ECs first saltwater tank!!

[EC.]

Ok well you guys have helped me a LOT over he last 14 hours (lol).
So i have decided to make a "EC's first saltwater tank" thread.I will be taking pics every day or so for the next few weeks to show you how its coming along !! =]

lets start with day 1.

As you can see tank very murky just got it eveyrthing running well but its snowing



day 2:

You should see in the pic its clearing up and running well looks cool

[poppin_fresh]

Pics arent showing up for me, have you posted them yet?

[EC.]

problem fixed =]

[poppin_fresh]

much better! What size/type tank is that? Biocube?

Welcome to this crazy hobby!

[CarmieJo]

Hey, its looking better!

[joda]

clearing up already! how much rock is that>?

[EC.]

errm only 14 lbs of LR.. i need a lil more..

and its completely cleared now...

its 14 gallon biocube

[joda]

cool beans ... i love this part of setting up a tank! i'm jealous, I think I'll set up my spare nano cube

[PhotoJohn]

you may want to consider building a tube fuge TR episode 88, nitrates can be a problem in the nanos

[EC.]

ok photojohn

day 3 woke up to see this! completely clear. yay!

[EC.]

does anyone know how many crabs/snails/shrimp ill need for my cleaning crew and about how much they cost?

[joda]

i'm not a fan of rules of thumb generally, but people usually say 1 snail/hermit per gallon. but it really depends on the size of the critters. i like nerite snails. they're small and they eat continuously on the walls and rocks. i don't like hermits much so I've used way less than 1 per gallon in my DT. i like nassarius snails for the sand bed, but they come in lots of sizes, so you really have to alter that rule of thumb. no doubt, others have other opinions.

[EC.]

The tank is the same so there is no need of a pic is there?

i also will be getting my snails and crabs sunday so ill take some pics then and ill take some pics of the LFS i go to

[PhotoJohn]

In my 24g I have 5 hermits and 4 snails...i think. You can always feed your crabs with bits of silversides if there isnt enough food normally. I love sticking silversides in my SB and watching them come from all over the tank to feast in my 46g.

[Skurvey Dog]

Hello EC and to TR. The tank is looking good so far. You will need to wait till you finish your 1st initial cycle before adding your clean up crew. How long has the tank been set up? Just curious as I saw the date of 3/25/08 on one of your pics for start up.

[EC.]

tuesday im going to m lfs sunday there they will test the water to make sure it is done if its not they will tell me and i will have to wait

[lReef lKeeper]

it probably will not be done that fast. it usually takes weeks for a SW tank to properly cycle. i would wait at least 3 weeks, but 4 would be even better, to add anything. i would also have them test the water every couple of days to see where the cycle is.

i would recommend listening to podcast episode #2 ... that one should be all about the nitrogen cycle.

[EC.]

thing is im under a 6 week training program at my lfs and if they die i get my $ back

[EC.]

oh and if i dont go by what they say i cant get a refund so id rather play it safe =/

[joda]

6 week training program? that's interesting, what's that about?

[PhotoJohn]

you may get your money back but you are KILLING animals because you are not willing to be patient. In SW y