Setting up new Marine tank..Need advise

[DJGonzo69]

Hi All,
I'm going to try out my first Marine tank. I will need advise from the experts on this forum. Here is what I have.

Eclipse System 12 gallon tank
Marine Sand
Pre-Mixed water from my LFS.
Bio startup mix
50 Watt heater

I've set up the tank last night & have been running the pump/filter since then.
I checked the water gravity & it's right smack in the middle of the hydrometer. Forgot the #, but it's like 1.024 I think, not sure. Still have to test the water. My LFS said that I should have a PH of 8.2, but I have to check to make sure. 0 on the ammonia & 0 on the nitrate. Also my LFS said to get Damsels to cycle the water. Is there anything else I should be aware as far as water params? How many fishes can I put in there? I know it's a small tank, so I need help on what I can put in there. I also got info where I need to do weekly water changes for a tank that small. Is that correct? Most say I need turbo snails also to clean the tank. Some say not to use my bio wheel. Is that true? I do have experience on Fresh water tanks, but I'm a newbie on Marine tanks. So any help would be appreciated.
Thx,
John

 

[RamJet]

Jon, sorry to say this, but you may be in over your head. This will be a difficult tank to maintain for a beginner. Seeing that you have already made the purchase we will all do our best to help out. You will not be able to keep many fish in this tank, 1 to 2 is all and only those that stay very small. I personally dont care for bio wheels, I think a skimmer and live rock do much better for filtration. One thing that you will need to do is top off the tank with fresh water every day, some times more depending on your climate. Always top off with fresh water before you do your water changes in order to maintain your salinity. (water evaporates, salt does not, what happens is your tank becomes 1.025 then you add water that is 1.024 and three days later you end up with your tank water being 1.026. The next week it becomes 1.027 and so forth.) Never wash your filters under tap water and remember Elvis is the King. Man he could swing them hips like no other. Oh, Nano tanks. Hope you dont plan on leaving home to often or if you do have someone who knows what they are doing and can house sit for you. Also, what kind of lighting did it come with, do you plan on having corals? This could be a problem because it is not an easy task to upgrade a cube. Just some things for you to think about. Dont forget that you are going to want 12 to 18 pounds of live rock in there.

Edit, Dont put a damsel in, your going to be adding a Bio startup mix and wont need to. The damsel may die which is not cool but even worse, it may survive and now your stuck with the little thing and cant add another fish because the damsel will pick on it until it drops dead of fright.

 

[DJGonzo69]

Ram,
Ahh crap!!!! What a way to start. Oh well I will just have to make the best of it. Thanks for the good advise. Ok so no Damsel in there. When I top off the water can I use tap water or do I need to boil some tap water? When I was adding water I was using water from a drinking water service like Arrowhead. As far as lighting it came with the System 12. It's flourescent(sp) tube. I don't plan on any live corals. Too much of a pain as it is So I do need live rocks in there? that means I will need special lighting ? When I went to Maui I went snorkling & gathered a few small pieces of lava rocks, corals..not live ones & brought it back home. Can I wash those & put them in my tank? I was already looking around for skimmers & I found a Berlin Air-Lift 60 Internal Protein Skimmer or a Visi-Jet Protein Skimmer. Will they work for my tank? Do I need a powerhead unit? I'm sorry for all these newb questions, but I do appreciate the help.

Cheers,
John

 

[jflowers]

As RamJet said, and your top off water should be RO water as tap will contain nutrients for the dreaded algae, as well as the usual crud the water company put in it to brain wash the peasants.

Jon

 

[steelhealr]

Hi DJ...I'm not an nano reef expert, but, try going here:

http/www.nano-reef.com/

I'm planning on trying this too but it is a lot of work and I'm in the planning stages. I think this site is a good place to start and then you can fine tune things here with with the marine and reef 'forumers'. SH

 

[DJGonzo69]

Sorry guys what is "RO"? Is it Re-Oxyginated water? Is that the same as distilled water?
Cheers,
John

 

[Navarre]

RO= Reverse Ozmosis

 

[DJGonzo69]

Ok. Been reading all day long & so far I'v got my time line set up for my FOWLR tank.

So far I've got my LS in my tank with the water gravity at 1.024 & Bio mix.
Will be buying LR this weenkend 10 Lbs.
After that will wait for 4 weeks to get everything cycled.
Everyday checking for water level & adding RO water if needed.
test the tank for the params. Fix params if needed.
Then will get a hermit crab or snail & a Clown fish.
Wait for a couple more weeks to add fish.
My max for fish will be 3 & 10 for snails or crabs.

Does this sound good or do I need to modify this?
Thx,
John

 

[RamJet]

Ok. Been reading all day long & so far I'v got my time line set up for my FOWLR tank.

So far I've got my LS in my tank with the water gravity at 1.024 & Bio mix.
Will be buying LR this weenkend 10 Lbs.
After that will wait for 4 weeks to get everything cycled.
Everyday checking for water level & adding RO water if needed.
test the tank for the params. Fix params if needed.
Then will get a hermit crab or snail & a Clown fish.
Wait for a couple more weeks to add fish.
My max for fish will be 3 & 10 for snails or crabs.

Does this sound good or do I need to modify this?
Thx,
John

Jon, minamum tank size for a clown is 20 gallons, well they say this about pretty much all fish. It can be done but your going to want to get the smallest. Fire fish are nice, and not as common as clowns. Remember the more fish you have the more waiste produced = bad water conditions in a small volume of water resulting in a system crash killing all fish or weak immune systems and diseased fish. Three fish seems to be a bit much for your tank size.
Clown info

 

[The Reefer]

When I first started up my 35 gallon reef tank, I added a nice deep sand bed, then the live rock. Let the whole tank cycle with the protein skimmer and powerheads running for about 6 weeks. I don't understand why LFS's want everyone to cycle a new salt tank with damsels, when you can just go up to your local grocery store and ask them for a single shrimp and toss that into the tank. Besides, who wants to get stuck with a demon fish if it lives through the cycle anyways..
After my cycle was complete is when I put in my clean up crew to stir up the sand bed.

 

[ostrow]

3 fish? Uhhhh, probably not.

People have kept clowns successfully in a 12G, though it is small. I don't think 2 is a good idea though.

 

[DJGonzo69]

Ram,
Ok thanks for the info. I will reduce the amount of fish. Is there any limit to the invertebrates? I was actually looking at fire fish. my lfs has a few of them. I do like them. I followed your advise to add water when needed. I need to find out if my water delivery is using a RO system when filtering the drinking water & also to see if they add any other minerals. I've read other people just going to their local supermarket & getting water there. Just gotta read the label to see if they use RO filtration. My LS looks like it's has settled nicely. This weekend I will be getting 15lbs of LR. Then the waiting begins. When do you think I should test my water params on the 4th week or in between my cycle process? Did a hydrometer test this morning before going to work & it's on 1.024. It has not changed so far. It's been 3 days so far. Again big thanks for all the help & input.

-John

 

[DJGonzo69]

Can anyone tell me what is the difference between rock salt that is bought from a supermarket and aquarium salt bought from a LFS? When I look at the side of a box of rock salt it just says the ingridients is salt. No iodine or other chemicals. Are they the same?
Thx.

 

[RamJet]

Can anyone tell me what is the difference between rock salt that is bought from a supermarket and aquarium salt bought from a LFS? When I look at the side of a box of rock salt it just says the ingridients is salt. No iodine or other chemicals. Are they the same?
Thx.

Nope, not the same. Rock salt does not cantain the minerals and what not need to sustain a marine tank. Invertebrates dont produce much waiste at all so you can have as many as you want provided they have enough food to eat. Rule of thumb is 1 snail per gallon, I dont really care for hermits but if you want them the same 1 per gallon rule applies. You may also want a brittle star, and a cleaner shrimp.

 

[DJGonzo69]

Ram,
I have this Asian market near my place & they have live Salt water shrimp in there. I was wondering if I can use that...lol Also why do people suggest not using my bio wheel in my tank? I've searched & all I can find is that people say to remove it. I would think it will help my tank.
Thx,
John