TRENT Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 Hello everyone, I have been lurking around for a few days very cool site. I live in Redmond Or. I'm new to saltwater but not fish I currently have a 45,55,125,and 150 freshwater setup. But have always wanted a saltwater tank. I just purchased a 16 gal nano tank (4years established). it's been up and running for 4 days and all seems good. But I do have some questions.I know I'm supose to do my homework before I buyDOH!. But I't was such a good deal:D, so now it's time to learn a few things. Now for the questions. How do the water conditions look? How many times a day do you feed? how often do I change water and how much at a time? do I use any water conditioner? Can I use bottle water from store to do changes? Thats it for now. I will get pictures up later so I can figure out what I have for rock, plants, light and filter. Thanks for the feedback. T Here is what's in their for fish; Banded Coral Shrimp Green Goby 6 line Wrasse Clownfish Water conditions; PH 8.2 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0.50 Nitrate 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Trent, Welcome to the forum, you will find lot of info in here. I also have a 16G nano tank too, I got a HOB sump to placed all my heater, skimmer and some LR. :-) I do regular water change, 4 gals per week. Daily I fill up my tank with a cup. I get my sea water from Seahorse, local fish shop. I feed my fish once a day, when I feed my fish I turn off my powerhead and my HOB sump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Welcome! Use reverse osmosis (RO) water. Either buy it from a fish store, or get it from a grocery store (or wall-mart). Distilled is not as good, and don't use "purified" bottle water. If you use RO water, there is no need for a "water conditioner" to remove chlorine, because there is no chlorine in RO water. You can also buy an RO unit for somewhere around $100-200. You don't need a large one because of the size of your tank. I started out using tap water in my tank, and I got a HUGE algae bloom. Once I got an RO unit, the algae stopped growing, and started to recede. Feed as little as possible to maintain the health of the animals that you have, which would not be a lot. Otherwise you are just putting in nutrients to feed algae. Rule of thumb (especially for small tanks) is to change 10% of the water every week. If you do this then you dilute the nutrients, and replenish all the trace minerals. Then you don't need to add supplements, or additives to the tank. If you have not found the site www.nano-reef.com yet, you should check it out. They are dedicated to small reef tanks. They are, for the most part, a bunch of crude and immature people. But they know how to keep small reefs going great! Glad you could join us dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Welcome Trent! I am sure that you'll find a ton of great information on this site! Good luck with your tank and post pictures ASAP! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Welcome to the site, the guys above got you covered for your questions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Thanks for the warm welcome and answering my questions. Here are a few pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 WELCOME TOAD Nice looking setup! I think it would be a good idea to think about what equipment you purchase. The salt water bug has a way of expanding. You already have a bunch of freshwater tanks and may think of converting to salt. So the purchase of equipment, an RO/DI unit, and other items. You may want to get that will cover future needs to overall save money. IF you do change out one of your tanks to salt. Be sure you has NEVER used copper base treatments in it. Also Photo bucket is a great place for the photos. They will post bigger, without having to click on each one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Hey Trent, you have the same tank and stand that I am having. Check out my post http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8027&page=4. BTW, I notice you dont have a skimmer, skimmer would be good investment for your tank. (whistle) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefaquarist Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 welcome to the site. good starting tank. also recommend skimmer.it seems in the saltwater world you could run no filters and if you have a big good sized skimmer and nice cleanup crew than you will be fine. as far as filtering goes alot of natural stuff goes on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Thanks everyone for the feed back. I think I have a filter/skimmer is a picture? Do you guys think I could fit a few more Goby's in? Also I added a lawnmower. Am I working on overstocked? I can't quit. Thanks T Benny503 Nice tank. Love the rock work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralreefaquarist Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 looks like a prism style skimmer filter to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 Sorry for the silly questions. Are they any good? Their is a tab (white plastic rod) like thing on the right side that you pull on and it makes the bubbles come up out of the tube(skimmer)? How should I have this adjusted? When I push it all the way in I noticed the flow comming out of the filter is strong but no bubbles or noise. Then I start to pull it up weaker flow with some bubbles and it gets noise. I have it all the way down and tank is staying clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny503 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 You want to have the white plastice rod up, so that way bubble can come inside the tupe, that call skimming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCR Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Thanks everyone for the feed back. I think I have a filter/skimmer is a picture? Do you guys think I could fit a few more Gobi's in? Also I added a lawnmower. Am I working on overstocked? I can't quit. Thanks T WOW I called the "BUG" right on(clap) PLEASE SLOW DOWN... Salt water systems don't react favorably to fast change. A lawn mower is a heavy eater and waste maker. Your Bio system needs to build up slowly. Gobi's are also pigs. When adding, Waite a couple of weeks and be testing water perm's. Lack of Patience is one of the biggest killers in this hobby. Most all of us have been there and learned a hard lesson. You have a cool setup. Give your self time to learn it. Enjoy:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Sounds like you have found your crack! I know thats what this hobby is for me. Maybe its time for an upgrade! Save those pennys! You are on the right track and you tank looks very nice! Great job! Garrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Hello and welcome to the club! Very nice tank you have there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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