[missy88]

its week 4 of my new tank setup. i have a few questions about my live rock. there is a dark brown spots i dont know what it is. and my leather has some type of something growing on it it looks like cotton....? moved my rocks around so it looooks sooooo much better im going to get a couple more live rock here in the next month. as of yesterday my ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20....=/, pH is 8.3, 13dKH (it was up in the 20's) but i started using ro/di water. it helped. calcium is 420, magnesium is 1000, salinity is 1.025, temp is 80 degrees. i will soon be getting iron and copper test kit and also strontium i think its called?... what else should i get? i test my water 3 times a week and do 10%-15% waterchages every week. is that correct am i doing this right? well here are some pics.

[patrick1234]

It looks like it is doing really good

[thelastmucci]

wow...you already have livestock in and it's only 4 weeks old...Yikes!

Your Nitrate is a little high and so is your salintiy, IMO. Also I don't think you need your temp that high either...is that at peak time?

I don't know what the disease is but I think there is something like "cotton" showing up on corals that means their in big trouble. I would google "cotton on coral" and see what comes up.

If your going to add allot more LR your going to cycle again....that's what the brown stuff is on your LR..it's algae blooms or Diatoms. You should invest in a CUC (clean up crew) there are sites out there that you can buy them from or your LFS for that matter. There is also a site that tells you what you need in the forum search look for "CuC calculator" and something should pop up. Hope all this helps and remember don't rush it read and research.

[RyanG]

Originally Posted by thelastmucci

wow...you already have livestock in and it's only 4 weeks old...Yikes!

Your Nitrate is a little high and so is your salintiy, IMO. Also I don't think you need your temp that high either...is that at peak time?

I don't know what the disease is but I think there is something like "cotton" showing up on corals that means their in big trouble. I would google "cotton on coral" and see what comes up.

If your going to add allot more LR your going to cycle again....that's what the brown stuff is on your LR..it's algae blooms or Diatoms. You should invest in a CUC (clean up crew) there are sites out there that you can buy them from or your LFS for that matter. There is also a site that tells you what you need in the forum search look for "CuC calculator" and something should pop up. Hope all this helps and remember don't rush it read and research.

Salinity level is fine Anthony as his the temp 77F-82F is fine.

[thelastmucci]

you know what Ryan your right....I misinterpreted the numbers and read the temp as 83 I combined the PH and the temp to get 83...you really think salinity is ok at 1.025 I've always read between 1.022-1.023? If this is wrong let me know.

[e_baer]

What should my specific gravity/salinity be?


There are many different opinions on this question. In the Red Sea the SG can be as high as 1.035. In some other areas of the ocean it can be as low as 1.020. A good medium for a reef tank would be right around 1.026-1.027. You also need to take into account the amount of oxygen in the water. The more salt dissolved in the water, less oxygen will be able to be dissolved in the water, so you will need to have some means of oxygenating the water at all times. When having a FOWLR tank there is not a need for salinity levels this high. Some say the lowest you should go is 1.021, others say as low as 1.011. Typically the further away from their natural environment they are, the more stressed they will become thus causing a higher chance for disease.


This is a part of a FAQ I am working on.....still needs a little work, but there is the jist of it.

[missy88]

i have a clean up crew, a lawnmower blenny and 2 dansel fish.

[dinor2]

Missy,

I would recommend 20lbs more sand, 4 or 5 nassarius snails, about 10lbs live rock and no other critters for a while because your tank will go thru another cycle after adding the live rock and sand. Good job testing your water regularly! That's so important! And water changes, 10% a week should be good. Do be careful with adding elements though since those are also in the salt mix you add when you do water changes.

Nice looking tank! Let us know how it comes along and keep the pics coming!