general Q and A - beginner

[split]

hey i have a few questions that im unclear of!

1/ my reading on my nitrite is 0.2 ppm
nitrate is 10 ppm

is it safe to add new fish ?

2/ when can i add coral ?
3/ what test kits should i have to maintain and check the coral?
4/ what type of coral would be the easiest to look after for a beginner?



5/ at the moment i have 2 damsels in my tank . and i had a valentini puffer fish , which died last night . as the readings current. what would be the reason it died .? iv had it in there for 2 weeks - got it given to me for free. so just curious on what could be wrong ?

sorry for the stupid questions - guess everyone has to start somewhere. thanks

 

[Shaunna]

What size tank do you have? What type of lighting do you have as this will determine what kind of corals you can keep. How long has your tank been set up and what are it's current inhabitants. Do you have LR in there and do you have any cleaners? some of these aren't compatable with corals.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I wouldn't add anything until you figure out how the puffer died... Also, you don't want to add anything until the nitrites and ammonia are both zero.

As asked, what type of lighting do you have? How big is the tank?

 

[Shaunna]

*thumbsups Agreed, capslock.

 

[split]

my tank dimensions are 80 cm x 60 x 40 - round 160 L . i have 2 white lights and a blue - and im not sure how to use these lights , should i use the blue for 8 and white for rest - when i have coral ? my tank has been set up for about 10 weeks. yes i have about 5 Kilos of LR . no cleaners .

 

[Shaunna]

I think you should do some more research before you add anything to your tank. Your lighting is a very key factor when keepijg corals and you really need to understand what is going on and get your timing down. If not you could be wasting money buying corals that your lighting doesn't support. You won't know what coral your lighting can support until you know what kind of lighting you have. Do you know the wattage of your bulbs?

As for your LR it is recommended to have around a pound a gallon. With a converter I found your tank to be around 42 gallons and you only have about 11 pounds of LR. That is wayyyyy to lowwww. If I have done this incorrectly then someone please feel free to correct me altho I believe I did it right. Do you have all the correct equiptment for a tank this large? What kind of substrate do you have? Are your parameters up to par? What is your salinity and how often do you check it? I think you need to read through this forum and research a little more about keeping a saltwater tank because I don't think you have a full understanding quite yet. Have you done any water changes? Also, you want to get your clean up crew in there and get them situated before you add any corals. Have you started experiencing any algae in there yet? Someone with more SW knowledge and experience will come along in a while and help you out, but for now I recommend you read the stickies in the SW section of this foruma nd make sure you are armed with all the knowledge you need.