New to SW aquariums

[mallery8p]

Yesterday I began putting together my first saltwater tank, it's a 35 gal octagon tank and going to be a fowlr tank. First off I messed up with the sand cause now my water is very murky. And also I heard you can put a raw shrimp in it to start cycling it, is this true.

 

[Joeganja]

putting raw shrimp does help however there are other methods such as live sand, rock, and dosing specific bacteria booster supplements, for your first fish id reccomend adding a couple of chromis not damsels due to the fact they will get aggressive and chromis are much peaceful. i started all my tanks with the salinity at 1.023 and ph 8.1-8.4 and temperature 72 - 78°F

 

[Joeganja]

now your gonna have a nitrite and nitrate spike in the first weeks of your tank i recommend using stability by Seachem it helps alot. For testing water quality and parameters i say dont even bother using test strips, try to use hagen nutrafin test kits especially for nitrate and nitrite and ph. for checking salinity if you can afford a refractometer thats one of the most accurate and safest ways for testing salinity. i recommend adding live rock but finding the best place to buy it from to ensure good quality rock and no bad hitchhikers. if u need any help or suggestions id be glad to help. welcome to the salty world

 

[mallery8p]

I just now got my tank cleaned good enough to see everything and found that I did have some hitchhickers from the live rock I bought, so far I have 3 small brittle starfish. My water temp is good and I put about a 1 inch chuck of raw shrimp in it. Now I just need to get a test kit and wait.

 

[Joeganja]

U don't have to wait like for weeks. U can add fish after a week. But add some bacteria booster that'll help.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R!!! After the shrimp starts to decay you should see a spike in ammonia, this will then drop and you will see I nitrite spike, after the nitrites drop you will see a nitrate spike. Do a decent size water change to bring the nitrates down and when ammonia tests 0 and your nitrates are in an acceptable range you are ready to add a small clean up crew and possibly a fish. Make sure t get the test kits so you know what's going on in your tank. Did you use live rock when setting up the tank? Best of luck as keep us posted on the progress.

 

[mallery8p]

I have just 1 live rock about 2 lbs, and about 15 lbs of regular rock and live sand

 

[mallery8p]

This is what it looks like right now

 

[Joeganja]

What type of fish u plan on having

 

[fishroomlady]

do not add a fish until your tank has cycled. It will take some time - one virtue in this hobby is patience. You'll definitely need test kits so you can see where you are in the cycling process. You can add some beneficial bacteria but that may assist with the cycle, not complete it. I've always loved the looks of a hex tank - I'd suggest getting perhaps a little more rock - it can be dry or live.

 

[mallery8p]

Yea, I plan on getting more rock, just didn't have the money to get it yet. We bight all the stuff in the picture all at once and it about killed me

 

[mallery8p]

As far as fish I'll probably start out with a couple damsels, a goby, and maybe a clown

 

[Joeganja]

Good

 

[mallery8p]

Being that this is my first tank I'm going to start off with some cheaper fish

 

[mallery8p]

So after my tank get done with its cycle I need to do a 50% water change

 

[mallery8p]

And also, I'm just using a regular light on it, do I need to get another one for night time to resemble moon light

 

[beadlocked450r]

Welcome to the hobby! 3 things to always remember.
1. Do as much research as you can on the fish you plan on buying.
2. Ask as many questions as you can! The only dumb question is the 1 you dont ask.
3. Be patient Be patient!
And happy reefing

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

A clown is most poeple's beginner fish. They are easy to keep too.

 

[mallery8p]

I know I read bubbler are not great for saltwater tanks but what do you guys think

 

[fishroomlady]

I like the looks of the bubbler - the downside is that it will create a lot of salt creep on the upper part of tank - you don't need to get another light - you could possibly add a little LED strip if you want a moonlight look but it's not needed.

You don't necessarily need to do a 50% water change after you get through your cycle, you can but it doesn't have to be that large of a percentage.

One word of caution on fish - if you start with damsels (clowns are actually damsels as well), they can become quite aggressive and territorial to any new additions. Definitely stay away from the all blue, black and white striped, and domino damsels - from personal experience, these are probably the most aggressive of the types. In terms of clowns, stay away from maroons, clarkii, and tomatoes as these are the more aggressive types. HTH