Complete NOOBIE here! Hello!

[Nicole79]

Hi Everyone,

My Name is Nicole and Im not only new to the site, Im new to saltwater too.
I have had freshwater tanks since I could walk and have enjoyed them for many many years..

I have always been in awe of the beauty of saltwater tanks/fish so I finally decided to let go of my fear and just go for it. (what was I thinking?)

I live in Haverhill MA, work full time and Am a single Mother to 4 great kids.. I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank in my bedroom with some very large Angelfish, and some corycats.. In the livingroom I have two 20L on a double stand.. Up until last week the one on top housed a mix of fancy guppies, dwarf frogs and dwarf shrimp. the bottom housed a single african clawed frog who was sold to me as a dwarf.. grew humongous and ate everything in his path!

I decided to bring him to a local pet store, where the fishroom guy and I started talking about saltwater and I let him convince me how "easy" its is to have a saltwater... HAHAHA.... yeah

I converted my bottom 20gallon Long to a saltwater tank about a week ago.. I bought 20 pounds of live reef sand.. and about 20 pounds of lacerock (not live)
two of the cheapest powerheads I could find, a box of instant ocean salt, and a hydrometer and was on my way... broke but hopeful

I already had the submersible tank heater, the compact flourescant light with a tropic sun 5500k daylight bulb and two hang on back filters i had laying around.. I know I need better things, I know that I will need a skimmer...i was just happy to get it up and running... now I have about a billion questions and obviously being a single mom, a lack of funds.. it will have to come together slowly and I will pick up what i need here and there as I go..

i am looking for ANY advice, feedback, suggestions. This is a COMPLETELY different animal than freshwater! ugh Im overwhelmed

Ok so I know that I will need a skimmer, I need new lighting, Im trying to research a hang on back refugium.. it never occured to me that I would need a separate test kit for ph, or gh/gh... my ammonia, nitrate and nitrite kits work for both... what else is of vital importance to test? so i know what to add to my list...

I had the tank running for a few days and it was suggested that i get some cheap fish to cycle it.. I ened up with two small green chromis. and two hermit crabs.. the Chromis lasted 2 days..and bit the dust... the crabs are active and seem to be doing well although i have to feed them store bought algae since my tank is pristine and devoid of any other life...

I was referred to this site by a guy at work who said how amazing the site is and how all of the members are wonderfully helpful, so here I am..
Hoping and praying that someone can step up to the task of taking my hand and walking me through this..

i hope to someday get the hang of it and set up a larger tank.. but at the moment im lost and to be honest completely horrified!

that being said, its nice to meet you all and I look forward to learning as much I can from you all

Also I appreciate constructive criticism, so please dont be afraid of hurting my feelings! ohh and i posted a photo of my "true welfare" tank on my profile my avatar is a picture of my "jokerface" angelfish I had her since she was dime sized, now shes bigger than my fist..it wasnt until my boyfriend pointed out her creepy joker mouth that i even realized how creepy she was

Thanks in advance,
Nicole

 

[afsportsguy000]

Welcome! You will receive a TON of help here so you came to the right spot. The biggest words of advice and the quickest is take things SUPER slow and no more petshop or even LFS advice.

I would go to your local LFS and pick up a 1-4 lbs of LIVE rock. This will help start things off. The process of getting your tank ready for fish can take 1-3 months. Most will tell you 3, A lot do it in about a month. I would hold off on fish for about one more month and let the live rock and rock in the tank start to do its thing. I would also drop in a few pieces of food in the tank once a day and that will help build up the bacteria needed. I used flake food and the hermits should eat this also.

I am going to keep it short and help you start off and let the other questions follow later and take it one step at a time.

For right now dont worry about the lighting and dont worry about the skimmer and dont worry about the refugium.

What type of water are you using? RODI or Treated Tap water? Did your freshwater tank have copper in it? Hermit crabs will be a good indicator if they are very active then good chance that answer is no.

 

[afsportsguy000]

In terms of testing for the beginning just start off with Ammonia Nitrate Nitrite and PH. You should see your Ammoina get really high. then to follow Nitrite, then Nitrate. When your nitrates have a small increase your tank is most likely ready for 2 starter fish. Unfortunately a Hydrometer is useless in my experience. You will really want to get a Refractometer (40dollars used) 60 new. My experience was the hydrometer did not work and maybe I had a bad one just made it very hard for me to keep anything alive.

 

[Nicole79]

Thank you both sooo much, I will keep testing and keep you updated!

and no the tank never had copper in it.. I will look into a refractometer and see about getting some live rock... Its pretty expensive at the store i go to

Being patient is going to be soooo difficult

 

[Nicole79]

I mean THANK YOU... two posts.. though it was two people, lol

 

[afsportsguy000]

I made every mistake POSSIBLE in the beginning including rushing it and I owe some advice to people after the help I got. I think I hit 200 posts in the first month and I asked every question possible I even broke down my first attempt and redid everything the "correct" way. Yea live Rock is expensive so just get a very small amount to introduce to the tank, I think even a 1lb rock will help with your size tank.

One question that is important is the water you are using. Tap water or RODI?

Those fish are VERY hardy and hard to kill so something is really off with the water for that to happen.

 

[MrX]

Welcome to the site!

 

[Rick C]

Getting "cheap fish to cycle the tank" is actually pretty terrible advice. It probably would have been cheaper and far less cruel to throw a raw shrimp in the tank. Nothing good will happen quickly in this hobby. Go slow. Get a little live rock, preferably pest free, to seed the tank and let it run until levels are undetectable. Throw some good test kits on the list of things you will need to get. Other than that, welcome and good luck.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

Welcome to saltwater. I agree, raw shrimp is the best way to cycle the tank. If the LFS suggested to start with cheap fish when your tank has only been up for a few days, I wouldn't trust that store. Some stores will take advantage of you and sell you a lot of stuff you don't need just to make a sale. Ask questions here first. There are many knowledgeable and helpful reefers on this forum that are always willing to help. Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your new hobby.

 

[Flame Angel]

Welcome Aboard! You have come to the right forum to get answers. Our meeting next month is actually pretty local to you, so feel free on stopping by. Our meetings are open to all and are family friendly.

Check out the header on the forum for the meeting details.

Good Luck! and not in a negative way.

 

[frank180reef]

welcome

 

[wrassefan]

I would stop adding killng/anything and start reading. Tons of info on how to start a reef tank. Search this site as well as reefcentral and read everything you can...then ask questions. Read some more and ask more questions...You will be wasting a ton of money in this hobby if you don't get a base line of knowledge on how a reef works...good luck and welcome

 

[lex_lutha111384]

i also started with fresh water tanks. About 9 months ago, i converted my 90 gallon fresh water into a reef tank. All I have for filtration is a canister filter, and a HOB protien skimmer. I have about 20 corals and about 8 fish, and my water parameters are dead on. All i do is have my LFS (underwaterworld) test my water once a week for me when i go and buy my saltwater. If something is wrong they tell me the best way to fix it. I have not lost a single thing, have no algea, and my water is crystal clear. Believe me, it is not that hard to have a successful reef, but the biggest reason for my success is the 15% water changes I do religiously. Heres some proof

[/IMG]

 

[Nicole79]

Wow, That a nice setup Lex..

I went ahead and bought about 4-5 pounds of live rock.. actually took my time and got some really cool smaller pieces, when i went to the counter the guy said wow you only got smaller chunks and only charged me $12, so that was cool... I also got a ph test kit..

My ph is 8.2, Salinity is 1.022...ammonia is measuring 0.50 (went down from yesterday actually) I dont have a test kit for nitrites, My Nitrates are measuring 10 ppm.. Im also seeing the dead lace rock getting a brownish red color in some spots.it was pure white when i added it. is that bad?

one more thing Im a bit freaked out about is that there are what look like clearish, very very thing worm things flowing in the current all over the live rock... i looked really close and they seem to be anchored in the live rock and can extend pretty darn far.. they look like are probing around like "feeling for something" i put the net in to poke at one and it retracted back into the rock at lightning speed.. WHAT the HECK are they? to be honest Im really grossed out and dont want to put my hand in the tank, EVER, lol
Reminds me of long clear Very very very thin tentacles like appendages... you would almost think that it was a long white hair or something until it sucks back into the hole.. On a more positive note, the two hermit crabs seem to be having a blast in there are are still doing well. here is a pic of the tank update with the live rock and coral skeletons..

 

[Phinfan]

Nice live rock pieces, like everyone says take your time it will pay off in the long run. Welcome to bostonreefers

 

[shawn708]

Could be a feather duster, pic would help to id

 

[afsportsguy000]

Awesome, looks like the readings are what you want them to be getting out there. There are def ways to do this hobby cheap and just slowly slowly add on what you need. Next step for you is when you can keep all readings at 0 and PH around 8.0-8.4 Good news is you are showing the bacteria. Make sure every day you are dropping in food that way the bacteria can keep breaking it down. You will find MANY MANY different things in your tank that you have no idea about. When the lights are off take a small flash light and turn it to a certain area and watch.

 

[Privateer]

Welcome to the addiction... I mean hobby. As others have said there is a lot of info out there and it can be overwhelming that's why everyone says take it slow. I started about 5 months ago and I can't tell you how many times I have done something only to read about how I did it wrong the following week.
BTW, I'm in Merrimac, MA right nearby, so if you want to stop by and see a fairly young tank, I can show you all the mistakes I made so you can avoid them, just send me a PM.
Also, on the plus side there are 3 LFS nearby in Salem NH, but my advice is get stuff from people on this site, way cheaper, and everyone has stories to tell. There are always people getting out of the hobby or upgrading gear so go used and save some dough. I did not realize this fact and probably spend $500 more on my setup then I should have.