Suggestions on tank additives..?

[makofury]

Hey everyone, my tank has been setup for 2 weeks now. Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10-15
My salinity seems a bit high, I filled my entire tank with salwater from the LFS which I believe is just filtered/purified seawater. The salinity is at 1.025-1.026. Is this too high? I was also curious as to what sort of additives I should add in the tank for the live rock/live sand. There is no livestock in the tank right now, I'm waiting till everything is stabilized completely before I add a fish. The tank will be fish only, no reef. Any suggestions on additives to promote coraline growth and such? Thanks.
MakoFury

 

[heavenly damsel]

Sounds like your tank is cycling well. You really don't need to use additives for LR and LS.
What size is your tank? What fish are you planning to put in and in what order? Have you considered a clean up crew? What kind of water are you going to use for top off?
Tell us a little about your tank and your plans for it.

 

[makofury]

The tank is a 65 gallon. 53 lbs of live rock, 4" dsb, 2 110watt vho lights. I want to get a clean up crew because there is still a mediocre amount of that diatom algae on the live sand and a bit on the rock, it receeded heavily in the past 5 days. I was thinking of adding the clean-up crew first, but I wanted to make sure that my tank conditions were right before doing so. As far as the first inhabitants of the tank I was thinking: 2 perculas, 1 royal gramma or 1 purple-firefish, and 1 six-line wrasse. In about 6-8 months I would like to add either a Flame or Bi-Color Angel. I haven't really planned what I would like to do after that. I want to add a protein skimmer in about a month or two. Right now filtration just consists of the live rock/live sand and a wet/dry filter. I have two powerheads in there also for circulation. That seems to be it. Thanks again!
Mako

 

[broomer5]

Hi MakoFury
You really do sound like you have a great tank going there.
I like the sound of it already - and haven't even seen a pic yet.
Tell ya what - you seem to have great patience - that's cool.
I also don't think you need to add anything to your tank for the live rock and sand.
Look at it this way - aside from some nitrate as a result of a recent cycle - right now your water is about as pure and clean as it will ever be. Why booger it all up by pouring a bunch of stuff in it that you can't test for.
Those marketing guys/gals are good at advertising all the stuff we should be adding to our tanks - but really - should we ?
Top off with good quality freshwater for evaporation.
Keep and eye on the pH
If you plan to test for calcium and alkalinity - that's fine.
If you want to adjust for calcium and alkalinity - that's cool too.
Personally I like to let a newly set up tank just sit there and do nothing for a while. Let the rock start to come alive. See what critters come out and move into the sandbed.
Pouring a bunch of additives into a tank is not one of my favorite things to do - although others feel it's necessary.
Up to you of course
Good luck on your new tank.

 

[heavenly damsel]

We added our clean up crews at the 3 week mark when the nitrates came down, and started with the first fish a week later.
As far as the protien skimmer goes, there are many opinions and I suggest a search on this topic to read them. I added the protien skimmer after I started with corals. I did the sump first....I wanted all the equipment out of my pretty tank and in the sump underneath. The only equipment in the tank are the power heads....if there was a way to get them into the sump and still have water movement they would go down under also. I also did a refugium before I added the protien skimmer. I wanted to add caulerpa to the system to help keep the ammonia and nitrates in check. The other thing I do is a weekly capful of garlic juice to keep ich away. I have 3 yellow tangs (ich magnets) that have never had ich.
You will need to test for the ususal stuff....ammonia, trites, trates, and Ph weekly after your cycle is finished. When I was FOWLR I didn't add anything. Now all I add other than food is a 2 part calcium when my calcium tests low. Corals use the calcium from the water. With FOWLR your water changes should replace anything depleted. If you are curious about phosphates and calcium take a water sample to your LFS and have them test for you.

 

[sgt__york]

It sounds like to me.. if ur ammonia and nitrites are 0 your cycle is FINISHED! yes, live will begin to grow on the rock, and there is a lot of "maturing" to be done, but you have the filter bacteria necessary to sustain your current load - as the higher level of nitrates indicate.
Clowns are VERY friendly and HEARTY! Many ppl say almost as tough as a damsel that you 'can' cycle with - so, instead of just looking at rock - i'd say feel free to go grab a couple clowns to put in the tank. Low risk of loss there. Give that a week or two to ensure stability and go from there.
And i agree, your setup sounds nice. For a fish only tank - you have a lot of good equipment and good results going your way. You really didn't need the VHO lighting for FO tanks, BUT that should be good enough to get a little algae growing in the tank. If you don't get a tang (which will mow your lawn if you let it) these micro/macro algeas will help keep your nitrate levels down - and thus reduce your need for "as frequent" water changes. Just always keep an eye on your Nitrates.
If your not going for corals - I don't know that adding suppliments is necessary or that even calcium levels are all THAT important to stay on top of.
But be warned.. the hobby has a way of catching ya - you may not want corals now - but who knows what you will want next year hahahaha
Enjoy the journey my friend - good luck to you.

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by MakoFury
The salinity is at 1.025-1.026. Is this too high?
This is the perfect level IMO.

 

[ed r]

I second Bang Guy's answer. 1.025 to 1.026 is where you want to be. My LFS sells water that is lower so I have to doctor it a little to keep my SG up there.