New Aquarium Owner

[GramCracker]

Hey everyone. I recently came home from college from a birthday dinner and found a small salt water aquarium in my room. Needless to say I was quite excited. My sisters friend was getting rid of it so my sister decided to keep it. However she has no idea what she is doing (neither do I really). So I've decided to take care of it. The only thing in it is a single clown fish.

Basically I'm a gigantic noob when it comes to having a salt water aquarium. What I do know is that it takes a fair amount of work to keep the thing alive and running correctly. Which is why I'm here. I need a lot of help making sure that things are OK with the tank. Feel free to learn me good and point me in the direction of things I will need to buy for the tank as well as places I can read up about owning a salt water aquarium.

Here's the tank:


And it's primary resident (aside from some snails):


Please help me keep this thing alive and turn it into a pretty sweet little aquarium!

[Parrothead]

Start here

Click here before you ask, (links to answers)

That will get you going in the right direction, read, get confused, ask questions, read some more;););)

Please post tank size, what kind of substrate you have, sorta looks like crushed coral, did you get any test kits with this, basically please list everything you got.....


Welcome to Reeflands

[Steve McKay]

Start here

Click here before you ask, (links to answers)

That will get you going in the right direction, read, get confused, ask questions, read some more;););)

Please post tank size, what kind of substrate you have, sorta looks like crushed coral, did you get any test kits with this, basically please list everything you got.....


Welcome to Reeflands

+1,you have a lot of reading to do.

[ant9204]

+1,you have a lot of reading to do.

Welcome aboard!!!!!! Dude like they said lots of reading and ? asking! The guys, and gals, on this forum definately know their stuff!!!!!!!

[ToddTT]

If you don't need to do a partial water change yet, you will need to do one shortly. Start with an extra small water change to get some practice.

Do you have a clean bucket or two? Home Depot sells them for about $2.

Got a bag of salt mix? An extra powerhead and a heater? They can be had cheap, especially since you only need small sizes.

These are some of the things you need right away to pull off a successful water change. And remember that water should be mixed for at least a day or two before adding to the tank.

I see flake food in the picture. If that's all that you're feeding, you should also pick up some frozen food, for omnivores. Buy a package of cubes and see how that goes.

How often are you feeding, and how much?

And yes, give us the full inventory of everything that you currently have.

Good luck!

[ToddTT]

Please help me keep this thing alive and turn it into a pretty sweet little aquarium!

Some info on that thing ;) :

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Ocellaris Clownfish

Also, resist the urge to add anything to the tank for now. Fish, rock, snails, anything.

Wait until you have some success with what you have, and make it through a couple of water changes.

After seeing how the tank does for a month or two (or three), and doing some reading and learning, you'll be more ready for such things.

And if that is a small tank (or any tank really) make sure to avoid direct sunlight. It will cause excessive algae, and worse... temperature fluctuations.

[Parrothead]

Todd,

The size for a beginner is what is worrying me, I hope he post some details today, that way we can work with him and get him going, it's really hard to tell from the provide photos what size it is, and that top looks like it's one of those all in ones.

[ToddTT]

Todd,

The size for a beginner is what is worrying me, I hope he post some details today, that way we can work with him and get him going, it's really hard to tell from the provide photos what size it is, and that top looks like it's one of those all in ones.

Absolutely.

GramCracker, the concern is that marine fish do not tolerate rapid changes well. Small tanks are more prone to rapid changes because of their size.

This means you need to pay extra attention to things like temperature, salinity, and PH.

A general rule to keep in mind is that bad things happen quickly in this hobby.

When in doubt, slow down, ask questions, and test your water values. When doing water changes, match the temperature, salinity, and PH as closely as possible.

By the way, pick up a couple of floating thermometers, about $2 each. One for the tank, one for your water change bucket. See that they agree with each other first by putting both in your tank.

[GramCracker]

Start here

Click here before you ask, (links to answers)

That will get you going in the right direction, read, get confused, ask questions, read some more;););)

Please post tank size, what kind of substrate you have, sorta looks like crushed coral, did you get any test kits with this, basically please list everything you got.....


Welcome to Reeflands

Thanks! Its an Eclipse tank, I think its either 6 or 12 gallons. Its pretty small. I didn't get anything with it, what you see in the pics is what it came with (unfortunately).

Today I went out and bought a hydrometer and a thermometer for the tank and also replaced the fluorescent bulb with a new one. The water was at 82 and I got it down to around 78. The hydrometer read a 1.021 if I recall correctly. I believe its crushed coral on the bottom and I've really gotta change the water.

I also have LOTS of reading to do hahaha

If you don't need to do a partial water change yet, you will need to do one shortly. Start with an extra small water change to get some practice.

Do you have a clean bucket or two? Home Depot sells them for about $2.

Got a bag of salt mix? An extra powerhead and a heater? They can be had cheap, especially since you only need small sizes.

These are some of the things you need right away to pull off a successful water change. And remember that water should be mixed for at least a day or two before adding to the tank.

I see flake food in the picture. If that's all that you're feeding, you should also pick up some frozen food, for omnivores. Buy a package of cubes and see how that goes.

How often are you feeding, and how much?

And yes, give us the full inventory of everything that you currently have.

Good luck!

I'm feeding once a day and I drop in a few flakes of food. I'm going to pick up a few gallons of pre-set up salt water (it comes in 4 gallon drum thingys).

I really wish I started this tank on my own, I really clueless as to the tank size and what not. It's quite aggravating haha.

I'm at college and the tank is home, so I will be doing my best to take care of it.

Two questions:
1. How do I go about doing a water change?
2. If I go to the fish store tomorrow, what are some things I should pick up?

[blennydude]

I have seen guys run into problems w/ fish stressing when using store bought sea water for a change. I think even on this forum. I believe it lacks oxegon, so you would need to run something to circulate air into the water for a day first before adding it to the tank. I would make my own water w/ salt mix and ro/di if it was me. Exspecailly w/ a nano tank. That's just my honest opinion.

[Steve McKay]

To be honest with you I would take the fish and give it to the LFS.If you want and have the time to take care of an aquarium then start over and do it right.If your in college and can't be there everyday to take care of it,then don't do it.If you can then start over and do it right.Start by researching what you are trying to do,if you are doing that,good.That type of aquarium is only good for fish for one.Two,crushed coral is no good it will trap waste and cause higher nitrates.Get some aragonite sand about 1"should be fine.The lighting will not support anemones or any photosynthetic corals so don't get any.After you get aragonite sand you will need water,don't use tap water.Use ro/di or distilled water and a good salt mix like Instant Ocean.For fish only a salinity level of 1.023-1.025 is fine.Get about 1.5lb of LR per gallon and let your tank cycle.After the nitrogen cycle is over add one or two fish.In a tank that size I would not have more than three fish.Clean the filter elements daily,that will help keep nitrates to a minimum.A 5% to 10% water change every two weeks will keep your water parameters in line.

[ToddTT]

1. How do I go about doing a water change?
2. If I go to the fish store tomorrow, what are some things I should pick up?

Some suggestions for your scenario, IMHO.


Home Depot:

5 gallon Home Depot buckets, 2 or 3 of them.

One for mixing new water.

One for siphoning water out.

An extra because you will need it sooner or later.

These must be clean, and used only for your tank! Never for anything else.



Pet Store:

RO/DI water, just a few gallons to start is fine.
RO/DI = Reverse Osmosis/Deionization = water without impurities

Small bag of salt mix. Don't just buy the cheapest salt they have, in you can avoid it.

Small cheap powerhead to mix water.

Small cheap heater. MarineLand makes nice ones that are not glass, which is nice when you are mixing water and don't want to worry about accidentally breaking them. But they can cost more money.

4 or 5 feet of tubing to siphon water, 1/2 diameter.

A few feet of 1/4 inch tubing, to siphon new water into tank.

"Master" test kit. Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, PH are the most important right now.

Frozen marine "blend", or frozen mysis shrimp, cubes. $3-$6 depending on store and brand.


First water change, 1 gallon:

*** Step 1. Read water change sticky on this site.

How to Make a Successful Water Change


Your particular water change should resemble this...

Add 3 gallons water and powerhead to bucket. This will be enough for your first 2 water changes.

Plug powerhead into GFCI outlet, if you have one. Probably in your bathroom and kitchen. They have a reset button on them in case they trip.

Add salt slowly to bucket water, until you start getting a reading.

Now that you are familiar with the powerhead and water flow in the bucket, secure heater inside bucket so that it will not contact the powerhead and possibly break.

Plug in heater and get water to 78 degrees.

Add more salt to get to target salinity in the bucket. In your case 1.022 which will just slightly increase your tank's salinity.

Mix water for 2 days.

Test new water bucket's salinity, and temperature, and adjust if needed.

Test water levels in tank. Nitrites, nitrates, PH, salinity, etc, and log all.

Siphon about 1 gallon from tank into empty bucket.

If you have a filter sponge, or filter pad, you can give them a couple of squeezes in this old water to "clean" them. There are lots of good bacteria on them, so don't try to get them super clean. Do not let them dry out, put them right back in your system.

Unplug powerhead and heater, and place the new water bucket higher than tank.

Siphon new water into tank using 1/4 inch tubing. This slow method will help the fish acclimate to the new water.

Test water levels in tank. Nitrites, nitrates, PH, salinity, etc, and log all.

If the fish is still swimming, throw party.


Save the remaining 2 gallons for another, larger water change in a few days or a week.


I'm still on cup of coffee #1, so make sure to also read the sticky, which was step 1.


Good luck!

[Parrothead]

Hah, Todd I'm a cup ahead of you

Excellent, well thought out post

Good Job

[ToddTT]

Hah, Todd I'm a cup ahead of you

Excellent, well thought out post

Good Job

Thank you sir. Hopefully the steps above result in a happy fish, and a non-electrocuted owner. ;)

[ToddTT]

Eclipse System 6 - 14.75 inches tall.

Eclipse System 12 - 18 inches tall.

Manual:

http://www.marineland.com/sites/Mari...ems_manual.pdf

[rluix]

I really hope thats not the 6 gallons one, as clown fish should not be in any tank less than 10 gallons .

[GramCracker]

Todd, thanks a lot!!!!