Help! I have no idea what im doing.

[Jayden K]

https://reefbuilders.com/2010/08/19/chrysiptera-springer/

I have one that's fully blue, I don't have a picture but I can send it if you need when I get home.

 

[Jayden K]

Live rock, skimmer, filter socks are generally the basic set up.

If you run too much filtration you can strip too many nutrients and starve corals and get what is called Dino which is the worst most annoying algae.. sometimes toxic to corals and inverts.

So you don’t just add anything without testing and monitoring.

As you move forward with your tank, quality test kits will be useful.

Hanna test kits came with the tank, ph, phep, salinity, calcium, nitrate. Do I need anymore? Also for the time being I can only use calcium and salinity so because I need more calibration liquid. I use test strips as of now.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hanna test kits came with the tank, ph, phep, salinity, calcium, nitrate. Do I need anymore? Also for the time being I can only use calcium and salinity so because I need more calibration liquid. I use test strips as of now.

You need alkalinity test kit.

 

[Tamberav]

Hanna test kits came with the tank, ph, phep, salinity, calcium, nitrate. Do I need anymore? Also for the time being I can only use calcium and salinity so because I need more calibration liquid. I use test strips as of now.

Once you have corals, Alk becomes one of the most important. Although it is also important once coralline algae starts to grow. I also don't see Mg test either.


The tank looks a little light on rock for territories/sleeping spots, depending on how many fish you end up with. I would probably put something on the left open side.

I would also clean up those cords, you don't want anything down there that could get dripped on.

Tank looks like it is off to a good start.

 

[Dburr1014]

I am ramping up the feeding now as I want to add some anthias or something soon.

Only feed the fish you have.
No need to ramp any feeding. For damsels, one or two small feedings is enough.

 

[Dburr1014]

Oh, and I have an for those damsels and clowns that thought they were going to achieve world domination....

I wish there was a head scratching emoji.

What does this mean???

 

[Fish Fan]

I wish there was a head scratching emoji.

What does this mean???

I think the poster was suggesting that Damsels are very aggressive. But you know, we really do need a head scratching emoji lol!

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I wish there was a head scratching emoji.

What does this mean???

I use these

lOL! Feel Free to use m

 

[Jayden K]

You need alkalinity test kit.

I forgot, I have that with the calibration solution, as of yesterday morning it was 8.1.

 

[Formulator]

I fully understand that at the end of the day the purpose of the BRSTV videos is to sell us equipment, and often things we arguably don't need to be successful. That said, I do think they do a pretty good job breaking down some of these advanced topics and explaining things easily for beginners. They even have a whole series for beginners that's pretty good.

I agree 1000% with this. Especially their older content, before they became the giant retailer they are today. Very informative and straightforward videos if you stay away from the specific product reviews.

 

[Jayden K]

What is the best salt, I used Instant Ocean. Is it a good brand, is there any better? I don't have coral or many fish yet, so if I want to switch now would be the best time, especially if it will make to coral grow faster.

 

[Formulator]

Yup, it was in the first post I think.

Very happy to see live rock! However you need about 3x more of it. The general rule is about 1 lb per gallon of tank volume. The rock is your primary filter in a saltwater tank as it harbors all the nitrifying bacteria needed to handle ammonia produced by your livestock. Additionally, it serves as a safe haven for your fish who will all find a cave or crevice to sleep in or retreat to when frightened. Not having enough of these hiding places can stress your fish and weaken their immune system, leading to fish disease, especially ich.

 

[Formulator]

What is the best salt, I used Instant Ocean. Is it a good brand, is there any better? I don't have coral or many fish yet, so if I want to switch now would be the best time, especially if it will make to coral grow faster.

Instant ocean is a great choice and one of the oldest in the game. Maybe upgrade to the instant ocean reef crystals version next time you buy salt, but certainly not a requirement as folks have successful reef tanks with regular IO salt also.

 

[Jayden K]

Very happy to see live rock! However you need about 3x more of it. The general rule is about 1 lb per gallon of tank volume. The rock is your primary filter in a saltwater tank as it harbors all the nitrifying bacteria needed to handle ammonia produced by your livestock. Additionally, it serves as a safe haven for your fish who will all find a cave or crevice to sleep in or retreat to when frightened. Not having enough of these hiding places can stress your fish and weaken their immune system, leading to fish disease, especially ich.

Me have money, me need live rock, me have no money, how me money lose less?(where do you buy live rock and where is it cheapest, I got this with the tank, no clue how many pounds of rock i have. Also how would i add more, go up? Build a wall of rock and crevices?) If you picture of a good example can you send it. Trying to get as much help as possible.

 

[Jayden K]

Instant ocean is a great choice and one of the oldest in the game. Maybe upgrade to the instant ocean reef crystals version next time you buy salt, but certainly not a requirement as folks have successful reef tanks with regular IO salt also.

I use reef crystals, I buy the 200g box

 

[Formulator]

Me have money, me need live rock, me have no money, how me money lose less?(where do you buy live rock and where is it cheapest, I got this with the tank, no clue how many pounds of rock i have. Also how would i add more, go up? Build a wall of rock and crevices?) If you picture of a good example can you send it. Trying to get as much help as possible.

I bought all my live rock at my local store (LFS). 10 years ago it was about $3 per pound IIRC. So yes, it will cost you a few hundred dollars, but it won’t be the first time this hobby sets your wallet on fire. Some of the “name brand” live rock is highly regarded on here, but I don’t have any experience with it and the generic stuff from my LFS worked just fine for me.

Look around on the build threads here. In general, yes you will want more height in some places in case you ever want to keep SPS with high intensity lighting requirements (place them higher=closer to light), but it also looks like the left side is bare so you could put a structure over there. It doesn’t need to be one continuous wall of rock, though that is certainly an option (kind of how all the old school tanks used to do it). Personally I prefer more depth and varied structures. My tank is basically 2 islands with some overhangs and peninsulas. I had to reboot my tank this year so you can actually still see some of the original rock structure. Here is a photo:

 

[Jayden K]

I bought all my live rock at my local store (LFS). 10 years ago it was about $3 per pound IIRC. So yes, it will cost you a few hundred dollars, but it won’t be the first time this hobby sets your wallet on fire. Some of the “name brand” live rock is highly regarded on here, but I don’t have any experience with it and the generic stuff from my LFS worked just fine for me.

Look around on the build threads here. In general, yes you will want more height in some places in case you ever want to keep SPS with high intensity lighting requirements (place them higher=closer to light), but it also looks like the left side is bare so you could put a structure over there. It doesn’t need to be one continuous wall of rock, though that is certainly an option (kind of how all the old school tanks used to do it). Personally I prefer more depth and varied structures. My tank is basically 2 islands with some overhangs and peninsulas. I had to reboot my tank this year so you can actually still see some of the original rock structure. Here is a photo:

My jaw dropped, how big is that tank, it, it looks amazing. Unfortunately shops are not that cheap today. It cost 7$/lb at my lfs. It's way to expensive. I found some on ebay for 200, would you recommend this based on the way it looks?

 

[Formulator]

My jaw dropped, how big is that tank, it, it looks amazing. Unfortunately shops are not that cheap today. It cost 7$/lb at my lfs. It's way to expensive. I found some on ebay for 200, would you recommend this based on the way it looks?

Thank you so much! It is 120g. Believe it or not, it was much better before. I’m just getting started again after a crash and total overhaul, so most of my corals are still very young. If you liked mine, some of the other tanks on here will blow your mind!

That is dry rock, not live. However, with the amount of live rock you already have, if the budget won’t support more of the live, you can definitely use dry rock to supplement and still get most of the benefits of a live rock start. Just be prepared for more uglies in the beginning as the dry rock becomes colonized and matures.

 

[Jayden K]

Thank you so much! It is 120g. Believe it or not, it was much better before. I’m just getting started again after a crash and total overhaul, so most of my corals are still very young. If you liked mine, some of the other tanks on here will blow your mind!

That is dry rock, not live. However, with the amount of live rock you already have, if the budget won’t support more of the live, you can definitely use dry rock to supplement and still get most of the benefits of a live rock start. Just be prepared for more uglies in the beginning as the dry rock becomes colonized and matures.

Wait, so if my tank is already established, adding new rock even if I keep the old one will make it go through the ugly cycle again?

 

[aliceb]

I would expect there to be uglies and a cycle as the new rock does not contain beneficial bacteria within it.