Newbie Setting Up His First Time Sw Tank

[Giritharan]

Hello Everyone,

My Name is Giritharan, 19 this year, studying at NYP and this is my first time here, Newest of all:) I need Your Advice Seniors:)

Here is Wat i got:)

2ft tank,

Powerhead Water Filter,

Pink Light,

Protein Skimmer, $40

Air Pump, $6.80

Hydrometer, $28

Ph Tester, $10

Ammonia Tester, $22

NO2 tester, $13

Thermometer, $5

Marine Food, $10

20 bacteria Pills, 2 Different Types, $2 Each

BioRocks To culture the Bacteria, $14

Dead Coral Sand, $8

Dead Coral Chips, Free

Dead Large Coral, $15

On 26th August,

After buying all this equiment i setup my tank, Mixing the salt and water. I let it settle down for 1 hour and later check using hydrometer. it is in between 1.020-1.024. O before that i already added the sands, chips and the large one:).

On 27th August,

I bought A live rock and added to the tank. The LR worth 25$. It is 1 KG, it looks very red and many weeds on it.

(The Next following 5 days i added two different Bacteria Pills each.)

On 31st August,

I Bought 1 ClownFish and 2 Diamso Yellow Fin Fishes. I added to the tank. I notice the first live Rock has Some white patches growing on it. I ask the shop and they said it is ok..

Today 1st August,

My ClownFish died at 1200 pm Sharp. but my two diamso are healthy looking and running here and there. I tested the Ammoina, PH and NO2

The ph is stable about 8.0, but the ammonia and NO2 is so high, furthers of all in the scale:( i Panic. I when back to the shop and they told me more LR will help to reduce the ammonia.. So i bought $90 worth of LR. and added to the tank. After that i change about 20%of the water. About 3 hours later i tested the water again and the Ammonia and NO2 is still high, Wat should i do:(?

I hope you senior guyz there will help me out:)

Best Regards,

Giritharan

[DeepBlue]

'I hope you senior guyz there will help me out:)' - > DA - that means you're out...keke.

btw...welcome to the club!

and ....how is your tank setup like...what kind of filter system are you using? you have the tank for a few days only?..if you have a refugium or sump setup....cycling should be completed in a few weeks.... no LS (fishes) can be added in the meantime

can provide more info on the total setup...thanks

[Sinn]

i think u shd read the pinned up article under new to the hobby section done by bawater...

u shd also souce for livestock at different places as $25 a kg is pretty ex

good luck

[SpiderOne]

bacteria pills... coral chip.. skeleton.. $15.... $25 lr.....

YOU HAVE GONE TO

R$!N*)W!

you poor thing. pls start frequenting another LFS not that one .which is probably the worst in this country

[[P]owder Blue]

Giritharan, welcome to the club 5 days of cycling is definitely not enough!! I will suggest you give the damsels (Diamso?) back to the LFS before it is too late. The high ammonia and nitrites will most probably kill your remaining fishes as well. Let the water run & cycle for a month or so.. slowly take your time. Test your water parameters (free from ammonia & nitrites) before you add new fishes. Happy reading thru the newbies section here.. definitely worth the effort as you are gaining knowledge from the more experience reefers here. Just my 2 cents..

[ai[k²]wan]

i can tell from the $2 pills he went to raiNB@@@@W eh? sorry bout dat.. its a killer shop.. it cheats newbie.. i always go there laughing when i come out of the shop try s@@@@liF# or M@rriN334 L#fe at hongleong

[huskiesg]

bacteria pills... coral chip.. skeleton.. $15.... $25 lr.....

YOU HAVE GONE TO

R$!N*)W!

you poor thing. pls start frequenting another LFS not that one .which is probably the worst in this country

How to resist ra*nb@w when they have all those late night tv adverts .. "r#i*b@w... " But I too started frequenting them when I first started few years back on my freshwater hobby.. Learnt it the $$exp way..

[mUAr_cHEe]

wan,Sep 1 2003, 10:19 PM] i can tell from the $2 pills he went to raiNB@@@@W eh? sorry bout dat.. its a killer shop.. it cheats newbie.. i always go there laughing when i come out of the shop try s@@@@liF# or M@rriN334 L#fe at hongleong

S@@@liF# also cheat newbies one... go to one of my earlier post to see wad i mean.... hong leong one... er... they say equipment is ex... dats all i noe....

where to go... u ask me??? i also asking myself.... i dun noe... im still trying to find thou....

[Clownfish]

Perhaps u can read threads under New to Fishkeeping n learn the proper way to cycle ur tank.... give the fish up to other pple b4 they sacrificed themselves....

On top of that, do research on wat system u wan ur tank to take on.... refugium? berlin? sump? DSB (deep sandbed)?

A proper cycle can take 3-4weeks or even longer... finish cycling means no traces of ammonia n nitrite is present and no more dying off from ur LR...

During cycling and post cycling, it is best to do partial water changes once a week, 10~20% and also, mix the salt very well and aerate at least overnight....

Then depending on wat u wan to keep, soft corals need at very least 1 6,500K/10,000K fluorescent n 1 actinic flourescent for shallow tank, in anyway, ur 'pink' light is useless, change the tube...

Also, dun use the bacteria pills.... too much will backfire.... it's best to cycle with LR...

Btw, i see ur equipments n stuffs (esp. LR) is very ex.... find out from weekly LFS report the favourites pple go... u can get betta lobangs there

[metals99]

PSB marine stocks very reasonably price leh only there i will go and the owner give good advice... their live rocks still $8 per kg.. heee

ML at Hong leong the owner will advice us good..

[IcecruncherZ]

You bought 1 piece of live rock? I think you need much more than that... and 25 bux is ridiculously exorbitant manz...

I hope you were advised to remove the weeds on the LR... cos the algae will most probably die off during the cycling process, and lead to pollution. I was advised my ML many years ago, b4 Henry, to gently brush off the surface detritus. This will prevent excessive die offs.

Cheers~

[tijou]

Hey, Number One lesson to marine tank setup is to be PATIENT!! Dun simply start buying LR at that kind of price.. read up more before you really gets into it.. anyway welcome to the club... u will learn alot thru this web

[Giritharan]

Giritharan, welcome to the club  5 days of cycling is definitely not enough!! I will suggest you give the damsels (Diamso?) back to the LFS before it is too late.

Yes I bought From Rainbow at Seragoon North.

I ask them, they said cannot refund, Hmm How come, they ask me to buy more live rocks to keep the ammonium down. Ayio.. i spend all my payday money on SW liao:(. I am studying while working:(. Kana Con liAo:( .

Anyone here Wants to keep my 2 fish. while i wait for my ammonia and NO2 to zero. Please Call my Handphone: 90700965.

Regarding the LR. Must i also Give back? Or Use it to cycle.. but it is getting white bit by bit everyday. and smelly And also i did not take out the weeds.. should i take it out?

Could you all tell me the address for the cheapest Marine Fishes and LR and Corals in singapore:)

Best Regards

Giritharan

[ozy]

Hey, Number One lesson to marine tank setup is to be IMPATIENT!! Dun simply start buying LR at that kind of price.. read up more before you really gets into it.. anyway welcome to the club... u will learn alot thru this web

To be impatient? I can do that...

You prob mean to be patient. Be careful you give some unsuspecting newbie the wrong idea...

[tijou]

Sorry Ozy....ya boyy..i mean "to be patient"... typo error lah!

[[P]owder Blue]

Dun have to give back the LR. Continue to cycle your tank with it, and change water only if you can't tolerate the smell. IMO to provide enough circulation for your cycling tank with the aid of a power head, else your tank will go anaerobic and become a dead tank.

[Fireclown]

Hey, Leave the LR alone and let it cycle with your water but pluck out the weeds on it. Cycling will that at least a month so please do READ UP while waiting for your tank to cycle. I guess those white stuff are decomposion of dead organism killed in the ammonia spike when added those fishes in there.

I would reccomend ML at H**g L*ong, Hendry gives the right advices but his stuff are not the cheapest. I think you should go around the LFS in s'pore but take advices with a pinch of salt.

I'll gladly accompany you to ML.

[GATECRASHER]

Hello Everyone,

My Name is Giritharan, 19 this year, studying at NYP and this is my first time here, Newest of all:) I need Your Advice Seniors:)

Here is Wat i got:)

2ft tank,

Powerhead Water Filter,

Pink Light,

Protein Skimmer, $40

Air Pump, $6.80

Hydrometer, $28

Ph Tester, $10

Ammonia Tester, $22

NO2 tester, $13

Thermometer, $5

Marine Food, $10

20 bacteria Pills, 2 Different Types, $2 Each

BioRocks To culture the Bacteria, $14

Dead Coral Sand, $8

Dead Coral Chips, Free

Dead Large Coral, $15

On 26th August,

After buying all this equiment i setup my tank, Mixing the salt and water. I let it settle down for 1 hour and later check using hydrometer. it is in between 1.020-1.024. O before that i already added the sands, chips and the large one:).

On 27th August,

I bought A live rock and added to the tank. The LR worth 25$. It is 1 KG, it looks very red and many weeds on it.

(The Next following 5 days i added two different Bacteria Pills each.)

On 31st August,

I Bought 1 ClownFish and 2 Diamso Yellow Fin Fishes. I added to the tank. I notice the first live Rock has Some white patches growing on it. I ask the shop and they said it is ok..

Today 1st August,

My ClownFish died at 1200 pm Sharp. but my two diamso are healthy looking and running here and there. I tested the Ammoina, PH and NO2

The ph is stable about 8.0, but the ammonia and NO2 is so high, furthers of all in the scale:( i Panic. I when back to the shop and they told me more LR will help to reduce the ammonia.. So i bought $90 worth of LR. and added to the tank. After that i change about 20%of the water. About 3 hours later i tested the water again and the Ammonia and NO2 is still high, Wat should i do:(?

I hope you senior guyz there will help me out:)

Best Regards,

Giritharan

[ozy]

Sorry Ozy....ya boyy..i mean "to be patient"... typo error lah!

Hee hee, I can see that you are very passionate about this issue...

That shop (r******) is hopeless. I was "strongly persuaded" into buying from the shop too by the shop assistants when I first started out with FW. You got to admit, they do have a rather nice shop and good advertising (actually, they are the only one who advertise on TV).

I remember going in once and saw the price tags on the things:

$38 for a sea fan

$25 for a 1 inch blue tang

$12 for a small false percula

And oh yah, they were trying to sell me this marine salt that cost, I think, $30 for a 10 litre of SW, and some proclaimed powdered bacteria at $150 a bottle. Not sure of the quality of the product because I am not prepared to spend all those money. But the powdered bacteria packaging looks rather flimsy.

.... (the list goes on)

I was gasping in disbelief as I have left the shop... I guess that is why the previous LFS list did not include the shop in it.

Ok, enough bashing of the shop (that was rather satisfying...)

Will some kind soul with a mature tank adopt the guy's fishes first? I would like to volunteer too if no one else offers.

[Giritharan]

Finally My Tank Pictures

1st image

[shiraz]

geeezz.. high prices to compensate the loss they got putting up ads maybe! i'm not sure if any1 wants to keep damsels... yellow tailed damsels? damn hard to catch later on especially if u have alot of LR... just leave it in your tank or give it back to ra*nb*o.. GIVE them and don't ask for a refund..

p.s. maybe u can add... most of my relatives and friends have a marine tank and all of them adivese me against doing what u told me to do so here u can have your fishes back!!

[Giritharan]

2nd Image

[Giritharan]

3rd Image

[Giritharan]

4rd Image

[Giritharan]

5th image