Aquarium Setup

Step 2 Prepare The Saltwater

Sometime over a 24 hour period while running the test outlined in Step 1:

• This assumes it is a saltwater aquarium, which begins with "Make up the sea salt mix."

  • This is best done dissolving it in a separate container of an appropriate size and material, and using a proper freshwater source. Add a heater and small air or water pump for circulation and adjust the specific gravity to the desired salinity, if needed.

  • When it comes time to fill the tank with the saltwater, prior to using it, turn off the heater and air or water pump and allow any un-dissolved particles in the mix to settle to the bottom.

  • If you do not have a container large enough to meet the demand of saltwater needed to initially fill the aquarium, if necessary, it can be mixed in the tank in the same manner after the next step.

Step 3 Start Up The System

After performing the test in Step 1:

• Turn off all the equipment and siphon the freshwater out of the tank.

• Refill the tank with the made up saltwater you prepared in Step 2.

  • If using made up saltwater from a separate container, fill the tank and filtration equipment with the saltwater, excluding as much of any undissolved matter that settled to the bottom of the container as possible. Turn on all the equipment and let it run for a few days. Remember, if using a protein skimmer, no waste will be generated until after organic matter is introduced, but running it does contribute to oxygenation and gas exchange.

  • If making up the saltwater "in" the tank, follow the same procedure for mixing it in a separate container as above, only turning on the equipment needed for this.

When this stage of aquarium setup is done, fill the filtration equipment and turn on all other equipment and let the entire system run for a few days.

• Over the next few days while the fish tank is running:

  • Check the following water parameters.

    • Temperature

    • Salinity (Specific gravity). Top off the water level to make up for evaporation and keep the specific gravity at the desired salinity by adding freshwater to the "fill line" when needed.

    • pH (Acid Level)

  • Set Up a Quarantine Tank (QT)

    • Many aquarists choose to bypass using a quarantine tank to place new fish into before introducing them into the main aquarium. Sometimes this is not wise because this opens your whole system up to a wide range of potential diseases that can be spread by stressed, sick or contaminated fish. Anytime during the aquarium setup process, but at least 2 weeks before it is complete and the tank is ready for fish to be added, it is highly recommended to set up a QT.

Step 4 Prepare The Live Rock

If you are NOT using live rock to cycle your aquarium, go to Step 5. Most of the live rock that enters the aquarium market is eroded coraline rock collected in or around natural coral reefs. Much of it is rubble created by the violence of tropical storms and heavy waves pounding the reef. Live rock houses a multitude of organisms, both tiny and large. A very few can be harmful to the reef aquarium, but the vast majority are exciting, interesting and valuable to the natural balance of the captive system. We call it a Reef Tank.

Assuming you will be using live rock to cycle your reef tank, this is the part of the process to purchase and prepare “Live Rock.

• If using "uncured" live rock, place it in a separate vat or curing container and cure it. If curing it directly in the tank, do so only with a bare bottom tank, and make up enough saltwater in another container for a 25-50% water change. Once the live rock curing process has subsided, siphon any silt off the bottom of the tank, removing 25-50% of the water at the same time, and then begin aquascaping.

• If using "cured and cleaned" live rock, keep it moist or wet, and at a room temperature as close to that of the tank temperature as possible until it is placed into the aquarium for placing your tank decorations or aquascaping it is sometimes called.

Step 5 Decorate or Aquascape The Tank

Aquascaping s the most exciting step in setting up your new fish tank and means building your Fish-Tank into an aquatic ecosystem that combines artistry and beauty with Biology. However, because it can be tricky, the best way to approach it is with some important biological facts. “Reef Secrets” by Nilsen and Fossa is a good resource for Reef Tanks. For more information about Aquascaping Click Here.

Assuming you are not using live rock, to begin aquascaping turn off all the equipment and remove the heater(s). Siphon out and save about 1/2 of the saltwater in the tank and set it aside.

• At this point you can add whatever substrate you have chosen to use, making sure to clean and prepare any non-living type media before doing so, as well as arrange or aquascape any non-living decorative corals, rocks, etc. that are to be placed in the aquarium.

When done, top off the water level with the saved saltwater to the "fill line", replace the heater(s), and restart all the equipment. Recheck the "fill line" and top it off if needed.

Go on to Step 6, unless you are using live rock.

If you are using the live rock you prepared Step 4, here are some aquascaping tips.

Since the live rock will be aquascaped on a bare bottom tank (no substrate being added at this time), it is suggested to raise the rocks up off the bottom. By doing this it allows for better water circulation around and underneath the live rock during the aquarium cycling period coming up. When it becomes time to add the substrate, the rocks suspended above the sand allows sand sifters to easily access the areas under the rocks for cleaning.

Here is one method for raising the rocks up.

Use cut pieces of 1/2 to 3/4 inch Schedule 80 (gray) PVC to place the rocks on. The height of the PVC supports should be based on how deep you are planning the substrate bed to be. If targeting one inch, then cut the PVC to about one inch, and so on. Build square or rectangular shaped PVC racks or frames to stack and aquascape the rocks on. These can be built to meet the sizes and quantity of rocks you have.

Remember, position the rock formation(s) away from the outside areas of the tank walls.

Live rocks should be arranged to accomplish several things.

• Stacked loosely to allow for good water circulation around the structure, as well as some though it, but not so loose that it is unsafe and rocks easily topple off.

• To create little nooks and crannies that livestock can go into, and even some holes they can go through.

• To allow any accumulated debris that collects under or between the rocks to be easily removed, either by siphoning, or by blowing it out using a water flow source. A turkey basting siphon from the kitchen works well for this.

Now to begin aquascaping with live rock, turn off all the equipment, remove the heater(s), and:

• If you are using prepared live rock cured in a separate container, siphon out and save about 1/2 of the saltwater in the tank and set it aside. Once you have created the reefscape or rockscape you desire, stabilize the rock structure by checking for loose or unstable rocks that may easily topple off, and adjust them. When done, top off the water level with the saved saltwater to the "fill line", replace the heater(s), and restart all the equipment. Recheck the "fill line" and top it off if needed.

• If you prepared and cured live rock directly in the tank, siphon out 25-50% of the water, removing any debris off the bottom of the tank at the same time. Once you have created the reef or rockscape you desire, stabilize the rock structure by checking for loose or unstable rocks that may easily topple off, and adjust them. Then top off the fish-tank to the "fill line" with the new made up saltwater you previously prepared and set aside for performing the 25-50% water change after the live rock cycle had subsided, as outlined in Step 4. Replace the heater(s), and restart all the equipment. Recheck the "fill line" and top it off if needed.

Step 6 Let The Tank Cycle

This step depends on what type of live rock you chose to use, cured or uncured. If you are not using live rock, that means “Starter Fish” (usually damsels) or another alternative choice to start the cycling process, it can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks for this cycle to reach completion.

• Follow the normal procedures for cycling an aquarium, testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

• Near the end of the cycling process, particularly when using uncured or partially cured live rock, nitrates may begin to rise. If this happens, do a 25 to 50% water change using properly mixed and aged saltwater, and repeat the process if necessary until the nitrates read less than 10 ppm.

This will help to keep algae growth problems to a minimum. Other than for this reason, NO water changes should be performed during the cycling process, until it has reached completion.

To accomplish the biological or nitrogen cycling process, ammonia is required to kick start the whole thing, and this is usually introduced into the aquarium by adding a few fish. Ammonia is produced in many ways. It not only comes from the waste of live fish, but all other marine animals and organisms as well as dead or decaying matter, which includes plants.

 We emphasize that it is so important to remove excess uneaten fish foods, dead animals, or decomposing plant matter from an aquarium as soon as possible. They are contributors to a rise in unwanted ammonia in aquariums. That is also why is it important to not overfeed your fish, especially during the cycling period? Simply put, food = waste = ammonia!

During the cycling process certain bacteria convert ammonia into nitrite, and at various stages both of these elements can build to highly toxic levels, which endangers the lives of the animals. It seems like a never ending process. Fish are needed as the source of ammonia to start the cycle. Then during the process the ammonia and nitrites reach toxic levels that injure or kill the Starter Fish, which many aquarists do not want to do. Here’s a few other ways to cycle the tank killing a bunch of starter fish.

Tank Cycling Options

• Live rock and/or live sand are both living parts of the reef that produce waste. Not only will they cycle the aquarium, they become the main source of biological filtration itself.

• Hermit and/or true crabs are pretty hardy animals, rather inexpensive, and will cycle your tank just as well as fish do.

• Add ammonium chloride. Read John Tullock's " Cycling the Tank" article, or refer to Martin A. Moe, Jr.'s "The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder" instructions on how to use this cycling method.

If you get stuck and need some help, we can help you or we can do it all. Call Aquatic Design (972) 423-0414 or come to our store (See the Map)

Reduce the Cycling Process

The nitrogen cycling process that all new saltwater set ups go through when they are first started is what leads to the birth of the aquarium's biological "bacteria" base. From start to finish, this cycle usually takes around 30 to 45 days to complete its mission, and depending on each individual aquarium's set up and care variables, sometimes longer.

If you don't want to wait around for nature to run its course and create this needed end result bacteria, there are ways to help speed up the cycling process by "seeding" a new tank with mediums or materials that already have a mature bacteria population established on them. These seed sources are usually obtained by removing them from another saltwater aquarium that is well established, one at least 6 months old, and is disease free, meaning one that is not suspect of having or is undergoing treatment for a disease of any kind.

The following seeding methods only help to cut some time off the cycling process, not eliminate it. The three phases of the cycling process will still occur! Just how much faster it reaches completion once again depends on how each individual aquarium is set up and taken care of, as well as how much of a mature and healthy population of bacteria are introduced through seeded material.

• Remove a cup or two of whatever type of substrate is being used (live sand, coral rubble, gravel, etc.) and lay it on top of the new tank's substrate, or put it into an appropriate sized mesh bag that will hold the media and place it in the filter. If this cannot be done, you can hang the mesh bag inside the tank directly in the path of where the filter's water return will flow over and through it.

  • This type of seed material might be for sale at a local fish store in your area. However, use caution with these sources, as you do not have control over whether or not the media is disease free.

  • If you are planning on adding live sand as the substrate to your aquarium, often aquarists choose to add a 50/50 mix of non-living sand and live sand (either from an existing tank or purchased) to help cut back on cost.

• Remove some of the bio-media material from a wet/dry trickle, canister, or similar filter set ups that use this type of material and place it into the filter of the new tank, or use the mesh bag method as above.

• Add a hang-on-tank box, canister, or sponge type filter to the established aquarium and let it run for a week or two to allow the material in the filter to collect bateria from the water, then move the filter over to the new tank.

• If you have some type of pre-filter set up on the established tank, when it comes time to change the floss, sponge, foam, or whatever type of material is being used, place part or all of it into the filter of the new aquarium.

• Add a few pieces of properly cleaned and prepared "cured" live rock taken from an existing tank or that is purchased. Or, one of the most popular ways to cycle a tank is to use nothing but live rock from the beginning when the aquarium is first set up.

• Add a nitrifying bacteria starter or booster ( read reviews compare prices). These types of products are something that can be used during "any" method chosen for cycling a tank to aid in moving things along a little faster as well.

Whether you use one or more of these seeding methods to help cycle a new tank or not, an ammonia source is still required in the aquarium to keep the cycling process alive and going. This is accomplished by adding a few fish or choosing an alternative method of cycling without fish.

Step 7 Select Livestock

While the tank is cycling in Step 6, check your livestock "species list" made during your initial planning phase. Or if you are using “Starter Fish” to cycle the tank and you are certain that the cycle is complete make a species list of all the fish, crustaceans and invertebrates you want in your aquarium. Don’t buy any livestock at this point. Once you have made your species list, learn as much about the characteristics and dietary requirements for each of them, so that when it does come time to buy and bring them home, you will know how to take care of them!

• Your selection should be based on the type of aquarium you are setting up, fish-only or reef tank, and species compatibility.

• Your wish list will undoubtedly have quite a few animals on it when done, including ones that may not be suitable for a beginner.

You will only be choosing 2 or 3 fish to introduce into your new aquarium at first, so pick the best beginner species (Starter Fish for saltwater tanks usually include Damsels, the cheaper the better) from the list to start with. The others can be added slowly (1 or 2 at a time) as you and your tank mature. Experiment with the more delicate species for after you have at least 6 months experience under your belt. Like all else, the finest, most exotic and colorful fish are the most expensive, and sometimes the hardest to manage.

Step 8 Add The Substrate

Once the tank has finished cycling:

• If you chose to use a non-living substrate material over live sand, clean and prepare it before adding it to the tank.

  • The easiest way to do this is to place a small portion of the substrate material into a plastic container, such as a clean and sterilized 5 gallon bucket, and using a garden hose, fill it with freshwater. Allow the freshwater to overflow in the bucket while stirring the substrate at the same time, and do so until the water runs clean. Set it aside and repeat this process until all the material has been rinsed. This helps removes any excess sedimentary particles that can cloud the water when adding the media to the tank, as well as flush out any other possible contaminants as well.

  • Keep in mind that when using fresh tap water from a garden hose, chlorine or chloramine compounds are usually present in the water. To eliminate any residual chlorine you can:

    • Spread the rinsed material out on a plastic tarp, trays, or whatever, and allow it to air dry for about an hour.

    • Put all the material back in the bucket, fill it with freshwater and add some AmQuel or other ammonia destroyer, stir well, let it set for about 5 minutes, then drain off the water.

• Turn off all equipment, siphon out and save about 1/2 of the saltwater in the tank, and make any final live rock aquascaping changes or adjustments desired.

• Add the substrate to the fish tank.

  • Targeting a 1/2 to 1 inch deep layer is suggested, but up to 2 inches may be added if desired.

  • You can also use the 1/4 to 1/2 pound of substrate media per gallon of tank water volume equation to calculate a sufficient amount.

  • Use a plastic cup or small container to scoop up the substrate, then gently pour it out onto the bottom of the tank, spreading it out by hand to fill in the empty spots around the live rock, and under it if using PVC racks or frame supports.

  • If the substrate medium gets on top of the rocks, it can easily be removed by using a turkey baster to blow it off.

• Once the substrate has been added, fill the tank to the "fill line" with the saved saltwater you removed earlier, restart all equipment, recheck the "fill line" and top off if needed.

• After substrate has been added, the tank will appear cloudy, which is normal. Usually within 24 hours the fine sediment particles suspended in the water will clear as they settle and/or are filtered out.

• Let the tank run for at least a week to allow it to settled out and stabilize before adding fish to the system. Test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, particularly when using live sand, because it is not unusual for "some" additional cycling to take place, and this will tell you when the tank has settled out.

Step 9 Make Cosmetic or Aquascaping Adjustments

 Make your final adjustments to the decorations, live rock placement, plants, stones, white coral skeletons, shells and all the decorative paraphernalia you want to watch until your next water change.

Step 10 Purchase & Add Livestock

These are considerations to make BEFORE introducing livestock into a new aquarium cycled with live rock. First you may consider the use of a QT (Quarantine Tank).

If not using a QT, make sure the main aquarium has cycled and is ready for livestock to be added.

Calculating how much Livestock should reside in a tank

The most common way of for the amount of fish you can safely keep are:

Step 11 Set Up A Maintenance & Water Quality Routine

To keep your aquatic habitat in peak shape, establish a regular routine for performing maintenance tasks. First, read about our Aquatic Design Aquarium Services. Or if you have the time, you must

• siphon up detritus (debris),

• clean the filter and other equipment,

• mix saltwater solutions for water changes and replenishment,

• test the water and address other water quality issues.

Those are just some of the jobs that need tending to regularly.

Like in the real world, unforeseen situations with your aquarium can occur at any time. If you are not prepared to handle a crisis if it arises, losses to your aquarium community can be expensive. You should be ready at any given time to be able to perform a partial or complete water change, treat a sick fish, or handle any number of other emergencies. If you feel apprehensive about what to do, then give Aquatic Design technicians a call immediately at (972) 423-0414 or come to our store at 629 North Central Plano, TX 75075 (Map). The sooner you call us, the sooner we’ll get it going again, just like brand new.

• Begin and set up a regular aquarium maintenance routine. If you have a PC use a calendaring system like Microsoft Outlook or Excel to help keep track of your service dates. Send us an e-mail and we’ll share our templates with you.

• Relax, take pride and enjoy your aquatic habitat – your new passion!

Most Common Mistakes

Have you ever made what seemed like a "small" mistake at the time, but it ballooned into a disaster later? Many experienced saltwater aquarium hobbyists have felt that pit in their stomach. Most of the recorded "disasters" seem to originate from these distinct mistakes.

1. Moving Too Fast – Many people get too exited and fail to read and study up on the hobby BEFORE getting started. Because it is such an exciting project it’s easy to get too anxious and do too many things all at the same time. That results in losing control of the habitat building process. The secret is to slow down and make changes one step at a time, and leave it alone in between steps to give each change time to acclimate.

One of the other top mistakes of moving too fast is "overloading" a tank with too many tropical fish and/or live rock all at once or too soon before fish tank has fully cycled. Adding too many critters too fast can lead to a condition called new tank syndrome, and you don’t want that.

2. Misdiagnosing Diseases & Over Medicating - When it comes to diagnosing diseases, saltwater ich is the biggest problem. But misdiagnosing can be a big problem. For example it is easy to confuse Marine Velvet or Coral Fish Disease with White Spot Disease. They are similar, but two quite different types of saltwater malady and each responds to different types of treatment. Using the wrong medication to treat these diseases can be fatal. It is important to learn how to properly diagnose and treat these parasites, as well as other diseases. The Fish Disease Trouble Shooter can help you make the right diagnosis. As far as using medications, way too often one or more remedies are just thrown at a problem without knowing what it is. We feel that medications should only be used or marine fish when necessary, and whenever possible, only in a Quarantine Tank using a remedy that "targets" the problem you actually have.

3. Inadequate Filtration - Having sufficient biological filtration is the one of the keys to success in keeping a saltwater aquarium. There are a number of filtration methods to choose from, but not making the right filter selection for the bio-load planned for your tank can lead to a wide variety of problems. It is always better to have too much biological filtration, rather than too little.

4. Livestock Incompatibility - Email messages with statements such as my wrasse ate my hermit crab, or my tangs just won't get along are all too common. Purchasing livestock without researching whether or not they will peacefully reside with other tank mates can lead to dead or injured critters, as well as stress related diseases. Use common sense; learn about the compatibility of critters before putting them together!

5. Purchasing Livestock Without Knowing What They Are and How To Care For Them - It is amazing how many people select new additions for their tank without even knowing what they are and how to feed them. If one of our sales people can't tell you about an animal in our store, especially its dietary requirements, as well as demonstrate that it is eating before you buy it, then run, don't walk to the nearest exit. Don't buy on impulse. Take the time to learn about an animal you want to buy, BEFORE doing so! The Fish Care by Species Index was designed to make this job a little easier.

6. Purchasing Fish in Poor Health - One of the easiest things to do when selecting a critter is to determine whether or not it is healthy. In a simple phrase: most sick fish don't eat. Once again, always have your Aquatic Design sales person show you that a fish is eating before purchasing it. On your part, learn how to recognize the symptoms or outward signs of common illnesses so you know what to look for when inspecting livestock to buy.

7. Lack of Performing Routine Tank Maintenance Tasks - Well maintained tanks seldom experience high nitrate levels, bacterial outbreaks, or other common tank problems. Therefore, to avoid the common pitfalls that may stem from this area, we strongly advise following a regular maintenance routine. Click on Aquatic Design Maintenance Services.

Marine Fish Care and Compatibility

Fish Feeding

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