Tumbleweed

Here is a link to a FAQ about RO/DI water systems. Hope that answers your questions.

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?n...showpage&pid=2

fishrule101

Thanks for the help Tumbleweed!!!

Tumbleweed

Welcome

fishrule101

Is it ok if i added a skunk shrimp??

Tumbleweed

You should be able to. I have 2 in my tank.

fishrule101

What are some peaceful fish that are active and colorful?

Tumbleweed

What size tank do you have and what is in there currently besides the live rock?
What are your overall plans for the tank?

fishrule101

Nothing. I'm planning on having a skunk cleaner and a orcellaris clowfish and of coruse snail and crabs.

Tumbleweed

Those will work together. What size is the tank?

Iluvatar

I go by the have nine times(I dont use it anymore) as much as your fish unless they are small but dont get too many fish though but I hope that helps because they need growing space and research how much the fish grows and what pH is needed and all that stuff before buying it

fishrule101

Its a 28 bow front.

fishrule101

Would two clowns be ok if i added them at the same time cause some websites say yes and no?

fishrule101

Hey heres an update on my setup. I just ordered 45lbs of fiji LR. Is this too much?? I'm worried that my fish won't have any swimming room. What if I did a central mound??OR two diff. islands?? How do I make sure theres room to swim??

Tumbleweed

2 clowns at the same time will be ok, as long as they are the same type. I recomend getting one bigger then the other. This will help.
45lbs of live rock is ok, just remeber if you ordered it online you will have to cure the rock first. If you do not have any fish in the tank you can use your main tank to cure the rock, if you have fish in it, you will need to cure it in a different container, because it will create high amonia levels in your tank while it cures.
Clown fish do not need a lot of room to swim. They will find there little home in the tank, and will stay pretty close to it. Put the LR where ever you want that looks good to you. I recomend keeping it off the front and sides of the tank, this will make it easier to clean the tank later.

fishrule101

I read online that a 30 gallon( since its a 28 i put its a 30 on everything) needs 20 crabs and 10 snails, is this right?? Is it becuse they don't have much of a bio load?? Are the numbers a little to high?? I was planning stocking it with like 5-9 crabs and 3-6 snails is this to little??

Tumbleweed

The snails are a 1 to 1 ratio. 1 snail to 1 gal of water so 30 snails would be ok. As far as the crabs go, I would go 1/2 to 1/3 the number of crabs to snails. as the crabs get larger they will become more demanding and can eat attack and eat the snails.

fishrule101

Are there anymore fish that eat the alge?? Like the tangs. I can't find any!

Tumbleweed

Tangs don't really eat algae per say. They are herbavores and will it some to a point but not in a tank cleaning situation. Your tank is also too small for any of the fish in the Tang "Surgen" fish species. For algae removal your best opption is going to be snails. A good one is a Turbo snail.

fishrule101

Well are there any herbrovors?? Cause i really want to feed seaweed to a fish.

fishrule101

Hey tommorrow i'm getting my fish supplies and i was wondering if i could use sink water like in a freshwater tank??

Tumbleweed

The best thing to use is RO/DI water or buy distilled water. You really don't want to use tap water. You can usually go to a grocery store or a walmart and they will have a water filling station machine outside that you can buy distilled water from, but in the long run it is cheaper to by an RO/DI machine, not to mention easier.

fishrule101

Isn't the water cold at walmart or does it not matter scince theres not any fish in my tank?? How will i put the salt into the water?? Do I use buckets like in a water change or the tank itself?? I think I might use the tank scince theres nothing in it and it won't take as long.

Tumbleweed

Yes you can mix it in the tank this time because there are no fish in it. After you put fish in it you will need to premix the salt in buckets and then add it to the tank. You can just heat the water up in your tank with your heater as it mixes.

fishrule101

Ok i finished setting up my tank yesterday but i'm having some problems. When I first add the salt I got a reading of like 1.028 which way way over, so i did a about 3-5 percents change of water and this morning it droped to 1.022. And I'm wondering if it will con. to drop or will it stay the same? The Ph is the second problem its at 7.8. I can't seem to make is go higher! I thought live sand increses the Ph? Anyways will the live sand push the Ph higher? Will the LR live in this kind of Ph? Those are the only tests I have done cause I don't need to know the ammonie or nitrate until the live rock comes right?

Tumbleweed

How long after you put the salt in did you wait untill you measured it? You need to let is mix for a while to make sure it is fullly diluted before you take a reading. When it is done you want it to be around 1.024-1.026sg. As for the PH that greatly depends on the salt mix that you have and what the PH of your water is to start with. You can get a PH buffer that will help to bring the PH up.
If it is just water and Live sand for now then you don't need to to test for amonia and ntrites yet, but I would test it about every 3 days once you put the rock in so that you can moniter where it is at.
Also remember when your water level in your tank drops you want to top it off with fresh water not salt water. The water evaporates not the salt.

fishrule101

Ok. Thanks you really helped me alot!!!!!

Tumbleweed

Glad I could help

fishrule101

I just added my LR and the redish color is stating to fade why??

Tumbleweed

What redish color? Is it on the Rock or the tank?

fishrule101

I think its the bacteria(good) thats redish color and its on the rocks. The hydrometer gives me wrong readings. The first reading was too high to mark so it went all the way up. So I dipped it again and it said 1.028. I dipped it the last time and it was 1.024-1.025. Whats wrong?? Also when I do weekly changes would I add salt to the bucket or no scince theres salt in the tank I don't get that part of water changes.