Is this a good way to get a start in saltwater

First topic message reminder :

http://bham.craigslist.org/for/2825476909.html
I am considering purchasing this as a compromise with my mom, I want a 55 gallon saltwater set up, but she thinks it's be to expensive, so it's out of the picture....... anyways, i dont know how hard it is to care for one like this, or how much it cost.... if anyone knows please let me know. I also would like to know anything else you hve to say about a setup like this (like is this a decent price) please reply asap, thank you.

here's a pic of the hydrometer, sorry for the low quality, maybe im reading it wrong, idk, but from what i've read, the clown and cardinal can live in as low as 1.020, so for the moment im good, but like you said, i am going to work on raising it.

https://s1082.photobucket.com/albums/j369/hello2495/?action=view&current=0201121031.jpg

think I found a bristle worm already, saw him while talkin on phone, after talking went looking couldnt find him, looks like he's about 1-2" lona and about 1/8-1/4 an inch wide. i know this isnt good, but then again, just makes me happy to see ny lil things like tht coming from the live rock lol

looks to me like your salinity is 1.021. brittle worms are good scavengers you just dont want them to get too big, they also pack a nasty sting so be careful.
glad your tank made it through the move:)

when you said it was 28 my 1st thought was OMG he's gonna burn the slime coat right off those fish

lol idk, I'm a newby and I've heard about them worms, that's how i recognized it. so do the #s on the outer edge of the hydrometer matter, or just the 1.0-- #'s?

it looks like a deep six hydrometer, it should have a safe zone in red on the side.

dang you're good, it is a deep six, but no red, just black :P

I know I'm good:) but I could also read it in your picture lol stay in the black zone then... so where are my tank pics you promised?

I'll get them after I add the water I gotta mix up so you dont chew me out about it being to low :P

yeah I saw in the ad that the level was really low,, how did you know thats one of my peeves??? and people putting beautiful big reef tanks in a dark ugly unfinnished basement drives me nuts lol although it is a short drive he heh eh

i know this is stupid, but i just got some salt and distilled water, and got it mixed up, but what do i do with the opened salt, it came in a plastic bag, that's not resealable, should i put it in ziploc bags, and how long should i let it aerate before i put it in with the fish??

hello2196 wrote:

i know this is stupid, but i just got some salt and distilled water, and got it mixed up, but what do i do with the opened salt, it came in a plastic bag, that's not resealable, should i put it in ziploc bags, and how long should i let it aerate before i put it in with the fish??

yes put it in zip lock bags air tight.
mix your salt until its all disolved, I use an extra power head to mix it.
I start my water on friday and do my changes on sunday but I'm
making 50 gallons at a time.

How often on the 180 chip?

cr@p! noticed something today I hadnt noticed before...... the pipe that goes to the return nozzle/ powerhead is broken off and spewing water in the sump area, i dont know what to do....... cr@p!!!

Ouch that blows

ok, crisis averted, ends up it was more of a hose, and i cut some of it off, stuck it back, and it worked.

well, the cutting the hose ended up making it to short, but it just so happens a old siphon hose fit nicely, so I guess there's more than one way to skin a cat eh?

looks like you fixed your 1st emergency!wiley I do a 40 gallon water change every other sunday on the 180.

ok, the fix made it through the night, although i did stay up till 2 makin sure it wouldnt pop off and spew water every where lol... . anyways, i've noticed an odd behavior in my clownfish, please look at the video and see what you think it could be, he's been doing it alot since i got the tank. I apologize for the low quality of the videos, seeing as they were taken with a cell phone....

VIDEO 1

Video 2

May just be stressed out from the move and rearranging of the tank, and not fully acclimated to his new environment yet. You may want check your parameters as well to make sure you didn't have an ammonia spike, or Nitrates shot up real high.

well, my spotted cardinal fish is fine, he seems to be pretty old happy with the move. also the clown fish bit at meh hand and near bout drew blood yesterday while trying to remove a bristle worm, is it normal for them to be this aggressive? he had just ate so i dont think it was hunger.

I would still check your parameters if I were you. You'll learn very quickly that Saltwater is nothing like Freshwater, just because one fish is doing doesn't necessarily mean that the other one is not about to die. Now I'm not saying it's going to die, but my point was Saltwater fish can be very very finicky and the littlest things can stress them out. Especially a change in atmosphere. The human hand is the worst enemy of a reef tank! Like I said he's probably just stressed out from the move, it's not uncommon at all for a fish or coral to take several days to acclimate semi-comfortably in a tank. You may try feeding a very small amount to see if he'll eat, but if it were me I would check my parameters first.

I've had clownfish nip at me before especially when they are hosting a Nem. I suppose any fish can be territorial to a person, but most are not. I have a golden puffer, you she see the chunk of skin he took outta my finger one time when I got to close to his territory, I had to get stitches, lol.

I've had every kind of clown and the only ones I had that would bite were GSM ^^^^he's right the fish are probably stressed if it were me I would keep the tank dark for a day that will give them a chance to settle in and the darkness will ease their stress. when I introduce a new fish I always do it with lights out it not only helps the newcomer but also keeps aggression down. I have a very large hippo tang he wont bite but when I stick my aquarium tools in the tank he will swim by then slap it with his tail knocking out of my hand, thats how hard he does it.

did a water quality test, here's the results...

PH 8.0
Ammonia: somewhere between .5 ppm and 1 ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: between 0 and 5ppm

still doing it today, turned the light off as soon as i saw your post, still hasnt helped.... maybe it's the ammonia, what should i do for that, wait it out? or should i get some of that stuff they sell for ammonia spikes????? but like i said the spotted cardinal fish is still completely calm

you need to do a 10% water change then test again tomorrow thats the only thing that will take the ammonia down, you probably had some die off during the move.
you might have just gotten a mean clown some can be mean give him so time and see what happens.