Do I miss anything to start

Marouette21 · 09/15/2017, 06:25 AM

Hello,
I’m newbie with saltwater tank. I will begin soon my nano tank (no place for bigger) and I want to know if I have all I need to begin. Mainly, I would like to have invertebrates and easy corals, maybe a fish or two for my little boy. There is my set up
- Fluval evo 13,5 tank
- Fluval PS2 MINI Protein Skimmer
- Jager 50 Watt Aquarium Heater (Eheim)
- API Saltwater Master Test Kit (pH, ammoniac, nitrite, nitrate)
- Thermometer
- Refractometer
For cleaning
- Mini vacuum
- Mag-Float Cleaning Magnet (Small)
Salt : Reef Crystals Sea Salt (Instant ocean)
Sand : CaribSea Ocean Direct Natural Live Sand (10 lbs)
For Christmas, I will ask for a Ro/DI. Till that, I found a place to buy water. I will buy around 15 lbs of life rocks to start it and make my cycle.
Do I miss anything for the beginning? What I would need to schedule to buy in the next weeks, monthes?
Thansk!

paulsz · 09/15/2017, 06:42 AM

will you be doing top offs manually? Also, I think you will need to add a powerhead for more circulation, especially if going to add corals.

Other than that I think you're good to go.

Marouette21 · 09/15/2017, 06:58 AM

What would be a good powerhead for this tank?

And sorry, I'm not sure I understand what is top offs... (My main language is french) It's when you make water change? If it's, I will do it manually.

mcgyvr · 09/15/2017, 07:10 AM

You will be fine with that you have on your list..

"Top off"..
Water in the tank is always evaporating. The salt does not evaporate so each day the salinity in the tank will get higher.. (more salt per gallon of water = higher salinity)..
So you need to "top off" the tank with fresh water (NOT saltwater) to keep the salinity the same. Some people use sensors and pumps to do this automatically (ATO = auto top off).. Others just manually add water to the tank to keep the water level the same..

And lets see how well google translate works..
L'eau dans le réservoir évolue toujours. Le sel ne s'évapore pas, chaque jour la salinité dans le réservoir ira plus haut ... (plus de sel par gallon d'eau = plus grande salinité).
Vous devez donc "compléter" le réservoir avec de l'eau douce (PAS d'eau salée) pour maintenir la salinité de la même manière. Certaines personnes utilisent des capteurs et des pompes pour le faire automatiquement (ATO = auto top off). D'autres ajoutent simplement de l'eau au réservoir pour maintenir le niveau de l'eau identique.

Marouette21 · 09/15/2017, 07:57 AM

Google translate make a good job

but I understand what you write in english

I have difficulty with some new expressions lol.

Like I dont have a lot of space to put my tank and all the stuff that needed, I will do all I can manually. One day maybe I will have my own house and all the space a want to make a big set up!!! Thanks for your help

PatW · 09/15/2017, 10:55 AM

API ammonia test kit often gives a .25 ppm reading at 0 ppm. Since ammonia is really toxic, that is not good. The Red Sea tests are good for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. But you can go with API. Many people do. You might get a large food safe bucket with a air stone to use as a quarantine tank.

paulsz · 09/15/2017, 08:53 PM

Wow, google translated that fairly well. I speak french as well and usually google will do an awful job on longer sentences. But i'm impressed

09/15/2017, 06:25 AM	#1
Marouette21 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Quebec city Posts: 43	Do I miss anything to start Hello, I’m newbie with saltwater tank. I will begin soon my nano tank (no place for bigger) and I want to know if I have all I need to begin. Mainly, I would like to have invertebrates and easy corals, maybe a fish or two for my little boy. There is my set up - Fluval evo 13,5 tank - Fluval PS2 MINI Protein Skimmer - Jager 50 Watt Aquarium Heater (Eheim) - API Saltwater Master Test Kit (pH, ammoniac, nitrite, nitrate) - Thermometer - Refractometer For cleaning - Mini vacuum - Mag-Float Cleaning Magnet (Small) Salt : Reef Crystals Sea Salt (Instant ocean) Sand : CaribSea Ocean Direct Natural Live Sand (10 lbs) For Christmas, I will ask for a Ro/DI. Till that, I found a place to buy water. I will buy around 15 lbs of life rocks to start it and make my cycle. Do I miss anything for the beginning? What I would need to schedule to buy in the next weeks, monthes? Thansk!

09/15/2017, 06:58 AM	#3
Marouette21 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Quebec city Posts: 43	powerhead What would be a good powerhead for this tank? And sorry, I'm not sure I understand what is top offs... (My main language is french) It's when you make water change? If it's, I will do it manually.

09/15/2017, 07:10 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	You will be fine with that you have on your list.. "Top off".. Water in the tank is always evaporating. The salt does not evaporate so each day the salinity in the tank will get higher.. (more salt per gallon of water = higher salinity).. So you need to "top off" the tank with fresh water (NOT saltwater) to keep the salinity the same. Some people use sensors and pumps to do this automatically (ATO = auto top off).. Others just manually add water to the tank to keep the water level the same.. And lets see how well google translate works.. L'eau dans le réservoir évolue toujours. Le sel ne s'évapore pas, chaque jour la salinité dans le réservoir ira plus haut ... (plus de sel par gallon d'eau = plus grande salinité). Vous devez donc "compléter" le réservoir avec de l'eau douce (PAS d'eau salée) pour maintenir la salinité de la même manière. Certaines personnes utilisent des capteurs et des pompes pour le faire automatiquement (ATO = auto top off). D'autres ajoutent simplement de l'eau au réservoir pour maintenir le niveau de l'eau identique. __________________ Who me?

09/15/2017, 06:42 AM	#2
paulsz Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 38	will you be doing top offs manually? Also, I think you will need to add a powerhead for more circulation, especially if going to add corals. Other than that I think you're good to go.

09/15/2017, 07:57 AM	#5
Marouette21 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Quebec city Posts: 43	Google translate make a good job but I understand what you write in english I have difficulty with some new expressions lol. Like I dont have a lot of space to put my tank and all the stuff that needed, I will do all I can manually. One day maybe I will have my own house and all the space a want to make a big set up!!! Thanks for your help

09/15/2017, 10:55 AM	#6
PatW Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 275	API ammonia test kit often gives a .25 ppm reading at 0 ppm. Since ammonia is really toxic, that is not good. The Red Sea tests are good for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. But you can go with API. Many people do. You might get a large food safe bucket with a air stone to use as a quarantine tank.

09/15/2017, 08:53 PM	#7
paulsz Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 38	Wow, google translated that fairly well. I speak french as well and usually google will do an awful job on longer sentences. But i'm impressed