stronf57

hi,


i am brand new at this. i purchased a 10 gallon salt water aquarium kit from petco yesterday. i rinsed the aquarium and the gravel very thoroughly. after filling the tank with the right amount of tap water i added some tetracare aqua safe. then i added the full box of Aquarium Systems Instant Ocean.the water pump with filter and heater have been running for almost 24 hours. its cleared up some but there is salt air bubbles or salt residue and i am wondering if thats normal and if i should do anything? thank you

Newtankdude

Err... I allready know one problem you have that may or may not be related to this...

You shouldn't use tap water, you should use purified water. Tap water has impurities that may mess with the tank. I have a 12Ga and I had no problem so I'll tell you what I did, If you do what I did you should'nt have a problem.

I put live sand into the tank, and mixed purified water with a salt solution called Reef Crystals.
I let it acclimate for a week, then added live rock.
I let it acclimate for another two weeks then I added Fish and coral and plants and all that good stuff.
You should let the aquarium sit and aclimate for about four to eight weeks, you can't expect it to be clear right away.

My tank was still hazy after 24 hours, you have to let it sit longer. saltwater fish aren't easy to keep, its alot of work, and you HAVE to use Purified water in my opinion and I'm sure alot of people would say so too.

Newtankdude

That is my way of starting a successful tank, the Haziness is from too much salt probably, how much did you put in there My box says Half a cup of salt mix per US Gallon.

Newtankdude

Heres a better question, How many gallons does the box say on it? like, 25Ga?

stronf57

the box said 10 gallons. what about the tetracare i put in? doesnt it purify the water? did i mix the salt too soon before the tetracare?

Newtankdude

I dont know what tetracare is, I never used it. Check the salinity, if its above 1.026, it's too high, if its below 1.023, its too low.

Newtankdude

oh wait....is your tank saltwater?? If it's not then i don't know whats wrong.

Miss Mouse

It will take a while to settle dont worry - and the salt will need to disolve...make sure you have the right mixture of salt to water as well
I would advise getting a water testing kit and testing your tap water for nitrates, nitrites and phosphates before you add any more tap water to the tank. You cannot add fish for a while yet so I would get some good test kits and investigate into buying purified water and if you can get hold of it, then i would buy ready mixed salt water from your local pet store - it saves you having to mix the salt and water every time you do a water change.