my 25 gallon reef help post :? (1 Viewer)

[imsuperjp]

So I am a beginner and made the mistake of buyin everything right away and putting it in together. I dont have the slighest idea what i am doing and making this post so hopefully the kind ppl of MARSH can kind of lead me step by step. My tank is a 25 gallon jebo tank with built in 2x15 PC lighting (one blue one white) and filter (300L/H) that comes with it. I replaced the filter cartridge with live rock. I also have a heater in it and 2 maxi 600 on order. Tank so far consist of:
35 lbs of live rock
4 inch bottom bed
clownfish
royal gramma
blue tang (send the tang police out)
cleaner shrimp
4 snails
and a colt.

I ve had my tank for 3 weeks (let the bashing begin). Well anyways, global tested my water and said my cycle has passed. pH and calcium is low, phosphate is high and i m goin to work on that. I have all the the supplements to add to the water to get it ready for coral. Now I know i have to wait and be patient, but what would be my next step in making this a nice reef tank?? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. :?

 

[Aggie05]

First of all you are doing the right thing by asking for help. You need to read as much as you can and you will see that some of the things you are doing are not good at all.

With that said, first thing I would do is get rid of the tang. Argue all you want, that fish does not belong in that tank, get rid of it ASAP. If the tank has been setup for three weeks and the fish have survived this long, they are probably going to make it. You can probably leave the clown and gramma in there but do not add any more livestock for a while. You need to let the tank establish itself. The 35 pounds of LR is good, so you made the right decision there. You can have a nice tank without any outside filtration other than your LR if you keep up with weekly water changes of 1-2 gallons. You need to be using RO or distilled water for topoffs and for your salt water. Also, if you are planning on making this a reef tank, the lights you have aren't going to cut it. You need to upgrade the lighting to probably at least 130 or so watts of light for even the most basic corals. Get these things done and you will be headed in the right direction, hth, if I think of anything else I'll post.

 

[Trey]

Sounds like you have had an interesting start to reefing. From my very limited experience I think the first thing you need to focus on is pH. If your pH is not stable, this can turn your luck for the worse quickly. The key to stable pH is buffer. You need to determine the tanks alkalinity and raise it to around 7-11 dKH. If you have the choice, lean toward the upper end of this range. Getting you alkalinity in line with an appropriate buffer, your pH should line out somewhere in area of 8.2 pH.

Once you get the alkalinity lined out you need to focus on reducing the phosphate and increasing the Ca. I have attached a link below that I found useful in understanding the link between calcium and alkalinity. Once you get the alkalinity up to a safe level, you might consider a calcium additive such as Tropic Marin as it increases both the calcium level and maintains alkalinity simultaneously.

The best thing you can do right now is exactly what you are doing, RESEARCH.

Best of Luck,
Trey

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[Guest]

I seriously doubt your tank is cycled after only 3 weeks. Like my fellow Aggie said, pull out the blue tang: #1-He'll get to big. #2-With the new tank, good chance he could get ich.

How low is your pH??

What did global say your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings were??

Whats your phosphate level??

 

[imsuperjp]

well with the suggestion of the LFS, i added 30 lbs of Aragonite to help buffer the pH and also have kent marine superbuffer. He said my alkalinity was fine. I also have kent marine liquid reactor for the lack of calcium. my tank looks like milk right now do to the added aragonite. i can see only one fish right now and it swims really slow right now. should i be worried abt him or my other fishes i cant see? i sure hope i dint bury any snails or my shrimp.

 

[imsuperjp]

OMG. My tang died. I think from a falling rock. What to do now?? Water change right?? 25% or 10%?? global tested nitrates, nitrites and ammonia is zero, pH 7.8, and phospate i belive 1. damn, my first lose, im so sad now.

 

[Guest]

If you havent already, take the tang out. I'd test the water params, maybe a small water change, at least 10 perc. And just be patient you are moving way too fast. Make sure your tank params are good before adding anything else, adding rocks or other live stuff could trigger a spike.

 

[Guest]

If your water is still cloudy, do a water change.

I do think that if you still with soft corals that don't require intense lighting, like mushrooms, then you should be okay for your first reef, especially since it is so small. Because this is your first tank, I think that you should first master the concept of keeping a salt tank for several months before moving on to anything besides fish and some motile inverts.

 

[Guest]

sounds like you have more serious issues right now, but, I've never seen a 15w PC. I think you have NO's. It would be cool if you could put a 70w or 150w metal halide in it and use like a 10-20k bulb.

You set your tank up a little hasty. the best thing to do is back up. and do it right, otherwise you will be playing this game of catch up for a long time. It will be cheaper too.

 

[pernelf]

I'm sorry but I have to ask, where did you go that sold you all those fish for a newly set up tank??

 

[Guest]

I'd put money on it that your tank is NOT cycled yet. With ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all at zero, then your cycle hasn't even started yet.

 

[Guest]

sounds like you have more serious issues right now, but, I've never seen a 15w PC. I think you have NO's. It would be cool if you could put a 70w or 150w metal halide in it and use like a 10-20k bulb.

Last night when JP and I chatted, he described bulbs that were in the shape of PCs. I do know htat PCs get that small, I have a 7watt on my nano.

Since JP isn't looking into spending a lot of money on upgrades being that he is a student as well, let's see if we can correct the situation with what equipment he has. Right now, all that is lacking is the uncertainty of his actual cycles in his tank. The lighting is sufficient for now, especially we know that this tank will not be ready for any other critters a long while, IMO.

I feel that the first line of action is to do frequent water changes for a few weeks, that is one 10-20% change a week. At least this will minimize the impact of the cycles if they have yet to occur, let alone clear up his silty water.

 

[Guest]

They are probably 13 watt PC's.

 

[imsuperjp]

City Pets sold me all my fish. I went to alot of fish shops today and talk to many ppl. Global told me to bring my light fixture in to see if it can support higher wattage lights. Bought water from aquatic center to do water change and store. Water kind of clearing up, but live rock is covered with sand. Now just waiting for the tank to go its course. Is it ok for live rock to have sand on it or do i need to remove it?

 

[Guest]

I would brush the sand off the rocks.

 

[imsuperjp]

i wash cleaning off my rocks and on off them has like tube like things growing on it. Does anyone know wat it is?

 

[Guest]

More than likely they are feather dusters, I wouldn't worry about them.

 

[toefu]

I think you have the same problem i do. If my days weren't so busy with work, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off the tank. Sometimes you just need to leave it alone and you'll find out that works the best. washing off rocks and trying extreme measures for an overnight solution usually doesn't really help. Just give the tank time to evolve. You'll find out, like I did, that you're going to need alot of patience in this hobby... and money too. ehhe.

 

[Guest]

yes, but he still needs to blow off all of the sand that settled onto the live rock when he added the aragonite.

 

[Guest]

I think you have the same problem i do. If my days weren't so busy with work, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off the tank. Sometimes you just need to leave it alone and you'll find out that works the best. washing off rocks and trying extreme measures for an overnight solution usually doesn't really help. Just give the tank time to evolve. You'll find out, like I did, that you're going to need alot of patience in this hobby... and money too. ehhe.

He was washing them off due to the high amounts of silt on them.

JP, now that you have them washed, give your tank a few days to recover from all the changes.