The Deep Blue
New member
Alright, looks like you are getting tons of advice. First off I would like to give you a nice warm welcome to the hobby. I also want to let you know that all these guys are just trying to help. You will learn quickly in this hobby that everyone has their own opinion as to how they think things "should" be done based on their own experiences. There are many different ways to have a successful saltwater tank and there are even more ways to do it wrong. The key to this hobby is to keep everything as stable as possible without fluctuation, this can be difficult in smaller tanks because change can occur rapidly in smaller volumes if water. The more things you can keep stable the more successful you'll be.
Here is my advice and the reasons behind them.
1. I would not advise cycling with a damsel, they are cheap fish that are incredibly hardy and come in a vast assortment of bright vibrant colors. However, they are incredibly territorial and can become very aggressive. Many people like to "cycle" their tank with a damsel to see if their tank is ready, not a terrible way to do things but getting them out after the initial tank cycle, can be very difficult especially in larger tanks and you may be forced to remove rock in order to remove the fish. If you leave it in the tank it can end up harassing and killing any fish you add in the future.
Ocellaris clownfish are great starter fish because they are pretty hardy and are not nearly as aggressive.
2. Be careful of what you add in the tank as far as artificial decorations go. Most of these decorations are designed for freshwater use, but saltwater can be very corrosive. Over time the decorations might leech different chemicals into the water which can possibly kill everything and it wont show up in the tests.
3. Biological Filtration, This includes the live rock and live sand. There are many conflicting opinions as to how much rock and how much sand you need in your tank. Some will recommend 1 pound per gallon, which is a great idea but can be misleading. Every rock is different and some are more porous than others. With some of the more porous rocks you could fill your entire tank before you reach 1 pound per gallon. Live rock acts as a biological filtration, which basically uses different bacteria's and micro-organisms to break down your nutrient levels.
Soo theoretically the more live rock, the more more bacteria which will act as a natural filtration source to a certain extent. That being said, your sand will also hold the beneficial bacteria as well. In a tank this small it will be beneficial to add more rock, but not necessary.
4. Mechanical Filtration. It looks like you have a nice little hang on back filter, it will work for a tank this small but will need a little modification. The standard filters that come in most HOB filters contain only carbon. Carbon is great for clarifying the water, but that is pretty much it. It doesn't last too long either after about 2 weeks or so it loses its effect.
I would take out those carbon filters and replace them with either a product called PURA pad or chemipure elite. Both of these products contain the carbon that clarifies the water but they also contain other media's that will help export the nutrients (fish waste, uneaten food.....)
5. Temperature. Get an accurate thermometer for your tank, not one of those stickers that you stick on the side. I like to keep my tank about 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit. You do not want your tank to fluctuate more than about 2 degrees. The more stable you keep things the better everything will do. Before your lights turn on in the morning record the temp of your tank and write it down, then do the same before all your lights turn off at the end of the day. This will give you a decent idea of what you temp fluctuation is.
6. Water Testing. The main things you will be testing on your tank is going to be Salinity, Nitrate and Phosphate. If you are going to keep corals, stick to the soft corals and maybe a try few lps (large polyp stony) corals. If you have a lfs have them check your nitrite and ammonia levels the next time you go, do not bother buying a test kit for them because as soon as your tank is cycled and they hit 0 you will never really see them again. Do not worry about testing anything else at this point in your saltwater experience soft corals will not consume calc, mag, alk fast enough where you would need to start dosing. Even if you do decide to venture into some lps corals your water changes should be enough to replenish anything that is consumed for the time being. Once you get more experience in this hobby is when id be concerned with the other elements
For Salinity you are going to want to use whats called a refractometer, they can be a little expensive but will last you forever as long as you don't drop it on the ground constantly. It will need to be calibrated but your local fish store should be able to help you out with that. Do not waste your money on a hydrometer (the plastic things with the swinging arm) they do a great job of letting you know if there is salt in the water but do a poor job of telling you how much salt is in the water and are notoriously inaccurate.
Nitrates and Phosphates are your nutrient levels (fish waste, uneaten food...) For Nitrate and Phosphate I suggest using either the Red Sea Test kits or Salifert test kits both are relatively easy to use and give you accurate results. Nitrates you are going to want to keep below 10, but strive to keep them as close to 0 as possible. Phosphates you are going to want to keep below about 0.10 also strive to keep them as close to zero as possible. DO not waste your money on API test kits or any of the dip strips.
7. Water Changes. Test your nutrient levels every week, when your nitrates start to rise to a water change to bring them down. If your nitrates are at 10 and you do a %50 water change, keep in mind that it will theoretically only drop that number in half.
Keep in mind that this is just my opinion.
Here is my advice and the reasons behind them.
1. I would not advise cycling with a damsel, they are cheap fish that are incredibly hardy and come in a vast assortment of bright vibrant colors. However, they are incredibly territorial and can become very aggressive. Many people like to "cycle" their tank with a damsel to see if their tank is ready, not a terrible way to do things but getting them out after the initial tank cycle, can be very difficult especially in larger tanks and you may be forced to remove rock in order to remove the fish. If you leave it in the tank it can end up harassing and killing any fish you add in the future.
Ocellaris clownfish are great starter fish because they are pretty hardy and are not nearly as aggressive.
2. Be careful of what you add in the tank as far as artificial decorations go. Most of these decorations are designed for freshwater use, but saltwater can be very corrosive. Over time the decorations might leech different chemicals into the water which can possibly kill everything and it wont show up in the tests.
3. Biological Filtration, This includes the live rock and live sand. There are many conflicting opinions as to how much rock and how much sand you need in your tank. Some will recommend 1 pound per gallon, which is a great idea but can be misleading. Every rock is different and some are more porous than others. With some of the more porous rocks you could fill your entire tank before you reach 1 pound per gallon. Live rock acts as a biological filtration, which basically uses different bacteria's and micro-organisms to break down your nutrient levels.
Soo theoretically the more live rock, the more more bacteria which will act as a natural filtration source to a certain extent. That being said, your sand will also hold the beneficial bacteria as well. In a tank this small it will be beneficial to add more rock, but not necessary.
4. Mechanical Filtration. It looks like you have a nice little hang on back filter, it will work for a tank this small but will need a little modification. The standard filters that come in most HOB filters contain only carbon. Carbon is great for clarifying the water, but that is pretty much it. It doesn't last too long either after about 2 weeks or so it loses its effect.
I would take out those carbon filters and replace them with either a product called PURA pad or chemipure elite. Both of these products contain the carbon that clarifies the water but they also contain other media's that will help export the nutrients (fish waste, uneaten food.....)
5. Temperature. Get an accurate thermometer for your tank, not one of those stickers that you stick on the side. I like to keep my tank about 77-78 degrees Fahrenheit. You do not want your tank to fluctuate more than about 2 degrees. The more stable you keep things the better everything will do. Before your lights turn on in the morning record the temp of your tank and write it down, then do the same before all your lights turn off at the end of the day. This will give you a decent idea of what you temp fluctuation is.
6. Water Testing. The main things you will be testing on your tank is going to be Salinity, Nitrate and Phosphate. If you are going to keep corals, stick to the soft corals and maybe a try few lps (large polyp stony) corals. If you have a lfs have them check your nitrite and ammonia levels the next time you go, do not bother buying a test kit for them because as soon as your tank is cycled and they hit 0 you will never really see them again. Do not worry about testing anything else at this point in your saltwater experience soft corals will not consume calc, mag, alk fast enough where you would need to start dosing. Even if you do decide to venture into some lps corals your water changes should be enough to replenish anything that is consumed for the time being. Once you get more experience in this hobby is when id be concerned with the other elements
For Salinity you are going to want to use whats called a refractometer, they can be a little expensive but will last you forever as long as you don't drop it on the ground constantly. It will need to be calibrated but your local fish store should be able to help you out with that. Do not waste your money on a hydrometer (the plastic things with the swinging arm) they do a great job of letting you know if there is salt in the water but do a poor job of telling you how much salt is in the water and are notoriously inaccurate.
Nitrates and Phosphates are your nutrient levels (fish waste, uneaten food...) For Nitrate and Phosphate I suggest using either the Red Sea Test kits or Salifert test kits both are relatively easy to use and give you accurate results. Nitrates you are going to want to keep below 10, but strive to keep them as close to 0 as possible. Phosphates you are going to want to keep below about 0.10 also strive to keep them as close to zero as possible. DO not waste your money on API test kits or any of the dip strips.
7. Water Changes. Test your nutrient levels every week, when your nitrates start to rise to a water change to bring them down. If your nitrates are at 10 and you do a %50 water change, keep in mind that it will theoretically only drop that number in half.
Keep in mind that this is just my opinion.
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