SETTING UP NEW 30G SALTY TONIGHT!

Generally, if you are going to mix water in the tank, you don't put the live rock, etc. in first. It makes the salt much, much harder to dissolve and it is very harsh on the life in and on the rock. If you followed the instructions on the bag verbatim, 1.022 is actually probably correct. Since I am assuming you have one of the dip and fill style hydrometers, you may want to invest in a good refractometer. It will save you the headaches associated with these kinds of hydrometers. Refractometers can be had fairly cheap, as well. Check out here--notice it comes with the calibration fluid, which is a MUST.

I purchased the one you recommended, thank you...good price as well. I had a question, I did put the salt in a half a cup at a time, I poured it slowly into the filter which only had a sponge filter in it, so that it could solidify and slowly work itself into the tank so that I would not have clumps of it on the LR. Also I put the water in problably 12 hours ago, and the water is still somewhat cloudy, anyway to help the clearing process...
 
Stocking after cycling

I was thinking of the following to stock the tank

2 Ocellaris or perc Clowns (first)
1 lawnmower blenny
1 cleaner shrimp (first)
2 cardinals
1 small crab...I forget the technical name for them. But I was hoping to put in a crab closer to the end of the cycling process.

whats the best thing to add during the cycling process to get the levels perfect.

what is a good yellow colored fish to put into a 30g
 
nice tank... just one question

that looks like cured live rock (which is a GOOD thing.. it will cycle much faster)

but.. how long did you let it sit there with no water? if it was more than a couple hours you probably caused some die off
 
nice tank... just one question

that looks like cured live rock (which is a GOOD thing.. it will cycle much faster)

but.. how long did you let it sit there with no water? if it was more than a couple hours you probably caused some die off

It was cured LR, and it sat out for like a day before I put it in the tank and added water. The guy that I got it from said it should be ok.
 
1: invest in a bucket for pure SW use
2: mix SW night before, it needs a chance to dissolve and make a proper SG reading, you wont get 1 if u mix then measure, u could a non salty spot or a very salty spot
3. dont add any livestock till the tank has cycled.
4: your LR is now dead which will cycle your tank for you but add a peice of prawn in a net of some sort for additional ammonia
5: get a SW kit, generally FW kits dont work on SW.
6: unless your going reef, keep the SG at 1.018 with a hydrometer. they tend to be very inaccurate
7: GO SLOWLY!!! you cant ruch SW set-ups, they take lots of time! I spent months researching and learning about SW set-ups b4 even setting the tank, then took an additional month to build and set-up my tank.

good luck with this 30 gals is a great starter size for SW, lookin forward to readin the bilod thread
 
It was cured LR, and it sat out for like a day before I put it in the tank and added water. The guy that I got it from said it should be ok.

it will be ok.. but you will experience a bit of die off and it may take an extra week or so to cycle

not gonna hurt anything.. just an FYI
 
1: invest in a bucket for pure SW use
2: mix SW night before, it needs a chance to dissolve and make a proper SG reading, you wont get 1 if u mix then measure, u could a non salty spot or a very salty spot
3. dont add any livestock till the tank has cycled.
4: your LR is now dead which will cycle your tank for you but add a peice of prawn in a net of some sort for additional ammonia
5: get a SW kit, generally FW kits dont work on SW.
6: unless your going reef, keep the SG at 1.018 with a hydrometer. they tend to be very inaccurate
7: GO SLOWLY!!! you cant ruch SW set-ups, they take lots of time! I spent months researching and learning about SW set-ups b4 even setting the tank, then took an additional month to build and set-up my tank.

good luck with this 30 gals is a great starter size for SW, lookin forward to readin the bilod thread

1 I have a 5 gallon water jug just for the SW

I bought a refractometer the one someone else on here recommended, I cannot remember that persons alias.

I have been reading and reshearching the SW setup for almost a year now but I still had a few questions thats why I came here...THANK YOU :)

Raw prawn or shrimp I am assuming, I just have to find somewhere that sells it raw, can I add a hermit or cleaner shrimp if I cannot find a prawn somewhere.
 
Setting up first salty tonight any advice would be awesome!

This is what I have so far

1 - 30g tank....duh
30lbs of live carribean live sand
1 55gallon bag instant ocean salt
55lbs of cured fiji live rock
1 whisper 200 filter
1 penguin 150 filter
1 200w heater
1 air pump
1 bubble wand
1 large and 1 medium sized powerhead
1 36" T5 lighting with a 18k bulb and a actinic bulb (brightest thing I have ever seen)
1 custom built tank stand
1 light timer
30gallons of fresh RO water
(just placed a bid for a HOB 90g octupus protein skimmer on ebay)
1 150 gallon bucket of patience :headbang2:
1 salt water level thing...I forget the name of that thing...hydrometer...refractometer..super gravitonal measuring device...something - meter
1 bright blue backgroud

only other thing I know that I need is a piece of glass to make a cover for the tank. The tank is going in my 2 year old sons room...

any other advice on how to "start" er up or anything else in general would be much appriciated.

*EDIT* I have had a 50gallon bow front freshy, and a 100g freshy for about 10 years already so I have test kits, python...and all the goods and extra parts and stuff.

Also I love this site, lately I have been on in for hours a day reading your expert advice on saltwater tanks, and I want to tank everybody for the support, I have problably printed out 200+ pages so read when I am not near the computer or on lunch at work etc etc...


Thank you in advance.
Craig in Ontario
All looks good to me. Minus the bubble wand. Not necessary and creates a mess. An annoying mess. The bubbles pop and leave a crusty residue on glass covers …rim of the tank… its just simply a pain … You don’t need the bubble wand.. The skimmer will produce the bubbles in the water anyway. Unlike fresh we don’t need those bubble wands.

You have the filtration requirements already. A good skimmer and Live Rocks. That’s all you need. Though mods disagree with me to some degree. The use of Hob Filters we use in fresh are detritus traps. Detritus rots and adds to the pollution. Its better to let that detritus keep getting stirred by lots of flow so that your skimmer eventually removes it.

As for not wanting to use your water thing since its for consumption also. 5 gallon gas can (plastic) at Lowes or Homedepot roughly 7 dollars. Its what I use for water transport and removal. Works great.

Otherwise good luck…I know im nit picking some things here.. just wanted to inform you.

The test kits you have…from FW days. You more than likely have the wrong PH test … Since fresh doesn’t normally test at 8.0 ranges.

Though you already know most of what you need for kits… here is a list.

Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, High range PH 8.0 ranges, Phosphate, Calcium, Alkalinity, are good base kits you should use.

Good luck…

ps: My new recommendation to all new SW folks nowadays.

Buy a Phosban reactor by 2 little fishies company and Phosban or Rowaphos media for it. It will need 1/2" tube also and a RIO pump to suck water into it.

That device will prevent annoying algae issues. Its a common problem that SW people stumble into ... if you purchase this now... you won't regret it.

About Cycling: .. SW world is taking your time. You shouldn't even skim for the first month or stock if you want to take it slow and careful. Just run everything but the skimmer (you want the dissolved organic compounds aka DOC) to remain so it gets the cycling going. You will defeat the purpose of cycling if you skim the water now.

I recommend you watch the algae blooms appear and disappear and drink a beer =).

Dont Rush like someone else said. Rushing = messes to clean up and becomes costly.
 
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