Hello, NEW PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[antonym518]

HI,

My name is Anthony and I am new to the forum and new to saltwater. I have a 55 gal african tank and a 46 gal south american tank. I have figured out how to maintain my tanks fairly well. Decided to do saltwater. After seeing a BIO cube at the lfs, decided to buy one. Was going to go with a 14 but found a used one about 6 months old 8 gal for 80$. Couldn't pass it up. He added a heater and a new pump. The tank has a 10000k and a night bulb and the moonlights. He also left the crushed coral in there and I took the water.

Heres the problem the fan on the right side that comes on when the day light is on is very loud. What do I do? Where do I get new parts?

Also do I have to do all these mods for the tank? Should I keep the water he gave me? What about the coral, should I use live sand?

I am wanting to have a lot of live rock, one large ananemie (spelling?) and one or two clowns. Any ideas or tips would be greatly appriciated.

THANKS. and I tought it would be easy.

[AdvanceAquatics]

Welcome,

IMO I would start fresh with the set up. And I would get the live sand, check out the fan really good maybe its rattling or viberating/ mount or something. If not check out marine depoit- They may have it or just goggle the company of the tank and see what comes up.

Like I said tho I start fresh, give youtime to tune into the tank and ask some questions-Everyone has great ideals and information.

GL

[Melanie]

Welcome!

IMHO, Start fresh! I didn't and I have had a series of problems over the last month that have set me back even farther than if I had started with a brand new tank off the shelf.

It's only 8 gallons so your expenses shouldn't be too high buying all new substrate and water. Make sure you clean the tank thoroughly before you add your new things. I've been told a vinegar/water mixture then rinsed very well is a good method.

If you have any doubt about using the old stuff, please look at this picture of my crash after using old stuff...

[blue_eyes53813]

Hello, Welcome to RS.. Do you have test kits to test the water? Could you post the reading for salinity, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates? This would give us an idea of what the water is like in the tank. With this small of a tank it may be hard to get all perimeters stable. Do you know if he had any problems,like algae, fish loss, bad water conditions of any sorts? I would get rid of the crushed coral substrate and use sand. Food gets trapped in the crushed coral and causes nitrates in the water. Good luck

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS! Glad to have you here.
I agree with the others that it will be easier to just start fresh particularly with a small tank like that. Also just so you know it is a lot harder to keep a small tank than a large one. For starters you are not going to be able to keep much in that size tank. Stocking recommendatiins are one inch of adult fish per 5 gallons of water. So you might be able to get one clown but that is about it.
Also on the anemone, the tank is really just too small. Anemones get BIG. If you really really want one then you are going to need to upgrade your lights to something much stronger and wait at least a year for your tank to be stable enough to support one. They are very delicate animals.
So get cleaning on that tank, get some sand instead of the crushed coral (crushed coral traps detrius and makes keeping everything clean very difficult), some live rock, and some water, and let the cycle begin. Do not add any fish until your tank is completely cycled.
HTH and onec again Welcome.

[caitrina]

Welcome to RS and relax, once you get going it really isn't difficult.

[CATALYST]

And...you can get a new fan from a computer store...

[rebekwl]

Welcome and good luck. You've gotten some awesome advice so far. I'm looking forward to seeing your tank come together!!

[antonym518]

Well I started over. Got new filter pads for chamber 1, and 2 lbs lr in chamber two, and the stock pump in chamber3. Using 5 lbs sand, not live, in the bottom. Also put 11 lbs lr in the tank also got a themo, and algae scrapper. Fixed the fan, just dusty. FYI if your fan hums loud blow in it. heres the tank so far, what next? Here are the readings for dip sticks. i'll start a new tread and post some pics.


nitrate 20
nitrite .5
alkalinity 300
ph 7.8
amonia .25
temp 79

[lcstorc]

From the numbers you are still mid cycle. As long as it is jist sand and LR let it be until the amonia and nitrites have been 0 for a bit.
FYI the test strips are notoriously inaccurate. Get a standard liquid test kit and see what that says. Salifert are the best but a bit pricey. Particularly the amonia and nitrite you will not check often once your cycle is done. The rest you will be using all of the time so it is well worth the investment.