Test Kit...i'm stupid

For that price I will assume you bought it from your local fish store; if I were you I would take it back and tell them the guy who helped you gave you the wrong test kit and that you want to exchange it for the saltwater kit. At least it will give you piece of mind.

 

It's already been used. Would they give him his money back on an opened item (test kit no less which has limited uses product in it)?

 

Man I love this website. Everyone is so helpful.

I didn't cycle with a shrimp. I had planned to but when I was first starting out and buying the sand and salt I had a conversation with the guy at Petco who seemed like he knew what he was talking about. After reading these post I have learned that I need to verify everything they say here on this website. But at the time, he said if I had a few gold fish they would work just as well as a shrimp. Fortunately, my son feeds gold fish to his two Oscars and he just happen to have two dead ones (more then two, but you get me) so I napped two from him and stuck them in there. They are decomposing nicely in there.

I have ever intention of going for a reef tank, but taking a few people's advice from this website, I decided to start with a FOWLR till I am certain I I have a firm understanding of at least the basic's of salt water life. I know at this point I still have a long way to go before I am confidence in my abilities as a salt water tank owner. So far, I am having a great time learning, reading, and watching. But yes, I do plan on getting another heater for my tank probably on Friday when I get paid again. I also plan on adding probably another 30-40 pounds of live rock.

Thank you again very much for this information.

 

Alright, that pretty much means wait it out until ammonia and nitrites are 0, then add a fish. By then, you should have at least some of the rock, as saltwater fish are very used to having places to hide, and won't do well without them.

The kind of fish you would want to add would likely be a clown, goby, blenny, or cardinal. Most of the fish in those families are hardy enough to survive if there's a second (smaller) spike in ammonia, which may happen since you plan on adding more rock at a later date.

I would add the heater and get the heat up before the fish goes in. Your average saltwater fish is going to want those few extra degrees to stay warm.

Also, don't trust the LFS, especially since it's Petco. Half the people there have 0 training or experience in fish, and have no problem telling you stuff that is blatantly wrong or made up in order to make a sale. Mom n pop type stores will try to sell you on things too, but are more likely to give you at least slightly better information along the way. The biggest thing that turns people away from this hobby is the amount of research and reading; you need to do it for basically anything you do.

 

Thank you Blackraven, your post are wonderful. I do plan on taking this very slow. When I started this, I decided I wouldn't add fish for at least two months. I didn't know really what I was getting into, so I sure that is a good move. I do a ton of reading and a ton of research. So far, I am enjoying this a great deal.