away from damsels.
Good luck!
 
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hammad

Guest
why i should stay away from damsels?can u please elaborate?
thanks
 
H

hammad

Guest
how they are devils for other fishes?
so please tell me which fish i should keep first in the my new saltwater aquarium?
regards
Hamamd
 
njbillyv

njbillyv

Member
Damsels bully other fish, chase them, nip at them, causing stress on new fish, probably killing some of them. If you put one in your tank eventually you'll have to catch it and remove it, so save yourself the trouble and just don't get any. If you want to do things right, set up a quaranitne tank now so it can start cycling. There are pleanty of threads on how to set one up. In a couple of weeks you can put a fish in there and four weeks later, if the fish is fine, he can go in your display tank. Which should be well cycled by then.
Want a first fish suggestion, get a clownfish.
 
H

hammad

Guest
IT means i can keep any fish except damsel in my new tank firstly either its clown fish or tangs?
 
xandrew245x

xandrew245x

Member
You have a lot of research to do...there is many many fish you can't keep together, What I suggest is how about you tell us what fish you would like to have, and if you want to have a reef or not, and we can point you in the right direction. We really can't make up a complete list of fish for you unless you really want us to, but kinda defeats the purpose of it being your aquarium then.
 
njbillyv

njbillyv

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by xandrew245x http:///t/390752/saltwater-aquarium#post_3462368
You have a lot of research to do...there is many many fish you can't keep together, What I suggest is how about you tell us what fish you would like to have, and if you want to have a reef or not, and we can point you in the right direction. We really can't make up a complete list of fish for you unless you really want us to, but kinda defeats the purpose of it being your aquarium then.
Exactly, you really need to do a bit of research before you proceed, no offense, but you really do. The idea is not to just hack away at it, killing fish and wasting time and money in the process. Figure out what type of fish you like, or coral, or both. There are all kinds of compatability issues and unless you have a good plan going in it is not going to be an enjoyable hobby.
Besides, research and planning is half the fun.
 
H

hammad

Guest
how can i getrid from brown alage i.e. diatoms........as i have setup new aquarium.....
how to maintain phosphate and nitrate level in aquarium .please advise
 
xandrew245x

xandrew245x

Member
The diatoms will run their own course, just let it go, and it will eventaully go away. I'm not to sure about phosphate, but the best way to remove nitrate is through regular water changes. Also, you could add a refugium, with plants, that would naturally pull harmful chemicals, such as nitrate out of your water.
 
red tiger

red tiger

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammad http:///t/390752/saltwater-aquarium#post_3462580
how can i getrid from brown alage i.e. diatoms........as i have setup new aquarium.....
how to maintain phosphate and nitrate level in aquarium .please advise
You can usually maintain low phosphate readings by weekly water changes or take the easy route and run a Phosphate Reactor and use GFO in it. When you test for phosphates, stay away from API test, very vague.
High Phosphates will stress fish and also with a combination of your 10 hour light cycle, will create Brown/Green algae on your glass and sand bed. Especially bad if you want to keep corals.
 
xandrew245x

xandrew245x

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Tiger http:///t/390752/saltwater-aquarium#post_3462587
You can usually maintain low phosphate readings by weekly water changes or take the easy route and run a Phosphate Reactor and use GFO in it. When you test for phosphates, stay away from API test, very vague.
High Phosphates will stress fish and also with a combination of your 10 hour light cycle, will create Brown/Green algae on your glass and sand bed. Especially bad if you want to keep corals.

Phosphate reactor is probably going to be the next item on my list, they are overall not to expensive and work well.
 
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