Brand New Salty and Tank!!

cinlnk

cinlnk

Large Fish
#1
Sep 10, 2005
805
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18
118
Who said anything about living? I merely EXIST!!!
#1
Ok I have decided to give Saltwater a try....
Here are my stats:

15 gal tall tank
2 HOB filters
200 watt heater
2 powerheads rate about 300 gph
20 lbs live sand
3.5 lbs live rock
1 dead cocktail shrimp... to kickstart bacteria

Numbers are on day 5 of cycle:
Am...2.0
pH...8.0
Nitrites....5
Nitrates...5.0
Spec. Grav...27
Salinity...1.020
Temp...77

Tell me what I need to do ...or if I am doing anything wrong:D
I am trying the Fishless cycle method and have done TONS of reading and reseach and still reading and reading.....
ANY advice would be MUCH appreciated!
P.S.....I know that smaller tanks are harder to manage,BUT, I just dont have the room for a larger tank. I got this 15 g as a freebie and didnt know what else to do with it. I have been comtemplating a saltwater tank for some time tho.
 

Last edited:
lordroad

lordroad

Large Fish
#2
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#2
Don't worry too much about smaller tanks being harder. I have a ten gallon and in my experience it's no more work than my freshwaters, as long as you stay diligent with weekly water changes and topping off for evaporation with freshwater (preferably RO/DI, I get mine from a vending machine at an organic food store).

With the 15 gallon tall it will be a little more tough to light. If you're planning corals in the future, maybe get some tall rocks that can make platforms for the corals to rest on higher up in the tank. I run a 96 watt power compact coralife fixture on my ten... that would fit your tank too and give you an awesome amount of light for the upper regions of the tank, and a good amount at the bottom.

I'd personally take out that shrimp. Your live rock should get the action going.

Also, maybe get some more if that's possible, working your way up to around 13-17 pounds.

Water flow sounds good. Salinity is a tad low. I keep my reef at 1.022-1.023, which is still pretty low. A lot of the guys keep theirs around 1.024.
 

F

FishWhisperer

Large Fish
#6
Sep 10, 2004
301
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0
Texas
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#6
Thanks for starting this thread. I would like to start a saltwater tank also and am clueless. Do you know how many pounds of live rock for each gallon of water? I know the live rock is expensive so I was just trying to gather the amount of money I would need to start the tank. Appreciate any input. Thanks. :)
 

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