started tank today

[MrSculpin]

I finally have my tank started up. Its small, 30 gallons.
I have my sand in it, and 3/4 filled with water/salt.

Heater going and its now up to almost 75 degrees. What is the correct temp to aim for? Im going to start with fish only and live rock.

I need to get the rock this week, hopefully tomorow.
then wait for at least 4 to 6 weeks? Correct?

Do I leave the lights on? right now its all murky and looks like milk! Normal Im sure for the first day I hope!

 

[Herefishyfishy]

77-79 is good.
2 months is good, but hard to wait.
Not much need for lights.
Water will settle out.

 

[Shaunalynna]

Water will settle out soon then you can get your CUC! I try to keep my temp at 75-79 though is sometimes goes a little higher. Have fun with the tank I know it is hard to wait.

 

[Sascha D]

You wont need the lights until you have LR in there. Is it cured rock or raw LR? If its cured rock its probably spent a few weeks to a month without lights so the only thing likely to have survived would be filter feeders and hitch hikers.

 

[MrSculpin]

Rock

You wont need the lights until you have LR in there. Is it cured rock or raw LR? If its cured rock its probably spent a few weeks to a month without lights so the only thing likely to have survived would be filter feeders and hitch hikers.

I'm not sure on the rock, I was going to go today and
see about getting some from the lfs.

 

[MrSculpin]

Skimmer confussion

I'm still feeling unsure of what one to get for my tank.
With it only being 30 gals.. I've been told lots of things.

Had a lfs tell me the Prizm would work just fine, another swears by the AquaC Remora. Corallife was something yet another said would be just fine.
thoughts?

 

[DonW]

You dont need lights at all during a cycle. Light will feed the algae along with the die off. There will not be much if anything on your lr that needs light. You may loose a little coraline but thats about it.

Don

 

[tike]

I'm still feeling unsure of what one to get for my tank.
With it only being 30 gals.. I've been told lots of things.

Had a lfs tell me the Prizm would work just fine, another swears by the AquaC Remora. Corallife was something yet another said would be just fine.
thoughts?

Prism suck....remoras get up and down reviews on here...corallife i haven't a clue! When i had a 30 gallon I just did weekly 3 gallon water changes and didn't run a skimmer at all. it worked for me!

 

[spongebob lover]

don't go with Prizm dood , they suck .
i have the asm baby g1 , it's a really good skimmer, i moded mine so it makes even more goo

 

[MrSculpin]

don't go with Prizm dood , they suck .
i have the asm baby g1 , it's a really good skimmer, i moded mine so it makes even more goo

I got my rock today from Keven and a nice skimmer.. its running now. Nice and quiet. Keven helped me pick out some pieces and I have them in the tank. So off I go into the world of salt. So exciting!
Nice forum here, thanks for all the help and suggestions. Im sure I will have more questions, lots more!

 

[MrSculpin]

looking better

The tank is looking a bit more clear, still looks a bit like milk. I can see the rock alot better this morning. I was going to put my hang on filter from my freshwater tank on it to help clear it up with some filter pads. Do I want to take out the charcole (cant spell that today!) and the bio wheels?
Temp is holding at just under 79, I have my skimmer going and one powerhead.

 

[DonW]

Anything you can do to remove the fines in suspension will help. Better than just letting it settle. Its called carbon, and you can leave it in there as long as its not old stuff from a FW system.

Don

 

[MrSculpin]

Okay, I took out the carbon before i started it up, it was from the freshwater tank and I just have clean filter pads in it.

 

[tdgates10]

Just curious, what kind of skimmer did you go with? and any pic of the progress?

 

[MrSculpin]

Lets see

Just curious, what kind of skimmer did you go with? and any pic of the progress?

I went with the remora skimmer.
Pics.. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a picture, the hang on filter is helping clear the water. I filled it tuesday. Rock went in wed afternoon. Now that I can see it better I was going to arrange the rock a little better.
Might need more looks wise, not sure there.

 

[MrSculpin]

I can see!

Tank cleared up yesterday! Now I can see! I know us newbies are so excited!

I have a question on flow. Besides the skimmer Im using two powerheads for flow. They are rated at 170 gph each.
Is that enough flow? too much?

 

[BBurrows13]

It is normal for cloudy water the first day or so... I would wait 6-8 weeks for the rock... a temp of 77-79 is great...

Have Fun and be patient

 

[g0rFz]

your flow isn't too much, maybe add a little more for FOWLR. when u get coral, then you need a lot more flow. have you decided what fish to keep?

 

[MrSculpin]

your flow isn't too much, maybe add a little more for FOWLR. when u get coral, then you need a lot more flow. have you decided what fish to keep?

I havent decided on the fish yet. I was going to ask for suggestions on what is good for just starting out.

I like the gobies, the jaw fish are neat too. of course clown fish are cute and there was a fish I saw called a pajama cardnal, I think.

I would like to have a crab if they go well, shrimp are nice looking too. With only 29 gals I need to only get a few things.
I have plenty of time to research fish while I wait for my tank to cycle.

 

[Sascha D]

Dragon Gobies are pretty cool and they sift the sand which is nice. Maybe a firefish or a couple cardinals would be nice. You could put a dwarf eel in there or turn it into a dwarf lion tank

I would stay away from fish that get large like Tangs and Butterflies, no matter how pretty they are. I would also stay away from aggressive fish like Damsels and Grammas. The last thing you want is a big ole Sgt Major or Velvet in there hehe.