Need help,just started,

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hello out there,just got a boyu 150lt tank from wife for christmas.
i filled with sea water ,got three live rock,waited a few days and got two clown fish.
water temp is 25 ,its only been two weeks,live rock is going yellow and i can see white algea marks on floor.(oh please excuss my spelling and computer ability)
where to next.
 
welcometomasa Scott, ok you seem to have gotten out of the starting blocks too soon, the tank still needs to cycle.

What sand did you use?
What other flitration do you have?

Give this a read,Cycling Your Tank - Marine Aquariums of South Africa - wiki

Your tank will go through a cycle and you will still lots of algae etc, and unfortunately the fish shouldn't be in there yet
 
not yet

i put 150lt sea water in on the 27 dec,water level has not dropped yet and i was told to replace 20% of water every 2 weeks ,so i was looking at next week.
 
Hi Scott, as Kanga has said, bit keen to start off with, but we can help you to sort it out, don't worry you're not the first.
The tank -ok, do you have any powerheads to create flow? the sea water, if collected from an area away from harbours/sewer outfalls/esturies - also ok.
The live rock - assuming you purchased it from a decent shop in the first place - will need to go through the cycle, when you bought the rock it had to come out of water while you transported it, micro organisms will start to die off, so you need to allow time for the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to be consumed by the bacteria within the rock, this can take between 4-6weeks, during which time the levels of ammonia and nitrite are especially harmful to fish (and all inverts)
If you can take the fish back to the shop i think that would be the best start, then we can sort out the rest, sorry to have to tell you all the bad news, but lets sort this one out from now.
 
oh ,no

doggy pet shop;i used special gravel they supplied and two hand fulls of beach sand.
 
i put 150lt sea water in on the 27 dec,water level has not dropped yet and i was told to replace 20% of water every 2 weeks ,so i was looking at next week.

What temperature are you running? you should be around 26c this will lead to evaporation - this drop in water level must be topped up with pure water - known as R/O water (because you pump tap water through a reverse osmosis filter to get pure water) otherwise the salt level will increase - which will increase the alkalinity to unsafe levels
 
Did you test the SG on the NSW? there will be evaporation even if you can't see it this inturn will drive the SG up which will be harmfull to you livestock. Normal SG is around 1.025, you must topup your tank with RO water as adding sea water will just drive the SG up. I agree with Kanga your tank has to cycle first, which should take up to four weeks.
 
doggy pet shop;i used special gravel they supplied and two hand fulls of beach sand.

Ok where are you located first.

Like WeeMan says, if you can take the fish back until you system is ok then you can fetch them again.

When you say Doggy pet shop?

Was it beach sand from under the water level, preferably close to rocks?
 
Did you test the SG on the NSW? there will be evaporation even if you can't see it this inturn will drive the SG up which will be harmfull to you livestock. Normal SG is around 1.025, you must topup your tank with RO water as adding sea water will just drive the SG up. I agree with Kanga your tank has to cycle first, which should take up to four weeks.



SG = specific gravity* in our case the measurement used to determine the correct salinity, normally only a problem if you are using synthetic salt mix - not normally a problem if you are using natural sea water.
 
life saver

your a life saver,i took sea water from beach away from habour and river,i will take nemo back to dodge shop before my daughter see's him end up like his mother.
my tank looks like one of these juppy things it has every thing built in but i added another flow pump.my tank is called a boyu it took about 150lt, it has built in filters and lighting is wicked looking.
i bought a red sea test kit( what should i be testing for most)the shop said i should top up with this purified water they gave me,and every two weeks replace 20 percent of water with sea water.i fish of a jet ski at aliwal shoal once a week so i can get fresh reef water.





Hi Scott, as Kanga has said, bit keen to start off with, but we can help you to sort it out, don't worry you're not the first.
The tank -ok, do you have any powerheads to create flow? the sea water, if collected from an area away from harbours/sewer outfalls/esturies - also ok.
The live rock - assuming you purchased it from a decent shop in the first place - will need to go through the cycle, when you bought the rock it had to come out of water while you transported it, micro organisms will start to die off, so you need to allow time for the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate to be consumed by the bacteria within the rock, this can take between 4-6weeks, during which time the levels of ammonia and nitrite are especially harmful to fish (and all inverts)
If you can take the fish back to the shop i think that would be the best start, then we can sort out the rest, sorry to have to tell you all the bad news, but lets sort this one out from now.
 
no

ill take fish back today,i stay in hillcrest,plantations,the sand (two handfulls was from just uner the water at beach.
Ok where are you located first.

Like WeeMan says, if you can take the fish back until you system is ok then you can fetch them again.

When you say Doggy pet shop?

Was it beach sand from under the water level, preferably close to rocks?
 
Ok thats a good step, once you have taken the clown fish back to the shop, we can help you build a system that you will be happy with and will enjoy instead of watching a procession of fish flushed down your toilet.
 
your a life saver,i took sea water from beach away from habour and river,i will take nemo back to dodge shop before my daughter see's him end up like his mother.
my tank looks like one of these juppy things it has every thing built in but i added another flow pump.my tank is called a boyu it took about 150lt, it has built in filters and lighting is wicked looking.
i bought a red sea test kit( what should i be testing for most)the shop said i should top up with this purified water they gave me,and every two weeks replace 20 percent of water with sea water.i fish of a jet ski at aliwal shoal once a week so i can get fresh reef water.


Sorry but we are going to burst a few bubbles, although the boyu's are nice looking they are effectively Fresh Water set ups, what have you got as filter media in the drip tray? That said it can be made to work.

OK the purified water is R/O (reverse Osmosis water) that as MarineMagic said is to to the water that evaporates up without affecting salinity

Topping Up your tank

Due to evaporation marine tank require topping up with Reverse Osmosis(R/O)water. As evaporation takes place salinity in the aquarium rises as only moisture is lost and no minerals thus topping-up is done with pure water. This can be done Manually on a daily basis, or via an Auto top up unit designed for the purpose.


But dont lose heart we will sort it out :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
these things happen

like i said my wife went and bought it a as a supprise for me,but hey got to start some where and like all boys toys im sure i will go bigger some day.the pet shop crest pets in hillcrest told her it was the state of the art marine tank(rolls royce).
also said i should put nemo in on the second day.
i love the sea ,spent my life fishing africa,so i no ill love the tank life,can't stop just staring at the tank>
so i take nemo and dad out,top up with r/o water.the next week go out to sea get
20 lt sea water and replace.what test must i do .


Sorry but we are going to burst a few bubbles, although the boyu's are nice looking they are effectively Fresh Water set ups, what have you got as filter media in the drip tray? That said it can be made to work.

OK the purified water is R/O (reverse Osmosis water) that as MarineMagic said is to to the water that evaporates up without affecting salinity

Topping Up your tank

Due to evaporation marine tank require topping up with Reverse Osmosis(R/O)water. As evaporation takes place salinity in the aquarium rises as only moisture is lost and no minerals thus topping-up is done with pure water. This can be done Manually on a daily basis, or via an Auto top up unit designed for the purpose.


But dont lose heart we will sort it out :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
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like i said my wife went and bought it a as a supprise for me,but hey got to start some where and like all boys toys im sure i will go bigger some day.the pet shop crest pets in hillcrest told her it was the state of the art marine tank(rolls royce).
also said i should put nemo in on the second day.
i love the sea ,spent my life fishing africa,so i no ill love the tank life,can't stop just staring at the tank>
so i take nemo and dad out,top up with r/o water.the next week go out to sea get
20 lt sea water and replace.what test must i do .

As long as you dont get disheartened now, you will be fine:thumbup::thumbup:

Ok you will need more live rock

yes keep topping up with R/O, and change 20 litres every 2 weeks for now

Look at investing in a hang on back skimmer

use your drip tray for carbon, phosphae media, and filter floss once in a while but replace it every few days.
 
Right - good start (well second start anyway):)

Once you have filled the tank with sea water - where you collect it from sounds good - let it get to 26-28c and then leave it.
The live rock, as you now know, needs to cycle (how many kgs of rock did you get?) this can take several weeks as previously explained. You will need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate - hopefully with your nsw (natural sea water) these should stay very low, although you may still see a peek in ammonia caused by the die off.

In the mean time, you will need;- a skimmer and powerheads.

The skimmer (also called a protein skimmer) is a filter that removes protein particles (fish poo and un eaten food) from the water column - for it to work effectively you will need a flow (current) in your tank to keep all the rap moving in the water column by using powerheads (small pumps) placed around your tank (two "small" rather than one "big" is better)

Also drag out the gravel from your tank and replace with sand about 2-3cm's deep - collect from as far out as you can from low tide, or if poss dive down and get some (much less chance of cigarette ends or dog shit etc)


then just test and wait.:)
 
Scott just bear in mind with all the bad news we threw in your lap today, the good news is this, when its running right its going to be an awesome showpiece and give you many many hours of great pleasure:thumbup:
 
drip tray

dont think i see one of those on my tank.it has a skimmer then there is a chamber with lots of balls and then a chamber with the pump.and two water flows
As long as you dont get disheartened now, you will be fine:thumbup::thumbup:

Ok you will need more live rock

yes keep topping up with R/O, and change 20 litres every 2 weeks for now

Look at investing in a hang on back skimmer

use your drip tray for carbon, phosphae media, and filter floss once in a while but replace it every few days.
 
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