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Post by jbrimz on Oct 4, 2016 14:13:08 GMT -5
hey everyone i've decided to keep fish again and was wanting to go with saltwater but ive never had a salt tank before. so i was wondering if anyone of you could part some wisdom on a good way to start out i.e tank size and equipment needed and what are some good beginner fish.
i did some research years ago and was going to go the FOWLR route but i want some corals as well.
Also trying to keep it on the cheaper side if i can
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Post by fishtastics on Oct 4, 2016 15:57:44 GMT -5
You need at least a 30 gallon for a reef tank. With 2 filters one with sponges and one with charcoal and amonia stones. You also need 2 circulation pumps and a protien skimmer. et up- Day 1 after cleaning set up filters circulation pumps and protien skimmer. add crushed coral or live sand ( pound per gallons 5lbs =5gal) Add water and salt. This may take 2 days to get the salt to the right level. .024 is generally what we look for. It takes about 6 hours to settle to get and accurate read. (Note: no water changes needed ever. Tops ups are FrESHWATER only) Day 3: after salt is set to right level add aquarium cycle 10oz bottle. Whole bottle. Also add 10oz bottle of calcium. Day: 10 add live rock and snails!!! You need snails. Go for limpet snails if you can get them! But turbo snails work great too (note: live rock must be on water 109% of time or it is dead rock) Day: 30-50 add corals, hermits and. . You should already be seeing bugs swimming and climbing the rocks.Make sure they live. Corald need food you can buy phytoplankton and feed 4 cap fulls every 3 days. (Just pour in water) if you feel like it you can also add coral vitamins. Day: 70-~ begin adding fish as long as corals are surviving Make sure the lighting is good. That is the most most important thing. You need white and blue lights. At least 200 watts for that tank!. Also a black light for night time use only. Temp should be 78-80°. Rocks should turn a nice purple or red depending on what coraline algae you have in the bio filter. (Naturally) Also please be aware of bristle worms! They grow naturally in the tank and are a sign of a healthy tank they help clean the gravel but STING VERY BADLY AND ATE KNOWN TO CAUSE HEART ATTACKS. ALSo beware if you see red bristleworms they are poisonous and can kill. These worma crawl on rocks to so be careful when moving thibgs around. If yoh end up with DIATOM algae. BROWN and stringy/hair like buy a phosphate and nitrate remover for your filter. Then turn lighta off for 5 days. Then you will be all set. This algae bloom usually happens around 4 months and is deadly to coral and fish. It will happen. There is no avoidence. It just the tank cycling. But dont freak out or get discouraged we can fix it!. Any otber queations Read more: windsoraquaria.proboards.com/thread/3552/10-gallon-nano-reef#ixzz4M9UrOyQc |
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Post by jbrimz on Oct 4, 2016 18:13:54 GMT -5
so for lighting is there a specific one i need for corals?
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Post by fishtastics on Oct 4, 2016 19:28:29 GMT -5
so for lighting is there a specific one i need for corals? Not in parricular. LED js best. AT LEAST 200 wattage. And has to have both blue and white lights. They are costly. About 400$ for a good one. But you can get lucky and find cheap on kijiji and such. |
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Post by jbrimz on Oct 4, 2016 21:34:28 GMT -5
is there a way to tell the wattage of the light if its not listed on the fixture?
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Post by lesfromwindsor on Oct 5, 2016 4:47:11 GMT -5
If you don't mind waiting you can order LED lights off Amazon alot cheaper then $400 and depending on where it comes from the wait might not be that long. Most are Chinese knock offs but have great reviews.
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Post by fishtastics on Oct 5, 2016 13:39:54 GMT -5
is there a way to tell the wattage of the light if its not listed on the fixture? Usually it is on thr box. But yeah. Buy it online. It will depict the wattage to |
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Post by fishtastics on Oct 5, 2016 13:40:04 GMT -5
is there a way to tell the wattage of the light if its not listed on the fixture? Usually it is on thr box. But yeah. Buy it online. It will depict the wattage to |
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Post by freshtosaltwater on Apr 11, 2017 7:02:41 GMT -5
Reopening this thread - I just started a saltwater tank, I'm on day 3. There's some pretty amazing videos on YouTube that explain the process and goes into detail about keeping nano tanks. I am working with a 20 Gallon Long, and so far it's been a rather enjoyable and exciting start.
I assume your tank has been going strong since you started!
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