Atm's 5.5 Gallon Tank (reef In Progress)

[sianeds]

OOH pretty boxes! Thats about the depth of my knowledge

 

[SkiFletch]

Lol Sian. You're off to a good start ATM. Make sure you have your LFS verify your hydrometer frequently as it will "drift" over time . Mine reads 1.022 and its actually 1.026

 

[atmmachine816]

OOH pretty boxes! Thats about the depth of my knowledge

Well you know more than I do, lets put it that way.

Lol Sian. You're off to a good start ATM. Make sure you have your LFS verify your hydrometer frequently as it will "drift" over time . Mine reads 1.022 and its actually 1.026

Ok thanks, when you mean drift does that mean I need to get a new one or it will show 1.026 but it really means 1.022, or is that what you are trying to tell me?

Ok got a question, when cycling my tank should I do weekly or bi-weekly water changes and how much, then once I get the tank cycled how many gallons should I be doing how often. O and when doing water changes, in FW you gravel vac, what do I do in SW.

Hoping to pick up some literature on SW tanks sometime this week so I don't keep asking so many questions and to give me a better background before I get the tank cycling.

thanks for your help

 

[@ombomb]

Ok thanks, when you mean drift does that mean I need to get a new one or it will show 1.026 but it really means 1.022, or is that what you are trying to tell me?

When you buy a new one, it should be bang on... but it might not be.

And even if it is, it may lose it's accuracy.

Why not just buy a refractometer, I spent about £25 on mine.

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Refractometer-for-ma...1QQcmdZViewItem

Ahhh you're American, links no good but the point stands!

 

[atmmachine816]

Ok thanks, Ya while I'm cycling the tank I'm going to use the refractometer since I'm going to take it nice and slow, hopefully before I get fish I'll find a refractometer and if not I'll try to find someone to order it online for me.

 

[atmmachine816]

All right, so I'm not sure when I'm gona get the LR but I'm going to drain my tank this weekend and get the equipment in place. few questions?

1. Anybody know where to buy a good refractometer online in the US that also sells test kits, and other SW essentials
2. Thinking of asking my mom to register this under her name and let me use it online, anybody have one?
3. Anybody know of any good SW books that you have read that are accurate that I can get from my library?
4. When cycling my tank do I do weekly water changes by gravel vacuuming or do you just change the water? How much should I do on my tank once it's cycled, I'm thinkin 2-3 gallons? probably 2?
5. When making your SW, I know you need a powerhead to keep it moving but since my tank is so small I'm assuming I should use a 25w heater to keep the water the same temperature as my tank? It's ok to use a lid when doing this too right?

Thanks, hope you guys can answer some of my questions, hope to find the rest in books and online. Don't want to waste all your time. Will post some pictures this weekend when the tanks somewhat ready to go.

Jeeez, looking online at bigals, I realized I could have saved a lot of money even after spending 15$ for the visa card. I'v got to get this card, it'l make things so much easier.

 

[Redstratplayer1]

I am 13 and when i need to buy somthing online i give parents my money and they pay for it with there card.

 

[atmmachine816]

I am 13 and when i need to buy somthing online i give parents my money and they pay for it with there card.

Ah but then my dad would know how much something would cost and that wouldn't be good He doesn't like me having two fish tanks, that's why I have to use a 5.5 gallon tank.

Anybody know about the questions

 

[Redstratplayer1]

He will still know the cost.

Lets say he puts $100 on that card .
You spend $60 on pvc pipe.
He sees that you only have $40 on the card......and boom he knows how much you spent.

 

[atmmachine816]

No, my mom likes my tanks more than he does, he doesn't like me spending the money on it but as long as I save money for college it's ok for him, like I gave him 60$ last weekend for college and spent 90 on my SW tank. My mom will get the card under her name and I'll enter money on it and spend it online when I want. When I need more i'll just ask my mom to put some more on it, my dad won't really know how much I'm putting on it so it will all be good. He's not going to be monitoring how much I spend on it either, he doesn't do that now since he doesn't really care about how much I spend on the fish, and doesn't notice unless I do a big change.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Hey, there, ATM, glad your coming to the deep side! I'm still researching for my tank, and saving up money. But I just wanted to say hi!
Oh and for your questions:
1. www.drsfosterandsmith.com.
2. Never heard of it.
3. There's a pinned topic --"The Realm of Knowledge".
4. Not sure.
5. Not sure.

 

[atmmachine816]

O gotcha on numero 3.

Well technically I joined down here in Novemeber but that tank was shot down by my parents but this one I got the ok for this one. Nice to see you here to and Hi, lol money, hmm how big is your tank going to be. I can't wait till april, then I'll be getting 40-80$ a weekend and the reef tank will be reachable.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Mine's going to be a corner tank, somewhere between 40 and 60g, so not a nano. It'll cost a lot to set up, which is why I'm still saving up, I only have about $110. My mom just spent another $100 for me on my 10g FW so I can't ask her for money for a a few months now lol. You're lucky you get so much $$$, I get $8 a week.

 

[@ombomb]

4 - No need for water changes when you're cycling. Once the tank is 0 Amonia / Nitrite do a large water change before adding CUC.

5 - Yes, you need water movement and in such a small water volume tank, you will need to make sure the temps match. Leave the water plenty of time to mix, I generally set mine up mixing in the evening, let it run over night and do the water change next day.

 

[atmmachine816]

Mine's going to be a corner tank, somewhere between 40 and 60g, so not a nano. It'll cost a lot to set up, which is why I'm still saving up, I only have about $110. My mom just spent another $100 for me on my 10g FW so I can't ask her for money for a a few months now lol. You're lucky you get so much $$$, I get $8 a week.

Well my parents don't spend any money on me, I'v paid for everything myself. Kind of a nice feeling though knowing that you paid for everything yourself and you take care of it yourself, though things sometimes take longer to get. Well I get 15$ a month along with 8$ for a paper route. During spring and fall I ref soccer on the weekends, depending when I have a track or cross country meet determines how much money I get. One league I can get 20-24$ a game and in anotther I only get 15$ for doing the same age group. The nice thing is that my city has a tournement and I usually get close to 200$ in one weekend plus free food while I'm there, though I have to save some for college since my parents won't pay for all of it.

Well that's my rambling, 110$ won't get you far, that's a little under what's it's going to cost me to get the basic equipment only lol. Have fun saving maybe get a job this summer

4 - No need for water changes when you're cycling. Once the tank is 0 Amonia / Nitrite do a large water change before adding CUC.

5 - Yes, you need water movement and in such a small water volume tank, you will need to make sure the temps match. Leave the water plenty of time to mix, I generally set mine up mixing in the evening, let it run over night and do the water change next day.

Ok thanks, I haven't figured out how often I'll need to do water changes whether bi-weekly or weekly and how much, probably 1 gallon every 3 days ?

Does anybody know if water from a filter built into your fridge would be equivlent to RO water, because if it is then I don't need to buy a RO unit, but I'm thinking it may not be the same?

Think I should go bare bottom, since it would be easier to keep clean since it's such a small tank?


Tomorrow I'll probably drain the tank and get the equipment in.

Thanks for all the help so far