Simple Newbie Question

[ri0t]

I just purchased a 75G sw aquarium and have had it setup a few days (crushed coral base heater, UFG, 2 power heads) i have been doing quite a bit of research on starting an aquarium and cycling one but one thing i still have not seem to find is a basic maint schedule for the aquarium so i figured i would post and ask.
How often to i need to test the water?
how often do i need to change filters (if ever?)
how often do i need to do a water change (20%?)
The plan was to start live rock and a couple of clowns this weekend but i am starting to reconsider after reading a few post on starter fish what is the conciseness on starting a new tank ?
Thanks in advance for the help (and hopefully lack of flames)
ri0t

 

[oceana]

maybe i'm missing something but are you saying you got an under gravel filter?

 

[ri0t]

yes i have an under gravel filter with powerheads i dont know if i need to change anything on those regularly or are they just there and work forever?

 

[fau8]

Once everything is estblished your schedule will ease, but basically you will be testing your water every three days, filters will be cleaned weekly or bi weekly depending on the bio load, and if you change 10 % of your water weekly you should be fine.
The problem is you will try to fix everything as soon as you notice a test come back out of the normal. You will have to learn to be paticent and not manipulate you water chemistry through chemical aditives. The test results should be used to track down the cause of the problem. ex. High nitrate you are over feeding. Hair algee you have a phospate or silica problem etc.
A good regular water change schedule will always be your friend and balence your system. After 6-8 months of doing this you will know where your problems lye without the testing but you will continue to do them for piece of mind and most importantly protect your investment.

 

[fau8]

i missed the ungravel filter its now time to ask what kind of tank are you hopeing for. The under gravel will get you by for a fish only but it is not the perfered method. You do not clean undergavel filters as it will cause your tank to crash and recycle.

 

[ri0t]

Originally Posted by fau8
http:///forum/post/2753608
Once everything is estblished your schedule will ease, but basically you will be testing your water every three days, filters will be cleaned weekly or bi weekly depending on the bio load, and if you change 10 % of your water weekly you should be fine.
The problem is you will try to fix everything as soon as you notice a test come back out of the normal. You will have to learn to be paticent and not manipulate you water chemistry through chemical aditives. The test results should be used to track down the cause of the problem. ex. High nitrate you are over feeding. Hair algee you have a phospate or silica problem etc. A good regular water change schedule will always be your friend and balence your system. After 6-8 months of doing this you will know where your problems lye without the testing but you will continue to do them for piece of mind and most importantly protect your investment.

Awesome that makes sense and also explains why i never could track down a hard fast answer on that thanks

 

[ri0t]

Its just going to be a Fish only with Live Rock tank no coral.

 

[mr_x]

before you add any livestock, remove the crushed coral and undergravel filter. replace the substrate with sugar sized, aragonite based sand. the cc traps too much waste, and the undergravel filter only aids in that.
live rock, should be added immediately. the clowns should be added only after the cycle is finished.
no fish should be used for the cycling process. the die-off from the live rock will take care of that for you.

 

[ri0t]

so eventually i want the tank stocklist to look something like this
3 clowns
1 blue tang
1 porcupine puffer
1 fire angel
1 copperband butterfly
1 mandarin dragonet
thats my first stab at the stocklist i want

 

[fau8]

the manderian has a deadly slime coat should it become stressed and die, I would not recommend that particular fish. It can become a hazard to the rest of your live stock.

 

[mr_x]

the slime coat is true, but not that it will harm the rest of the livestock. i had one die in a 30 cube before, and it got slimy and swelled up, but didn't hurt anything.
still, it's way too early for one of those.

 

[saltn00b]

i would scratch the hippo off that list.
wait 6 months before thinking about sensitive fish like the angel, and the CBBF, and the mandarin will need at LEAST that much time to get some pods established, depending on ho wmuch LR you have. the puffer will outgrow that tank as well i believe.