Brand new to this, starting fresh, need help...

[sergifed91]

for water I go to target and get there .89 cent water. country market I believe. I test each bottle before for any levels of unwated and so far been lucky. it's all 0's. and just mix it with salt. I do have a RODI I got from chewy.com. will start using it ounce my cycles have completed. and get it set up.

 

[NS Mike D]

now that you are putting on the brakes to let the tank cycle, do more research to decide what type of tank you would like - we tend to start adding the kitchen sink wanting every cool looking coral and fish we see, but the reality is that not only do these animals can require very different levels of care, they also come from different parts of the reef and thus need different water parameters.

A mixed reef tank is possible; soft corals, lps (large polyp stoney corals, and sps (small polyp stoney coral) but will require a small window balancing water parameters. also, you can go folwr - fish only with live rock - as fish can tolerate a wide variety of water parameters compared to corals.

i would guess that most of us have mixed reef tanks by accident, starting out with easy beginner soft corals and adding more difficult lps and then sps over time with a lot of trial and error - that error being dead corals.


why rodi water? there can be elements and compounds in tap water that can be fatal to corals (like copper) or just full of nutrients (no3 and po4) that can make nuisance algae thrive.


why patience? cycling is actually letting your tank's invisible part of the ecosystem reach equilibrium. as you add new creatures to the tank, the equilibrium gets out of balance. the newer the tank the greater the imbalance and time needed to get back in balance.


Bruce Lee and this hobby? the way is there is no way. Lee was famous for not ascribing to a single martial art. there is a good deal of conflicting advice in this hobby and there is a lot we do not yet understand. don't add equipment or chemicals unless you are addressing a actual symptom - we have a tendency to add things to the tank because other folks with nice tank are doing it. the problem with that is the each tank is it's own unique ecosystem . i'll give you a common example - carbon dosing. while this is great way of using a skimmer to reduce nutrients, you can create a bacteria bloom as an unintended consequence if you didn't have a nutrient problem in the first place.

The Warren Buffet Approach- if the fundamentals haven't changed, stay the course. a new tank is almost certain to have a algae or cyano problem at some point. this will lead a person to stand on their head trying every method to eliminate the nutrients with no luck. what many do not understand, is with things like cyano, they can get nitrogen from other sources other than no3 and thus thrive in a tank while the corals are starving making the tank look worse. pick your target parameters (there are good articles on this) and focus on good fundamentals and not chasing zero no3/po4 my tank is full of algae. if I obsess over that, my tank looks dirty. but instead i focus my attention on the healthy growing corals with their vibrant colors and my enjoyment of the hobby is greatly elevated,

welcome to the hobby. share your progress. keep reading threads and be a sponge.

 

[paul barker]

If it's your first saltwater tank I would stay with LPS ONLY SPS can be challenging

 

[Hawkeye16]

now that you are putting on the brakes to let the tank cycle, do more research to decide what type of tank you would like - we tend to start adding the kitchen sink wanting every cool looking coral and fish we see, but the reality is that not only do these animals can require very different levels of care, they also come from different parts of the reef and thus need different water parameters.

A mixed reef tank is possible; soft corals, lps (large polyp stoney corals, and sps (small polyp stoney coral) but will require a small window balancing water parameters. also, you can go folwr - fish only with live rock - as fish can tolerate a wide variety of water parameters compared to corals.

i would guess that most of us have mixed reef tanks by accident, starting out with easy beginner soft corals and adding more difficult lps and then sps over time with a lot of trial and error - that error being dead corals.


why rodi water? there can be elements and compounds in tap water that can be fatal to corals (like copper) or just full of nutrients (no3 and po4) that can make nuisance algae thrive.


why patience? cycling is actually letting your tank's invisible part of the ecosystem reach equilibrium. as you add new creatures to the tank, the equilibrium gets out of balance. the newer the tank the greater the imbalance and time needed to get back in balance.


Bruce Lee and this hobby? the way is there is no way. Lee was famous for not ascribing to a single martial art. there is a good deal of conflicting advice in this hobby and there is a lot we do not yet understand. don't add equipment or chemicals unless you are addressing a actual symptom - we have a tendency to add things to the tank because other folks with nice tank are doing it. the problem with that is the each tank is it's own unique ecosystem . i'll give you a common example - carbon dosing. while this is great way of using a skimmer to reduce nutrients, you can create a bacteria bloom as an unintended consequence if you didn't have a nutrient problem in the first place.

The Warren Buffet Approach- if the fundamentals haven't changed, stay the course. a new tank is almost certain to have a algae or cyano problem at some point. this will lead a person to stand on their head trying every method to eliminate the nutrients with no luck. what many do not understand, is with things like cyano, they can get nitrogen from other sources other than no3 and thus thrive in a tank while the corals are starving making the tank look worse. pick your target parameters (there are good articles on this) and focus on good fundamentals and not chasing zero no3/po4 my tank is full of algae. if I obsess over that, my tank looks dirty. but instead i focus my attention on the healthy growing corals with their vibrant colors and my enjoyment of the hobby is greatly elevated,

welcome to the hobby. share your progress. keep reading threads and be a sponge.

Awesome post and thanks a lot for all the input.

 

[NanoNuvo16]

A lot of good advice here. I don't post much at all but definitely read a lot of threads on here. I know you probably are a little overwhelmed. I just thought I'd add my 2 cents as I didn't see it mentioned previously if it was forgive me. What are you using to measure your salinity? If you don't already have a refractometer I would invest in one. As they are much more accurate than a hydrometer. I had major salinity issues when I used a hydrometer first starting out. Couldn't figure out why things were dying or corals not opening up. Also I know this was mentioned before but I can't stress enough the importance of and rodi unit. It will pay for itself. Going to the store and buying water is ok for a while but then things come up and you can't get there then we get lazy and just use tap water and then issues begin to arise. An rodi unit takes the getting lazy part out of the equation. You'll be fine. Don't get frustrated and give up like I did the first time. Once you got the bug you'll have it for a long time [emoji6]

 

[Hawkeye16]

A lot of good advice here. I don't post much at all but definitely read a lot of threads on here. I know you probably are a little overwhelmed. I just thought I'd add my 2 cents as I didn't see it mentioned previously if it was forgive me. What are you using to measure your salinity? If you don't already have a refractometer I would invest in one. As they are much more accurate than a hydrometer. I had major salinity issues when I used a hydrometer first starting out. Couldn't figure out why things were dying or corals not opening up. Also I know this was mentioned before but I can't stress enough the importance of and rodi unit. It will pay for itself. Going to the store and buying water is ok for a while but then things come up and you can't get there then we get lazy and just use tap water and then issues begin to arise. An rodi unit takes the getting lazy part out of the equation. You'll be fine. Don't get frustrated and give up like I did the first time. Once you got the bug you'll have it for a long time [emoji6]

Thanks Nano, I did buy and have been using a refractometer, trying to maintain salinity at .025. Thanks for the advice

 

[Hawkeye16]

So I'm monitoring for the first signs of an ammonia spike, when this starts to happen do you think I should be dosing with Prime every couple of days during this or just let things go and hope the fish will be ok? I was thinking since Prime binds ammonia, would adding the prime during the spike help the clowns out at all during this cycling process?

 

[beaslbob]

I recommend you let the cycle continue and not use prime. Prime does lock up ammonia but most test kits still test positive for ammonia. Then danger can be you test ammonia, dose more prine and repeat. Prime also locks up oxygen so with fish it is actually possible to suffocate the fish.

So with no fish in just let the cycle proceed.

my .02

 

[Pivitol]

Welcome to the forum, tons of very friendly, experienced people on here so you are in good company. Starting an aquarium, especially a saltwater aquarium is like going back to high school or even college science classes, in the beginning there are several tests that are required Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, just for the cycle phase. Once you are past the cycle USUALLY nobody really checks ammonia or nitrite unless something major has happened. But then a whole new group of tests come like phosphate, calcium, magnesium ect. Depending on how deep you want to get into this hobby i.e.. time, money, and research will help you decide what type of setup you really want, be it a FOWLR, LPS, SPS or mixed. Again welcome and just remember "the only stupid question is the one that is never asked"
B.T.W, if you do go all in sometimes reefing feels like this.

 

[Del’s Reef]

Welcome to the forum, tons of very friendly, experienced people on here so you are in good company. Starting an aquarium, especially a saltwater aquarium is like going back to high school or even college science classes, in the beginning there are several tests that are required Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, just for the cycle phase. Once you are past the cycle USUALLY nobody really checks ammonia or nitrite unless something major has happened. But then a whole new group of tests come like phosphate, calcium, magnesium ect. Depending on how deep you want to get into this hobby i.e.. time, money, and research will help you decide what type of setup you really want, be it a FOWLR, LPS, SPS or mixed. Again welcome and just remember "the only stupid question is the one that is never asked"
B.T.W, if you do go all in sometimes reefing feels like this.

There’s way too much truth to that last statement. Why I have to choose three very expensive hobbies is beyond me.... (uilleann pipes, general aviation, and reefing...... worth it all though)

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

So I'm monitoring for the first signs of an ammonia spike, when this starts to happen do you think I should be dosing with Prime every couple of days during this or just let things go and hope the fish will be ok? I was thinking since Prime binds ammonia, would adding the prime during the spike help the clowns out at all during this cycling process?

I don't know if you'll see ammonia. I think the people warning you about ammonia missed the part where you mentioned you used the biological starter product to start the tank. As other posters said, things happened a bit quicker in your tank than we probably would have advised, but with the small bioload and the bacteria product, you probably won't have a cycle. If you really want to be sure, you can pick up some ammonia badges (your LFS should have them, places like Petco might have them too). If you see the ammonia badge register, then you can dose some Prime. You're probably okay though. I wouldn't dose Prime just to be safe, I would only dose it if you need to.

I also wouldn't get too caught up with an RO/DI unit right away. It's a good investment for the future, but if you just have a few fish, tap water is fine for now (be sure to treat it with a dechlorinator first). You can see some algae problems with tap water, and RO/DI is ideal, but nothing's on fire at the moment. Just read a lot, ask questions, and have fun

 

[Hawkeye16]

I think I have diatoms? Heres a few pics. I put 4 snails in the tank as well. Any thoughts on the brown stuff coming in on the rocks and sand is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Flux Capacitor]

That brown stuff is just a phase of the tank maturing. It will last a week or two, and it will go away. Nothing to worry about.

 

[paul barker]

Aero175 is right

 

[Hawkeye16]

Sounds good, thanks gents

 

[Hawkeye16]

Just wondering, what do people do if you go on vacation for a few days. I'm assuming the easy answer is get someone to check the tank everyday but if that's not an option, do you just overfeed the fish the week before or something? The lights will be on automatic timers so that's not an issue, I guess the question is just for feeding the livestock. Thoughts?

 

[Comic_Reef]

Fish can go a handful of days without being fed. Most will graze rock work for pods/algae/etc if they get really hungry. I typically just feed at the latest possible moment before leaving. Never had an issue. As long as your pumps and filtration equipment have backup power or you at least have a battery operated air stone present to aerate the water, i wouldn't worry too much about going out of town. Power outages seem to be my biggest concern personally.

Obviously having someone who can check the tank from time to time is always a bonus.

 

[Jesterrace]

Personally I would recommend going with Red Sea for the test kit for the money. API can give false positives for Ammonia and is horribly inaccurate for nitrates.


Also, not sure if it's been mentioned but you can buy RODI/Salt premix from an LFS (unless you live out in the boondocks) for the time being. You have to really watch tap water as some can be really high in nitrates and phosphates (ie out of control algae) and some can have trace amounts of ammonia in it. There is a lady on youtube who did fine with tap water at one residence and then moved and shortly afterwards her fish were all dead as she found trace amounts of ammonia in her tap.

 

[Hawkeye16]

Understood, I appreciate the input. Also, do you guys ever order livestock or corals online or just buy them locally? I'm just wondering how these living things can be shipped and if its safe for them and what are the chances I'm getting a sick or harmed fish or coral? Just wondering, thanks

 

[Comic_Reef]

I always prefer the LFS over online orders just due to the simplicity of knowing exactly what youre getting, the health of the specimen and not having to deal with weather. I live in AZ so the summer months are off limits of shipments of live animals for me (last summer shipment of clean up crew quickly because a summer shipment of nitrates). If you do choose online shipments, there are lots of quality distributors out there. These guys do it for a living so you can trust most of them to send you quality/healthy specimens. Pay attention to weather and make sure they arent going to be flying through frozen or overheated areas.