Hello! My gf and I own many different types of animals and have always thought salt water fish would be a cool new hobby to get into. Yesterday we took the plunge and went to the new fish store that opened up in town. We purchased some things and set up our tank last night. The store owner told us to set this up and come back in two weeks to get more critters, such as fish, anemone, coral, starfish or shrimp. He said to bring in water anytime and he would check its levels for us, and he would sell us the proper salt water to add to the tank when it needs changing.
Here is our setup:
-Aqueon Evolve 8 tank that has a pump and LED lights
-Live aragonite reef sand
-Salt water given to us by the store
-8 pounds of living rock
-some food pellets
-small bag of orangeish poop smelling bacteria
-2 snails
-5 hermit crabs
As of last night we added the sand, the water, the living rocks, the snails and crabs, one food pellet and the bacteria liquid. A picture of the setup is attached.
I have a few questions that have come up since reading online:
--Do we need a skimmer or thermometer/heater?
--Any advice for what to add in two weeks? The store owner said we could add a clown fish and maybe one more small fish, an anemone, some soft coral, a starfish and maybe a shrimp.
--I read that hermit crabs like to change shells sometimes before they even grow out of the current ones. Should I add some shells?
--How often should we change the water and how much of it should be replaced at a time? I have seen a pretty large range of recommendations regarding this.
Any general comments or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks much,
Vikesfan
Here is our setup:
-Aqueon Evolve 8 tank that has a pump and LED lights
-Live aragonite reef sand
-Salt water given to us by the store
-8 pounds of living rock
-some food pellets
-small bag of orangeish poop smelling bacteria
-2 snails
-5 hermit crabs
As of last night we added the sand, the water, the living rocks, the snails and crabs, one food pellet and the bacteria liquid. A picture of the setup is attached.
I have a few questions that have come up since reading online:
--Do we need a skimmer or thermometer/heater?
--Any advice for what to add in two weeks? The store owner said we could add a clown fish and maybe one more small fish, an anemone, some soft coral, a starfish and maybe a shrimp.
--I read that hermit crabs like to change shells sometimes before they even grow out of the current ones. Should I add some shells?
--How often should we change the water and how much of it should be replaced at a time? I have seen a pretty large range of recommendations regarding this.
Any general comments or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks much,
Vikesfan
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