So my tank is 3 months old and my first saltwater tank and I am learning as I go. I setup this 55 gallon with a Tidal55 HOB filter on June 28 and today is the 29th of September so it’s been about three months. In the first week , I added two Mexican turbo snails and two small hermit crabs. The two turbo snails lasted about 2 1/2 months and died. I fed them dried seaweed as much as I could but I don’t think I had enough food to sustain them. Also, as the second one was dying, I bought another Mexican turbo snail, and it seems to be doing OK since there is more algae growing now than before. I also bought a clown fish about only two or so weeks of having the tank going. Then when the tank came about the two month mark, I added a hammer coral. Probably too soon but I’m starting to realize that everybody pretty much has their own journey when keeping a saltwater tank and the coral seemed happy.
During the first month, I had the light set to come on about three hours a day, then bump it up to six the second month and now this month it comes on eight hours a day. I have no idea how to set the light but I do have more blue light than white light, still learning. I have not done any type of water change and what I’ve realized is that about every two weeks, I am losing about 5 gallons of water through evaporation, I replace this water with ROI water and the salinity seems to be fine calcium is good and alkalinity is ok off of strip test but getting better testing solution for that soon. I noticed some Spirorbid worms on the glass so I guess the tank is cycling appropriately.
All was good until yesterday, I added 22lbs-sh of live rock from my LFS and with-in 3 hours the hammer retracted and 12 hrs the clown died. I did not rinse the rock, I just set it in. I get it, I screwed up. My question is now what do I need to do to make sure my tank get safe enough again to reintroduce another clown and more coral. The plan for this tank is to be a reef tank. I only had the clown in there to help cycle.
During the first month, I had the light set to come on about three hours a day, then bump it up to six the second month and now this month it comes on eight hours a day. I have no idea how to set the light but I do have more blue light than white light, still learning. I have not done any type of water change and what I’ve realized is that about every two weeks, I am losing about 5 gallons of water through evaporation, I replace this water with ROI water and the salinity seems to be fine calcium is good and alkalinity is ok off of strip test but getting better testing solution for that soon. I noticed some Spirorbid worms on the glass so I guess the tank is cycling appropriately.
All was good until yesterday, I added 22lbs-sh of live rock from my LFS and with-in 3 hours the hammer retracted and 12 hrs the clown died. I did not rinse the rock, I just set it in. I get it, I screwed up. My question is now what do I need to do to make sure my tank get safe enough again to reintroduce another clown and more coral. The plan for this tank is to be a reef tank. I only had the clown in there to help cycle.