new fish tank, need help please!

[sruiz]

I just got a tank last night, I am running a salt water system, Im in the process of adding rock to my tank.
In the future is there anything to help make the water look crisp clean ?? what is safe for the water, and what type of lighting do you suggest??

 

[yogisfriend]

Lots of water movement and carbon. Frequent water changes (10% a week). Make sure you match salt level and temp before adding. I have T-5 lighting. Get a skimmer (not a SeaClone!)

But before you have to worry about that, let it cycle and test until your nitrites and ammonia are at 0.

 

[bertoni]

New tanks often look cloudy. I would just ignore that for a while.

This thread is useful for startup information:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848

This one talks about lighting:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550860

I'm not sure what you mean by "safe for the water".

 

[sruiz]

is there any chemichal that will help clear the water??

I also ordered fiji rocks, do I have to clean those in salt water . The site said it had purple and pink colors, I thought that was good for the water?? Do I have to scrub the rock and clean it??

 

[bertoni]

There's nothing that I would put in my tank that will clear the water. It should clear up on its own. You can scrub off any rotten-smelling die-off on the rock, if there is any. That might save some time and animals. You can just dump it in the tank, though.

 

[Mike 1911A1]

Read-up on cycling a tank. Don't do anything to clear the water it WILL clear in time. Do alot of research on the hobby and you will probably get sucked into this like the rest of us. The number one rule (still difficult for me) is patience. Again, the water WILL clear up on it's own once the tank is cycled.

Mike

 

[Mike 1911A1]

Also, you have a month or so before the tank is safe. This gives you plenty of time to do some research. This is the best site I've found and you will learn alot if you browse the posts.

Mike

 

[IslandCrow]

Skim, skim, skim for that new rock and do water changes (10% a week or more). If you don't already have a protein skimmer, you'll really want to pick one up. It sounds like your rock is most likely still curing, so that's going to take a couple of weeks. Most people with reef tanks try to avoid adding a bunch of chemicals to their tanks. Many of them tend to have side effects that aren't on any label, and truthfully, once you really get your tank up and running (I'm still not really there at 7 months, so be patient), it does a very good job at keeping itself balanced.

 

[sruiz]

what is the best way to do a water change without harming my tank ??

 

[yogisfriend]

Make sure your new water is at the same salinity and temp. Make it up at least a day in advance and keep a powerhead in it to keep it moving and mixing. I make mine in a 32 gallon rubbermaid trash can. I also test my fill water before adding to my tank. I use a lot more test materials, but the alternative can be killing everything. You can get a siphon from the store--walmart has them in the fish/pet department. Use that to siphon water out of the tank but be careful of the sand--you'll stir it up and lose a lot as well. Add the new water slowly. Don't use saltwater for top off when your water evaporates or you'll have too much salt.