New tank

Platypus57 · Jun 14, 2012

Hi I'm new to salt water tanks I've had mine running for a week now what checks must I perform before I can add fish I have 126l tank with live rock protein skimmer etc thanks

BarbH · Jun 14, 2012

Hello and welcome to r2r and to the hobby. You will want to get test kits for checking levels of ammonia nitrites and nitrates. You will know that your tank has cycled and is ready to add fish when you are getting readings of 0 on ammonia and nitrites. Are you planning on doing a reef setup or are you thinking of doing a fowlr setup at this time?

wysiwyg · Jun 14, 2012

BarbH said:
Hello and welcome to r2r and to the hobby. You will want to get test kits for checking levels of ammonia nitrites and nitrates. You will know that your tank has cycled and is ready to add fish when you are getting readings of 0 on ammonia and nitrites. Are you planning on doing a reef setup or are you thinking of doing a fowlr setup at this time?

barb nailed it on the head. and when you add your first fish make sure its a nice cheap damsel or chromis so if it does die it isnt a big loss

BarbH · Jun 14, 2012

For first fish I agree with choosing one of the more hardier less expensive fish that you want to keep. Depending on the type of fish that you are wanting to keep I would probably advise staying away from the damsels since most of them become very aggressive and territorial as they mature.

Platypus57 · Jun 14, 2012

Thanks for the advice I plan doing a reef tank I assume by That you mean live rock with corals I intend doing those checks fri evening hope to add couple cheap fish sat if tests ok cheers

thewackyreefer · Jun 14, 2012

Platypus57 said:
Thanks for the advice I plan doing a reef tank I assume by That you mean live rock with corals I intend doing those checks fri evening hope to add couple cheap fish sat if tests ok cheers

Unless you're planning to keep the "cheap" fish I'd hold off... Most likely the tank is not ready for any livestock at this point since it's only a week old.

wysiwyg · Jun 14, 2012

if your gonna get into corals your gonna wanna get an alk tester calcium tester and mag tester as well.

BarbH · Jun 14, 2012

You will also want to be able to test for you pH.

AsphaltPays · Jun 14, 2012

Hello and Welcome to R2R how much live rock in the tank and is it cured ? One thing I have learned from this hobby it is not a race it's a marathon I would invest in a good test kit and a refractometer you can get one of these for about 35$ Good luck in your new adventure

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ritter6788 · Jun 14, 2012

Welcome! Good advice above.^^^ Take it slow. Make absolutely sure before you add anything to your tank and always do research before buying any livestock. A quarantine tank is a good idea to prevent introducing parasites to your display tank.

Platypus57 · Jun 14, 2012

Hi there is 13kg live rock and yes it's cured I understand the need for patience but it's needing to know when and why the prob

revhtree · Jun 14, 2012

Welcome to R2R! Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

Steelerfan747 · Jun 14, 2012

Welcome to R2R and great advice from above. Don't rush in with adding fish but when you think you are ready go with a chromis. If it dies, no big financial loss and if it survives then thats great as it's a nice highly desirable fish anyways. Good luck and post pics.

Saltgator · Jun 14, 2012

Welcome

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mallorieGgator · Jun 14, 2012

Welcome to reef2reef!

take it slow and I would not recommend adding a damsel. You will have to tear the entire tank apart once you want to remove it.

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Platypus57 · Jun 18, 2012

Hi I recently added a red blood shrimp to my tank very disappointed cos he never comes out other than feeding time any other tricks to get him out of hiding