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bobby1212

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Hi my name is Bob and my wife and I just set up a saltwater aquarium for the first time and it is exactly 14 days old. I just joined the forum a few days ago and see all the knowledge on here is going to be a huge help. I hope one day to be able to add to it rather then just take from it.

 

What we have is a 40 gallon acrylic tank with a top that is built onto it. There are two large holes in the middle and a small one in one back corner and a long narrow one in the back middle. I bought it used on Craigslist and think it is not going to be the best choice. I have a heater and a canister filter rated at 350gph. The canister filters output is a spray bar that seems to aerate pretty well and moves the water also. I bought a used light fixture that is 48” and has 2 dual 65w 420nm&460nm actinics and 2 dual daylight 65w 6700k&10k with 2 moon lights. Also 40 lbs of live rock from a reputable LFS and a thin bed of fine coral sand.

 

We started with 3 Damsel fish and 5 tiny hermits to get things going. After 3 days one damsel died and 4 days later a second died. We still have one and it seems to be fine. The live rock had what I think was pink coralline algae and some green stuff that looked similar but it is all white now. I was running all my lights for about 12 hours a day but started getting a lot of brown algae after only 5 days so I started just running the actinics mainly just for the fish.

 

As of today my water ph is 8.2, maybe 0.25 ppm ammonia not sure because color doesn’t match any on card, 0 ppm nitrite, and between 5-10 ppm nitrates. Since day 1 it has been 5-10 nitrate but not sure how that can be when there has never been any nitrite and ammonia just started showing today if it even is.

 

Sorry for the book but am hoping for thoughts on the water parameters and what is the most important next piece of equipment I need to purchase? My water always seems to have fine particles in it even though my filter has plenty if floss.

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Hey Bob welcome to the forum and the hobby.

A good thing to know is what you plan to add to the tank, such as corals, fish etc.

When cycling your tank you really can get by with running your lights maybe 4 hours a day, the increased photo period is boosting the algae growth which you've found.

As far as addtional equipment the list can depend on your plans for the tank but a good skimmer is a great addition.

If you are still seeing ammonia your tanks got some cycling to do.

Welcome again and always feel free to ask questions

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First let me say welcome~!

 

Ok man I don't know who told you it was a good idea to keep any fish or crabs or any livestock while your tank is cycling but it's not. Basically they are swimming around in thier own waste. That is why they are dying. You don't have enough bacteria to break it down yet. Your best bet would be to take the living stock out and return it. Keep testing you water and when your perams are stable do a large water change and add your snails and hermits or your cleaners to start taking care of the natural algae that will occur while your cycle is happening. While they are cleaning plan what you want to keep coral wise. This will determine if the amount of light and flow you have now will be sufficient or you will need to upgrade. I.e stony corals will require a lot more light and flow. The most important thing I have learned in this hobby is go slow. Sounds like a great tank and it will be lots of fun!

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CCR

 

Thanks for the links.

 

I had a freshwater tank for a short while but it has been many many years since.

 

My water ph is 8.2, maybe 0.25 ppm ammonia not sure because color doesn’t match any on card, 0 ppm nitrite, and between 5-10 ppm nitrates. Since day1it has been 5-10 nitrate but not sure how that can be when there has never been any nitrite and ammonia just started showing today if it even is.

 

So how does nitrates get into water when there has never been any nitrites? I think my water is where is should be for the amount of time it has been. Or am I wrong on that?

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What type of test kits are you using? I have used the API and had readings of zero and then used Salifert and gotten the "real reading". Some kits are rotten. I know someone who uses those test strips-you know 4-5 tests in a single swipe, well I watched them test for NO3, and I then tested the same water for NO3, their test said zero and I came up with 15-20ppm.

 

Of all the kits I have used, API, Tetra, Instant Ocean.....Salifert test kits are the only ones I will use anymore

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Hello and welcome.

Common old school guidlines like useing fish to strat the cycling of your tank have changed. Glad you looked at the links already. Keep asking questions, many will chime in with the way they do things. Yep more than 1 way to do everything involved in this hobby. Do you know any others with salt tanks near you? If you have sand botton I could bring you some of mine, it helps to have "live sand,rocks" it seems to shorten the cycling.

 

Beckie

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what are you using to check your salinity? a refrac or a hydrometer? api are ok, sometimes, but they have a tendency to crap out when you need em the most, id suggest heading to an LFS, i prefer rosecity and seahorse personally, although davey jones locker is good too, and let them test your water for you.

 

also, a cycle can last up to 2 months for a saltwater tank, its rare, but not totally unheard of, my original cycle when i first set up my 20 long was 5 weeks before everything evened out to where it was supposed to be, and that was using 12 y/o live rock from an established tank that never dried out

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I have been using api test kits for 6 years and have no issues with mine. The tank is cycling. Stuff is dying and stabalizing. You have nitrates from die off from the rock. You are using ro water shouldn't be any nitrates in that. Sit back and wait for it....good things come to those who wait!

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jgf86123

I am using a hydrometer right now and I am pretty sure it is not functioning properly because I had my LFS test salinity and then I retested and it was not the same, so I have a refractometer on the way.

 

matty0206

That's what I was hoping but I thought you had to have nitrites before you could have nitrates. Die off would produce ammonia first I thought.

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jgf86123

I am using a hydrometer right now and I am pretty sure it is not functioning properly because I had my LFS test salinity and then I retested and it was not the same, so I have a refractometer on the way.

 

matty0206

That's what I was hoping but I thought you had to have nitrites before you could have nitrates. Die off would produce ammonia first I thought.

 

Don't toss the hydro. You can put a mark on it with a marker when you have the LSF calibrate your meter.When you get your tank salinity to .025 ...Mark the hydro at the mark it shows. Yes it probably is off BUT Preferably at .025 so you have a backup

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If using uncured rock it will be all you need to cycle your system once levels have dropped meaning Nit and Amo are 0. Then you can slowly had animals which I normally add snails and crabs first to start the cleanup then a few fish later with this said all over weeks at a time in fact nothing can be done to slowly when adding livestock to a new system slower the better.With your lighting you will be fairly limited to softies and a few lps I usually like to run 4 watts or more for most stuff to maintain the bright colors and not saying this lighting wont work for allot but you will need to stay away from most sps and clams and few others may live but just be brown or green this is ware informing yourself will come in handy by reading what you can or coming here, as far as the rest seems like your on the right track not sure if you thought of this but I'm a big believer in protein skimming not sure if this fits in your budget but would be something I would suggest and one last thing you will get many different theory's on how to set up and maintain a reef system non are really wrong but go with the type you best understand and you be successful.You will have failures so don't be dismayed you are dealing with a natural thing in a unnatural environment all I ask is you take the time to understand the animals you keep and you will be rewarded with something to be proud of.

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you are correct it should work fine for time being just be sure to clean it every couple weeks to keep it mechanical filtration instead of biological as the rock is a better bio filter then a canister can ever be and it will also keep from causing algae problems as these type of filters don't process solids the way live rock can and can turn into detritus sinks if not cleaned regularly.

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