new46gal tank first time keepn corals going soft, the begining

[kimowen04]

ive had my first salt tank for about a yr now woo hoo for me!!
just upgraded today to a 46gal bowfront tank/30lb LR/LS/1pwr head/HOB skimmer/HOB FILTER and SKIMMER (30 gal)/2x96 watt Coral life power compacts, not sure what the bulbs r but i do have one blue in there too? actinic?

i want to start keeping corals and i think with my research im going to keep only hardy softies! just from what ive looked up online i have a small list of of what i think ill put in it. . .
maybe colt(cladiella)
green star polyps
button polyps
green flouresant mushroom
Ricordea

ne info and criticism is welcome im still learning and researching alot i want easy to keep softies! im hopping to keep adding to this thread and keep u updated on my journey in the softie coral world!!!

i will figure out how to add a pic and add one!! i jsut set the tank up today so its still cycling and settling down

 

[pecdo]

not real powerful lights so stick to the low light stuff such as you listed. you may hva to move things higher in th tank to get better light.

also, if you have been running those bulbs for a year they are readyy to be replaced. to the human eye they may look ok, but pcs loose intensity and spectrum that is hard to see but the corals know. if you replace them you would probable see the difference.

 

[kimowen04]

not real powerful lights so stick to the low light stuff such as you listed. you may hva to move things higher in th tank to get better light.

also, if you have been running those bulbs for a year they are readyy to be replaced. to the human eye they may look ok, but pcs loose intensity and spectrum that is hard to see but the corals know. if you replace them you would probable see the difference.

i just bought the tank used no clue how long its my 10 gal that ive had for a yr and its my first tank ever and never had 1 prob w it! it had a basic light and i bought a coralife 50/50actinic for it but didnt do that till much later in the yr so its prob still good to?

 

[kimowen04]

think i figured out the pics let me kno if u dnt see them! water is still cloudy adn ive got lots of skim hoping itl settle down at this rate of skim whoo. . it was pretty dirty and from rockscaping and it being an exhisting tank the sand was dirty! i took a strip test and my nitrates were like 160 ahhh!! and trites were like 3.0 i think and its was like 300+ppm alk, and ph is like 8.8 or VERY high too! the guy i bought it from had gotten the LR from a friend helping break down his tank and he put new RO water in it with LR from existing tank and LS from existing tank! how long till it settles should i do a water change now or in a few days? ne input is good input lol?

 

[kimowen04]

ok i did the cycle! everything went well! then bought some small coral frags! i got green toad,star polyps, zoos,kenya and some green bubbly mushroom.

heres the clencher!!!!!!

woke up to a WET FLOOR!!! AHH
got the tank from CL! i drained the tank and spent all night saving my LIVE STOCK! i have everything in 2 10 gal tanks! one which is full of LR! someone had already tried to reseal the bottom of the tank! its one of the worst seal jobs ive SEEN lol! they didnt even take off the old silicone!
i resealed our 75 gal tank that we ALSO GOT FRM CL! so CRAIGSLISTERS BEWARE!! check if ALL sealed areas have been tampered and ask how long the tank has held water! best if at least had water for like a week to ensure it wont leak!! i have just finished RE-SEALING the tank! im far from a professional lol all i did was research along time ago when i did the 75 gal. but ne advise is SO weLCOME?

im SOO DISAPPOINTED!

 

[lalo809]

Pm sent

 

[JoshPremierAuto]

Good luck. You should have never mentioned about not having a single problem with your other tank. You cursed yourself. LOL I would personally look at getting some lighting in there after you get your tank issue fixed. At least see if someone local to you have a PAR meter to test your tank.

 

[kimowen04]

par??

 

[kimowen04]

my progress since the leak!

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q233/kimowen04/?action=view&current=tankafteritsealed.jpg

 

[kimowen04]

new pics! no leaks and its all setup!! pics of corals too!


http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak001.jpg



http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak002.jpg



side



http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/q233/kimowen04/?action=view&current=donecycleddec709003-1.jpg

green star polyps
http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak003.jpg

green toadstool very small it fell off rockwork and has not opened p since! dec 12th!

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak004.jpg

green bumpy mushroom and a small bit of kenya growing from a small tube peice of rock
http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak006.jpg

kenya tree closed from moving him everywhere with a big snail beside him! my daughter calls all the snails GARYS frm spongebob ha
http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...=view&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak007.jpg


i have some orange an green zoos and some red looking coral thats grown frm my lr too but since my tank went down an it was in a 10 gal w snails abalone an crabs w my clown the corals were constantly bothered! i had a cf 50/50 actinic/day bulb and put a cf lamp by the tank too and the water tests were PERFECT,ammonia,ph,sg,temp,nitrite,nitrate, ive never had perfect water its always like 5-10ppm nitrates! so i tried my best? will my toad recover from a fall frm te rock after this long w/o opening up??

 

[kimowen04]

heres a good over all pic!

http://s137.photobucket.com/albums/...iew&current=fishtankdec2009afterleak002-1.jpg