My First Marine Tank

[CluelessScot]

Hi all,

Finally got round to starting my first marine tank! So far i have bought the tank, skimmer, salt, substrate, refractometer, test kits and phosphate remover.

The Tank last time i posted:



The tank as of now looks like this:


I added the substrate about a week ago and just bought the salt and skimmer yesterday so added the salt and set the skimmer up. I tested the water and my stats are PH 8.3 and SG 1.0225. Not sure what else to test for atm tho. The live rock will be bought next weekend when i have time to go and buy it. Ill add the phosphate remover into the filter part at the back a month after i add the liverock (LFS said thats when to add it).

I have a few questions tho...

1. What colour should i paint the back? I know blue but is there a shade of blue that loks better than just blue?

2. How soon should i Buy an RO unit?

3. From the point i add my LR when should i do water changes/top ups?

4. When should my skimmer start to foam up and need emptying?

Thanks

Kev

 

[SkiFletch]

First, to answer your questions:

1. What colour should i paint the back? I know blue but is there a shade of blue that loks better than just blue?

Paint color is a matter of preference. I chose black, some people choose dark blues, some light blues, and I've even seen a really deep indigo color once. Look up some journals or try and see it for yourself. Good news, if you use latex, you can just peel it off if you dont like it

2. How soon should i Buy an RO unit?

Yesterday. RO water is essential for a saltwater setup and should be used at all times when dealing with marine tanks.

3. From the point i add my LR when should i do water changes/top ups?

Whenever your water evaporates enough to warrant it. Depends on the individual tank so there's no way I can predict that for you. Before I made an auto top-up I did it once a day.

4. When should my skimmer start to foam up and need emptying?

Probably about the time you add your LR. There's not many nutrients in there now for the skimmer to really foam up good.



I'd like to save you from one pitfall when setting up your LR. Make sure you press the LR down into the sand bed and have it resting on the glass itself. Feel free to move sand around if necessary to accomplish this. It'll cloud up the water somethin fierce, but thats fine. If you dont have your rocks seated on the glass, they will shift and settle in the sand over time and possibly cause rockwork collapses. Best way to avoid this is to have them rest on the glass

 

[CluelessScot]

Thanks very much SkiFletch! just ordered an RO unit off the net now

I really like the idea of the latex tho, i will defo look into that.

As for the top ups, i assume thats just adding RO water to ensure that the sg level dont go to high? What about the 25% changes? I have a FW tank which i do a 20% change every week but i hear that its longer between changes for SW?

Thanks again!

Kev

 

[Chac]

Hi Kev

Have you use RO for the initial Fill or Tap Water

No real need to test the water until your LR is in, then you may see a cycle

Blue gets my vote for backing

As for water change, I do a (roughly) 20% change every 2 -3 Weeks depending on some factors (Mainly if I can be bothered)

You will need to test for the follwing & keep a record - that way you will know when your Amm/NitrIte spike has come & gone (if it comes at all)

Ammonia
NitrIte
NitrAte
pH
SG
temp
Phosphate

 

[CluelessScot]

Hey Chac,

I used tap water and it gets worse... im away offshore tomorrow morning, 6am check-in My little bro will look after things and i will leave some cash for him to get LR. I will need to buy a phosphate test kit, I was told i wouldnt need that for a good few months when i have corals?

20% every 2 weeks sounds good to me

Ill keep posting away while im away anyhoo

Cheers

Kev

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I do 10% every week, but thats just me. 20%/2 works well too. When you get the RO unit in you should mix up a near 100% water change using RO water and salt if at all possible. If it can be done before you put LR in, that would be the best by far . Wanna get all those nitrates, silicates, and heavy metals out of the water before you start putting living saltwater critters in there. Its best to start with no nuisance algae fuel found in tapwater

 

[CluelessScot]

Ah rite, thanks. I will try and sort that out asap.

 

[CluelessScot]

Hi all.

The RO unit arrived the other day so the tank will start again with fresh ro water. Im still offshire atm so it will be done as soon as im home!!

Kev

 

[Miss Wiggle]

First, to answer your questions:

1. What colour should i paint the back? I know blue but is there a shade of blue that loks better than just blue?

Paint color is a matter of preference. I chose black, some people choose dark blues, some light blues, and I've even seen a really deep indigo color once. Look up some journals or try and see it for yourself. Good news, if you use latex, you can just peel it off if you dont like it

what a good idea!! we like black backgrounds.... and it just so happens I have some black liquid latex lying around **ahem**