New aquarium, have some questions.

Hi my name is Cody, I'm 17, and I finally have my own saltwater aquarium! I have some questions though if anyone could help...

First off, today is the second day since I set everything up. The water is still pretty foggy, which I know is normal, but I'm curious how long that'll take to clear up all the way.
Second, the guy at the local store here in Denver (metro) that I go to has helped a lot and I've got a lot of the basics down. He told me obvioulsy to test my water for ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite, bit he didn't give me the little kit for that. Is that cause he forgot or cause I can do it myself?
I have more, but I can't remember them soo it's lemme know anything I need to know for this hobby because he might have not told me everything yet! Thanks guys.

By the way, it's a Nuvo Micro 38. I have a heater set at 79F and I'm planning on doing a reef.

 

A test kit is something you need to acquire on your own. For a newbie such as yourself I recommend the API ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and PH test kits. They're inexpensive and reliable enough for what you'll be needing for now. Also easy to use

When comparing the color of your results with that of the included color charts, I highly recommend you do so using sunlight or a white florescent light. Do not compare them under incandescent lighting as this will add a yellow tint to the color.

If you would, please post telling us in detail about your setup. Lights, filtration, flow and water source. Are you using live rock? Do you plan on using a protein skimmer? Whatever you do, don't buy anything unless you ask here first. Most of us are not here to sell you something you don't need. Most important is BE PATIENT! Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Research, research and research

Hope this helps. Remember when in doubt come here first and ask as many questions as you need too Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of saltwater!

 

Thank you that's what I thought, just making sure. and the water clarity, will it clear up in the next couple days??

 

Yup when I set up my Tank it took almost 3 days for everything to settle, then you get to wait for it to cycle!! That's the hardest part

 

Is should clear up. What kind of substrate did you use? Did you rinse it? Are you using any type of flow, i.e. power heads, returns?

 

I got one bag of alive sand and a bag of dry. Different sizes and I spent like 2 days cleaning the dry sand. I just have the filtration system on to cycle the water.