salt water fish tank newbie

I have looked all over the net and can't get a straight answer . Do I just throw all the salt right in to the water or do i do something special? is there ideal levels for the salt tank pertaining to salt and other things? help I feel lost. I inherited this tank and it occupants and just finished cleaning it and filling it with water. whats next? I have fish in bags how long can that go on?

Woah! I don't envy you dude. I do know that Its easier to dissolve salt in water by heating water on the stove then adding the salt. You can saturate the solution more completely this way

I'd say get the water conditioned properly, then the fish can live in a bare tank, or what you have there till the morning . Then I'd go to the store where your donor bought his fish etc. And let them know about this mixed blessing you've had bestowed upon you. There are tank preparations available that can cycle a tank in a very short period of time. First Make sure that chlorine and chloramines are not present in your water by using a conditioner which will take care of these chemicals, get your salt concentration right and get the water temperature right. Then add fish. The water that the fish live in is Like our air to us. Make that right and they should be ok till morning. If the fish are going to stay in their bags for any length of time, make sure there is a very high percentage of air to water in them, as the fish can live in less water, but they can't do without oxygen. I've only kept fresh water fish, and I'm somewhat of a novice my self. I hope others will chime in here who have more experience with this type of thing !

Ross T.

jake wrote;

You don't want to use tap water - use RO (reverse osmosis) or distillied found in most of the larger supermarkets.

You need a marine salt such as Instant Ocean. Do you have a hydrometer (?), the specific gravity of salt water is 1.026sg - about 1/2 cup of salt per gal. - Temperature, 78º - pH between 8.0 & 8.3 , ammonia/nitrite = 0, nitrAte - 20ppm or less, alkalinity (hardness) between 8 and 11dKH. Have a protein skimmer (?) - Aqua 'C' Remora is a good one for the smaller tanks, 55 gal. and up, I would get the pro ($200.00 or less).

CO2 accumulates while oxygen levels drop if the bags are closed. pH drops, ammonia levels rise, temp. changes, bacteria increase, etc. - a few hours, tops! A drop or two of AmQuel and NovAqua per bag would sure help if you have them. AmQuel will neutralize ammonia, NovAqua willprovide slim coat protection and stabilize pH.

This is mainly a freshwater news group, but there are a few marine tank keepers here.

Hope you know about the 'nitrogen cycle' (?). Well, with the fish in the bags, you don't have time for it! As soon as you can, go to a pet store that has saltwater fish. You need to get some of their established filter media and *fill* your filter with it. Better yet, ask the store owner if they would house your fish untill you can do a fishless cycle (anout 10 days to a couple of weeks.) ......................... Frank

Sounds right to me. Tx. Frank.

Ross T

Let's also factor in the live rock (or lack thereof). Cured live rock acts as your filtraton system removing ammonia and nitrites from your system. If the tank came with live rock it must be kept wet or the animals living in the rock will 'die off'. If the die off is high then once you add the rock to the tank your ammonia level will skyrocket and you will have to cycle the tank from scratch. That could take a while. I would also add a bag of live sand to the system.

Marine tanks are completely different from freshwater tanks. Read, read, and read some more. I would take Frank's advice and ask the store to 'babysit' your fish until the tank is ready. You may have to pay rent during this transition but it's well worth it. Take your time and get it right, you'll not regret it. Also heed Frank's advice and DO NOT use tap water. RO or RO/DI water is the way. Most LFS sell RO/DI water really cheap. It's $1 for 5 gallons at our local saltwater store here.

Check out http://www.wetwebmedia.com , great reading there.

jake wrote;

You don't want to use tap water - use RO (reverse osmosis) or distillied found in most of the larger supermarkets.

You need a marine salt such as Instant Ocean. Do you have a hydrometer (?), the specific gravity of salt water is 1.026sg - about 1/2 cup of salt per gal. - Temperature, 78º - pH between 8.0 & 8.3 , ammonia/nitrite = 0, nitrAte - 20ppm or less, alkalinity (hardness) between 8 and 11dKH. Have a protein skimmer (?) - Aqua 'C' Remora is a good one for the smaller tanks, 55 gal. and up, I would get the pro ($200.00 or less).

CO2 accumulates while oxygen levels drop if the bags are closed. pH drops, ammonia levels rise, temp. changes, bacteria increase, etc. - a few hours, tops! A drop or two of AmQuel and NovAqua per bag would sure help if you have them. AmQuel will neutralize ammonia, NovAqua willprovide slim coat protection and stabilize pH.

This is mainly a freshwater news group, but there are a few marine tank keepers here.

Hope you know about the 'nitrogen cycle' (?). Well, with the fish in the bags, you don't have time for it! As soon as you can, go to a pet store that has saltwater fish. You need to get some of their established filter media and *fill* your filter with it. Better yet, ask the store owner if they would house your fish untill you can do a fishless cycle (anout 10 days to a couple of weeks.) ......................... Frank

Probably not the answer you are looking for, but I have recently started a marine aquarium again and have made a bit of a diary. You may want to have a look: www.marksfish.me.uk/marine/fourfoot.htm

Regards