First Timer with the Reef Saltwater Tank

[hibbard22]

Hey Everyone !! We had a 37 Gallon Freshwater Tank for 10 years and never truly appreciate the beauty of a tank. It seemed to get algae and growth so easy. Probably more operator error and impatience than anything. Anyways, we've always visited our LFS and loved the salt water vibrant colors and coral. The owner told us years ago that one day we would want a saltwater tank. Well, that day has come. It did not come free though....

We are starting small and hopefully simple. 30 Gallon Tank, 70 AquaClear Power Filter, 25 lbs Live Rock, 1 Hydro Flo, 1 100 Watt Heater, 1 Chemipure Elite Ammonia and Nitrate Scavenging. We set everything up and let the water cycle for around 11 days. I have a 4 Light F24T5 AquaticLife light kit with Night Light Led's. (2 Blue and 2 White Lights) I kept the lights off while cycling with just the live rock as my LFS said there is really no reason to have the lights on with just live rock in the tank. I have two young kids and they would not stop asking me when we could add fishies! Day 12 we took water to our LFS to test and they said we were ready.

We added 2 Clowns (properly named after two of my customers), 10 Snails and 10 crabs. I've been adding RO water every other day as needed. I set the lights to come on at 10 AM. I originally did this, which was probably harsh. 2 - White 10 AM to 6 PM and 2 - Blue 11 AM to 7 PM. I think the white is to much with no Coral on the tank quite yet (green algae growing) We have now come to just over 4 full weeks of the tank running. Water has remained clear, live rock has some Coraline on it and some green algae on it as well. I did turn the white lights off completely this week as I was concerned the green algae would get crazy. So, now I am 2 Blue Lights from 10 AM - 7 PM... Nightlights till 11 PM....

I will be doing the first real water change this evening or tomorrow. I have 5 gallons of Salt Water ready to go.

Should I clean and change the filter once a month or every 2 months?

Should I do a water change once a month? and how much water should I change?

or Should I do a water change bi-weekly? and how much water should I change?

I have a syphon thingy that I used for the freshwater tank to clean the gravel. Do I need to syphon the sand bed? I did NOT plan on doing that.

We plan on adding Coral eventually to the tank as well....

Also bought a API Saltwater Master Test Kit today and will check the water a few days after water change. Kids would love to add another fish in a few days if possible. I would like to add some kind of Gobie, Royal Gramma or Hawkfish, but the kids would like to add a Blue Tang named Dorie of course.

How long before you guys think we could possibly add some invertebrate? and I think you know what kind of fish we have our eyes on? Will they be OK with invertebrate?

Glad to be a part of this Forum and look forward to reading it daily.

Hibbard22

 

[BL1]

Welcome to the site!
I've answered your questions below in red. :Cheers:

With a HOB filter, you're going to have to clean it probably once to twice a week. Unlike in freshwater, the stuff that gets caught in those filters will die and start to rot with saltwater. That can cause nitrate and other issues with your water quality.

[/COLOR] Should I do a water change once a month? and how much water should I change?
or Should I do a water change bi-weekly? and how much water should I change?
You should really do water changes more frequently, like every week or every other week. If you do it once a week I'd say a 10% change, every other week 20% change, and so on. After you've had the tank for a while you'll be able to see just how much and how often you'll need to change it to keep everything happy.

I have a syphon thingy that I used for the freshwater tank to clean the gravel. Do I need to syphon the sand bed? I did NOT plan on doing that.
Don't siphon your sandbed, doing so will release nasty stuff into your water, again messing with your water quality.

We plan on adding Coral eventually to the tank as well....

Also bought a API Saltwater Master Test Kit today and will check the water a few days after water change. Kids would love to add another fish in a few days if possible. I would like to add some kind of Gobie, Royal Gramma or Hawkfish, but the kids would like to add a Blue Tang named Dorie of course.

How long before you guys think we could possibly add some invertebrate? and I think you know what kind of fish we have our eyes on? Will they be OK with invertebrate?
If your water quality is good (ie. ammonia-0, nitrites-0, and nitrates less then 20 preferably below 10) then you'll be ok to add inverts. As far as your fish choices, a goby or royal gramma would be good in your tank. Hawkfish will eat inverts like shrimp so, if you want them I'd skip the hawk. And unfortunately, your tank is much too small for a tang, especially a blue. They are very active swimmers that need a good length of swimming room to be healthy and stress free, I wouldn't put one in anything smaller then a 125g tank.

If you've got anymore questions feel free to ask. And you should start a thread in the tank showcase to show off your tank.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...Brian has you covered.

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

 

[AquaOverflow]

:bounce: Welcome to the forum!!! :bounce: