Couple of questions

[watermydoing]

1) Is it a bad idea to use bubbles in new saltwater tank?

2) My salintiy is 1.022, I want it around 1.024.
Can I raise it with top offs? If Im doing a 2 gallon top off and the salinity of those 2 gal is 1.024 will that work over lets say a week or two?

3) New tank is 2 weeks old, have live sand and a mixture of Live and base rock, roughly 100lbs total. Readings have been 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and 10 Nitrate since day 3 of set up. My sand is starting to turn a little brown on top, but I'm not sure if its just the stuff blowing off the LR from the pump. I have 3 Damsels in there, but I still want to add more rock to fill more of the tank up. Can I add dry rock cause it's a lot cheaper? Asking because I'm afraid to put any livestock in before Im done adding rock. Sorry for rambling.

[masonicman]

(1) bubbles increases salt creep.
(2) To raise your salinity for .022 to .024 would be determine by the size of your tank. 2 gallons of top of water might be too much or not enough. When your water evaporates the salt does not. You should raise your salinity when doing a water changes.
(3) Two weeks?? Did your tank cycle yet? The brown stuff is probably diatoms. What size tank again would determine if you need to add more live rock. You might need to slow down a bit.

[watermydoing]

TAnk is 72 gall bow.
Have yet to see an ammonia or nitrite spike.
So ditch the bubbles?

[IridescentLily]

You're cycling with 3 Damsels? :hmm2:

[sponger0]

No need for bubbles, powerheads will create circulation and surface agitation.

If your salinity is at 1.022 you definately need to bring it up...but slowly. Hopefully you have a refractometer and not a hydrometer. Best way to do it is have an ato and instead of using fresh RO water, use saltwater. You are going to need to monitor it closely. And measure it about every hour. So if you can be home to watch it and test the water every hour, I wouldnt recommend it.

The other way you can do it is remove 1-2 gallons and add freshly mixed salt water and replace the amount you took out. Wait at least an hour. Test your salinity. Repeat until you reach your desired salinity.

Your tank is 2 weeks old and you have fish in it? Why?? Im assuming the fish store told you to do that.

100 lbs of live rock is fine.

Also take your time....nothing good happens fast

And finally, get a QT.

[watermydoing]

Yes, thats what lfs told me. So do u think i add more dry rock till i get desirable amount?

As far as salinity, u mentioned taking out 2 gals and replacing it, am i replacing the 2 gals and adding another 2 gallons? Or just replacing the 2 gallons with a higher salinity like .024? And keep testing it?

[IridescentLily]

Not trying to give you a hard time, but i HATE when lfs tell people to do that.
It's the lfs i wish i could give a hard time to.
You don't need any fish to cycle.
And damsels are so agressive, especially THREE damsels, that you are going to have a hard time putting any other fish into the tank later. Because they'll pick on it incessantly. I hope your planning on only having the damsels in your tank.
I'm sorry your lfs told you to do that.

[watermydoing]

I know, actually my plan was to remove them prior to adding anything else.

[sponger0]

Yes, thats what lfs told me. So do u think i add more dry rock till i get desirable amount?

As far as salinity, u mentioned taking out 2 gals and replacing it, am i replacing the 2 gals and adding another 2 gallons? Or just replacing the 2 gallons with a higher salinity like .024? And keep testing it?

Ugh local fish stores....dont listen to them anymore. Just come here on Reef Central.

Yes replace the same amount of water you took out. I would use water that has the desired salinity. But be mindful of how much it is raising it. You dont wanna raise it too much too quickly, which is why an ATO would be better. It would happen slowly. I just had to raise mine a put and used my ATO. My salinity was 1.024 but wanted it .025 or 26. It only took 2 hours with my ato but I knew it was a slow increase.

[sponger0]

You honestly have plenty of live rock. Remember you still have to clean the glass from time to time. So you dont want having rock blocking the sides from being cleaned

[steelwrap]

I know, actually my plan was to remove them prior to adding anything else.

I'd get them out before You add any more rock. It is hard to remove fish without moveing or removing rock.

[sponger0]

I'd get them out before You add any more rock. It is hard to remove fish without moveing or removing rock.

Especially damsels

[watermydoing]

Thanks sooo much all.
Here is my current Rock setup.
It feels so empty.
Was hoping to build a little higher?

[sponger0]

Ummmm you sure thats 100 lbs of rock???

[watermydoing]

LOL, its very close. Doesnt it seem so empty and boring?
Can't I just toss some dry rock in there to fill it up a bit?

[sponger0]

That looks nothing close to 100 lbs

[watermydoing]

As far as the Brown stuff on my sand, Diatoms?
Is it bad? Its seems to grow everyday and appears a bit furry or hairy?

[sponger0]

As far as the Brown stuff on my sand, Diatoms?
Is it bad? Its seems to grow everyday and appears a bit furry or hairy?

It happens to every tank. No worries. It will come and go. Youll also have other algae blooms.

[lmsmith]

Take the damsels out of the tank and take them back to you LFS. It's not fair to cycle a tank with fish, and they'll create MAJOR issues later on.

In terms of your aquascape, have a look at this thread on minimalist aquascaping (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1658490&highlight=minimalist). You may not be interested in the minimalist look, but the thread has lots of ideas and discussion about aquascaping to promote high flow and also about how to build tall, it might help inspire you. I know it did me!