New to saltwater, but not to hobby!

[FrostyKevin]

I finally decided to convert to saltwater because I love the coral so much. So, I bought a fluval spec, Kent nano tank buffer/supplement, and all the other necessary supplies. Oh, and I also got a 26w light to replace the stock lighting.

For the livestock, I've got 4 rics, Bam Bam and Candy apple pink zoas, and Neon Green Palau Nephthea from liveaquaria.com.

So is there anything else I need? And how's the setup?

I also just have one problem. The thing that annoys me is that the live sand gets stirred up and clouds up the tank. I think I should have at least rinsed it beforehand.

 

[skinz78]

What sand did you get?

 

[FrostyKevin]

Aragonite from Caribsea.

 

[returnofsid]

The sand will settle down, but could take awhile. When I set up my 200DD, I used dry Caribsea Oolite, which is about as fine as you can get. It took over 3 weeks to settle down. I have a TON of flow in the tank, so that didn't help much. I did hook up a canister filter, with a micron cartridge, for awhile, which did help, but not much.

Tell us more about your system. You mentioned the wattage of lighting, but not the type of lighting. Compact Fluorescents? If so, you may want to look at other options, as these won't allow you to grow much for corals. You'll be fine with softies, and some LPS though. Another reason to consider other options is because Compact Fluorescent bulbs are kind of becoming obsolete and hard to find. Depending on the size of your tank, you might be able to find a T5HO option. LEDs are also a great option.

As for your supplement, don't dose anything that you aren't testing for. At this point, none of the corals you've mentioned require any supplementation. Until you get into stony corals, you shouldn't need to supplement anything. You should be testing for the following:

Salinity
Nitrates
Phosphates
Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesium

Other than that, all the other trace elements are replaced, with regular water changes. Even Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium will be replaced with water changes. At this point, you shouldn't need to be dosing for those.

 

[toyencounters]

Caribsea iis very good!

 

[Reef Breeders]

How long has this tank been running? What are your params? Any live rock?

 

[FrostyKevin]

I'm using a white/blue light bulb. I'm not sure if it's considered to be flourescent. It's from Finnex. I just added a chalice today.

Tank has been running for a few weeks with live sand and live rock, so I think cycling should not be an issue.

My parameters should be just fine. The blood red fire shrimp is doing just fine.

 

[Reef Breeders]

So you never tested? Before buying ANY coral, be 100 percent that ammonia, nitries, and nitrates are ZERO, one fish doing fine is not a good basis, EVER.

 

[returnofsid]

I'd really advise you to do a lot more research, before purchasing any more livestock. The fact that you aren't even aware of what type of lighting you have, leads me to believe that you really need to do some learning. How are you able to decide if you have enough lighting for the corals that you're purchasing, when you don't even know what type of lighting you have?

 

[FrostyKevin]

Sorry, it's a beginner mistake, I guess.

I made sure that the coral I bought were hardy.

This is the light I have.

Energy Saving Bulbs

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Hello there and welcome! I saw that you mentioned not being new to the hobby, I'm assuming that means you've been involved in freshwater up till now? If so, we're coming from the very same background only I have a bit of a jump start since my new salt tank has been running for a bit longer. I don't want to assume too much since I'm not sure if this is the case or not but if it is then I can assure you that salt is muuuuch different than what your used to. I made the mistake of assuming that it couldn't be all that different and found out I was wrong after talking with many as well as doing my reading before jumping in.

Even though I was somewhat prepared before I started it still has been one heck of a ride, enjoyable yes but oh my has there much to learn and even though I'm some months into it I've found and accepted the fact that this is a hobby where one is never truly finished learning. No matter what your background or what level your starting at, I hope you enjoy your time here, it's a wonderful forum packed full of great information and folks! Give the board and the people the time to help you and your tank will love you for it.

 

[Reef Breeders]

Buy test kits before buying anything else.

 

[FrostyKevin]

Thanks, LittleDabOSalt. And I did come from a freshwater background, haha.

Anemonekeeper, I'm buying a testing kit today.

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

Thanks, LittleDabOSalt. And I did come from a freshwater background, haha.

Thought that might be the case. Seriously, it really is a different approach. I thought it couldn't be as difficult as some made it out to be with 25+ years in freshwater under my belt. Well, I was wrong.... difficult isn't exactly what I'd call it, just very different and at least for me I found the best way to get things going was to wash the slate clean sort of speaking and just be brand stinking new again. Forget what you've learned about fresh ( the majority won't apply anyway ) and start over...trust me your in for a really neat journey! The folks here really do know what their talking about and can make your start a whole lot less stressful if your willing.

 

[FrostyKevin]

Yeah, I knew that a reef forum would help me a lot!

Anyways, I did the water test, and here are the results:

PH: 8.2- 8.3

Ammonia:

1 ppm (I'm doing a water change tomorrow)

Nitrite:

0 ppm

Nitrate:

20 ppm (From tap water)

Is there any solution I can add to lower nitrate in my tap water?

 

[MurseBS]

buy a ro/di water system.cleans your water and thats the water you want for water changes and top offs. you may get a phos prob when using tap water. I did the same thing and a week later i redid everything... hair algae went crazy in there

 

[FrostyKevin]

Ok, what RO/DI system should I buy from Dr.Fosters and Smith?

And is my lighting ok?

 

[LittleDabOSalt]

I really like the Kent Marine Hi-S Maxxima RO / DI System

Reverse Osmosis Aquarium Water Quality: Maxxima RO/DI Units

 

[Reef Breeders]

Buy one from bulk reef supply.com, you dont get much for your money with a kent maxxima. I can help you out with selecting the best unit for a good price, I did a lot of research before I purchased my filter. BTW, a water change will not make the ammonia go away, your tank is obviously not yet cycled, and cannot handle a bioload. it may take 2 weeks to 2 months to get it cycled, sounds crazy but you can't add any livestock until ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates go up, then completely disappear. I have also heard that spectrapure filters are good, but the filters are a waste of money. I will post a link to a good system in a minute.

 

[Reef Breeders]

Build Your Own RO System - English follow this link. For add ons, use a 1micron sediment filter, then a 1 micron carbon block, then color changing nuclear grade DI resin, then 100 gallon per day RO membrane. No fifth stage unless you want an extra DI chamber. Add a dual tds meter, an auto shut off valve, a hose bib and laundry tub adapter, a float switch, and a flush kit. It will cost around $200 shipped. That is what I did, and it came fully assembled with all filters installed. It costs around $20 to replace the entire set of filters, plus I get 0 TDS water.