He He He He He <--- GITTY!!!!!

[Milo]

Hi everyone!!!

Okay... SOOO.... I GOT IT!!!! This weekend, went to the LFS and bought a salt water kit I purchased a 55 gallon tank with the protein skimmer, filter, 900 Powerhead, lights, live rock, everything!!! Every little thing i could need. Well wait... no hold on... let me refraise that.... by the time the weekend was OVER I had purchased everything i needed for the kit.

So anyways, I set it up Saturday night, added all the salt water (reading right now of 1.021 (a little low?) I added a little more salt to my next batch of water for when i do a water change. I also set up all the live rock, didn't add any sand yet but will do it probably in a weeks time.

Now What? (just kidding, I know i have to wait which will seem like an eternity!) But I was doing some reading online and it said to start off the cycling period a fish needs to be added? This goes against everything that I have read, but it says that the fish has the amonia and the cycling process needs the amonia to get a kick start.I wasn't planning on adding any fish untill september.

Anyways, on the topic of fish now... What are good, hardy starter fish? I think I wan't to get 2 clowns with some damsels. There is probably going to be an end result of a lion fish, what's compatable with lion fish?

Thanks everyone

 

[aresgod]

don't add fish to cycle, it is not necessary.

 

[Milo]

No, you got me all wrong, I am not planning on adding any fish untill atleast september (end and if all goes well) I just wanted to go online and read aboutthe cycling process and what to expect, if anything. Thats when I read it. Thought it was out of the ordinary so posted it.

 

[Pure]

There is probably going to be an end result of a lion fish, what's compatable with lion fish?

Anything that can fit in it's over sized mouth will be eaten. Including your clowns and damsels.

Lions do not make for good reef or community fish for this very reason.

 

[Milo]

Really! That stinks... OKAY LION FISH OUT...What's good starter fish? What did you guys put in for the beginning?

 

[zoalover34]

i read somewhere if you put a piece of shrimp in the tank that it will help the cycle process also..

 

[Milo]

But won't the shrimp die due to the tank being brand new?

 

[FishLuvr]

he meant a piece of ediable shrimp, the shrimp that you would sautee up in a fyring pan with some butter and garlic, over some angel hair or linguini and ..... MAN IM HUNGRY NOW.

 

[Milo]

HAH...LOL... Thats funny... REALLY???? That just clicked in... yeah I guess so...It wouldn't harm the tank and the biological set up?


P.S... Yeah I am hungry too now!

 

[zoalover34]

lol yea that's what i ment sorry for not being clear on that.. when i said "piece" i didn't think you would think i was talking about say a cleaner shrimp..

 

[CAPSLOCK]

You don't even need to add any shrimp. The live rock will cycle the tank all on its own.

Clowns are good hardy starter fish, especially since they're generally tank bred. It really depends on what you want to see in your tank long term, though. If you really want damsels, you should probably do a tank of only damsels and possibly another very aggressive fish (pseudochromis maybe?). Otherwise, damsels will terrorize most anything else in the tank, including clowns and fish that are much bigger than them. Keep in mind that a lot of damsels grow bigger than you'd think and some change colors as they become adults and look kind of drab.

You can check out Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums for some fishy ideas, and also a general idea on pricing.

 

[Joe Fish]

Like was stated earlier, you don't need to add anything to start it. It will start off quicker if you do one of those things. I've read people adding damsels, like 1 per 5 gallons and if one dies to leave it in the tank. I personally don't want to waste money just to see them die because of the cycling process. Your LR alone should be enough to cycle the tank. Just keep testing until you start to see the ammonia go up then you know it's started. Yes 1.021 is a little low. Most fish need between 1.020 - 1.026, shrimp are 1.023 - 1.025. You only have the one powerhead? If you add damsels having fun trying to catch them to take them out. They are also mean little guys. A good number of clowns can be mean too like cinammon ones.

 

[Milo]

Wow... That was a big serve of replys. Joe Fish... The kit came with only 1, but I am using that to power the skimmer. I went and purchased another one. powerhead 600 (i think) to create water movement.

As for adding fish to the tank, I am probably gonna keep the original plan and wait untill the end of september before I add anything. This way I can get ample time to research exactly what type of fish I want to get and what other fish are compatable. Also, this will give me time to master any saltwater mixing techniques that are out there

Capslock... Thanks for the link, I am gonna check it out now.

 

[Joe Fish]

I put 3 yellowtail damsels in my tank soon after I put the rock in. They were nice fish until they beat up the little one. Then I had a heck of a time catching them to take back. I started out with two penguin 175gph and realized it wasn't much in my 55. I then put in a maxi 300gph and then another seio 600gph. Now I have pretty good movement. Since you didn't add you sand yet your tank is going to get pretty cloudy when you first put the sand bed in. With your LR that should subside in a day or so.

 

[Milo]

Thanks Joe,

I was told not to put in any sand as of yet bye the LFS. The reason is because some guy gave me his live rock, and it was on the verge of being "dead rock", so i put it in my tank and purchased some more live rock from the LFS to bring it back to life. They told me not to put in any sand as of yet incase anything falls of the LR it would be a pain to get rid of it.

I will put some sand in probably on the weekend.

 

[Joe Fish]

After the sand settles you will get some sand left on the rock. Just take a powerhead and use it to blow off the rock. I used a airline tube and blew it off.

 

[Milo]

Hey Joe,

What are your thoughts on the Reverse Osmosis devise? I was thinking about purchasing one ($200.00 cdn) but hesitated due to the price tag. We picked up a 5 gallon bucket of Water from the lfs and we are arating (sp) it now. I made up a batch of salt water and added 2 more tablespoons of salt to get the salinity up in the tank. We are gonna play with the amount of salt going into the tank to see how much or how little to add and what the outcome will be with the salinity.

 

[OCCFan023]

If you can afford the RO unit and can operate I would say go for it, there very useful and a great investment (as I see your buying RO water from your lfs right now)

and good luck with the new setup

 

[Joe Fish]

I also hesitated over the price of a RO unit. I use tap water mainly, but I have been buying distilled water from walmart and the local grocery store for about 68 cents per gallon. I don't really have any water issues so I'm probably going to continue to use these methods, unless I run into a problem. I would like to use solely RO water though. I have a 20 gallon tub, that you can use for a beer keg, and I put in 2 cups of salt per 5 gallons. I let that water sit for at least a week. I don't have any spare powerheads anymore so I just stir it with a stick a few times a week. This gives me between 1.023 and 1.025.

 

[Milo]

I can't use tap water because of all the hard metals. (THANKS CANADA!)

Its not bad though, especially in the beginning, because it is an excuse to have to go to the LFS.

Thanks OCC FAN... I will probably purchase a RO Unit in the future, first I want to see how running a SW tank is.