Hi Everyone, just Starting Out:)

[mseepman]

Welcome to the hobby...and yes, you should be expecting to see holes slowly forming in all your pockets.

[dsaundry]

You don't need a glass top but they are good for keeping the jumpers in the tank and the evaporation down, all that said I don't have tops on 3 of my 5 tanks...your tank is a bit too new to be worrying about livestock imo, but do you have any live rock in it to help it cycle? How big is your tank? Depends on what you stock it with as to how often you clean it as well....Welcome to the reefsite.....

[mumster]

Hi; This is an update about my tank.
It is a 32 gal tall with 35lbs of live rock straight from working tanks at the LPS, 40lbs of bagged live sand from LPS, a Fluval 205 canister filter, SeaClone 100 protien skimmer, Hydor Koralia 1 powerhead, a 65watt compact florescent with a 10000 day bulb and the Actinic, also a 20watt with ablue Actinic in it for night times,( I want to get a better light most likley in the next month or so)and a 250watt heater.

I got the tank on Feb23, put the RO-DI water(from local grocery store) in on Feb25 & added the salt, turned on the heater and powerhead. On the 26th I added the sand (what a mess). On the 27th added 30lbs of rock & the filter, having a problem getting the salinity right, can't figure out the hydometer yet. 28th took water test to LPS, salinity way low so I spent the next couple of hours getting it up to where it should be. Mar1 took in another sample just to make sure I was reading it right. They recommended to get 4 little Damsels to help cycle the tank. One wasn't looking very good. Mar2, got up to a crab eating the sick/now dead blue damsel, others looked fine. Alot of dust in the water, so after work I cleaned the filter foam and put in some polishing filters. During this week the brown algae started so I got 7 turbo snails to help clean up. Also noticed Aptaisia? so I want to get someone in to eat that asap. I've been testing the water for nitrate and nitrite, and ph. The LPS says all is good, and I got a kit to test inbetween as well. Nitrite=.1-0, Nitrate=.1-0, ph=seems to be between 8-9 from what I can tell, I was told by LPS owner to use mild amounts of calcium because I didn't want to lose all the beautifull coraline algae that is already on the rock I purchaced, so I have been puting in 1/2 tsp a day, but when I tested for it yesterday my calcium was waaaay high, like over 600ppm, so that can't be good, although the coraline algae looks great and more is forming. Also because I din't want any of the little critters living on the rock to die I have been feeding them mico foods 1/2tsp a day. I have the lights on for the same reason, I don't want to loose all the beautiful coraline algae or have the critters die off.

So that is where my little tank is at now I am going to try to control myself untill everything settles. Although I am trying to catch the remaining Damsels, because the big blue one is such a bully. He has got to go. I knew better than to get them but the family wanted something moving around and colorfull.

I have been told by the LPS that I can't put anything into my tank for 4-7months like soft corals, shrimps etc, and yet I see on these forums people starting up tanks and within a month having these things already in(like on the 5 & 10g Nano contest) What is the reasoning behind that? Can anyone enlighten me?
I want to have soft corals, eventually a pair of clown fish and an anemone, shrimps, gobys and blennys and a couple of other fish not too big.

Thanks in advance for all your help, Krista

[bullit67]

First off welcome to the forum and the hobby .

I see you listed a skimmer if you have a skimmer you dont need the filter you can run the filter untill the water clears up then get rid of it they can be a nitrate/phosphate trap you can clean them in tap water but once you refill the filter put some declorinator in the filter. Stir up the sand bed once in a while to get rid of any gas build up in the sand. the reason people get away with putting stuff in there tanks sooner is they are using rock,sand and water from a set up tank. This negates your cycle. 4-7 months seems a little long befor you can add livestock I dont know who gave you this advice more then anything it depends on how your tank is cycling keep an eye on your water peramiters i.e. test regularly .

Good luck

[hillegom]

Your calcium level should be between 380 and 450, so do not add anymore until the levels come down. Check the levels before you add things. Also check your alkalinity. It goes hand in hand with calcium. Save up for a refractometer to check the salinity, it is way more accurate than a hydrometer and is one of the basic instruments one should have. Sometimes you can pick one up for about 25$ from someone getting out of the hobbly.

[rocketlily]

I have a 10 gal in the nano contest and I did add to it the first month. However, the rock and water came from a tank in the house I had running for months. It was like taking a little piece out out of the big tank and separating it. Unfortunately, with the short time for the contest (only 6 months) it doesn't give you time to cyle new rocks and water.

Good luck with everything and when you hear someone tell you to take it slow, it is really good advise.