Saltwater newbie here...just bought 28 Gallon Bowfront..

R

rdy4flt

New member
Hello all,

I posted a similar thread in the newby forums but only got a couple replys and since I'm not a "forum" newbie I hate to post something similar but I figure the nano section might be more appropriate for a tank my size. I have had this tank cycling for a couple of weeks now. It's a 28 gallon bowfront tank ,running a Marineland Emperor 280, I have about 20pounds of LR and I do plan on buying at least another 10 pounds. I don't want to build up a huge reef system but something that can have some nice fish and maybe some coral, and other fun stuff. I have tested the water twice so far and things are looking good. I do want to be able to test the water myself, so far I've been taking it to Petsmart and have been getting free testing done there. Which test kits should I buy? I also have purchased but nothing has arrived yet, stuff to clean the tank and a Metal Halide with Compact Flourecent setup from Aquatraders.

When I first set everything up someone told me to use damsels to seed in the tank and to expect some to die and so far some have. I have 4 damsels, one all blue, two yellow tailed and one black and white striped. I have noticed how territorial they are and I do plan on pulling them out before I introduce new livestock into the tank. Aside from the fish I have a snail, not sure what kind...I have a red claw crab and an arrow crab. Another thing I know I need to get is a protein skimmer, someone suggested I get the Coralife 65 for my tank...so I'll probably go with that one. Are there other skimmers I should look into.

Any advice for a saltwater newbie is greatly appreciated. This forum come highly recommend from a car forum I belong which is why I'm here.


Thanks,

Rudi
 
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Advice: ditch the damsels, how cruel is it to have them die? You can jump start your cycle by keeping a piece of cocktail shrimp in there for a few days. Its cheaper, you don't have to deal with the mean damsels, and its already dead.

For a protein skimmer, I always recommend Aqua C Remoras, but they aren't cheap. Worth the price though, I love mine.

What are your water params?

Why wait to add more live rock? Do it all at once and get it over with so it can all be cycled at the same time.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9379123#post9379123 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SugarFox03
Advice: ditch the damsels, how cruel is it to have them die? You can jump start your cycle by keeping a piece of cocktail shrimp in there for a few days. Its cheaper, you don't have to deal with the mean damsels, and its already dead.

For a protein skimmer, I always recommend Aqua C Remoras, but they aren't cheap. Worth the price though, I love mine.

What are your water params?

Why wait to add more live rock? Do it all at once and get it over with so it can all be cycled at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, those crazy little damsels need to go. I'm going to check out that skimmer, I need one ASAP. I'm not sure of my water parameters...I don't have a test kit yet, until I get one I've been having the local Petsmart do it for me...I'm going to test the water today.

The rock...yeah...at first I only added about 10 pounds....then I added a little more and this past weekend I added the final 10 pounds so now I have 30 pounds in my 28 gallon tank. It looks good but I didn't initially buy it all that once do to cost but now it's all in there and I'm happy with it.

Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it. Which test kit or what should I use to test my water?

Thanks again,

Rudi
 
test kits: everyone has their favorite brands so i wont' go into which specific ones to get but these are the basis you should have on hand...

ph, Nitrate, Ammonia, Caclium, and Alkalinity. a refractometer is also a good investment (much more reliable than a hydrometer).

if you start getting nasty algae blooms, you might also want to invest in a Phosphate test kit.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9402674#post9402674 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by slowECUdiver
test kits: everyone has their favorite brands so i wont' go into which specific ones to get but these are the basis you should have on hand...

ph, Nitrate, Ammonia, Caclium, and Alkalinity. a refractometer is also a good investment (much more reliable than a hydrometer).

if you start getting nasty algae blooms, you might also want to invest in a Phosphate test kit.
Click to expand...

Great! Thank you. I've been wondering what I should test for. I'll have to pick up a test kit. Would the algae blooms be pretty obvious or do I have to know what I'm looking for?

Thanks,

Rudi
 
If anyone ever advised me to cycle with a fish knowing very well it may die, I would never go back to that LFS.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9404517#post9404517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimrawr
If anyone ever advised me to cycle with a fish knowing very well it may die, I would never go back to that LFS.
Click to expand...

Yeah I haven't gone back to that person since. I just ask you knowledgable people :)

So I just got back from Petsmart where I tested my water and everything was in normal levels except the alkalinity, which was high. The water in the tank was bought from a very reputable fish store, it's filtered seawater I believe so I'm not sure how the level got so high but what can I do to bring it back to a normal level?

As far as protein skimmers I'm still hunting around, I'm looking in the Remora and the Tunze Nano Doc.

Thanks for all your help. :)

Rudi
 
I recommend Salifert test kits, although expensive...they are pretty darn accurate. Did PetSmart test for calcium also? If so, what was the reading? Have you been adding anything to the tank, or do you know if the LFS adds anything to it?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9404916#post9404916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SugarFox03
I recommend Salifert test kits, although expensive...they are pretty darn accurate. Did PetSmart test for calcium also? If so, what was the reading? Have you been adding anything to the tank, or do you know if the LFS adds anything to it?
Click to expand...

Salifert test kits...I'll have to check those out...thank you for the recommendation. I don't believe they did test for calcium. I just started adding Kent Marine, Liquid Calcium and a couple of other things. Do those Salifert kits test for everything I would need?


Rudi
 
You have to buy them all separately. Check ebay, thats were I got mine. Calcium and alkalinity go hand in hand...so if you've been adding too much calcium, thats probably whats causing your alkalinity to raise also.

Rule of thumb...never add anything you don't test! :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9405214#post9405214 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SugarFox03
You have to buy them all separately. Check ebay, thats were I got mine. Calcium and alkalinity go hand in hand...so if you've been adding too much calcium, thats probably whats causing your alkalinity to raise also.

Rule of thumb...never add anything you don't test! :)
Click to expand...

Great tip...thankyou :) I'll check ebay for the test kits, hopefully I find a good deal.



Rudi
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9405578#post9405578 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdy4flt
Great tip...thankyou :) I'll check ebay for the test kits, hopefully I find a good deal.



Rudi
Click to expand...

I haven't looked into the test kits yet but I did buy a protein skimmer. I went with the Aqua C Remora with the maxi jet 1200. I was looking into the Tunze Doc Nano and I now its a little less money but I've read and heard great things about the Remora and besides since the tank is in the living room I wanted something that was going to be as low key as possible and I thought the Remora fit the criteria. Can't wait for it to arrive, I got it from MarineDepot.com shipped for $173 and they are about 20 minutes from my house so it should be here by tomorrow or the next day.


Thanks for the help in my decision.

Rudi
 
Good choice on skimmer. Thats the only thing I will have on my tank. :) Give it a week or so to break in. Don't worry about microcbubbles...they will go away. Also, it helps a lot to rinse it out real well before putting in on your tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9413592#post9413592 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SugarFox03
Good choice on skimmer. Thats the only thing I will have on my tank. :) Give it a week or so to break in. Don't worry about microcbubbles...they will go away. Also, it helps a lot to rinse it out real well before putting in on your tank.
Click to expand...

Thanks again for all the help. :) Now time to go look into those test kits.


Rudi
 
My Aqua C Remora arrived yesterday and after rinsing it with warm water I installed it. I'm pretty pleased with it's looks and size, hopefully it performs well. As decribed by some posts I've read and by the instructions for the skimmer it is a little noisey since it's breaking in and I do have those microbubbles. Once I turned it on it filled up and obviously lowered the water line in the tank. I have some filtered saltwater that has been sitting around for a couple of week, would it be ok to add this to bring up the water level even though I'm not quite done cycling my new tank? In my tank (28gal), between my Remora and my Emperor 280 filter there is ALOT of circulation and flow. When the skimmer started up last night the fish just hid in the rocks, I guess they are scared of the water pouring into the tank from the skimmer.:confused: Even this morning they were not venturing to far out from the rock. Is this Remora too powerful for my tank, should I have gone with something smaller?



Rudi
 
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