Starting Fresh

C

ck508

Member
Hello again, I will be starting up my aquarium again and I would like t tell you the process to see if I'm going about this right...

29 GALLON TANK
35 POUNDS OF DRY ROCK
2 NANO KORALIA'S
A BUNCH OF TEST KITS


I will be going to the fish store this weekend to purchase 29 gallons of SW. I will also buy 40 pounds of Live Sand to add in, and 5 more pounds of Live Rock to make my Dry Rock to become live again. To start of my Nitrogen Cycle I will buy a Cocktail Shrimp and add it in my aquarium... Then every 3 to 4 days I will check my readings, first Ammonia then Nitrate, the when my Nitrate peaks I will preform a 20 gallon water change... then slowly add my cleanup crew the fish eventually...


Please tell me if I'm going about this the right way... and tell me any advice... all advice appreciated...!!!
 
smkndrgn142

smkndrgn142

Member
I'd like to see you invest in a RO unit and make your own salt water rather than buying it. It's cheaper in the long run and you have more control over what's going into your tank. I wouldn't want to rely on someone else's water for the well being of my tank. Everything else sounds good.
 
dmatt88

dmatt88

Has been struck by the ban stick
Toss in the shrimp! Have fun and enjoy the rockscape, thats what your gunna b looking at for the next month!
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
ck508 said:
......when my Nitrate peaks I will preform a 20 gallon water change... then slowly add my cleanup crew the fish eventually...
Click to expand...

Be sure to wait till the ammonia and nitrites are zero - having the nitrates peak and stay constant isn't a guarantee that the ammonia & nitrites are gone. You have to be checking all 3 near the end of the cycle.

An RO/DI unit doesn't make your saltwater - it only makes the purified water that you should be using to make SW with. It's been a long time since I bought mine - you're probably looking at $100 - $200.
 
Cloudburst2000

Cloudburst2000

Member
ck508 said:
About the RO unit i might pass. And I know I'm supposed to keep testing
Click to expand...

On the long run, an RO/DI unit will be cheaper then buying already made saltwater plus you can control how water is made (type of salt, specific gravity, mixing time, etc). Not all salts are made equally. With some of the salts, you will have to dose things like calcium but with better salts, you usually don't have to worry about doing becaus there is enough added into the salt initially. I never have to dose but my brother-in-law constantly has to dose. We use different salt brands. Products to dose with are not cheap either especially if you have to do it with every water change. And doing is a major pain anyway. Don't be surprised if already-made salt water has to be dosed or have the specific gravity adjusted before you do water changes.

And you can get used RO/DI units for fairly cheap. Mine cost me $50 used.
 
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