+ New To The Hobby

[sir_dudeguy]

for now i would just put the rock in a seperate container of saltwater using tap water. Then as soon as possible go to water mart and get your ro (unless you can go right away...that way you'll save 5 gallons of water)

and not all tap water is that bad mine comes out pretty good, so when i have to i use that. But for just holding your rock for a little bit, i dont see any problem w/using tap. Just untill you get ro water.

 

[kass03]

If you do use tap water and it is'nt well water you need to treat it to get rid of the chlorine and chloramines before using.

kass

 

[sir_dudeguy]

yes that too. forgot about that. I just use one of those dechlor things, but i dont know how affective they are...i'm sure that they vary in affectiveness tho

 

[Ethics]

Hey Guys,

Here's the list of things I purchased today...

Red Sea Salt 50 Gal Worth

CU Fission Nano skimmer ( I asked the guy for a top off, and this is what he gave me )

Arag Alive Sand Fine 2 / 20lb

A 12" 36 Watt Corallight Lamp

10 lbs of Cured Live Rock ( 7.88 a lbs :O )

Saltwater Master Liquid Water Test Kit

Calcium Test Kit

So I got home and found out I had to keep the cured live rock in some salt water so here's what I did.

I measured 5 gallons of tap water and put it ina bucket. I looked ont he package of Red Sea Salt and put in the amount required for 5 gallons of water.

I put the live sand int he tank and filled it up with the water I made.

I crushed the rock into smaller pieces and put it in the tank.

Then I assembled the skimmer and my old filter. I put some pieces of crushed rock into the filter.

I setup and light and the tank, here's how it looks.

Thats how the setup looks, I got lucky and put the light ona shelf I cut a few minutes ago which fit prefectly.

Now I have a few questions...

What can you guys tell me about the way I set everything up, was anything done wrong?

I didn't realize you had to buy water, so I guess I will have to buy some tommorow, is this stuff expensive? and do you need it to do every water change?

The light that ona shelf, will it need some kind of fans to stop from overheating, or is it fine the way it is?

Im also planning on building a top off tommorow to solve the dissolving issue.

Oh Now when I was mixing the salt I noticed it needed the water to be a certain SW level, or some abreviation, not sure what it was, do I need ot buy a test kit for this also?

There also seems ot be a ton of little bubbles comign form the skimmer, will this go away or is there some way of fixing this?

And finally if you guys have any last tips to help me get going ont he right track I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,
Mario

 

[oddiseus]

Now I have a few questions...

What can you guys tell me about the way I set everything up, was anything done wrong?
So far looks like a SW tank, hard to say if anything is wrong yet.

I didn't realize you had to buy water, so I guess I will have to buy some tommorow, is this stuff expensive? and do you need it to do every water change?

-An Reverse Osmosis(RO Unist) is usually the away many people handle the water issue. You should really get that stuff ASAP but since you already started your tank with tap, just use RO for water changes and top off and it will eventually cycle out.

The light that ona shelf, will it need some kind of fans to stop from overheating, or is it fine the way it is?

- You need a temperature gauge that way you can see what its doing. You should be around 77 - 80* F

Im also planning on building a top off tommorow to solve the dissolving issue.

Oh Now when I was mixing the salt I noticed it needed the water to be a certain SW level, or some abreviation, not sure what it was, do I need ot buy a test kit for this also?

- The abbreviation was SG which means "specific gravity" I would have already had one of those, you might find your tank has too little or too much salt in it. Both easily remedied hold off on testing the params until you get one of those. They are only a couple bucks for the cheap one.

There also seems ot be a ton of little bubbles comign form the skimmer, will this go away or is there some way of fixing this?

-This will go away soon, its just until the oils from the pipe and your hands dissolve, also you are probably too light on salt, again I wouldnt just add more until you get a test kit.

And finally if you guys have any last tips to help me get going ont he right track I'd love to hear them.

- Be patient, your tank has a lil journey to make before it's ready for any animals. I would research RO/DI units and decide if it's in your budget to buy one. Until then use drinking water. Also it is VERY important you know where your salt levels are, so get a tester asap. Just get a cheap one and if you decide you like the hobby enough maybe you can buy a little more expensive refractometer. Other than that It looks great! =) You made the leap of faith a lot sooner than I expected. Thats how I do it. "Get er done"!! WOOHOO.

Thanks,
Mario

 

[sir_dudeguy]

i'm not sure why the guy gave you a nano skimmer for a topoff...topofs and skimmers are completely different. but those nano skimmers are junk so i hear...i'd suggest taking it back..he prolly just wanted to sell stuff.

 

[Ethics]

Thanks guys for all the input.

The guy that gave me the skimmer is the worst sales person I've ever delt with, he's also a manager there.

If you ask him for help with something he'll make it seem like your a complete idiot and try to sell you 100 things you don't need. I asked him for a top off, he said he didnt have one there, but like 10 minutes later he came back and he said heres your top off, me not knowing what one looks liek I took it.

Will the skimme rhelp at all or is it usless? I rather just keep it if it will do some good to the tank.

Tommorow Im going to go to the local fish store and pickup a SG test kit, and some RO Water to get things going.

Im also goign to look up how to build a simple top off so I don't get too much evaporation.

Once I get all that i'll post some water parameters for you guys.

Also a weird thing I noticed when breaking up the Live rock. There were a few Big Worm type of animals in the rock. Not sure what they were but their in my tank now, any idea on what they could be?

Also how big of a water change do you gusy reccomend weekly on a 5 gallon tank?

And do I doa water change with RO water with the salt mixed in or just plain RO water. And for the topoff do I use saltwater, or plain RO water, the guy at the store told me plain RO water.

Thats all the questions I can think of right now, you guys have been great.

Oh and for the filter, I used a plain filter, with no biowheel and no media, just a empty filter and I put some live rock int here, what else should I buy to put in the filter?

Ah and forgot to ask, what kinds of things should I be looking out for now that I have a new tank, anything bad that might grow out of the live rock?

One last question, how long should I leave the lights on? My lights don't have a moonlight, is that bad?

Thanks,
Mario

 

[sir_dudeguy]

I'd take the skimmer back, but if you can try it and it works, then i'd keep it...its gotten pretty poor reviews, which is a shame because i know it was pretty anticipated (spelling)

the worms are likely bristleworsm which are beneficial. The more the merrier (and trust me...i fyou've got 1...you've got a thousand lol)

water change...i'd only do about a 1 gallon, and yes, thats w/premixed saltwater. just mix your salt in w/some ro water about 24 hours before, and use that.

Topoff is w/freshwater, because when water evaps, its fresh...not salt...the salt will stay in the tank and build up if you top off w/saltwater.

for the filter you can leave it how it is w/the live rock, or you can do a fuge. in which case you'll need a light over it.

some things you should expect...algae...most new tanks go thru an algae bloom. Mine sure as heck did, but that may have been because of high nitrates, not simply because the thing was new.

plan on finding a bunch more things from the rock...featherdusters possibly, and little tiny white worms that go on the glass or any other surface and curl up into a spiral...they're called spirobid worms i believe, and are harmless.

by the way, you've got pm if you didnt know

hth
mike

 

[oddiseus]

For lights I recommend a 12 hour period, but for now I dont even think you need them. Eventually you are going to need a timer.

As for top off you only top off with fresh water no salt. Salt does not evaporate only water. But you do water changes with the same EXACT sg salt water as what you took out.

The worms in your rock sound like fireworms. No big deal on those. Most tanks have them as far as I know. I had them and they never caused any probs.

The filter sounds good empty for now, later you can add carbon, or you can attempt to mod it into a fuge. You need the water movement. Make sure that the top of the water is being broken to allow for aeration.

As for water changes usually you do a 10 percent change. In your case that won't be much at all. You don't want to put salt directly in the tank in granule form either, you want to pre mix it test it for sg and then aerate it with a pump, for awhile, I have never done a small tank like yours, but I would think that you would want the water the same temp as well, as not to shock your animals.

Did I miss anything?

-Odd

 

[sir_dudeguy]

ya 12 hours is good...but timers arent completely nessesary if you're always gonna be home to manually turn them on in the morning and evening. Corals can even go days w/out light...but if they dont have flow, they will quickly die off.

the worms..if they're fireworms the yes they are a problem...but they probably arent...i'm hoping oddiseus meant bristleworm, because those are the good ones and help clean and stuff...fireworms are a completely different *bad* worm i believe. I dont know exactly what they do, but i'm sure its probably something to do w/eating corals maybe.

this is a bristle worm. They can also be just solid pink too. I've never seen one fully brown/black before, but they could be i spose.

this is a link to a yahoo search for fire worms...you can see the difference.
Fire worms

 

[kass03]

What you need is a hydrometer to measure the salinity. If you want to spend more you can get a refractometer which are more precise.
Seatest makes one with the arm that tells you.
Dont get the glass thermometer type as they're harder to read.
I have the seatest and I keep mine around 1.024. Some people keep theres higher but I figure thats a good start and allows for evaporation and if the hydrometer is'nt accurate.
When you use it be sure to bang the bottom on something to get the air bubbles off the arm so it's more accurate.

Did you add anything to the water to get rid of chlorine and chloramines? Don't you guys think he was suppose to?
I have well water so don't have to but if I were you I'd still get some and add it. It's cheap. I thought I read chlorine goes out in a day but not chloramines.

You really need to research on here about everything a bit before jumping in.
I'm sure they're bristleworms and good for the tank and normally seen on live rock. Fireworms are rare.

kass

 

[Ethics]

Thanks for the advice guys, yeah they werent fireworms, they were mor eliek long tubeish brown worms. They kind of looked like earth worms, but shorter and thicker.

Im going to get the SG test kit today and some RO water to start topping it off and prepare some for my water change in 6 days.

I know I jumped in a little to quick, but I love to learn things as they happen. I don't plan on puttin anything live in the tank till all the parameters are good so no harm done right?

I will get some pictures of this green stuff I have growing in the tank, I have a feeling it may be bad.

Oh and I saw my first feather duster yesterday

I'll post my water results later, thanks again guys.
Mario

 

[kass03]

It is'nt really a SG test kit it's a hydrometer or refractometer. It measures the salinity.

You already put something live in as far as the rock and thats why I'm concerned about the chlorine/chloramines. It could kill all the creatures on the rock.
Plus you don't really know what the salinity is.
I can't believe the guy at the store who wants to sell you everything did'nt sell you a hydrometer lol it's the first thing you need.
Do you have a thermometer? I like the coralife digital ones theyre much more accurate than those strips.

heres a good hitchhiker id page if your wondering what things are on the rock
http://melevsreef.com/id/

kass

 

[Ethics]

Hey,

Yeah the guys at the store aren't very helpful in getting you started, but im part ot blame for that for rushing in so quick.

I went into the store and asked for a SG test kit, only to realize it was a meter like mentioned above lol, anyways got it along with 5 gallons of RO water, whcih im goign to be using to top off my tank for the next week, then do my weekly water change.

I ntoiced my salt levels are a bit high, so I asked in another thread on how to bring them down to the right level.

I will now test the other parameters in ym water to see whats going on. I'll be back shortly with the results.

Thanks for the input kass.

Mario

 

[sir_dudeguy]

what was the sg at? 1.024 is fine, but i like going for 1.025 or 6. I tested the sg in the ocean in rocky point and it was 1.027. I know thats just rocky point, and other places are probably higher or lower, but stil...1.027 is a bit higher than many people go for.

And i really dont think that the tap water would hurt any of the life forms on the rock. Yes, the dechlor stuff is good to use tho. Thats all i use and my water comes out pretty good out of the tap. I am going to use ro water for my 40 tho.

 

[Ethics]

Ok guys here are the results, if someone can analyze them for me and maybe let me know if there's osmehting horrible in my tank that would be great.

Nitrates - 0ppm

Saltwater Ammonia - 0ppm

Nitrites - 0ppm

Saltwater High Range PH - 8.0 to 8.2 ( a little hard to tell )

Calcium - 280ppm

Here's a image of the test results and the test kit I used...

And I noticed a few things in the tank, couldn't find the feather duster, but this green stuff is in about 3 places, I think it's algae but im most likely wrong, can someone identify?

And finally, this thing, thought it was just a rock, but it's become a bit bigger since last night, any idea on what it might be?

The SG was 1.031, any idea on how to lower it?

Thanks again guys,
Mario

 

[sir_dudeguy]

the tests all look good. I use the aquarium pharmaceuticals brand too, and i think they're pretty acurate...only can you take another more focussed pic on just the amonia card? i've lost mine lol. I'm also setting up a nano now. 2.5 gal. You prolly saw my thread a little bit ago. After 3 days of adding lr i think my amonia is 0 but i cant tell.

that does indeed look like just algae...hair i think...snails should munch that down pretty quick, or you can just pull it out i think.

i've got no clue what that white thing is tho..might be some macro algae, or it could be a freebie coral...but i doubt that...doesnt look like a sponge because its coming off the rock...so i'd leave it till you can figure out what it grows to, unless someone else can nail it now.

for the sg i posted in your other thread.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

oh, and your pH is fine imo. anything above 8 (well...not some rediculously high number..but you know what i mean...around 8.2 or 3) is fine.

 

[jessp]

walmart sells knock off eclipse tanks, that are identical, i found this out after i bought my brand name eclipse. the eclipse works, just not as flexible IMO as the other cube systems. but you can definately have a cool softy tank with a 12 gal bowfront eclipse. I added a 22 watt 50/50 screw in bulb for like 15 bucks and all did well.

 

[Ethics]

jessp I think you hit reply for the wrong forum, but maybe not, maybe i missed a post.

sir_dudeguy heres a better picture of the ammonia card.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all the help.

Mario