Where Do I Go From Here...?

[moonwillow]

Hi! I'm brand new to the world of saltwater fish....well, actually rather brand new to fish tanks at all!! This appears to be a very informative board and I'm so glad I stumbled upon it - I need all the help I can get!
I thought if I was going to make the investment in a nice tank, I might as well go the distance and do saltwater. So, my question to this forum is, what else do I need and what should I expect from here?
I have:
36 gallon bow front tank
aquaclear 30 - 50 gallon filter that hangs on the back
crushed coral that was rinsed and placed in the bottom of the tank
3 pieces of coral rock that I stacked in the center
2 plastic plants
a bubble bar across the back of the tank at the bottom (I like bubbles...)
air pump to make bubbles
hydrometer
scrubby brush
thermometer that I haven't put in the tank yet because I live in Florida and it's going to
get hot pretty soon (should I put it in there anyway?)
Filled the tank with tap water and added de-chlorinator and 17 cups of Instant Ocean. At first it was a bit cloudy, but after a day or so it cleared up nicely. Now, I just have the bubbler bubbling and the filter running (5 days now) and it's very pretty.
I'm wondering if I should get a small piece of Fiji Live Rock from the fish store and put it near the other pieces of rock, or should I not? I am hoping to just have the FOWLR kind of tank because I don't really think that at this time I want to invest in all the intertabrate stuff (expensive lights, expensive life, etc.).
So, let me know what else you guys think I need and what to do next.
Thanks so much!

 

[jacknjill]

Well, i would ditch the crushed coral for aragonite sand, ditch the bubble bar, plastic plants, and fake coral rock. Replace fake rock with live or dead base rock. Go ahead and put the thermometer in. From now on dont use tap water, use RO/DI water. Get a powerhead also for circulation
The decorations, are all personal preference, but i think that live rock looks better in a saltwater tank. Plus, the fake plants will probably just grow algae on them
Do you have any test kits? What are your levels so far? You also want to get a refractomter in stead of a hydrometer

 

[mrdc]

I think I saw someone posting about how bubbles weren't a good thing to have. Maybe someone wants to chime in on that one. Ditto on everything else Jack said.

 

[jdragunas]

1. sounds good, but bigger is better... i have a 55 and i wish i'd gone with a 75 when i first set it up. also, bigger tanks are easier than smaller ones.
2. that should be a good filter, as long as you don't plan on having corals
3 DO NOT USE CRUSHED CORAL!!! I don't know why LFS (local fish stores) always sell this crap, but that's what it is... CRAP. CC is ok, as long as you have time to do a water change once a week, and vacuum ever inch of the CC. The texture of the CC causes it to catch particles in the water (mostly leftover food and waste), which causes a build-up of nitrates in your system, and that's something you don't want.
4. whatever decoration you want in your tank is good. The whole point of you doing this is to please yourself, so basically... whatever floats your boat... HEHEHE, get it???
5. hydrometers are good, but a refractometer is more accurate. If you're just going to have fish, i'd say go with the hydrometer, but when/if you get corals, you should have a refractometer.
6. you should always have a thermometer in the tank. One thing about this hobby is that you never want to assume everything's ok unless you can see it in numbers...
7. tap water is bad for your system, but you've already started with it. From now on, you should use RO (reverse osmosis) water to do water changes and top-offs
8. The more LR the better. LR serves as a filter for your tank, so it's a great investment. And adding LR on top of your other rock will cause them to become live as well.
The next thing you should do is kick off your cycle. Do you understand how a cycle works and why you need to do it? If not, let me know and i'll explain it all.
welcome to the saltwater world... you're going to love it!!!
and PS... i'm going to be your favorite person here. LMAO!!! j/k

 

[mrdc]

Oh and WELCOME

 

[jdragunas]

bubbles aren't bad at all... don't know who said that. A bubble bar will actually aerate the water.
and yes, as jackandjill said, you should get test kits. For right now, you want to get ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity and PH testing kits. Just FYI, red sea brand test kits have been known to be wrong, so i'd suggest getting salifert brand (by far the best, but also a little pricier). IMO, it's worth the money...

 

[moonwillow]

I thought bubbles would be ok.....bubbles are great! I was sad there for a moment thinking I had to kick the bubble bar to the curb - whew! Thank goodness!!!
Anyway, thanks a ton for the responses. Unfortunately jd I already have the crushed coral in the bottom and I'm not about to change it. I think it looks great, but like you said it probably does require lots of upkeep. Oh well.... I'm the one who said I wanted it at the fish store so I can't really put the blame on them.
So, I guess I'm not in dire need of a Powerhead or a Protein Skimmer??? No mention of those things. I was quasi-terrified that I was going to be forced to get those and well, they're a bit pricey and trying to avoid any more big costs just now.
I'll work on the live rock here and there and again jd, I don't know anything about "kicking off my cycle" so yes, please enlighten me.
On my way out the door to go to Barnes & Noble and get a book, so I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Thanks a million and again, so glad I found you! :cheer:

 

[moonwillow]

JacknJill..
It's real coral rock, not the fake kind - I don't like the way the fake rock looks. It's just that it's not Live Rock, which I know I need to get.
The plants, well, until I get more and taller rocks in there I really wanted some color and interest in the tank so as long as it's ok and won't make my fish die I'm going to keep it there.
Thanks!!

 

[jdragunas]

yes, you do need powerheads, but they're not too expensive. They just move the water around. You should probably get 2 for your tank. Put the at the bottom of each side so they face the other side. That way, you have enough flow across your CC, and hopefully that'll keep a lot of the stuff out of it.
as far as a book, you should get "the conscientious marine aquarist" by robert fenner... the bible of the saltwater world.
as far as the cycle goes... here it is:
The point of a cycle is to establish bacteria in your LR and substrate. Firstly, you introduce a source of ammonia. Most LFS tell you to add a fish (fish pee and poo, and that's ammonia). However that's cruel and unusual punishment. To kick off your cycle, you should introduce a couple of raw shrimp (from the grocery store). The shrimp will start breaking down, and produce ammonia. This is when the first colony of bacteria starts to grow. This bacteria will change the ammonia (very toxic) into nitrites. Then another colony will grow that'll change the nitrites (also very toxic) into nitrates (not-so-toxic). The whole point of this is to prepare your tank to handle the ammonia produced by fish. This way, when you add fish, the ammonia they produce quickly turns into nitrates. You do water changes every once in a while to remove the nitrates.
lemme know if you have any other questions. Thanks!!!

 

[jacknjill]

Originally Posted by moonwillow
JacknJill..
It's real coral rock, not the fake kind - I don't like the way the fake rock looks. It's just that it's not Live Rock, which I know I need to get.
The plants, well, until I get more and taller rocks in there I really wanted some color and interest in the tank so as long as it's ok and won't make my fish die I'm going to keep it there.
Thanks!!
OHHH, i thought you meant the fake ones lol. Then those will be fine!
I know what you mean about the color in the tank. You may have to take them out and scrub them though
But i would still reccomend a powerhead for circulation

 

[misty927]

First off, welcome to the board!

Thought I'd add a few more suggestions and expand on others: Even though you're in Florida, you should get a heater. Even a fluctuation of a one or two degrees at night can cause stress to your fish, making them more prone to diseases, etc.
Definitely invest in some live rock; I would say at least 1 pound per gallon, so you are looking at 55 pounds. It is expensive, but acts as a natural filter and is very beneficial. If you don't have the funds, just add a little bit of CURED rock at a time to prevent huge ammonia spikes in your already cycled aquarium. Eventually, that fake coral will get coraline algae and be purple and red, anyways, and turn into live rock. Trying to keep fake coral white is just a pain.
And I hate to say it too...but you might want to think about that switching out that crushed coral even if you really, really don't want to. You will be kicking yourself in the long run...trust me! But if you like the look of fake plants, why don't you invest in some live ones? Not only will they add to the look of the aquarium, like the fake ones, they will help you keep your nitrates down which fakes ones definitely will not do!
I would say your next step after you get live rock, a heater, change that CC if you can, and powerheads, would be to invest in a GOOD protein skimmer. There are so many on the market and most of them aren't good at all! This is one of those hobbies where it really pays off to invest in expensive equipment. It's expensive for a reason; it works! It's better to hold off for a few weeks and buy the better product. In freshwater, you can do a lot of things halfway...you're just asking for trouble doing that with saltwater (which is in an entirely different league)! Trust me...I learned the hard way when I was first beginning. Good luck...this really is a rewarding hobby once you get the hang of it.

 

[moonwillow]

Good Morning...and TGIF!!

Well, I went home and read the bag and I have aragonite, NOT crushed coral. It looks like white/beige/speckley sand. So, I'm thinking that makes things much better from the point of view of this board. Thank goodness I don't have to think about changing that out!
I am putting in the heater tonight. Will get a bit of live rock to add to the not fake coral rock that's already in there so it can spread onto the coral and then I'll drop a couple shrimp in there to add ammonia and get things rolling.
Powerheads....It's a 36 gallon bowfront tank and what size would I need? Do I really need them if I'm only doing fish? I thought those were more for reef tanks. My boyfriend has a 100 gallon saltwater (reef) tank (he's just starting his too - it was empty, but quasi set up in the new house he moved in to) and he has these huge powerheads on either end of the tank. I wasn't sure that I really needed them for my little tank.
The man at the fish store said no need for protein skimmer right away. First, get tank established, get some bacteria going on, test the water....then worry about a protein skimmer. No hurry for that. I totally understand about not doing things with half-assed stuff, which is why I'd rather wait to be able to get the good things, or do them a little at a time.
Alright...we're getting there! Thanks!!

 

[misty927]

Definitely get some powerheads...I have two in my 30 gallon. Just in case you're wondering, I have two Maxi-Jet 600's. The rate of flow that you need depends on your tank size and how many gph (gallons per hour) your filter overturns. For fish only systems, it's not so much water movement for corals and stuff, it's more about having water flow over the entirety of the tank. This prevents any "dead spots" with no flow where detritus may build up and cause water quality problems.
And yes, a protein skimmer isn't needed right away if you are still cycling. But I prefer to get mine going once my cycling has finished and I have introduced inhabitants.

 

[turningtim]

Glad to hear about the sand! Much better than CC! Don't wait until the last minite to get a skimmer. New skimmers take a while to break in. The idea with the power heads is to keep the waste suspended in the water colum so the filtration/skimmer can pick it up. I place mine on the bottom corners facing up. Its all about moving the water around like everybody has said.
Welcome to the boards!
HTH
Tim

 

[jdragunas]

takes about a week to really break in a new skimmer, and i agree, you don't need one right away. You actually technically don't NEED one at all, but you should get one. The protein skimmer removes any particles floating around the tank, thus helping to keep your nitrate levels in check. You don't need one, but if you were to see all of the crap it pulls from my tank, you would never go without one.
I also agree with moon, that if you like the look of fake plants, live ones would be better.