Which Salt? Newbee

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bhojnikhil

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
May 24, 2011
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Mysore
Hey!
I am new to saltwater stuff..
I have already a planted aqua and 180 g freshwater.

But no idea about the saltwater ones,
For now i got a 20 gal tank, in which i have put live sand and one medium sized live rock.
(EVERYTHING in INDIA is DAMN EXPENSIVE!)
i came to know i have leave it for cycling.

but,before that i have a dozen questions :screwy:


firstly, What water should i use? Use freshwater? Cuz i have RO water at home, ready to use.

Which salt should i use? Can i use regular Un Iodized salt? Cuz the Marine salt is like damn expensive here! (Trying to make a low budget marine :D)

Do i need to put up many live rocks?

When can i introduce fish and live animone?
im planning to keep just 1 clownfish and a damsel or something.

Is a powerhead mandatory? And what is its use? only for water current?
I have put a Hang On Filter now, Is that enough with regular weekly water changes?

i really dunno what a skimmer does, And i need to whether to buy it , and what exactly it does?



Thanks in advance :)
 
firstly, What water should i use? Use freshwater? Cuz i have RO water at home, ready to use.

RO water will work out great.

Which salt should i use? Can i use regular Un Iodized salt? Cuz the Marine salt is like damn expensive here! (Trying to make a low budget marine :D)


You will need to use marine salt if you don't have access to clean natural seawater. Instant Ocean is probably the most widely used
brand in America.


Do i need to put up many live rocks?

I would recomend 10 -20 lbs of live rock. True live rock will have many different types of critters living on and in it. If it's dry it's dead rock. Most people buy about 20% live and 80% dead rock. This saves some money but you will need to add fish slowly. In your case your only planning on 2 fish so you could add them at the same time.

When can i introduce fish and live animone?

If you have about 5 lbs of cured live rock in the tank you should be able to add the fish the day after you put the rock in. Someone else will have to comment on the anemone as I've never kept them.

Is a powerhead mandatory? And what is its use? only for water current?
I have put a Hang On Filter now, Is that enough with regular weekly water changes?

The powerhead is for circulation and keeping debris from settling on the bottom and/or rocks. If the hang on filter has enough of a flow rate you could use it for circulation. Remove the media though. The live rock is the filter media in this type of setup.
If you don't overfeed your 2 fish you should be ok with changing 5 gallons every 2 weeks.


i really dunno what a skimmer does, And i need to whether to buy it , and what exactly it does?

A skimmer removes organic material from the water before it is broken down by the bacteria. A skimmer is not needed. It is recommended for heavily stocked tanks. But with 2 fish in a 20 gallon tank with bi-weekly 5 gallon water changes you should be ok without it.
 
Thanks a lot of nighthawk, That really answered to all my Questions ! :D

Found a 100gph Powerhead, will that suffice?With the Hang on filter!

I will post a pic in the next reply, i have just one piece of small rock inside it, i dont think even it is alive!I came to know,Selling Live Rock in India, Is Illegal.
Tell me How many of those rocks i need to put.

With the rock, i will put a medium sized anemone..

Thanks , Again :D
 
You don't have to buy all live rock...Get one or two big pieces and then some porous dead rock which will be seeded by the live rock. That way you save a lot of $$$
 
The powerhead and back filter should be fine. I would add 4 or 5 rocks the size of that one. If you are unable to obtain live rock from a store is it possible to trade or buy one from a friend with a tank already set up? If not it will take 6-8 weeks for the tank to cycle.
 
oh , i still have to get more rocks and put it up

OMG! so many weeks to just cycle? Freshwater was better :D

I dont think there is anyway to get live rock here, and friend? Here in india, very few have a marine setup, that too where i live, I am the 2nd one i guess after the aquarium shop. So pretty difficult for the to get live rocks..
so there is no other way , other than gettin few other dead rocks and wait for months together for it to cycle?

This is the salt i used
http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/images/full/Red_Sea_Salt_4kg.jpg
 
and apart from that, Do i need to get a thermostat?
how much lighting?what kinda lighting preferebly? For how many hours?

how much should the SG be?
PH?
:confused:
 
Most people say not to add an anemone until your tank has been running for close to a year. If you add it sooner, it may just randomly die even if everything seems fine. The tank needs to mature and stabilize. Anemones need powerful lights, but it will depend on the type of anemone you get. Also, different clowns will only host specific anemones, so make sure you research that. You will also need to cover your powerhead so that the anemone cannot be sucked into it and killed. Lastly, even if you do everything right, the clowns may completely ignore the anemone and host something like the powerhead instead. Good luck.
 
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