START UP ISSUE(s) Q & A:

tomka123

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2013
1,477
59
51
burlington, nc
I got a used 115 gallon and set it up in my office for my first salt water tank. I wend to the LFS & got 4o lbs. live rock & 6 bags of live sea sand. I did not add the salt to the water until the next day. My ammonia is reading .25.
(1) Did all my live rock die?
(2) Can I still use it & the tank will be just as beautiful once established?
(3) Salinity is 1.023- so is it ready for fish?
(4) How do I get the ammonia down & how important is it?
 

Cheesehead

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2011
685
1
0
WI
Your live rock is still "live". You will still need about 60 more pounds of live rock. As for the ammonia, just give it time. You will also not want to add any livestock untill you totally stock your live rock. On a side note, what filtration do you have, and do you have any powerheads for flow?


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mr.bigglesworth

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2012
2,840
0
0
By SF, Farther Inland, NorCal
You cannot have any fish so long as your still testing positive for ammonia and nitrites. Even what might seem like a tiiny tiny bit of ammonia in the water it is still toxic.If your getting any levels of nitrates that is good. It means your getting close. But not quite there yet. You should invest in a quality liquid test kit. Test strips will not work. They are beyond innacurrate and are prone to giving you readings all over the place. Oh and once you start having algae problems do not go out and buy 20 snails. It will go away on its own after a few weeks. If it doesnt go away after 3 months your tank is overstocked, you have too many fish or invertz. Also algae is normal. And once you start seeing purple and green algae growth in your tank this means your tank is cycled. Buying live rock with preexisting purple or green algae does not mean your tank is cycled. It means the place the rock was taken from is cycled. Brown algae or free floating diatom algae is a sign that your tank is not cycled. But it could also mean excessive silicates in the water. If you are looking for a way to reduce maintanence but not elliminate it i would recommend purchasing the highest rated protein skimmer possible. The higher the gallonage rating the less water changes needed assuming the skimmer is working properly. Protein skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which include dissolved fish waste, dead bacteria, pretty much any dissolved materials containing organic carbon. Organic compounds that are not dissolved in the water such as solidified poop and uneaten food will not be skimmed from the water. It must be dissolved.
 

Athleticfisherman

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 22, 2012
235
4
18
Canada
You cannot have any fish so long as your still testing positive for ammonia and nitrites. Even what might seem like a tiiny tiny bit of ammonia in the water it is still toxic.If your getting any levels of nitrates that is good. It means your getting close. But not quite there yet. You should invest in a quality liquid test kit. Test strips will not work. They are beyond innacurrate and are prone to giving you readings all over the place. Oh and once you start having algae problems do not go out and buy 20 snails. It will go away on its own after a few weeks. If it doesnt go away after 3 months your tank is overstocked, you have too many fish or invertz. Also algae is normal. And once you start seeing purple and green algae growth in your tank this means your tank is cycled. Buying live rock with preexisting purple or green algae does not mean your tank is cycled. It means the place the rock was taken from is cycled. Brown algae or free floating diatom algae is a sign that your tank is not cycled. But it could also mean excessive silicates in the water. If you are looking for a way to reduce maintanence but not elliminate it i would recommend purchasing the highest rated protein skimmer possible. The higher the gallonage rating the less water changes needed assuming the skimmer is working properly. Protein skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which include dissolved fish waste, dead bacteria, pretty much any dissolved materials containing organic carbon. Organic compounds that are not dissolved in the water such as solidified poop and uneaten food will not be skimmed from the water. It must be dissolved.
You really seem to know your stuff. And I am also starting a 55 gallon tank. Do you think that a refugium and a carbon reactor will be necessary?


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mr.bigglesworth

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2012
2,840
0
0
By SF, Farther Inland, NorCal
You really seem to know your stuff. And I am also starting a 55 gallon tank. Do you think that a refugium and a carbon reactor will be necessary?


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Refugium: It depends what kind of fish you want to keep in the tank. Certain fish are very difficult to feed like mandarin dragonetes and require live copepods. To produce enough live copepods in a tank you need a very large refugium. So for a select few species of fish like seahorses, with difficult feeding requirements, yes a refugium is usually needed. but there are numerous exceptions like buying copepods every week, you would have to spend about 100$ a month on copepods for a single smallish fish. Which usually deterrs people. Or you can try training the fish to eat prepared foods. This training process is like being through hell and back, twice. You will probably end up killing several fish before successfully training them. And by then it might already be too late.

A carbon reactor, it would depend. If you are using rodi water in your tank and you dont have serious phosphate problems, no. If you are using plain dechlorinated tap water then yes, because tap water contains many toxic chemicals like chlorine, tds, and sky high hard water. City water even more so. Well water, not so much. It depends how heavily your water treatment facility doses chemicals. but i would definitely try at all costs to avoid using tap water. Rodi means reverse osmosis, deionization. This process basically converts polluted water back to a purified form. You can also d this at home.
 

Athleticfisherman

Gambusia
MFK Member
Aug 22, 2012
235
4
18
Canada
Refugium: It depends what kind of fish you want to keep in the tank. Certain fish are very difficult to feed like mandarin dragonetes and require live copepods. To produce enough live copepods in a tank you need a very large refugium. So for a select few species of fish like seahorses, with difficult feeding requirements, yes a refugium is usually needed. but there are numerous exceptions like buying copepods every week, you would have to spend about 100$ a month on copepods for a single smallish fish. Which usually deterrs people. Or you can try training the fish to eat prepared foods. This training process is like being through hell and back, twice. You will probably end up killing several fish before successfully training them. And by then it might already be too late.

A carbon reactor, it would depend. If you are using rodi water in your tank and you dont have serious phosphate problems, no. If you are using plain dechlorinated tap water then yes, because tap water contains many toxic chemicals like chlorine, tds, and sky high hard water. City water even more so. Well water, not so much. It depends how heavily your water treatment facility doses chemicals. but i would definitely try at all costs to avoid using tap water. Rodi means reverse osmosis, deionization. This process basically converts polluted water back to a purified form. You can also d this at home.
I have an rodi system at home and I will be make a reef aquarium if that is any help. Nothing special


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tomka123

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2013
1,477
59
51
burlington, nc
Your live rock is still "live". You will still need about 60 more pounds of live rock. As for the ammonia, just give it time. You will also not want to add any livestock untill you totally stock your live rock. On a side note, what filtration do you have, and do you have any powerheads for flow?


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
So here is my tank:ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1359332250.986456.jpg
...and I have a second power head. Should I get a couple more?
Here is my filter:ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1359332355.445398.jpg



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tomka123

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2013
1,477
59
51
burlington, nc
You cannot have any fish so long as your still testing positive for ammonia and nitrites. Even what might seem like a tiiny tiny bit of ammonia in the water it is still toxic.If your getting any levels of nitrates that is good. It means your getting close. But not quite there yet. You should invest in a quality liquid test kit. Test strips will not work. They are beyond innacurrate and are prone to giving you readings all over the place. Oh and once you start having algae problems do not go out and buy 20 snails. It will go away on its own after a few weeks. If it doesnt go away after 3 months your tank is overstocked, you have too many fish or invertz. Also algae is normal. And once you start seeing purple and green algae growth in your tank this means your tank is cycled. Buying live rock with preexisting purple or green algae does not mean your tank is cycled. It means the place the rock was taken from is cycled. Brown algae or free floating diatom algae is a sign that your tank is not cycled. But it could also mean excessive silicates in the water. If you are looking for a way to reduce maintanence but not elliminate it i would recommend purchasing the highest rated protein skimmer possible. The higher the gallonage rating the less water changes needed assuming the skimmer is working properly. Protein skimmers remove dissolved organic compounds which include dissolved fish waste, dead bacteria, pretty much any dissolved materials containing organic carbon. Organic compounds that are not dissolved in the water such as solidified poop and uneaten food will not be skimmed from the water. It must be dissolved.
If you know what is considered the best protein skimmer out there, please let me know & I'll get it.
 

Otherone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2009
2,683
4
0
Lancaster,PA USA
I got a used 115 gallon and set it up in my office for my first salt water tank. I wend to the LFS & got 4o lbs. live rock & 6 bags of live sea sand. I did not add the salt to the water until the next day. My ammonia is reading .25.
(1) Did all my live rock die?
(2) Can I still use it & the tank will be just as beautiful once established?
(3) Salinity is 1.023- so is it ready for fish?
(4) How do I get the ammonia down & how important is it?
1- yes and no some of the bb dies every time you move them also bb dies whens there's more than what the tank produces

2- yes and yes

3- yes when ammonia and nitrite are zero and nitrate is 20 ppm or less

4- Time and above all
 

tomka123

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2013
1,477
59
51
burlington, nc
Thanks you guys for the responses. My wife will be back from Brazil on Wednesday. Hopefully the tank will be ready for us to shop for fish together. She's been looking forward to it & so am I!
 
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