Brand spanking newbie. Have some questions.

If you just made your "live rock" and are curing it in the tank, this could be very bad. Unless it's been in there more than a month, expect your pH to rise even more before it starts to come down--which it won't do on its own. You'll have to accomplish that through water changes.

Ideally, you should "cure" homemade LR in a tub, with aeration and water movement, changing the water at least every week, until the pH is naturally about 8.3 or so. Cement has a pretty basic (alkaline) composition--so newly made LR sitting a contained body of water will raise the pH drastically.

 

I made too much. If I were to use what I have it would take up much of the tank. So I've been breaking off chunks that I can use to stack and form shelfs and caves, etc. I could tell you poundage later.

 

No. No. It's in a large tupperware container right now. I have been changing water more often now. All in all it's been in the water for about 2 months now.

 

Whew! Good.

 

Iheaps there are lots and lots of smart people on here.

Ive made some of the same mistakes youve made. So dont be discouraged or give up at it.

If all of this was super easy and mistake free... Everybody would have a saltwater tank in their house.

So feel privelaged to partake in a beautiful thing your setting up.

 

I would start with a FOWLR or a FO so you know what your getting yourself into. Reefs are the hardest and most time consuming of the saltwater aquariums to take care of.

I'd also recommend these 2 books to read before starting: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Once you think you're ready for a reef aquarium I would read at least the first of a 3 Volume Book Series for reef aquariums called The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates by Julian Sprung and J. Charles Delbeek. The 3 Volume series carry a hefty price tag but I believe that they are worth every penny. These books have saved me from making many mistakes and unnecessary livestock deaths.

Good luck and make sure to post a thread of your aquarium adventure with tons of pics!

 

I've made every single one you've listed.

The important thing is--I've made each one only once.

 

good advice to our fellow newbie

 

I wouldn't call anything you've done as a "mistake". You just took the scenic route, as the saying goes. Everything you've done will still churn out a saltwater aquarium, you've just bypassed some of the easier ways to do it.

Keep us posted on how it's coming along. It's be wise to weigh the rock as you put it in the tank, so you'll know exactly how much you have. For a FOWLR setup, you're looking at about 1 to 1.5 pounds per gallon for good filtration. For a reef, 1.5 pounds to 2. Or more. Depending on how much you want. You should be perfectly fine with about 100 lbs or so, and then you can always add more rock later on.

 

Lots of good advice from all posters here. I agree with reefsparky - you're allowed to make every mistake ONCE. I'm working on it.

As far as starting with a FOWLR or FO, I tried that, but a few weeks in was dying to stick a coral in my tank, and so ended up having to upgrade lights, flow, and all else. I think if you're getting into sw because there's some interest in coral, just go ahead and plan for the whole kit/kaboodle.

I've got a 75 gal that I started 19 months ago as my first ever sw tank (actually first ever tank). If there's one thing I can say - GET RO/DI! I spent the first 13 months fighting algae, and since changing from tap to RO/DI and doing a few other clean-up things, I finally have a tank that I'm proud to show.

Great advice on the books above too - you can't spend too much time reading...

good luck, and post some pics for us