Starting My First SW Tank

[angelmom]

I have a another question and think it would be silly to start another thread. Have any of you heard of the ZOOMed Rotating power head? I thought this would a great device for water movement but can't find much feed back on it like on the quality or effective ness of it. I hate to spend money (it's not huge amounts) on it if it's not worth it.

 

[TheFool]

They tend to jam up after a while. Salt buildup and bacterial films tend to be much harder on equipment in salt than fresh. The best way tio get turbulent flow is to get a couple big powerheads like the seios and point them so the flows are opposite, but glance against each other to produce chaotically random flow where they 'rub'

 

[1979camaro]

Alternatively, you could try one of the Hydor Koralias...they do essentially the same thing, but are a lot more adjustable. I know Lotus likes hers.

 

[angelmom]

I finally a picture. I think I'm pretty good on the rock set up for now what do you think? It is still a little cloudy because we just added more rock but I will get better ones when it clears.

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[JeLeAk]

i think the rock work looks awesome *thumbsups

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

looks neat! cant wait till it matures

 

[Lorna]

It looks great, just make sure those pieces on top are secure so they dont cause a landslide if they get bumped or knocked over. Large snails can and will bulldoze rockwork.......just a word of caution

 

[angelmom]

Thanks. I will deffinetly make sure it does't move and that was what I was trying to do in the beginning, but I'll have to double check before I put anything in there. NOW if it would just finish cycling.

Here some pictures of it cleared up.

Frog Cave (looks like a frog)

Left Side-The rock on top is alot more sucure than it looks. It shouldn't go anywhere.

Right Side (the rock in the forground is actually a huge rock with two smaller ones on top. We could barly get it out of the tank at the store it is so big. Great rock with lots of natural caves.)

Whole Tank

 

[eva]

Looks great! I didn't see this in the thread, but what kind of lights do you have in there? Brand, wattage etc...thanks.

 

[Lotus]

How is the cycle going?

 

[angelmom]

I upgraded the light before I even put anything in there because after doing much more research (never ending isn't it) I decided it wasn't going to be right. I think it would make a great light for plants but not coral.

I now have a Corallife Aqualight Pro, It is a double ended HQI metal Hilide with 4 96watt compact Flurescents and 4 Lunar lights.


Cycling is slow it seem.

PH 8.2
Nitrates 10
Ammonia .50
Nitrites 1.0-2.0

I wish it would hurry up. Is there anything I can add to the water to help it cycle quicker?

 

[Lotus]

Just leave it to cycle on its own. You certainly need patience in SW.

I skimmed over the thread, but I'm not really sure when you started cycling. You really don't need to measure nitrates until your ammonia and nitrite are at zero. I read somewhere that the presence of nitrItes in SW will skew your nitrAte readings.

 

[angelmom]

You certainly need patience in SW.

I know it's just hard as I'm sure you know. I actually have one little snail in there that must have hitched a ride on the rock. So I guess I'll just watch him until things level out.

We set the tank up last week, last Saturday to be exact but then we added another 45 lbs of rock yesterday. So it will happen it's just a matter of time. I figured since I'm still doing a cycle and I don't actually have anything in there except the loan snail it would be a good time to add the rock. I know it means a longer cycle (most likely) but it give me a chance to save up a little more $$ to actually buy something of live stock.

 

[Lotus]

It sounds like a good plan to me. I think you're better off adding all the rock now, before the cycle is finished. That way, you won't have to worry later on.

I think our cycle was done in about two or three weeks. We waited a week after ammonia and nitrites were zero before adding some snails and hermits. I think it was another three weeks or a month before we added fish, but we had things going on, and didn't really have time to get fish.

Now would be a good time to think about setting up your quarantine tank. We seeded ours with a piece of cycled live rock, and left it in there for a few weeks to seed the filter, then put it back in the display... there was never a fish in there with the live rock.

 

[angelmom]

Well my tank is almost completly done with it's cycle

PH 8.2
Nitrates 5-10
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0

Once my Nitrates are at 0 how long should I wait before putting anything in the tank. I'm not going to go with the eel as I first was going to do because there are other fish I like better.

Now I guessing that it is better to put a couple of fish in the tank and wait on the coral for a while. How will I know when my tank is established enough for some corals?

Any beginner fish ideas. I really like the Blue Chromis, I love the way they school (I've been window shopping). But can't figure out what other fish would be a nice starter fish and would go well with Chromis.

Also if they are the first fish I'm adding would I still want to QT them or could I put them directly in the tank?

 

[Lorna]

if you are thinking of chromis, add them last as they tend to gang up on other more docile fish.....(I had awful time with mine, ended up getting rid of them)

 

[big54bob]

Whatchman goby plus a pistol shrimp pair would be nice.

 

[angelmom]

if you are thinking of chromis, add them last as they tend to gang up on other more docile fish.....(I had awful time with mine, ended up getting rid of them)

Good to know. Everything I've read and as well as been told (lfs) said they were peaceful.

Would I want to get some hermits now. I'm getting some algae on rocks and sand bed.

I also noticed some feather dusters today. Some little white ones and little red ones.

 

[Lotus]

Definitely add a clean up crew before fish. A lot of people recommend making sure your ammonia and nitrite are at zero for a few days or a week, then add the clean up crew (snails/hermits), then wait another week or two (while testing) before even adding fish. Some people say hermits will attack and eat snails, but it's up to you if you want to take that risk. If your hermits kill $50 worth of snails, I'm sure you wouldn't be happy. I have a few dwarf blue hermits, and they seem OK, except for one that's now in solitary confinement for killing a snail. I think he may be a different kind, as he's larger than my other hermits.

A mix of snails should be good. I started off with a few, and add a few every now and then.

I'd say put any fish into the quarantine tank before you put them in your main tank. It's like playing Russian roulette, otherwise.

 

[angelmom]

Hi, I haven't been around in a couple of months, my life has been kind of well you know how life gets. Well anyway here is a couple of shots of my tank now.

I'm thinking this is a sea slug. He is really rather cool looking. Actually this is the bigger of the two I've seen in there.