LeenBeth

well our 29gal is finally up and running!!! FINALLY
We have had water in it and everything set but couldnt get the filter working....so frustrating

the water , salt, live sand and all have been in the tank since the 24th ( sun ) and today the 28th ( thurs ) we finally got the filter working. We also turned the heater and lights on today too for the first time....we set up a timer for the lights to be on . Im thinking to turn on at 5 pm and then off at 1 am....on for 8 hrs total

in terms of checking the permaters...we are offically going to keep a daily tank log starting today ( we got a full test kit ) but woud things have been happening in terms of the cycle with the water and sand in the tank but no filter lights or heater running ( for the last 4 days )

salinity is at .023..have to check the rest in a few...I also have some stress coat I was told to add to the tank when starting it up...Im going to do that in a few

we are going to wait for a few days with everything running....test the water and then start with a few damsels.

oh yeah one other question....if the water temp was perfect ( 78 ) without the heater and lights on....wont it be much warmer then with the lights and heater going? what do you do in that case?

thanks all...
cant wait to post on the progress of the soon to be fishy family we get going

Lee

BEARjuice

well depends on what kind of lights u have, and for the heater, it only heats up the water till a certain degree which u can set so that shouldn't be a problem. With the lights, there isn't much u can do unless u get a chiller or get some fans working. oh and if u can afford it get live rock, so worth it. good luck on your new tank.

LeenBeth

we went to the LFS and got biospira tonight based off some of the posts ive read..sounds like great stuff...the shop guy spoke highly of it too.... also got some ph buffer.....an air stone....and some more fake plants....
the heater is set at 79 i think....the lights I know the guy suggested ( which we did ) get a different bulb and told us 6 hrs on 8 max.....

I inquired about a protein skimmer too...to get one of these days but for now....we are just trying to get this all set up and will slowly make any added/needed adjustments

most importantly is that it is a safe environment to bring some fish to

thanks
lee

agsansoo

What kind of filter were you having trouble with ? How much live rock is in your tank now ?

LeenBeth

The filter is working fine now....something must have not been making a seal so after checking it a few dozen times it finally worked..lololol

There is no live rock in the tank right now...we have live sand and artificial plants
for now anyway

nemo addict

did you check the plants are reef safe as salt water can make plastic realease toxins in to the water , they may be safe for tropical but not sw ,
also why do you have a air stone ?? as if you have power heads then you dont need air stones and sw fish like movment and if enough movement dont need air ,,
also if you add ph adjuster it will make you water unstable and harder to keep a stable ph as it changes temporaily not a permanant fix just causes problems you can adjust your ph from water changes

agsansoo

The reason I asked about the filter/live rock is, if you don't use live rock you will need bio-filter material in your filter (i.e. ceramic noodles or bio-balls). This allows a home for the bateria in the bio-spira.

LeenBeth

plants are all good to go and safe
we've made sure everything going in the tank is safe...including our hands and making sure they are safe before they go in

we do not have a power head

just the filter ( marineland c160 ) it moves the water a bit ( the flow is under the water ) nothing that aggitates it on the surface

the air stone is a smaller one and was recommended by the guy at the LFS helping us set up the tank....

nemo addict

remove your media from filter and fill it with live rock rubble

LeenBeth

why would I want to do that?
im not sure I understand why id want to mess with the filter
I undertsnad adding live rock to the tank...

agsansoo

See my answer above ...

I would use something similar to Eheim EHFISUBSTRAT Biological Filtration Media in your canister filter. I've used it in the past and it works great. It also has more surface area than regular live rock. Making it more efficient on breaking down ammonia and nitrites.

LeenBeth

the canister filter we are using is a "multi stage filter" and has 3 layers of media in the canister
one of which is a tray of bio balls....
the other 2 are foam filters and carbon bags