I recently decided that now is a good time for me to buy my first salt water tank. I purchased a 90 gallon reef tank. First of all, the store I went to ask questions and buy the tank took advantage of me and I over paid for the whole kit by $500 or more after looking around. The problem I am having is, I have visited 5 different fish stores and I get 5 different ways to cycle and care for my tank and then I try to read advice from the internet and IT is different. I am completely confused and wondering if I made a huge and costly mistake! I don't know who I should listen to.
New at this and confused
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twilliard
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I cycle my tanks with live rock
Get your tank all set up the way you want, substrate, rock, lighting and equipment.
@KJ I think has a good write-up on this.
Take it slow and it will be the best investment you have made.
And welcome to R2R!
We are all here to help
Get your tank all set up the way you want, substrate, rock, lighting and equipment.
@KJ I think has a good write-up on this.
Take it slow and it will be the best investment you have made.
And welcome to R2R!
We are all here to help
Feltman
Active Member
Just stop listening to anything any lfs (local fish store) says first off. Second there are about a million ways to start and care for a saltwater tank. For a new guy I'd recomend reading and rereading this guide and then following only this guide until you get the hang of it and start feeling more comfortable. 90 is a good starter tank and some people stick with that size forever. Here's the link
http://www.reefedition.com/291/
http://www.reefedition.com/291/
twilliard
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Hi from Ellensburg!
Thank you very much for the advice. I have a couple of questions. My tank had been up and running for about a week and I was told to add a bottle of "Live Nitrifying Bacteria" made by Fritz Zyme a big number "9" on the bottle. Not even 12 hours later it looks like I have brown algae on my live rock and spotty on my sand, is that normal? He said it would speed up my "cycling". my second question is, now I am being told to add hermit crabs or something like that to clean the tank. Should I get them? HELP PLEASE
I have a couple of questions. My tank had been up and running for about a week and I was told to add a bottle of "Live Nitrifying Bacteria" made by Fritz Zyme a big number "9" on the bottle. Not even 12 hours later it looks like I have brown algae on my live rock and spotty on my sand, is that normal? He said it would speed up my "cycling". my second question is, now I am being told to add hermit crabs or something like that to clean the tank. Should I get them? HELP PLEASEI cycle my tanks with live rock
Get your tank all set up the way you want, substrate, rock, lighting and equipment.
@KJ I think has a good write-up on this.
Take it slow and it will be the best investment you have made.
And welcome to R2R!
We are all here to help
The bottle of Bacteria that I added states "Naturally removes Ammonia & Nitrite". After they came out and set it up, all they told me to check was my hydrometer. I am finding out that I need to buy test kits and check other levels. What should I be testing?
Feltman
Active Member
While your cycle is going you should be testing for ammonia nitrite into nitrate, which is all u need to worry about until cycle is one. Bacterea boosters cam help speed this process up and if u read that guide I listed differnt types of algea is part of the cycling process. However I've never heard of the brand you used so can't speak for its success but I have used products like biospira in the past to help speed up a rock cycle or help restablish a tank during a big move.
Once the cycle is done for fish u only need to worry about nitrate and phosphate if u start corals at the beginning it's just alkalinity calcium and magnesium but more advanced reefers will open up the can of worms that is trace elements.
Once the cycle is done for fish u only need to worry about nitrate and phosphate if u start corals at the beginning it's just alkalinity calcium and magnesium but more advanced reefers will open up the can of worms that is trace elements.
twilliard
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Like the triton method!
moink
New Member
I use Reef Cleaners they have a pretty nice web page and they can help with the cleaning crew www.reefcleaners.org I have snails and blue and red legged hermit crabs they work really well together. I have extra shells for my crabs but they still kill off some of my snails so I have to replace the snails once in awhile. But to me both are great to have. Plus i have a Tiger Sand Conch love this guy hes a sand cleaning machine I added a pic of him
steve&mari
Blessed Reefer
As the links will say you need to feed the tank or the bacteria will die off and cycling will stall algae blooms are normal n go through stages. Test kits as above are important n must have items to track cycle n on.
twilliard
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Thank you Steve!
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Section 5: The Cycle
image via rusticgirls
In a freshwater aquarium you can add some flake food, wait a couple weeks, and then you can add fish. In the ocean there is much more involved than mechanical filtration. In fact, 70% of your aquariums filtration relies on the maturity of the live rock. A combination of bacteria, algae, and various invertebrates compose the “live” part of the rock. It takes quite a while to establish an ecosystem, even on a microscopic level. Without a proper understanding of the Marine Cycle, you will be in for a long term battle with parameters and algae. There are six main stages to a properly cycled tank. Follow this guide and you cannot mess up. You will need your basic test kit to test the progress.
Stage 1: Ammonia Cycle
Ammonia is the first thing that forms when something rots. It is a waste product in nearly all creatures as well. Instead of using a fish to start the cycle just use some food. Anything that is all natural and uncooked works just fine. Table shrimp that is uncooked works great. Drop it on the sand so it is in view. The shrimp should begin to rot within a couple hours or more. Let this shrimp rot until it is completely gone. If you are curious what your ammonia levels are, go ahead and take some tests. Keep track of the results as the shrimp rots. The smaller the food gets the more ammonia should be present in your water column and pretty soon should be off the charts. This will stay high for a while, but then start to drop. As soon as the ammonia starts to drop you will see a rise in Nitrite, you are now on the next stage.
Stage 2: Nitrite Cycle
Ammonia when broken down by bacteria becomes Nitrite, which is still a toxin. As your Nitrites rise your Ammonia will drop, drop, and keep dropping as long as you haven’t added any animals. Keep up with testing to observe your progress. Eventually your Ammonia will be very low and your nitrites will peak out until it starts feeding a different type of bacteria that turns it into Nitrates. Once your first signs of Nitrates are seen you are on the next stage.
Stage 3: Nitrate Cycle
Nitrates are removed within the live rock deep inside in all of the deep pours. This hidden bacteria consumes the nitrate and creates nitrogen gas as a byproduct. The nitrogen gas rises in the water column and escapes into the air. When one gas leave, another enters. Oxygen is then infused into the water. After the Nitrates start to dissipate your oxygen will increase and you will be ready for the intermission:
image via rusticgirls
In a freshwater aquarium you can add some flake food, wait a couple weeks, and then you can add fish. In the ocean there is much more involved than mechanical filtration. In fact, 70% of your aquariums filtration relies on the maturity of the live rock. A combination of bacteria, algae, and various invertebrates compose the “live” part of the rock. It takes quite a while to establish an ecosystem, even on a microscopic level. Without a proper understanding of the Marine Cycle, you will be in for a long term battle with parameters and algae. There are six main stages to a properly cycled tank. Follow this guide and you cannot mess up. You will need your basic test kit to test the progress.
Stage 1: Ammonia Cycle
Ammonia is the first thing that forms when something rots. It is a waste product in nearly all creatures as well. Instead of using a fish to start the cycle just use some food. Anything that is all natural and uncooked works just fine. Table shrimp that is uncooked works great. Drop it on the sand so it is in view. The shrimp should begin to rot within a couple hours or more. Let this shrimp rot until it is completely gone. If you are curious what your ammonia levels are, go ahead and take some tests. Keep track of the results as the shrimp rots. The smaller the food gets the more ammonia should be present in your water column and pretty soon should be off the charts. This will stay high for a while, but then start to drop. As soon as the ammonia starts to drop you will see a rise in Nitrite, you are now on the next stage.
Stage 2: Nitrite Cycle
Ammonia when broken down by bacteria becomes Nitrite, which is still a toxin. As your Nitrites rise your Ammonia will drop, drop, and keep dropping as long as you haven’t added any animals. Keep up with testing to observe your progress. Eventually your Ammonia will be very low and your nitrites will peak out until it starts feeding a different type of bacteria that turns it into Nitrates. Once your first signs of Nitrates are seen you are on the next stage.
Stage 3: Nitrate Cycle
Nitrates are removed within the live rock deep inside in all of the deep pours. This hidden bacteria consumes the nitrate and creates nitrogen gas as a byproduct. The nitrogen gas rises in the water column and escapes into the air. When one gas leave, another enters. Oxygen is then infused into the water. After the Nitrates start to dissipate your oxygen will increase and you will be ready for the intermission:
I want to THANK everyone for the true and honest advice. I was getting such contradicting info from my local fish stores I thought my head was going to explode! I am now needing to add water due to evaporation. When they set my tank up they didn't tell me what to use when I need to add water they just said add water. Do I have to prepare the water with salt or any type of dechlorinator before I add it? can you buy water already prepared?
Can I keep the snails and hermits after I add the fish or do I need to get rid of them? I have a 90 gallon tank with live rock and live sand, how many do you recommend I should start with of each?I use Reef Cleaners they have a pretty nice web page and they can help with the cleaning crew www.reefcleaners.org I have snails and blue and red legged hermit crabs they work really well together. I have extra shells for my crabs but they still kill off some of my snails so I have to replace the snails once in awhile. But to me both are great to have. Plus i have a Tiger Sand Conch love this guy hes a sand cleaning machine I added a pic of him
drstratton
Valuable Member
When you go to reefcleaners.com they have packages geared toward the size of tank. You can buy snail & crab packages or just snails. You don't want to add anything to the tank until you know your parameters and the tank is completely cycled! I have another article to add on to the one KJ listed. I'll find it and post it!
