hi guys newbie help needed on new marine set up

raise your ph with a buffer.. its a powder that brings your ph up.. but do this slowly or else youll stress your fish out.. and just some advice.. the more live rock the better

Thanks for the advice.... do I need to test for Nitrate as there is no fish in there at the moment? although the snail poops of course......

NitrATE (NO3) is a byproduct of nitrITE, which in turn is a byproduct of ammonia. So, even if you don't have any fish in your tank, when the nitrITES are broken down by the bacteria, they will create NO3. So, yes - it is essential to test for NO3. High levels of NO3 is not good for the tank or its inhabitants ... it is stressful on the fish, and will cause algae blooms in your tank. In a new setup such as yours, it is okay if you NO3 registers at ~10-15 ppm. Ideally, in the long run, you want to try to keep NO3 as close to 0 as possible.

Also how do we raise the PH slightly?

I believe this question was answered above ... your LFS probably carries a PH buffer which should help you raise your tank's PH slowly.

we have about 20kg of live rock, we were thinking of clowns so it's ok to put a pair in to start with? younger the better i guess? visiting LFS tomorrow.. can't wait. spent the last week looking at the rock and all stuff on it, seems to have replaced the TV!

As far as LR goes, it is recommended to have at least 1.5-2.0 lbs of LR per gallon for optimal filtration and overall health of the tank. Right now, you're at about 44lbs or 0.97 lbs per gal. So, you should definitely look into adding some more LR to your tank. You don't have to add all LR cos that will get really expensive .... unless ofcourse you can addord it. You can use some base rock, which is "dead" and stack the LR on and around it. The critters from the LR will eventually move over to the base rock and turn it into LR as well!

As far as your question about the clowns goes ... yes, it is recommended to add the pair at once. Smaller the better since neither would have had a chance to convert to a female yet ... that way they'll be well acquanited with the tank and each other before one decides to change sexes.

Just out of curiosity .... you mention that your LFS mentioned that it was okay to add fish to your tank. However, have you seen the cycle complete for yourself? ie. the ammonia spike and fall and the nitrITE spike and fall? If not, you might want to stress your tank to see if it has indeed completed the cycle. The last thing you want to do is to add fish only to cause a cycle with them in there.

One last thing ... even though its not necessary to do so, I would recommend adding all the LR before you start adding fish. This is just in case some of the LR has become uncured while sitting at your LFS ... adding uncured LR to your tank WILL create another cycle.

appreciate your help.. thanks, books all seem to contradict each other.

Neenie

Not a problem! We're here to help ... do feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Cheers!
Yash

Hi Neenie,

It is possible that your tank might not have cycled. It depends largely on the amount of bacteria you have in/on your rock. If it is plenty, you might never see a spike. How have you cycled your tank? Did you just add the LR and that’s it? If so, it certainly is a good idea test to see if your tank has indeed cycled. Have a glance at the Cycling Method and Procedures sticky HERE. In the second half of method 1, you’ll see the procedure for testing your tank for the cycle. I did it and it worked out perfectly for me. You didn’t mention an ammonia spike … did you see one at all? Let me know if you have any detailed questions about the “testing the cycle” part … I’ll be more than happy to go over it in detail.

If your tank has not completely cycled, and it causes spikes after you add livestock, it will certainly affect them … how much depends on how severe your spikes are … small spikes won’t do much harm at all, but a severe spike could really harm them.

The best form of filtration in a marine tank is LR itself! If you have enough LR and a nice sand bed, you don’t need any external filtration The rock and sand will take care of the filtration for you! Pretty nice eh? Though, if you are planning on using a filter in any case, you could get by with a little less LR than the recommended amount.

Don’t worry about asking questions … there’s no such thing as too many questions … the more you ask, the more informed you’ll be … and the healthier your tank will end up! I’d much rather people ask questions before than jump into something only to find out they goofed up! Also given the expenses involved in the marine hobby, it will be better on your wallet too if you do your research beforehand.

Let us know if you have any more questions.

Cheers!
Yash