General information please

[idan555]

Hello everyone!
I'm new in this forum and in reef tanks also.

I have:
55 gallon saltwater tank
60 lb of live dry rock
2 koralia powerhead 600
live sand
CURRENT USA LED Lights
Fluval 406
2 clown fish

I do not have:
sump
skimmer
because of $ budget I wont add those items at the moment

So far the tank run about 5-6 weeks (no livestock). after 3-4 weeks i got those numbers:
pH 8.2/8.4
NH3- 0ppm
NO2- 0 ppm
NITRATE NO3- 0 ppm
Salt 1.022
according to API MASTER TEST KIT.

after that I add to the tank the 2 clown fish (1.5'').
I didn't do any water change so far, except adding R/O water.
I'm running the light about 4 hours per day and feed the fish very light.
I don't have and sing of algae in the tank, the rocks still looking very white, and the glass also very clean (I clean the glass once a week/2)

-do I need to do water change?
-is it normal not having algae in the tank?
-what do I need to do next?

thanks for your helps!!

 

[scooter31707]

Did you see your tank go through the cycle process? Algae issues will come and go in the coming weeks, like diatoms and hair algae. I would suggest doing 10% water changes every week or 20% biweekly. I also recommend bringing up the salinity to around 1.023-1.025 for a FOWLR.

 

[thegrun]

Without a skimmer I would go with weekly water changes even though you don't yet have algae. I would also recommend raising the salinity slowly by topping off with saltwater instead of fresh water until you achieve a salinity of 1.025.

 

[mcgyvr]

For a fish only I would recommend simply watching your nitrate/phosphate levels and perform water changes as needed to keep those levels in an acceptable range.. With the only goal there of ensuring they stay low enough to avoid algae related issues common with higher nutrient levels..

If nitrate/phosphates stay low then I don't know what benefit a water change is actually doing..

I would think that any beneficial trace elements,etc... that fish need would be in their food alone so as long as you are feeding them they are getting everything they need..

 

[Pelagic_e36]

Just keep doing what you are doing in addition to a 10% water change weekly, along with raising the salinity up. I keep mine at 1.027. Also when I started I had a fluval canister filter and I rinsed it out every week until I got a sump. The algae will come!

 

[idan555]

Just keep doing what you are doing in addition to a 10% water change weekly, along with raising the salinity up. I keep mine at 1.027. Also when I started I had a fluval canister filter and I rinsed it out every week until I got a sump. The algae will come!

What do you mean to rinsed it out? should i change the filters also?
and when you rinsed do I wash it in the old 10%salt water i change?

when can I start add corals? or add more fish?

 

[Buzz1ightyear]

fist off patience is the most important thing. so dont rush anything. as far as your filter i personally feel that canister filters like what you have a not a bad option. yes there are better options and there are also much worse. id recommend getting on youtube and watch a few different videos on cleaning canister filters so you can actually see how its done. so far as adding more fish and corals make sure you have a stable system first. take your test kit once or twice a week and you should see all your parameters close to the same and within normal limits. if something is out of wack or varies significantly between each test figure out what the problem is and fix it before you do anything else. when you add fish do so slowly one fish a month 2 if you really want a pair of something that will give your system time to do its thing and prepare its self to take care of the bio load. corals you can add as much as you want once your tank is fully cycled and everything is stable for the most part. research the specific coral you are gonna buy so you know if it needs a lot of light of high flow or not. and if your thinking about rushing it just realize those corals get expensive. ive seen some go for anywhere from $10 up to $200 you wont be happy when you throw a couple hundred dollars of fish and coral in there just to see them all die within a week. also share some pics and what fish and corals you want to add with us.

 

[Diana A]

What do you have in the three filter baskets? Did you keep the pads? I have each of my tanks with fluval fx6. No pads are inside the canisters. The only thing inside the filter is Seachem Matrix, and Marine Pure 1/2" spheres. I have a cpr overflow box that is just siliconed onto the tank to hid items. I keep BRS Rox carbon in a small bag, my intake of HOB skimmer and intake of the filter. I created a sock for the overflow box. The intake for the filter is below the sock. The sock catches a lot of left over food/poo. If you leave the pads inside your canister, you can use the old salt water to rinse the pads his way you keep the bio in it. Test your water to make sure it is stable. How long has it been up?

 

[idan555]

What do you have in the three filter baskets? Did you keep the pads? I have each of my tanks with fluval fx6. No pads are inside the canisters. The only thing inside the filter is Seachem Matrix, and Marine Pure 1/2" spheres. I have a cpr overflow box that is just siliconed onto the tank to hid items. I keep BRS Rox carbon in a small bag, my intake of HOB skimmer and intake of the filter. I created a sock for the overflow box. The intake for the filter is below the sock. The sock catches a lot of left over food/poo. If you leave the pads inside your canister, you can use the old salt water to rinse the pads his way you keep the bio in it. Test your water to make sure it is stable. How long has it been up?

I got 8x2 filter baskets:
-Lower 2 is some Bio-foam
-2 with Biomax bio rings
-2 Fluval Water Polishing Pads+ 2 bags of Clearmax
-2 Fluval Water Polishing Pads+ 2 bags of carbon.

I dont like the HOB skimmers, so in the next few months I will have sump and place one inside.

i have the tank running for 6 weeks by now. and plan to do the first water change 10% very soon.
so far I didn't installed the UV stabilizer also( I dont see a reason for that yet).
I'm very new to the hobby so I want to take it very slow, learn, listen before I'm dropping to much $$.

should I get shrimp and snails before I'm adding more fish?
Do I need in general any boosters and different test kit for corals?
What are good beginner coral you guys recommend to start with?