Corax and Oriongirl and all other experts Need Help with this water thing!!!!

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dacker

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Nov 25, 2004
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Ok been reading for three days now..... I have a 35 gallon used to be fresh converting to salt tank. I put in 50lb. of playsand from homedepot last night and added 2 pcs. of coral and 1 conch sheel I picked up in Bimini last spring and they have been sitting on the back deck ever since. I guess I was so excited about being able to use playsand after reading a little bit I just went ahead without checking about the water :o so I put the sand in; coral in; and shell in and filled her up with the hose pipe hehe get her done..... Then I figured better read and see how much salt to put in so needless to say I ran in to this water issue (tap water vs RO etc...) and have not added salt yet and after reading a little more I have stopped my little premature process here. Water is clearing at a good rate though. Here is my tap water report and I dont have a clue how to read it. Heck I don't even know what the end result is supposed to be when your ready to add live rock and fish. I do know for a fresh water goldfish you put all the water in from wherever you want and four drops per gallon of the chlorine stuff and your ready to go :D :D :D not that easy anymore.

http://www.ci.tuscaloosa.al.us/lol/wqr-2004.htm

My set up is a 35 gallon tank.
one tetra 4000 hang over the side wet/dry filter.
one regent filter equvilent to a whisper 40 hang over the side wet/dry fiter.
A heater the clamps on to the side not sure what wattage but I know it heats the tank with no problems at all.
I have an aeriator punp but nothing hooked to it.
All types of chemicals, a salt tester, a ph tester, and a bunch of other stuff thats probabbly irellavent.

I plan on putting a live rock in the thing a couple of clown fish maybe a seahorse, a starfish and anything else you experts here recommend or don't recommend. Just want it to be colorful but natural (like it can't be jeez its live stuff :p ). And as far as the LR If I could do some other type of coral reef thing that would look better any suggestions I would be glad to listen. I guess first things first. After looking at the water thing do I drain it and let it all dry or work with what I got. Then what??? BTW I have read numerous post along with this one which was excellent!!

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11232

Thanks to everyone on this forum already its great!!! :OT: but I am a welding instructor and if anyone needs help with that fire away I will be glad to help with it since you guys help me in my areas of in expertise (i.e saltwater fish tanks). You know if you guys get a wild hair and decide to build a metal stand or something hehe!!! Hope to hear from you all soon Dale
 
Is your water question RO vs tap?

I used tap water neutralized with the same stuff you use for goldfish(I have an outdoor goldfish/koi pond)and freshwater

If you added tap without adding that stuff, I assume you could still add it. I would be generous though, something our LFS recommends anyway(go over the rec amount)

I have a 55 gallon fish only that I'm over 4 months with. My friend has been at it over a year.

I 'm not looking for the water quality to grow corals although my friend is doing quite well with some basic corals, mushrooms without RO water

SW CAN be done simply-that doesnt mean it is optimal and it doesnt mean you can upgrade your livestock without making major changes

But for a few clowns? Sure. My chocolate chip starfish is doing fine as well.

Seahorses? I think those are pretty delicate and simple might not work anymore!!!

I enjoy watching my hermit crabs, snails, porcelain crab; cleaner shrimp are cool as long as you dont purchase a predatory fish like a hawkfish(learned that the hard way)

There are some purple and purple/yellow type fish(dotty backs???)that stay small and are quite colorful and hardy

Just go slow; add things one at a time, including the LR(well, not a rock at a time but consider it an addition of life) If you make a mistake, learn, and dont make it again. Keep it simple until you are confident so you dont lose a lot of money and/or patience with the hobby.

I did have a lot of brown algae and I believe that can be attributed to the tap water. But it went away after an unsightly month and didn't hurt anything living. I only had a few cleaners at the time; I learned to get a bigger cleanup crew!
 
Your tapwater looks okay--not ideal, based on the high nitrates, some copper, and heavy metals. Probably be fine in a FO, but corals and inverts may not thrive. Using RO will help youkeep more animal successfully. Currently, you will need to consider chlorine--it will outgas under agitation, but putting it directly in the tank in large volumes will require treatment. No chloramines, so a simple dechlorinator will work, or just letting it circulate in a tub overnight.

Other issues: sea horses really need a species only tank. They do not compete will for food, and with something like piggy clowns, they'll likely starve to death. Not a good mix. A pair of clowns, and some of the smaller gobies will work well, and be an active tank as well.

There is a difference between live rock and coral. Live rock is highly porous rock that contains colonies of beneficial bacteria, some types of small corals, as well as a variety of other organisms, from pods to worms to snails and crabs, depending on it's quality. A coral is a discrete organism, often attached to a rock, that is purchased specifically. The corals on live rock are not often very large, but attractive additions to a tank. Rock filters-corals looks good. Most tanks can support most of the things on live rock, many tanks will not support a coral. So, if you want corals, other than the freebies from live rock, you need to consider their needs--most are photosynthetic and standard fluorescent lighting will not be adequate to keep them alive.
 
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