as "newb" as they get

[Aquarius_Bella]

My name is Bella and I am very new to the marine aquarium hobby...

My spouse had freshwater tanks all of his life. He also has a SW tank at his office. Currently we have a 120 gallon freshwater tank to which I don't pay much attention (except when the fish needs feeding while hubby is away on business).

Having grown up on the coast of the Black Sea, I always loved and respected water, aquatic life and coral reefs. When I travel, I take every opportunity to snorkel or dive.... and my last dive in the Red Sea confirmed that I cannot live without a SW tank. So... my birthday present was a built in, custom-made 70-gallon, 30x30x18 tank.

I am a conscientious person and like to do things right the first time. Although this is my first post, I registered and have been browsing your website since February.

My tank was started on January 13... with live rock and argonite arriving on Jan 30... My spouse surprised me on my birthday - Feb 8th, when he brought 5 crommies, 2 clowns, a dottyback, some hermits, snails and coral into the tank So this tank is MY "NEW" BABY... in addition to my 3 beautiful sons and two cats who spend more time watching the fish than I could ever afford to.

I am patiently waiting until the tank is established. Testing water every 4 days (levels are acceptable). No casualties except for 2 crommies. We are almost in April and I have just purchased a 10-gal quarantine tank (my husband thinks I am wasting my time, but having read up on quarantine tanks, I am glad that I am not taking my husband's advice on this). Can I start bringing more LIFE into my tank at this point? I am hungry to learn and very anxious to put my creativity to work. Any suggestions for a NEWB???


Bella

 

[swpassion]

If your params are stable, you can def start adding more life IMO, but there are some items you did not mention, do you have a skimmer on it? If not I would def. rec you get one, deltec makes a great hang on if you dont have a sump. Also keep in mind stocking levels, most people say 1" of fish per 5 gallons of water, that guidline is really to prevent issues when power go out or pumps fail, etc. If all is running, you can def. stock heavier than that. I have a generator as back up so I keep my tanks more heavily stocked and do reg. water changes so no issues have ever occured, at least no yet.
Remember to go slow, add fish slowly to prevent excessive bio load shock and when picking fish, use their full grown mature size for stocking levels, not the juvinele size they are bought at. Also make sure to use RO/DI filtered water, not treated tap, you want to have 0 TDS readings for a salt tank, much more important than with fresh.

 

[BangkokMatt]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>


In a 70g keep your bio load low but I would wait a while. Maybe add another small fish or 2 eventually. That will be your lot.
I would avoid the inch of fish per gallon rule. It fails to take into account the potential size of the fish.
I say wait because you say you have only lost 2 chromis. That's 25% of your present fish stock which is a lot imo.
Levels - what are they at the moment. What is your wc regime and, as stated before, do you have a skimmer. What is it?
Also, think about what type of corals you want to add as lighting may become a factor.
Great call on the QT tank.
Keep asking questions and provide as much info in your threads as possible. An easy way to do this is in the 'current tanks' info. You can list equipment and stock so people can see, and you don't need to add it to every post as it's always there.
Good luck and happy reefing

 

[Aquarius_Bella]

Thanks guys for your warm welcomes and advice. I already feel like a part of a big Family of "marine-life crazies"

As BangkokMatt suggested, I updated the current tank info in my profile - hope this helps in future. My water readings are as follows: Ph-8.1; kh-8; po4-less than .01; Mg-1300; Ca-446; No2-0.02; No3-10 mg/I; salinity-1.023. Readings are within range so far. I perform water changes bi-monthly. Once per week if No3 and No4 are on the rise.

Here is the chemistry I use: Reef Carbonate - when adding water, B-Ionic Magnesium - used twice so far; and phosphate eliminator if results read higher than norm.

I read somewhere that fishes should also have lettuce and vegetarian offerings - but I have not given them anything except marine diet frozen delight for carnivores, live marine plankton, dried "reef-roids" marine plankton and purple up into sump. Should I be supplementing with a vegetarian diet too? 5 drops of potassium iodide are added daily to the tank.

Do peppermint shrimp control Aiptasia which I just discovered?

How many species can be quarantined at one time in a 10 gal QT?

Just discovered a tiny, oval almost flat, see thru with what looks like a brown stripe on its back slug of some sort in my tank.... any idea of what it might be?


Thanks again, Bella

 

[Michael]

hi bella welcome aboard the rc bus, id raise the sg a little if i were you, up to 1.025-26, will be better in the long haul, take things steady, dont over stock and add livestock slowly, good luck

 

[rgrobe]

Hi Bella. Welcome to RC and a hobby that can be interesting, exciting and frustrating all at the same time. I prefer to err on the side of caution. From your last post you are indicating your No2 at .02. When your system is fully cycled and working well the ammonia and No2 levels should be 0.0. Give the tank time to adjust to the new bio load. Then you can add livestock slowly allowing the system to keep up with the load. It is also important, as already mentioned by others, to consider the mature size of the livestock when planning your stocking levels.

I am curious how you are testing your Po4. What test kit are you using? Po4 is hard to test sometimes because most kits are not very accurate under about .05. I went for several months battling algae issues and had ruled out Po4 as a problem because my test kits had always indicated low to non-existent levels. A friend has a Hanna Phosphate meter and tested my water for me. I was surprised to find that my phosphate levels were actually at .06, high enough for algae problems. I have sinced purchased my own and with the help of a fuge, phosban reactor and good skimming, I have gotten my tank down to the .02-.03 range.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Aquarius_Bella]

Thanks rgrobe, appreciate your feedback!

I have been using Tropic Marine testing kits -- was advised these were the best option for someone whose worst subject in high school was Chemistry

in hindsight I should have done my homework then

Cheers, Bella

 

[Michael]

ime and imo tropic marin ph kits are fairly accurate, cant confirm the other type of tropic marin kits though

 

[Aquarius_Bella]

Thanks Mike! Your encouragement is appreciated

BTW - your tank is absolutely beautiful!

Cheers, Bella

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14733647#post14733647 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aquarius_Bella
Thanks Mike! Your encouragement is appreciated

BTW - your tank is absolutely beautiful!

Cheers, Bella

thanks very much bella very kind