First saltwater tank

Hi all, I started a 4 gallon tank about 2 weeks ago. It's going great so far. I got some zoas and 2 leather mushrooms as far as corals go. Also I have a yellow tail damsel and a sexy shrimp. My biggest challenge is salinity. It ranges from 1.023 to 1.025 daily due to evap. I made a cool LED hood that I will discuss in another thread. Here is a picture of my setup.

 

duranza

welcome to 3 reef
the tank looks very good IMO - but you might have some issues due to the speed its been stocked (to much to quickly) I hope thats not the case but if I where you I would wait at least another 4 weeks before adding anything else new.

salinity - I used to top off twice a day when I ran a 5 gallon SW tank am and PM
but an even better method would be once you have an idea as to how much water evaporates each day, have that amount of water in a plastic bottle above your tank and with a looped/ knotted lenght of airline allow the water from the bottle to drip into the tank slowly that keeps the SG pretty constant

Steve

 

Welcome to 3reef. This is a great place to learn.

2 weeks and all that... seems fast. You might consider reading about Nitrogen Cycling as a place to start.

Mark

 

Welcome to 3reef.com

Browse the forums, there are a number of useful articles to help you along your way. As well as, many knowledgeable people that would love to help you with your tank needs.

 

Hello D and welcome to the 3reef fam.

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef

 

The water simply needs to be cycled. The damsel is a very hardy fish... But please be sure to read up on cycling and water changing. Your salt content will vary due to a host of reasons including, temperature, evaporation, and nitrogen cycle. It should level out as your tank develops. Best of luck.

 

Welcome to 3reef.
would like to see a build on the hood light you made..

 

Thanks for all the responses. The tank cycled twice already. Once with the Live sand in like 3 says and then another once i put the live rock like 5 days after. It was stable for another 4 days when I added the damsel and zoas. I'm working on a second hood for a buddy. I'll take some pics of the build and post them.