newb questions on 1st setup

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

saaro

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 22, 2006
8
0
0
Perth, Australia
I just setup a small 24"x14"x18" tank and im waiting for it to cycle now, heres some pics just got live rock in it atm.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1985/dsc02774nl6.jpg

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/1769/dsc02779pz7.jpg

just wondering do i need an airstone in there to airate the water like my fw tanks or not, cause i dont have a skimmer or anything just an internal powerfilter for now i do plan on getting a skimmer at some point just not sure what type to get atm and am limited on money.

Anything i am doing wrong please let me know and give me some tips.

Thanks
 
The powerhead should do the job, what's the turnover rate of the tank and what is going in it.

Since there is nothing in it right now, the skimmer would be useless.
 
thats just a small powerfilter, 400L an hour, would i need more than that? i planned on putting some cleanup fish in there, snails, a nice shrimp and a pair of clowns, what else would go well in there? and how long should i leave it before i start testing the water to see if its cycled or do my 1st water change
 
well its only got about 5x an hour turnover which I would double if I were you. Add antoher powerhead or upgrade the one you have. Test everyday once you start the fishless cycle, and don't add anything or change water until ammonia and nitrite are 0 and nitrates stay below 20 ppm.
 
You want to avoid bubbles in the tank itself, they can cause alot of problems with SW fish.
 
pete620;609337; said:
You want to avoid bubbles in the tank itself, they can cause alot of problems with SW fish.
Click to expand...


Yea, especially on yellow tangs. Haven't you seen Finding Nemo? haha

Powerheads are way better than bubbles anyways.
 
ok but wont an 800L per hour powerhead put a bit to much current into the tank or is that a good thing? and also, i dont have my own test kit but ill take water samples into my lfs often.
 
i had a set up like this, i had a small hob filter, with no skimmer, regular water changes, and not over feeding the fish should work, it did for me. good luck. and welcome to mfk
 
saaro;609449; said:
ok but wont an 800L per hour powerhead put a bit to much current into the tank or is that a good thing? and also, i dont have my own test kit but ill take water samples into my lfs often.
Click to expand...

It also depends on what kind of fish you put in it. This question was asked in another thread and most people said "unless they're smacking up against the glass it's not too much." Saltwater fish enjoy a lot of flow, even relatively inactive swimmers such as lionfish enjoy sitting in the current.
 
Well the first thing to know is that you "NEED" surface aggitation. You have to have some source of water flow stirring up the surface of the water or you will get a skum film on the surface of the water. An aquaclear 20 should do the trick. One of the golden rules when it comes to marine fish tanks is that you need to have at "least" 10 times turn over of your total gallons per hour. So if your tank is 20 gallons your equipment all added together should be moving at "least" 200 gallons per hour (GPH). If you had an aquaclear filter on a 20 gallon tank that moved 200 gallons per hour (GPH) then that would be good enough but it would be better if you put a small powerhead in the there as well pushing 50 or so (GPH)

Check this out and I hope it will help you: http://www.masns.ca/forum/showthread.php?tid=923
 
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