First Salt Water Tank

Bought a 30 gallon Nano Cube CF-Quad with a 105 watt quad compact fluorescent lamp for 3.75 watts of light per gallon. This is my first try and go with a salt water tank, although I have kept Monster Fish Freshwaters for a long time. Any suggestions on set up, live sand, live rock..and how to know which corals it can use, and fish. Honestly any help is welcomed, this is a new venture, hopefully one I will enjoy as much as my other tanks!

Salt water is awsome the best advice I can give you is take your time with you should never rush any tanks but salt especially do you have a skimmer on it?

Just bought the skimmer..also bought live sand and salt today..having trouble finding a heater for it though

OK just make sure you let the tank cycle I would recommend having not set up at least 3 mo before adding coral 6 mo if you can wait th5 long

go slow and make sure to get good live sand, good live rock, and a good skimmer, and saltwater fish need more room then fresh water... test offen and keep your cal,alk,mag, all in range, and your ph 7.9-8.3 and saltinity 1.023-1.025.

the best advise I can think of ATM is
:don't believe everything you hear or read.
:do lots of research on your own through reputable sites like Advanced Aquarist, Melev's Reef, <also has great critter Id's.
:always question any advise giving to you at your LFS.
:research everything you plan to buy before you buy it ie fish compatibility/requirements/tank size etc..
:research what corals you can keep in a low light situation like yours before you buy and what trace elements they need some don't need any additives they will grow and thrive just fine with the elements in your salt mix and fish poop.
: let your tank fully cycle before adding anything you'll know if you test your tank weekly you will see a spike in Ammonia,Nitrites,Nitrates then a drop to 0 then your tank is ready to add fish. some people use the decaying shrimp method to get the tank going this takes too long "IMHO" or live fish which most die:( I use live rock and live sand there's plenty of organism's in and on the live sand and rock to die off and start the cycle the seed water and chaeto will feed that.don't be afraid to use Bio Spira or Stability to help cycle your tank some peeps think these products don't work but if used in conjunction with the above they work very well I've used one or the other to start all my tanks for the last 3 years most recent was a Sea Horse tank.
:there are much better ways to cycle a tank then using live fish like seed water from an established tank and /or Chaeto.
:when someone throws you advise ask them if they have ever kept what they are giving advise on then ask how long there system has been up and running successfully "proof is in the pictures" lol soon you will be able to spot an idiot a mile away and walk into your LFS and know exactly what you can and can not support in your present setup. read...read... read...
:water quality is very important tap water/well water in most areas of the country will not do its full of TDS, clorine and loads of other chemicals and junk you don't want in your reef.
:take your time and enjoy the process "nothing GOOD in in a reef happens fast"
:get yourself a good test kit like Salifert master test kit is a good one also a good Hydrometer or refractometer. Hydrometers work but are less reliable and obviously less expensive. use a good salt mix like Reef Crystals there's a few good brands out there.
:have fun and be PATIENT in the long haul it pays off very well...
lol when someone says fish tanks are relaxing they must be talking about freshwater:)

WildWiley wrote:

OK just make sure you let the tank cycle I would recommend having not set up at least 3 mo before adding coral 6 mo if you can wait th5 long

Does it really take 3-6 months to cycle a tank. I just moved everything over to my 150 that i let cycle with just live rock and some seed water and sand and it took 4 weeks. I moved all my fish( some pretty sensative ones) and all my corals at the 4 week mark and lost not one thing. My ora pink birds nest colony did lose its color some but i think that was bc it went from being under older halides to brand new Led's. My advice is find some friends local who are reefers that you can go over and check out their setups, ask them questions, and go from there. You have to keep in the back of your mind anyone working in a pet store is just there to sell you something. Most of them may not even have a reef tank set up. So if you can hang out and talk with someone who has a mature/ thriving tank you can trust they know what they are saying.

No I'm say let the tank cycle add fish then wait a while till you add corals since he is starting fresh not seeding

Well, got the tank set up and I wanna kick it through the wall. The setup itself was pretty leangthy..I have my own RO water so I used that and made the salt water...problem right now is the live sand...you cant even see inside the tank because it got stirred up and wont settle for anything..IF it ever settles my plan was to buy about 2 small pieces of live rock and let it set for awhile that way. Then from there goto more live rock..let it set..then start looking into the corals and such..from what Im gathering my light is good for soft corals. and then let it set...and then start looking at fish..

I will admit this is frustrating..Im a pro and setting up freshwater tanks in no time and having it going and ready for fish in record time..here it seems I cant even get clear water hahaha...Think I may have to hit the reset button already if this isnt normal..

Sound like a plan?

Just give it tiime if it hasnt settled yet. You may even just need to kill the flow for a few days. It will settle. Mine would take a few days. Did you rinse the sand before adding it?

Ya I rinsed it..it finally settled. Put two small pieces of live rock in it, but the slightest little movement stirs it back up..thinking of removing the powerhead its so bad.

Did you get really fine sand. Mine gets stirred up sometimes depending how the powerheads are directed. So im trying to consolodate and take some out. I removed a k1 and a k2 yesterday in place for a Tunze 6101 i think. But the fine sand does get stirred up easier. I like the look of the white sand personally so to me its worth an occasional sand storm. once you get all your rock in it may not be so bad because the rock will absorb some of the flow and current.

Today I removed about half of the sand. Replaced it with a thicker, more course Argonite sand made of primarily crushed coral and shells. I think with this Ill go ahead and buy some more rock and just see how it turns out. Im willing to experiment with it since I havent put a lot of money into it yet. So taking it day by day..I think my salt content maybe to high. Any tips on reducing it othere than water change?

1st it sounds like your power head is too big for the tank, what size is it?
power heads should be pointed up towards the water surface.
crushed coral/shell is only good for holding detris aka decaying organic material.
what is your salinity? to lower it take water out of the tank and replace it with fresh water until your salinity is 1.023-25.

Thanks cwhip, first off the sand is like that without the powerhead even going...its just the built in filter on the back..the guy I boughtbit from had the power head blowing down right beside the filter intake. That's what I figured on lowering the salinity..ill do that and test the level..is that level u gave good for coral and fish?

sounds like very fine grain sand next time try Caribsea I have it in all my tanks with no issues and one of my tanks I'm running 5 powerheads 3 are MP40 es.
you can change the pump in the nano for a smaller one that will help I did that on my RedSea Max and got it all the way down to 9 times and hour turn over rate for the SeaHorses, yes that salinity is fine for fish,corals or what ever you want to keep.

Got the tank finally settled and cycling. got the salinity set also..so now its just the waiting game!

fono15200 wrote:

Got the tank finally settled and cycling. got the salinity set also..so now its just the waiting game!

Just remember, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank. Only bad things happen fast!

Good luck, once you go salt you never go back!

TheGodParticle wrote:

fono15200 wrote:

Got the tank finally settled and cycling. got the salinity set also..so now its just the waiting game!

Just remember, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank. Only bad things happen fast!

Good luck, once you go salt you never go back!

hey you stole my line!

So it seems a big algea bloom has happened in my tank..covering the sand mostly and some of the rock..this normal?

Diatom bloom its normal.

yea , diatoms , pics please ......