Just Started My River Reef 50

[jameshiggins]

hi guys, im after a bit of advice if possible. ive reaserched a bit into this just hope im doing it all right.

on sunday i purchaced this river reef tank from ebay it was prevously used a a tropical, so i gave it a good cleen up. The next day i filled it with water then added the required ammount of salt, let it settle for a day or so. last nite i added some live sand and 8kg of cured indanisian live rock that i brought privately. today i brought a refractameter it reads 1.020. i know it should be a little higher so im going to get some more salt tommorow. im now going to leave it at least a month then get some water tests.

any thoughts and oppinions on the rock/setup would be great!

P.S excuse my dyslexia its taken me about 40 mins to type this lol

 

[simonas]

Hi James
I;m no expert but have a river reef I set up in March and I;ve picked a few things up along the way. Its a learning curve!!

You seem by looks to have too much live rock although it won;t do any harm to your stats but will reduce the amount of water you actually have

Did you use RO water to fill it with? I hope so?

Also you should really test from now to see if the tank cycles properly, there is plenty of info on this forum in relation to cycling

Good lck and keep your journal updayed as thats the best way to pick things up in my opinion

Simon

 

[jameshiggins]

hi, thanks for the reply,

i used tap water as i was told theres no need for r.o to start with by my lfs. does this mean i have to start again with r.o.


as for the live rock, the photos do make it look like theres less space than there actually is. is it worth taking a few peices out do you think? i was told to get 10kg but that was definatly way to much so all ready got some left over.

thanks again

 

[jameshiggins]

sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but it looks there there loads tiny brissle type things on the rock, is this normal?

 

[simonas]

Again I;m sure a marine expert will come and comment soon enough but I would have thought that that was the wrong advice to fill with tap water and to go RO from there?

 

[jameshiggins]

ive now removed about 3kg ove the rock, and salinity is at 1.024

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side

Which sized river reef is it? That way we can work out how much live rock you should have

What are your plans for the tank, once we know that we can help you re: the stocking etc. As for the water, for a newbie it would always be wise to start with good RO water, however there are a few experienced salties who use tap water - if it were me, I would remove the water and put in salted, heated ro water.

Have you started to test your water yet?

Seffie x

 

[jameshiggins]

hi,

its the 50l one, im going to get a test today at my lfs, stocking wise im not to sure wot im able to have in this tank, im going to get a few soft corals once the water is ok.

james

 

[seffieuk]

So you only need approx 5k of live rock in the tank but I would probably go for approx 6K.

You only have ten gallons, so not really large enough for fish, unless its a small goby maybe with a shrimp, dwarf hermit, snail and a lovely zoa or ric garden

Seffie x

 

[jameshiggins]

hi Seffie, thanks for the reply.

theres probably about 7kg ot the moment i realy like the way it looks, is it a problem haveing a little more rock than the recomended 5kg?
Juast got back from the shop test results are:

Ammonia 4.0
Nitrite 1.4

James

 

[seffieuk]

The only problem may be a lack of flow, how much do you have?

Test results confirm you are in your cycle

What was the nitrATE result?

Seffie x

 

[jaylam]

sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but it looks there there loads tiny brissle type things on the rock, is this normal?

Are they moving, if so they will prob be bristly worms. I had a few in my tank and just took them out, they can be bad for corals.

Looks like you doing well though

 

[seffieuk]

I had a few in my tank and just took them out, they can be bad for corals.

Whoa, unless they are massive, leave them alone, they are a great part of the cuc

Seffie x

 

[jameshiggins]

The only problem may be a lack of flow, how much do you have?

Test results confirm you are in your cycle

What was the nitrATE result?

Seffie x

i only have the stardard pump, not too sure wot the flow is on that. would you suggest haveing a low power powerhead? Chap at the shop said know need, but i know whos opinion i trust more!
They didnt test for nitrate. (need to invest in my own kit)

sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but it looks there there loads tiny brissle type things on the rock, is this normal?

Are they moving, if so they will prob be bristly worms. I had a few in my tank and just took them out, they can be bad for corals.

Looks like you doing well though

No, i think its just part of the algae, Just me being paranoid im used to tropical so this is completly different.

I had a few in my tank and just took them out, they can be bad for corals.

Whoa, unless they are massive, leave them alone, they are a great part of the cuc

Seffie x

Dont thik there bristly worms, havnt seen any 'life' although a few old tiny shells.

james

i will get some pics up later, cameras charging

 

[seffieuk]

Yes, you need a powerhead - look at koralia, probably the nano one you are looking for approx 15/20 x per hr

Seffie x