Swanny32 wrote:
Im going to purchase the tank and stand with some Instant Ocean salt (4kg), live sand and also my RO water making sure to buy a little extra so i can top up every now and then. I already have a nutrafin master test kit and a hydrometer. I am also getting them to order in 8kg of live rock for me to pick up on Saturday morning, is 8kilos going to be enough for natural filtration?
just remember with the salt, you will need 33grams of salt per litre of water! i got some cheap off the internet, so mite be good to check and you how much you can get it delivered for. what you got will last you a little while tho. 8 kilos should probably enough to start with, you can always get an extra few bits if theres room once you have put the 8 in.
[quote]
Swanny32 wrote:
Can some explain in lamemans terms what exactly Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH and Phosphates are? I know what levels i require for each of them.
ammonia is what fish excrete through their gills, in their waste and what is produce when fish/fish food/other creatures decay. nitrite is a less toxic form, which is produced when bacteria digest ammonia, we are left with nitrite, nitrate is a digested form of nitrite, less toxic again.
pH is the measurment of how acid or alkaline is substance is, pH 1 is very acid, pH7 is 'neutral' and pH14 is very alkaline. pH of marine water should be 8.2. and remember than a pH of 8.1 is 10 times more acidic then 8.2, pH 7.2 is 100 times more acidic than 8.2, so a big differnce, which is why its so important to keep it stable.
phosphates are a nutrient, will encourage algae to grow, so just need to keep levels below one, top tip dont feed tooo much flake dried food, is its generally higher in phosphates.
[quote]
Swanny32 wrote:
Could someone then give me a short step by step guide to getting the tank filled, im 99.9% sure i know how to do, i.e. add the sand, put a sausepan in poor in the RO, add the salt etc etc but i just need it clarifying really.
when you have put tank in place and cleaned it...
1- add sand
2- mix salt into water outside tank.
3- add salted water to tank.
4- switch on heater and pumps, (but not skimmer just yet)
5- add rock on saturday
6- test, test, test for nest few weeks, topping up any evaproation with pure ro.
[quote]
Swanny32 wrote:
Then last question is, when im adding my live rock on saturday should i leave a gap between the rock and the tank edge at the back of the tank? Apart from that i think i am set!
Maxie wrote:
Again only new to marine, the sand i got is from the petstore and comes in a bag. maybe someone else can give you advice.
