# New Saltwater aquarium questions



## MrPerez (Oct 29, 2010)

I am new to the whole saltwater thing, i have a 56gal tank with 20+ lbs of live rock (Still buying), 50lbs of argonite sand, a sealife Pro 74 wet/dry system, a marineland 400 w/ bio wheels, Coralife light (Not enought for corals i need more lighting!) and salt levels are between 1.024/1.025 (Coral ready). about a month old being cycled, no fish as of yet.

I recently got a biotoms infestation, witch i was told i would probably get and i did, i got a cleaning crew in there to keep it under control, so far the snails and hermits have done a good job but i noticed this mournin that the tank is slightly foggy not by a lot, you really have to look to notice it. I think is from the biotoms detaching from the liverock.

My question is, i first used tap water and treated it, 4 weeks later its showing all the right signs of levels nitrates, nitrites, amonia ect.. should i go and buy R/O water and mix in some salt and make a water change and if so of how many gallons, or should i just get tap water treat it leave it for a day or two and mix some salt in it and perform my water change with that?

*c/p*


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## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

RO water is definately good, but if you have everything to treat your tap water and all your levels are correct using that, you could use the tap water. A lot of fish/pet stores will give you RO water for a small price or even free. At my LFS you just have to bring containers and they will give it to you for free. It just depends on the store though.


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## MrPerez (Oct 29, 2010)

I've actually picked up a R/O System New never used for $60 bucks today, so i am going to install it this weekend and start making my own R/O Water. I wish my local LFS gave R/O water for free lol, btw thanks for replying, It seems like they arent enough activity in this forum.


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## tike (Nov 10, 2008)

If you are aiming to keep corals, especially sps RO water definately should be used. As for the water change do 25% of your tank volume. I am assuming your infestation is diatoms. Let the clean up crew work their magic on them, diatoms are a natural part of the cycling process. Also, before you buy new lights you should decide on what type of corals you would like to keep....softies...lps...sps. The lighting demands are different for each group. You didn't mention if you have a protein skimmer, this is a VERY important piece of equipment if you're plan on keeping corals. HTH


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

You need to understand that this a Saltwater section of a much larger aquarium forum. We have several knowledgeable individuals but it may take a bit longer to get a specific response. I urge you to read the sticky's in this section. I think they may be of help. Ask all the questions you like and you will get answers but it may take a day or two. 

You are headed in the right direction. If you want a reef tank, I urge you to continue adding live rock and remove the bio material from your wet/dry (it's a nitrate factory). Go slowly and read, research and move slowly. Good luck!


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## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

Post some pics!!!


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