Hello. My name is Tom. I live in Columbia, MO and am going to take a second shot at setting up a saltwater aquarium. First try left me with only a horseshoe crab in my tank for about 8 months followed by a cleaning and a switch to freshwater. An outbreak of algae while I was gone one weekend left me with no fish and one very disgusting tank. I cleaned as much out as I could and when asked, a LFS owner said adding some salt to the tank would help keep it from coming back. So I purchased some Mollies and a couple of other small cheap fish I began slowly adding salt to each water change and top off. I recently decided since my Salinity was slowly going in an upward direction maybe now would be a great time to take a second shot at going for a Marine tank. Last night my boys and I dipped the fish out into a bowl and removed nearly all the river rock that was the substrate. We let the filter run for several hours to clean any particles we stirred up removing the rock and tonight we will use the siphon to remove any leftovers from the bottom. Going to get RO water from the LFS to replace what we siphoned out and try to get the tank water stable before replacing the rocks with Living Sand. :sfish:
Second Try at Saltwater
- Thread starter thozf
- Start date
stagofdoom
Phi Kappa Psi
First Welcome to the site!
If you have any questions let us know.
So when you say river rock is that straight out of a river there? If so I wouldnt use it because you dont know what type of bacteria and stuff is on it. Also with the salt.
When you do top offs only add fresh water.
The only time you add salt water is when you take out salt water for a water change. Other than that if your tank is a little low add fresh so it wont make your salinity go out the roof.
What type if tank do you have? is it a nano and if not what type of filter do you have?
If you have any questions let us know.
So when you say river rock is that straight out of a river there? If so I wouldnt use it because you dont know what type of bacteria and stuff is on it. Also with the salt.
When you do top offs only add fresh water.
The only time you add salt water is when you take out salt water for a water change. Other than that if your tank is a little low add fresh so it wont make your salinity go out the roof.
What type if tank do you have? is it a nano and if not what type of filter do you have?
Yeah, we scooped all the "river rock" out of the tank. Not sure where it came from exactly. I think I got it from a pet store here in town. Either way it is now driveway rock. My current setup is a 29 gallon bow front aquarium. Currently it has a crappy HOB freshwater filter. Wasn't sure which route to go as far as filtration. Would like to make small reef but I know I am limited by the size of my tank. Guess that is why I am here. Help me take my tank as far as possible. Going to start saving for fancy lighting.
stagofdoom
Phi Kappa Psi
I would say driveway rock isnt much better. I would go with live sand, but thats my 2 cents.
Also you need to start the tank at the right salinity and not add salt unless you do water changes.
Also you need to start the tank at the right salinity and not add salt unless you do water changes.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Hahaha, I think I understand the river rock situation :) You are all good.
What kind of salt are you using to raise your salinity? It's neat to do that while you have brackish fish in there -- interesting idea. You should be using reef salt of some sort (not the little square boxes of salt that they make for adding small amounts to freshwater tanks. Or table salt!)
You can make a great little reef out of a 29 gallon tank. That is a good starter size. It can be tough to keep the parameters in line, but it's definitely do able.
Be sure to buy yourself a refractometer or hydrometer to test your salinity so you know when it is at the correct level (1.021 to 1.026). A refractometer is a much better buy. Hydrometers go bad quickly, are inaccurate and need to be replaced every 6 months or so. You can get a good refractometer for around $40, so there's no reason to skimp on that instrument.
What kind of salt are you using to raise your salinity? It's neat to do that while you have brackish fish in there -- interesting idea. You should be using reef salt of some sort (not the little square boxes of salt that they make for adding small amounts to freshwater tanks. Or table salt!)
You can make a great little reef out of a 29 gallon tank. That is a good starter size. It can be tough to keep the parameters in line, but it's definitely do able.
Be sure to buy yourself a refractometer or hydrometer to test your salinity so you know when it is at the correct level (1.021 to 1.026). A refractometer is a much better buy. Hydrometers go bad quickly, are inaccurate and need to be replaced every 6 months or so. You can get a good refractometer for around $40, so there's no reason to skimp on that instrument.
Pretty sure I am using Instant Ocean salt mix. Not in front of me right now so I don't know right off hand. I have a Hydrometer. What makes them go bad? This is the one I had from my previous Marine accident, I mean aquarium so I should probably invest soon. I also need to stock up on test kits too as I am sure I will be doing some serious testing in my future.
stagofdoom
Phi Kappa Psi
If you have one of these
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+4952&pcatid=4952
they go bad
but if you get one of these.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+9957&pcatid=9957
they are more accurate and dont go bad.
Also instant ocean is good for salt.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+4952&pcatid=4952
they go bad
but if you get one of these.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+9957&pcatid=9957
they are more accurate and dont go bad.
Also instant ocean is good for salt.
yote
In Memoriam
Welcome to the site.
A 29 will make a great little reef.Just make sure to get plenty of rock in there.1 to 2 per gallon is the recommended.Also dont skimp on the skimmer.Those are the 2 main parts,with the lights right in there close.
Take you time with it,and when you have a question,post it.
A 29 will make a great little reef.Just make sure to get plenty of rock in there.1 to 2 per gallon is the recommended.Also dont skimp on the skimmer.Those are the 2 main parts,with the lights right in there close.
Take you time with it,and when you have a question,post it.
yote
In Memoriam
JMO,But anything under a 29 would be a nano.But I guess you could call it one if you wanted to.
Of course you can get those red sea nano cubes in a 29 that has everything built in.
Of course you can get those red sea nano cubes in a 29 that has everything built in.
Smitty
Reef pro
Hello and welcome to the site.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Yeah nano just means small. There's no difference between a nano reef and a mega reef besides tank size. Nano generally refers to any tank 29 gallons or smaller.
dcantucson
Reef pro
Hey Tom, Welcome to the site.
You can bring the salinity up to 1.025 fairly quick with Mollies. They are pretty tough. I had a wall SW aquarium which was way too small (9 gallons) but I so wanted SW fish. I had an undergravel filter and fake corals and nothing else. Needless to say I couldn't keep anything alive; it was a disaster. Well after doing my research I learned the Mollies would live in freahwater or saltwater. So I got me some. Kinda funny cause everything was SW, but the fish were freshwater. I had a lot of success with those Mollies. Babies galore. I was throwing them out, I had so many!:lol:
yote
In Memoriam
Natural filtration is pretty much what most of are using.Plenty of rock and a good skimmer along with a refugium are about as natural as it gets.
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
way late to this but welcome aboard
