Lots of Beginner Questions

Hi All --

The 34g Solana aquarium is finally set up. Thank God I feel no compulsion to race out and buy any corals or fish, since I feel like there are HUGE gaps in everything I've learned from reading in books and forums over the past two months ...

Specific Gravity: Specific gravity is about 1.023-1.024. Is this about right?

Dissolved Ions: I'll post pH, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia later today or tomorrow. The water is kinda gross right now.

Protein Skimmer: The Solana comes with a protein skimmer. Is it normal for water to come out of the top of it? I'm wondering if over time it might leak over the side of the tank. Also, I have the lid of the skimmer sitting slightly above the waterline. Should I have it submerged, instead?

Water Loss: In 36 hours, it seems like about a gallon of water evaporated with the metal halide lamp on. I turned it on mostly for the look of the thing, but also because the RO/DI that I get from work is around 55ºC. The heater is set to 79ºC. Once I start stocking the tank -- guessing about 2-1/2 to 3 months (no hurry, at all) -- should I add fresh water daily?

Beach Shells: Living in San Diego and going to the beach, I find some nice looking shells. Is it a bad idea to introduce these into the tank while it's cycling or ever? Also, I have easy access to an autoclave, so if bacteria or organisms are a concern, I could sterilize stuff first. This brings me to my next question.

Curing: I read how rocks are cured before adding them to a tank. What does this mean? When I set my tank up, the live rock went straight into the tank. This is okay, yes?

I thought I did a lot of research ahead of time. But obviously, I have a heck of a lot more to learn. Everyone here has been very helpful. This is by far the most informative and friendly reef forum.

Thanks All --

Hanz

 

Your specific gravity is right.
Your protein skimmer is suppose to do that.. thats how you know its getting the organic waist out.. Just make sure you empty the little collection cup pretty regularly.. Also, if you are still cycling I dont think you need the protein skimmer running.. some correct me if im wrong.. As for your water loss its normal for it to evaporate.. Just keep an eye on it and add RO water when needed.. We add water to ours about every day dependning on how much evaperates.. we go threw about 1/2 gal every two days but this is still winter that may change once summer starts.. Just watch your SG... As for the shells off the beach I dont see a problem with it as long as you boil it in water or staralize it.. And curing live rock just means that when they dig it out of the ocean and ship it their are a lot of organizems that die durrring this proccess and they need to wait tell those organizems die off compleatly and the rock will regenrat it self.. If you are just starting a tank then it is ok to by un cured live rock.. but once you have an asstablished tank make sure you buy cured live rock.. Or if you have a quarantine tank than you can cure your own LR.. If any of my info is inaccurate please correct me..

 

Also i forgot to answer your last question.. It is ok to just add the rock.. Unless their is corals or something on it then you should acclimate it..

 

Thanks for the kind words first of all.
Congrats on your decision to set up a marine aquarium and bring your questions here as well!
Now to try and help you without going into to much detail and being to verbose...

1)Salinity level is fine as salinity levels of our natural reefs vary from 1.020-1.025 depending on areas of the reef, evaporation, tidal swings, freshwater runoff and rain storms.
2)Unfortunately I am not familiar with that type of skimmer so hopefully someone else can help you out with this one, or even contact the pet shop or company itself regarding this one.
3)With evaporation due to intense lighting and environmental factors as well, you will notice your water level fluctuating each day. When you have evaporation, it is freshwater that is being removed from your tank not the SALT, so replenishing with freshwater will be very important. A top-off system is great to have set up as part of your tanks equipment.
4)I wouldn't add beach shells unless you bleach them and rinse very thoroughly, boiling should work as well.
5)Curing rock...Their are two forms of live rock: Cured and un-cured! The main differences are cured rock is normally more expensive because of the time involved in the curing process. Cured rock is rock that has been allowed to sit for a while in a dedicated container where dead, decaying animals are allowed to fall off/be removed from the rock itself as a result of the harsh conditions and time restraints enroute from place of collection to pet shop etc. This type of rock puts less burden on your tanks water parameters as well!
Uncured rock is rock that has not gone through the curing process and still has dead and decayed organisms on and in the rock. Adding uncured rock to an aquarium will normally bring about a cycle due to the dead animals that will have to be removed by various bacteria and other living animals in a tank. The uncured rock will normally have a putrid rotting smell to it, whereas cured rock will smell more like the ocean and with a more appealing smell to it.
Hopefully this will help you somewhat!
Best of luck to you!

 

they have access to an autoclave. ie they are either a nurse, dental, tattoo artist. running it through that would do the trick, if the boss doesnt mind/know

 

1.024 is a good salinity to stay at.

If you mean water is coming up from the skimmer instead of just small bubbles, then hopefully your skimmer has some form of air intake adjustment knob? I would adjust that where it is all the way closed, and then open it just a hair. It's what we had to do with our skimmer anyways, hope it helps. I would let the skimmer run for around 48 hours straight before deciding anything is wrong with it, they need a break in period.

We add water two times per day to our system. When we wake up, and when we're about to go to bed. We go through maybe 0.5 gallons or less per day. Our aquarium top section is quite open and exposed to light...great gas exchange though

Several of our larger hermits are inhabiting shells that my parents gathered on their honeymoon in Sanibel Island, FL, so yes, shells can be used if they are cleeeaaan.

 

OMG, you all are amazing. Thanks to everyone.

Salinity: check
Skimmer: adjustment screw ... oops, thanks
Evaporation: this Solana has a 20 x 20 opening on the top. With winter months being so dry, I guess I'm gonna be topping off daily -- with fresh RO/DI, of course.
Shells: I dropped a few in. I'll pull them and autoclave.
Curing: understood, thanks.

And yes, Redmans Cube, I'm a chemistry prof at a local college. Just started in the Fall. Found out today that not only do we have an autoclave, but also RO/DI water at every sink! I must be dreaming. :-D

 

whats a good level for pH? do you guyz know any natural ways to stable pH? i heard use crushed coral? what in the world is that??

 

what's your pH about an hour after lights on, then also an hour after lights out? are you using a test kit or a pH meter? no on the crushed coral. it does more harm than good(IMO) sand and a good 2 part system + magnesium, to get it all balanced. you can raise pH with baking soda, there's even a calculator on the left, so you can figure out how much you need. ok I'm babbling now...