How Do I Do This?

[calpoly12]

I use instant ocean...I feel that it is a good low price, and it is also sort of the industry standard.

I use 1/2C of IO salt per gallon of h2o for a salinity about 1.024

There should be instructions on your salt though that describe exactly what you should do.

Sounds good. I picked some up today and I'm going to use the 1/2C.

Maybe you are doing this already, but you should be mixing the water at least a day in advance to stabilize(temperature and ph) it before putting it into your tank.
It will say on the package what you need to mix. You will absolutely need a hydrometer to get the specific gravity as close to 1.025 as possible. It should be between 1.021-1.025 for sure.
I use Instant Ocean and have had no problems with it.
Honestly, I would hold off on the anemone a little longer until your tank is more mature and stable as anemones are not easy creatures to keep at all.

Ya starting to figure this out more and more as I read some forums and such. Also when they die, they nuke...

 

[FLESHY]

Yea...had a carpet when I was about 14. It was my first nem, and it was huge. Probably would have been close to 2' diameter if healthy etc...I killed it, and it was terrible. Whole tank went with it. I would suggest waiting till you get the salt game down for a little bit.

Dont just use the 1/2C rule, you are going to have to confirm this with a hydrometer or a spectrometer after you mix and fully dissolve the salt. Temperature also plays a role in salinity.

 

[calpoly12]

What happens when salinity gets to high? My salinity is right where it needs to be right now, but I was wondering what happens if it gets to high. I'm assuming death of stuff?

 

[FLESHY]

Well eventually. You have some leeway though.

Salinity is something that is very easy to keep stable, and in my experience stability has led to success for me in the marine hobby. I suggest that others try to do the same.

 

[calpoly12]

Sssooo I think I'm going to pick up a leather coral from my LFS today. Reading up on them, they seem quite hardy and don't require a regular feeding schedule. The head (top??) of the coral is about the size of a silver dollar so its not to large at all. Anything I should know about these guys before I get it? Here is a pic of what it looks like, its identical to this one but is just smaller.

 

[FLESHY]

Super easy, wont grow too out of control.

Only downside is that they are vigorous alleopathic competitors, and can fill a tank with noxious chemicals that will kill other corals when introduced.

This can be avoided with skimming and regular h2o changes though.

Just stock new corals after h2o changes.

 

[calpoly12]

Super easy, wont grow too out of control.

Only downside is that they are vigorous alleopathic competitors, and can fill a tank with noxious chemicals that will kill other corals when introduced.

This can be avoided with skimming and regular h2o changes though.

Just stock new corals after h2o changes.

I actually skipped on the LFS yesterday, got WAY to busy lol. So I should only add after a WC? thats easy enough! Since my cube is only 8g and I do not have a skimmer, will regular water changes suffice at eliminating the potential chemicals? Also do thy only release these chemicals when first introduced or can/do they produce them whenever they feel threatened?

 

[nonstophoops]

I actually skipped on the LFS yesterday, got WAY to busy lol. So I should only add after a WC? thats easy enough! Since my cube is only 8g and I do not have a skimmer, will regular water changes suffice at eliminating the potential chemicals? Also do thy only release these chemicals when first introduced or can/do they produce them whenever they feel threatened?

As long as you do water changes very frequently you should be ok. You are changing less than a gallon at a time.

They produce chemicals constantly in order to keep other corals away from them/stop other corals from growing so not just when introduced or threatened.

 

[FLESHY]

Yes it will require regular h2o changes to keep down chemical competition, what I was saying though is that doing an h2o change right before adding corals (make sure that your tank stabilizes before adding anything) will let the coral come in at a low point of chemical competition and gradually adjust to higher levels as the h2o ages with your softies in the tank.

Sorry I wasnt clear before about what I was trying to say, does everyone get what I am trying to say now? Ha ha