Stupid questions

[justinlovewithu]

i have done so much reading I think I may have lost the point of what Im trying to do.
Heres my tank it s 48x14x24(water space) I have bio wheel filer under gravel filter( just for more air) 2 power heads, buying a skimmer this week,(thank you EBAY) I used the shell coral substrate.
When do I add the salt to my tank? Yes i have water in there already its been running for almost a week. I want a tank with live rock corals and fish. I am not sure of the steps I need to take. I was told dont add salt yet waite till it cycles, no add the salt. Im lost.
Once I get it stable with the salt and water peramiters are good Then slowly add the clean up crew. whats the best? do I have to choose the clean up crew depending on the fish I want?
I know this sounds silly but Im spending $$ and I want the best for my new friends.
Thanks !
Georgia

[szwab]

welcome to RC!! No stupid questions better to ask now before you have livestock
you want to cycle the tank with the proper salinity. so asdd the salt. otherwise the bacteria that grows in the fresh water will die off with the salt added.
Once you add the salt you will want to add some live rock this will get your cycle going. Remember to take things slow and be patient. You may want to reconsider the undergravel filter as IMO there are better options for filtration.

[bjonesjr1]

ok where to start

By under gravel filter do you mean a piece of plastic like for freshwater tanks in your tank now?

what kind of power heads?

What kind of skimmer are you looking at? Hang-on, under your tank, in a sump ?

You should have already added the salt to the tank when you were adding water, its best to mix the salt with your RO/DI water outside of tank before you put it in the tank... who ever told you to wait to add the salt is wrong. hope it wasn't your LFS...

You fully wait untell you tank cycles, and make it sure it has been done cycling with water changes and testing of the water often, Your clean up crew will come later, your you going to have Live Rock in your tank, I would add that now so that you can let that cycle along with your tank so you don't have 2 different cycles,

The best thing do is to read, read, read the more reading you do the better for yourself, and your tank... Their is alot of information on this website and plenty of people to help you out, don't be afraid to ask questions, you'll get answers that will help you out

Oh yea welcome to Reef Central

[Pete1399]

You need to add salt right away. The main reason is that freshwater "good" bacteria is different from saltwater "good" bacteria. Soooo if you cycle with freshwater until the cycle is complete and then add the salt you will effectively just started back at the beginning of a cycle. Also I would suggest getting a fine (sugar sized) sand instead of the CC. CC causes your nitrates to stay elevated.

[Pete1399]

Like SZWAB said about the bacteria. Posted at the same time.

[FishPharm]

Welcome! I have found RC to be invaluable. So much info here. Also may I suggest a really good book ..... "The New Marine Aquarium, step by step setup and stocking guide" by Michael Paletta.

Good luck!

[Pete1399]

Nice setup you've got there FishPharm.

[richfavinger]

May we suggest a few good books on setting up a reef aquarium. This would help you out more, and save us a lot of typing. Hey, we all got to start some place.

The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide

Rich

[Fred_J]

You will find a lot of people on this forum that have been given bad information by their LFS. If they are the ones that advised you to wait to add the salt, I would run everything they tell you by the people on RC before following their advice. There are no stupid questions as we all know the strange advice a person new to the hobby can get.

[Fred_J]

I almost forget justinlovewithu
To Reef Central

[Sk8r]

As an example: to raise corals, I have a 52 gallon tank and a 10 gallon sump (second tank under the stand) connected by gravity (water flows down through a hose) and an upward pump in the sump. I have aragonite sand as a base. No filter. There is a skimmer (an Urchin) in the sump, and a heater. There's a 250 watt Metal Halide light suspended 6 inches above the water (12 or so inches from the nearest coral). I have a heavy row of live rock. And that's it. No filter, no floss, no sponges, no bio-balls. Salt water came in from the start: you don't want your sand and rocks in fresh water. For backup, I have 4 test kits: Salifert magnesium, alkalinity, calcium, and a salt meter. I run the alkalinity test every day or so, this being a new tank (2 months, now) and this tells me a lot about the likely stability of the other things. I run half a cup of carbon now and again in an ordinary nylon stocking. I change out 5 gallons of salt water a week. Tank evaporation has me adding about 5-7 cups of fresh RO/Di water daily to keep the salt level even: the sump has a water line marked on it, and I always fill into the sump to that level, which keeps the amount of salt and water in the tank constant, give or take a few hours. The level is also chosen so that if I turn the pump off, the sump water doesn't rise over the top and flood the floor: you set it by trial and someone yelling "turn the pump back on!" before disaster happens. Then you dip out more water til it all fits into the sump. That's not the only way to manage, but that's an example of a salt tank's basic equipment (there are far more advanced systems, and the very first thing I'm getting is an automated topoff [fresh water adder] to save me having to pour water in.)

[FishPharm]

Thanx Pete. Some day, when my weee-bitty corals grow up, I'll take pics. Right now, not much to look at! Still, picking up frags here and there, trying to populate. I digress.