Im so Lost!!!

E

Echo

Reefing newb
I have been wanting to start a sw tank for over 12 years...so for my birthday I went and got everything I think I need to start one...The guy who sold me everything explained what I needed to do in order to get things going...so when I got home this is what I did...please tell me if its wrong...

Cleaned tank and set up stand
put sand in the bottem (premium marine substrate)
mixed my water (1/2 cup salt for every gal. water)
added water to take
added ammonia detox
added live rock

I just have a feeling that what I did was not right and all the books I have really dont go into detail on this...

This morning I have a flaky film on the surface of my water...is that a sign that my tank was set up wrong?

Any help would be great! Thanks so much!

I would also like to add that I was told to add live sand in 2 days
 
Last edited:
Hi, Generally I would say don't worry... but don't do anything else until you have read a little more about keeping (saltwater) aquariums... a couple of things to consider:
1) don't use any cleaning chemicals to clean - hope you didn't
2) you probably don't want to use 'Ammonia Detox' to start with (not exactly sure what it is) but you'll want to produce Ammonia to get the tank going and cick off the natural 'Nitrogen' cycle (you can read all about this) - ond not really sure what you meant by 'added ammonia detox' - is it a liquid?
3) You need a hydrometer to measure the salinity / specific gravity of the water = how salty it is... 1/2 cup to every gal may be about right, but there's only one way to tell...
4) The scum is probably from the sand, but:
5) do you have any kind of pump / filter system for the tank?
6) have you ever kept any type of fish before?
7) read all of this: https://www.livingreefs.com/articles/setting-up-your-tank-f44.php
8) Good luck :-)
 
do not use the ammonia detox it will neutrlize the ammoina that you want at first to cycle the tank. you will need to get test kits to check to see if this is happing. second you need a way to see how much salt is in the water you need a hydromeder or a refractometer it needs to be at 1.022-1.026 not just a half cuo per gallon every salt mixed differently. and do not buy any livestock until the tank is done with the cycle or it will more than likely be a death sentence for them.
 
joeman said:
Hi, Generally I would say don't worry... but don't do anything else until you have read a little more about keeping (saltwater) aquariums... a couple of things to consider:
1) don't use any cleaning chemicals to clean - hope you didn't
2) you probably don't want to use 'Ammonia Detox' to start with (not exactly sure what it is) but you'll want to produce Ammonia to get the tank going and cick off the natural 'Nitrogen' cycle (you can read all about this) - ond not really sure what you meant by 'added ammonia detox' - is it a liquid?
3) You need a hydrometer to measure the salinity / specific gravity of the water = how salty it is... 1/2 cup to every gal may be about right, but there's only one way to tell...
4) The scum is probably from the sand, but:
5) do you have any kind of pump / filter system for the tank?
6) have you ever kept any type of fish before?
7) read all of this: https://www.livingreefs.com/articles/setting-up-your-tank-f44.php
8) Good luck :-)
Click to expand...


Thank you for your reply

1) no cleaning cemicals were used...just a wipe down to make sure there was nothing in the tank

2) Its a liquid...the bottle says Kent fresh/marine ammonia detox...

3) I have a hydrometer and its reading 34 salinity/1.025 gavity

5) yes there is a pump/filter system in the tank

6) yes I have kept many freshwater fish for many years

I will keep reading and learning as you suggested...thank you so much
 
Go a head and add your live sand.It'll just help buld the bacteria your tank needs.Other than that,every body else has you pretty well taken care of.
Good luck with it and welcome to the reef.And be sure to post any and all questions you have.
 
Relax -- you haven't done anything wrong!! Like others have said, skip the ammonia detox. Right now, you need your tank to cycle. Your tank has to cycle before you can add ANY animals. During the cycle, you will see ammonia rise, then nitrites. As ammonia and nitrites drop, nitrates will rise. Once your ammonia and nitrites are at 0, then and only then should you add an animal.

Your live rock should start this cycle off.
 
Echo,

The film is normal. This is the "dust" from the substrate coming to the surface. You should skim any of this off that you can and let the biocube skimmer take care of the rest....

When you add more sand, you will probably get more film.

Did you get a skimmer with the Biocube? If not, you WILL need one. I can recommend THIS one for you as it is probably the best for your system. Don't go with the cheaper airstone kind.

Good Luck!
 
Everyone has you covered. While your tank is cycling read all that you can about saltwater tanks. There is some great articles on this site. Just remember to do the water test so you'll know when your cycle is over. For now sit back and relax.
 
Welcome to the site!Feel free to ask any questions.

I recommend to be deligent with the water changes and skipping a protein skimmer altogether.Most,if not all skimmers made for nanos aren't very good at all.There just isn't enough contact time for the micro-bubbles in such small skimmers.
 
So far you are doing good!

I have the 29G biocube and you will, at some point in the future, wish to augment the filtration systems in the back chambers by adding:

Lights and chaeto in chamber 2
A skimmer, the cheaper but still decent stock oceanic skimmer will fit in chamber 1 (I think for your 14).
Chemi-pure wrapped in floss in chamber 2 or 3.
You can get various lighting upgrades from nanotuners.com. The biocube's low wattage stock lighting won't keep many advanced corals.
Many recommend to put live rubble in chamber 2 but I think it just creates a mess (like pebbles getting caught in the water pump, etc.)
Leaving at least some bioballs in chamber 2 keeps the noise level down, I've had to clean the bioballs only once in 6 months.
Try to force all water going into the back chambers thru a piece of filter floss.
Push out false bottom in chamber one to make way for heater and skimmer.
Add a koralia-nano for better flow. The koralia-1 is too strong your 14.

These upgrade can cost money but you don't have to get all this stuff at once.
 

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