Thanks

egill

egill

Member
Just want to thank everyone that has posted valuable info that I've been lurking thru the last couple weeks. After countless years of having fresh water I decided to leap into SW. Went out and bought a 46g bow with a wet/dry filtration. Got a protein skimmer and heater all in the sump. Have 60# live sand and 40# of live rock. Had a micro bubble issue that I just solved today. So I'm learning as I go here. When the tank has cycled we want to start with 2 clowns and see how that goes at first. I've noticed quite a bit of movement by what I beleive to be a snail/slug when we have the lights off and they go and hid when we turn them on. I've seen up to 8 of these little guys scooting around. Lighting is another area that we need to invest in. So again I just want to thank everyone for their posts here and they have really helped me out.
 
egill

egill

Member
Ok tank has been up for a month. Cured Live Rock has been in for 3 weeks and when the lights are off I have snails all over the place. Put a raw shrimp in a week ago to start the cycle. Have not seen a spike yet...dunno if I missed it or not. I didn't do a water test the first 2 weeks I put the live rock in so I don't know if it happend then or not. I'm working with a 46g, wet/dry, protein skimmer (which is working getting some nasty crap out of it), 60 ls and 40 lr.
Readings as of this morning
Temp 76
Salinity 1.023
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
PH 8.2-8.4
Ammonia 0
The shrimp is still decomposing but I haven't seen any movement in the water readings the last week since I put it in. So should I wait another month before adding anything and is the clean up crew the first to add? Thanks and pardon my ignorance.
 
robertmathern

robertmathern

Active Member
Yes clean up crews are the first to add. I would wait another week or 2. If you still have not seen a spike then I would say you missed it. And it would be safe to add a clean up crew but I am sure someone with more expereince than me will chime on this.
 
egill

egill

Member
Another question. How do you know if you have enough flow? I have a ViaAqua 1800 rated at 480gph. It came with the wet/dry. Is that enough or do I need a power head to help with the flow?
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
I like to have around 30x turnover rate. Meaning if you have a 46 gallon tank you want about 1380 gph. Placement is also key here, you want to try to minimize the dead spots. I would add a couple of koralia 1's or 2's.
 
egill

egill

Member
Thanks for the info. I guess I'd want to place them on opposite sides of the tank then?
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
That usually works. You will have to move them around when you first put them in, to see what works for you.
 
egill

egill

Member
Went out and purchased 2 Koralia 1's and have them on opposites sides of the tank. Also got 4 Mexican Turbo Snails and 3 hermit crabs and they are in hog heaven right now!!!
 
egill

egill

Member
Little update. Everything is going well. Ph is a little on the low side (bout 7.8) so I'll be gettting a buffer to raise it. This morning I noticed what appears to be a pretty good sized bristle worm coming out of one of the holes in the live rock. From what I've read on here they are pretty normal. So once I get the Ph up some I'll be looking to add some fish.
 
saltygerman

saltygerman

Member
Originally Posted by EGILL
http:///forum/post/2867964
Little update. Everything is going well. Ph is a little on the low side (bout 7.8) so I'll be gettting a buffer to raise it. This morning I noticed what appears to be a pretty good sized bristle worm coming out of one of the holes in the live rock. From what I've read on here they are pretty normal. So once I get the Ph up some I'll be looking to add some fish.
Just be careful Bristleworms will sting if touched!
 
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