New Saltwater Tank Questions.

Question

Okay, So We have decided to go to saltwater tank, We set it up a couple days ago.

We have got the protien skimmer, a canister filter, a wavemaker, and a couple bubblers going on right now. And the heater going.(temp. at 79)

We also have added live sand. Which of coarse made it cloudy; and yes we know it may take a while to clear which is fine with us.(we are not in any hurry for fish)

So, we have done all that and decided to check the levels.

Here are the results,

We have the Mardel 5 in one test kit.

Nitrate(0-20)...

Nitrite(0-0.5)....

Alkalinity/buffering capacity (240-300)...

pH(8.4)

Salt(1.020)...which is low

I do have a couple question to ask tho,

(1.)With the levels as they are when should i live rock?

(2.)Do I HAVE to have a double light?

(3.)Should i add another Wavemaker?

With all that in mind, the tank is a 55 gallon.We are open to many options and what Saltwater tank owners have to say.

Also, I would also like to add; Please dont come on here and be rude, this is our 1st Saltwater tank trial(lol).

Thank You for your comments.

Answer 1

If you are adding live rock, the sooner the better. You will have to let the live rock cure before adding the fish, since curing is the process where you are allowing some of it to die off and grow again. When curing the ammonia levels will go up, which is why it is not safe to add fish at this time. I would add about 1 lb of live rock for every gallon, you can also buy base rock, which is just porous rock that will eventually grow live creatures, and buy some live rock which will help seed the base rock. It is much cheaper to buy it this way, since base rock does not cost nearly as much. If you only have the live rock and some fish, you don't absolutely need to have a double light, depending on the species you are getting. You might benefit from having another wavemaker or a power head. Hope this helps a bit.