New to hobby

[HaroldR]

Hi RC! My name is Harold. I have been doing a lot of research for the past few weeks because I want to start my first saltwater tank. I have been in love with saltwater fish ever since I was kid. So, I decided I will try my best even though I was a little intimidated by all the comments I see everywhere saying that having a saltwater tank can be challenging. I would like some help on the things I need, just want to make sure I have everything I need before buying fish. I have 55g tank, bought a RO buddi 4 stage system, Instant ocean reef crystal mix, 20lbs Caribsea Live Rocks, 50 lbs Top fin Aragonite, Aquaclear 70, Heater, two tetra whisper air pumps (one is 20, and the other one is 40, the guy that I bought the tank from gave them to me for free) Test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, salinity, and hydrometer, and API QuickStart. Everything brand new besides the Tank, aquaclear 70, and Heater, I rinsed everything with rodi water. Currently filling the tank. Let me know if I need something else

 

[reefing102]

Welcome to RC!

I don’t know enough about API quick start to know if it’s safe for saltwater.

The air pumps you likely will not need. The aqua clear filter will work but should be cleaned regularly or it can become a nitrate factory later on. Otherwise sounds like you’re off to a good start.

As for test kits, currently I’d look at also acquiring a phosphate test kit and alklinity test kit, and perhaps calcium and magnesium later on if you plan on corals. (Salifert and Red Sea make great kits)

One question, was this tank previously freshwater or saltwater? The reason I ask, is if the prior owner used any copper based medication (common that freshwater owners does directly to their tanks rather than quarantine tanks) that may cause an issue with inverts and corals with it leaching from the silicone further down the road, but should be able to be treated with cuprisorb (I think it’s called). You’d want to get a reliable copper test first to see if it’s even an issue.

Also if doing coral, you may want to look into better lighting (didn’t see that listed so not sure what you currently have).

Hope this helps!

 

[HaroldR]

Thanks!
I forgot to mention the API QuickStart is supposed to be for reef tanks, but I don’t trust it so I will give a couple days and rest the water every day before adding fish and I got alkalinity and phosphate kit. Should I use Chemipure Elite? I’ve been reading is good for controlling phosphate levels. I am not sure if the tank was previously used for freshwater or saltwater, but I’ll ask .

I am planning to get corals later on, I want to get started with a pair of clown fish! So I’ll definitely get the right lighting when I do get corals.

Thank you for the help! I’m relieved and feeling more confident now

 

[reefing102]

You may just want ask if any medication was dosed directly into the tank (other than things like quick start, stress coat, etc). I can tell you that API is a pretty large brand in the overall aquarium industry. If they say it’s safe, then as a general rule, you should be pretty good.

If you want a bacterial boost to help with your cycle, I’d look into Dr. Tim’s, Microbactr, Fritz TurboStart or similar product, though the best is if you can get an established piece of rock from a local reefers tank or buy some live rock from either your LFS (if available) or directly from the suppliers (like Tampa Bay Saltwater, KP Aquatics, etc.) just shipping can be a little heavy for small orders.

As for chemipure, I wouldn’t run it until there’s a reason to (like a confirmed high phosphate test). What I mean is, generally, corals need some nutrients in the water (to include Nitrates and Phosphates) to thrive. Stripping nutrients early could cause the “ugly phases” to be worse. The ugly phases are the tank establishing itself and going through various algae blooms, such as diatoms, hair algae, Cyano, Dino’s, etc (some are easy and cycle out, others can make you want to pull your hair out and can last for what seems like forever).

 

[mtnbike101]

Welcome to ReefCentral, @HaroldR!

 

[JohnL]

Hi RC! My name is Harold.

Welcome to Reef Central Harold. @reefing102 has given great advice as usual.

 

[griss]

Welcome Harold. As John said, @reefing102 has given you solid advice. He’s been in the hobby quite a while and has a lot of knowledge.

 

[HaroldR]

Thank you guys! Appreciate the help. Just tested my water and the results are 0 nitrate, 0 phosphate, 0 nitrite, 10 dKH, 0 ammonia, haven’t tested my pH, and the gravity is 1.023, it’s been 24 hours since I turned on the tank filter and it is still very cloudy. I was thinking on getting a power head to help water move around and hoping it would fix the cloudiness. Is that good? What should I do?

Also, I know gravity should be 1.026, any tips on how to get the gravity of my water to 1.026?

Any observations are welcome

 

[reefing102]

It will take a bit for the sand to clear. But adding a filter pad in the filter (if there’s not one already) will help. Also it won’t hurt adding a powerhead

 

[HaroldR]

I added a Fluval filter foam and biomax ceramic rings to the filter yesterday. I will also add a powerhead just to add more water movement and maybe that will also help the insta ocean reef mix and get the gravity to 1.026.

 

[reefing102]

Do you have a heater? Mixing salt in cold water vs warmed water can actually vary the salinity level if I remember correctly

Edit: Nvm see you have a heater in the first post. Sometimes measurements are off. It would just be a case of slowly adding more salt and letting it fully dissolve then remeasuring

 

[AiredaleReef]

Hey there - welcome to the group and hobby! As you probably already know, you can spend hours researching and studying in preparation for a new tank. These forums are aways a good resource for quick help, and solid advice. As you are just setting up your tank, I would first recommend a fishless cycling method, before adding any livestock.

Here is what I would do...
1. use ammonium chloride to dose your tank to 2ppm of ammonia
2. wait until ammonia drops to 0.25ppm
3. repeat until your tank can process 2ppm of ammonia to 0.25ppm within 24 hours
This will build up your biofilter, making it ready to add livestock...Then you will be well on your way to getting that pair of clowns you want!

 

[HaroldR]

Do you have a heater? Mixing salt in cold water vs warmed water can actually vary the salinity level if I remember correctly

Edit: Nvm see you have a heater in the first post. Sometimes measurements are off. It would just be a case of slowly adding more salt and letting it fully dissolve then remeasuring

Ok I will slowly add salt and remeasure! Thank you

 

[HaroldR]

Hey there - welcome to the group and hobby! As you probably already know, you can spend hours researching and studying in preparation for a new tank. These forums are aways a good resource for quick help, and solid advice. As you are just setting up your tank, I would first recommend a fishes cycling method, before adding any livestock.

Here is what I would do...
1. use ammonium chloride to dose your tank to 2ppm of ammonia
2. wait until ammonia drops to 0.25ppm
3. repeat until your tank can process 2ppm of ammonia to 0.25ppm within 24 hours
This will build up your biofilter, making it ready to add livestock...Then you will be well on your way to getting that pair of clowns you want!

Hey there - welcome to the group and hobby! As you probably already know, you can spend hours researching and studying in preparation for a new tank. These forums are aways a good resource for quick help, and solid advice. As you are just setting up your tank, I would first recommend a fishes cycling method, before adding any livestock.

Here is what I would do...
1. use ammonium chloride to dose your tank to 2ppm of ammonia
2. wait until ammonia drops to 0.25ppm
3. repeat until your tank can process 2ppm of ammonia to 0.25ppm within 24 hours
This will build up your biofilter, making it ready to add livestock...Then you will be well on your way to getting that pair of clowns you want!

I was going to ask if there’s something I should do before adding livestock. You were one step ahead of me . Thanks! I’ll start doing that. Can’t wait to add my first pair of clowns

 

[AiredaleReef]

One of my first mistakes back in the day was adding too many things to my tank before properly cycling it. In other words, the tank could not handle the bio load (fish waste, rotting food etc.) I was throwing at it.

Once the tank has cycled, I would be confident in adding your clowns. I would just monitor your nutrient levels (nitrates and phosphates) afterwards to keep them in check.

 

[HaroldR]

Update:
Water is finally clear!!
Ammonia level is >0.25
Gravity is 1.025, I’m adding 3/4 cup and let it mix for 5-6 hours. So, eventually it should reach 1.026.
Now I need to rearrange live rocks because some of then moved due to the water movement I guess? And arrange the SpongeBob decor my girlfriend bought. Before putting the decor in the water I rinsed it with RODI water.
I am so excited and happy now that water is clear!! I thought I did something wrong or maybe didn’t rinse the sand properly

 

[reefing102]

Awesome to hear! I would definitely look into getting more rock as that will help with biological filtration.

 

[HaroldR]

Thank you! We’re definitely adding more rocks. As of now, we only have 20lbs of live rock! How many lbs of live rock do you recommend we should add?

 

[reefing102]

It honestly depends on what you want. You’ll want plenty of caves and structures for fish to hide but you don’t have to have a rock wall all the way up the glass. If you’re using dry rock, you can scape it outside the tank pretty easily, if your using live you can still scape outside of the rock is kept damp/wet or just scape inside the tank

 

[OldReefGuy]

Just IMO, but .026 is a little high....should be around .024-.025....
hopefully you have an ATO, because one day of evaporation is going to drive that level high....