Gastonia, NC....First time posting...

undrpsi

Reefing newb
Hello All...

New to saltwater but have had many freshwater tanks. I have (3) 40g Eclipse and (2) 6g Hex Eclipse scattered in my house. I have a 29g Oceanic Biocube that I just put water in yesterday. It's fairly basic except I took out the bioballs and put in dead (commercial) coral until the tank is up and running. I plan on putting LR once I have cycled the tank. I know I could do it from the outset and that the LR will shorten the Ammonia / nitrate cycle but this is my first SW so I want to see and observe the cycle. I have 1" to 1-1/2" sand (dead). I also have 3 softball size corals (purchased dead from LFS) in the sand for PH buffering. I put in the 'made-for-it' Oceanic protien skimmer (yeah..I know a pump one is better) in the filter well. So...filled the tank 5pm yesterday. Mixed up salt/water externally (1/2 cup per gallon Instant Ocean brand) and added it. Heater is bringing the temp up (this morning it was 71*). I added the requisite chemicals for the initial water treatment. Local water has both chlorine and chlorimane (sp?) but very little other bad stuff. I had chlorine treatment on hand but will have to pick up some dechlorinator (sp) that treats both types. I know from my FW tanks that I will have to run the water for 7-11 days to get the water chemistry in range (or longer for a saltwater..right?). I have a basic saltwater test kit. A dedicated PH kit. A hydrometer (the plastic type) for salinity. I also have a LCD external temp gauge with alarm. Tanks has suspended silt this morning after 12 hours of filtering. I also added some floss on top of the bioball well to catch any sand. The suspended silt has thinned out slightly..but not very much. I blame it on the 50* water...once it comes up to temp it should clean up easier. Good thing I mixed the salt in some warmer water first.
I have some 'newb' questions that I will post in one of the proper threads.

Thanks for reading my post...Anyone local?

Jay
 
Welcome Jay. Glad to hear your venturing into the saltwater world. A couple things i would recommend are to immediately stop using tap water and only use reverse osmosis water. unless you have actually measured the tds on your local tap water and somehow found it to be better than most. like a lot better.

also the sooner you get more liverock in there the better the whole process will go. The thing you have to remember is if you get liverock that is shipped halfway across the world you have rock that is good, however still has dieoff of fauna and micro fauna possible dead snails and other things too. this is something that is going to throw your water off yet again and start another cycle for you. it could end up being a lot longer than you anticipate before your tank is ready to roll by taking this approach. Im peased to hear your got yourself a skimmer already. IMO there is nothng more efficiant than a skimmer at the inital process to help prevent the inevitable algae that will come later. It will help break down a lot of the organic matter that you have in your initial cycle. welcome again, feel free to ask all the questions you may have.
 
Follow up...

Hey..thanks for the post.

I have access to RO water at work. I have a LFS (who are 'ok) and Petsmart (local one is 'ok' also) that have treated water. I did this for one of my FW tanks and it was a PITA to cart the water around. I now only get 2-5 gallons for my water changes (or emergency water). I have had my local tap water checked (at LFS and Petsmart) and it was ok as a base for FW. Note: I still age the water and treat it for a LONG time before adding fish. A lot of the probs I read about in SW are not as big in the FW world when using/treating tap water. I do plan on a RO/DI system if I get another or larger tank. So I knew all this going into 'fill the tank' day.

Ok...about the Live Rock. I have been lurking on several forums (here and others) and the vast percentage of responses are that using LR at tank start up will 'usually' mask the cycle. You stated it doesn't (or delays it if you are not getting cured rock). Luckily, my LFS has gobs of cured (in the tank) LR..but they are really, really high $$$. They also have chunks and frags and polyp covered coral...etc). You know...I have about 5 books on SW aquariums so far and 4 / 5 of them said to run the water naked until the cycle is over...then add LR...then pour sand over the LR to anchor it. I personally do not like rock sitting on my bottom glass.

I believe in both protein skimmers and undergravel filters (for FW). They will really help you to keep your tanks running right. FWIW, I have used air stone powered skimmers and had no problems. That's why I snagged one for the SW tank.

Thanks for your post...

Jay
 
stop using tapwater you can get heavy metals in the water and many of them are fatel to inverts. it is not aging the water that is important that just lets the colorine didipate from the water nothing else.
 
Ok...just checked to make sure.

Tetra Aquasafe has both Chlorine and Chloramines treatment. AND...has treatment for heavy metals. The brand called SeaCHem Prime is for SW and treats the same as Aquasafe but has no mention of heavy metal removal.

For my last FW setup I ran it with Aquasafe (website says to use an initial double dose to ensure chloramine removal). I ran it w/o fish for 2 weeks (approx) until it my readings were good. I slowly introduced my Peach Parrot Cichlids (warning these suck....big trash makers and diggers). By the time I found this out I had (2) 2-1/2" fish...I actually took them back. I did a bottom clean, large water change, and let it run for 2 days. Chemistry was spot on (nitrates were coming up everything else going down). I now have a packed Gourami tank (kids like them). The only cichlids I keep now is an older Jack Dempsy (about 4") in a tank by himself. He was in a 20g long and I thought he would get bigger in the 40g Eclipse but not much. He is as predictable as my dog. He eats at scheduled times (and will sometimes be waiting on me when I am late..."Dude..Where's My Fish??"). He's not a digger and doesn't mind people starting at him (he'll stare back most times).

Jay
 
Man you thought it was bad packing around water for that? Imagine packing 30 gallons at a time for water changes on a 180gal. That's what I do. My ro unit isn't hooked up.
 
welcome to the site. Invest in a RO/DI filter and your life will be a lot easier and cheaper. There are many good generic brands on ebay that a lot of us have used like Pure Water Club, Water General, etc.
 
welcome to the site, the people above have all given you great advise, and you said you want to view the cycle, but let me tell you, there is nothing to see but different stages of algae and youll see the same thing if you put uncured rock in there now and itll be cheaper buying rock that is uncured as opposed to cured rock
 
Welcome to the site. Tap water will also bring in phosphates which are the leading cause of hair algae, you dont want a lot of that TRUST ME!
 
Yeah, for saltwater tap water causes much bigger problems than freshwater. Mainly, algae and heavy metals. It's better to just start off using RODI water.

Also, I was a little unclear as to if you were going to use an undergravel filter for saltwater. Undergravel filters don't work for saltwater. Things are very different between fresh and salt. Undergravel filters lead to major water quality problems down the road. Skimmers that use a stone face different problems in saltwater too. The stone quickly gets clogged with salt and stops working. A good protein skimmer is super important, and airstone skimmers just don't cut it.

The sooner you add your live rock, the better. There really isn't a point in putting it off. It will just increase the amount of time that you have to wait before being able to add animals.
 
Hi Jay, welcome to the site. I live in Rock Hill so I'm not too far away. Have you gone to Fintastic in Charlotte? They're very helpful and they have I think 18k gallons of display tanks so the selection is good. They are a bit on the expensive side but remember you usually get what you pay for especially in this hobby. Good luck!
 
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