New to hobby

[rbond76]

I have a 55 gallon tank that I set up 17 days ago.  I have 3 Damsels and a 14 lb live rock.  I am kind of stuck as to what to do next.  I tested the water last night and the reading were.... Ammonia .5  Nitrite 2  Nitrate 20  and Ph is 8.4.  The rock as been curing in the tank for about 13 days and is almost done I believe.  I live in Hawaii and plan to go get live sand from the beach. 

Any advice would be helpful

[KYLE.801]

Welcome!  You've come to the right place!  Does your tank have any sand right now?  I feel silly asking but you did not mention it.. Did you get the rock from the ocean? (just curious).  A word of advice from someone still pretty new to the hobby is let your tank cycle and beeee very patient(you will hear that a lot in this hobby) before you do anything else.   

[Bergy]

hey rbond...

first and foremost, where in hawaii are you... I am planning on moving BACK to oahu... (haleiwa)

Im guessing it will be about 6 months before i can move back...

I also want to know what it is like to keep an aquarium in hi.... are there any local fish stores???

As to your tank... your test results are indicating your tank is still cycling.. this means your tank can not sustain fish or critters yet...  the ammonnia is toxic and will harm the fish...

I suggest getting some water an ddo a water change every other day... which will slow down the cycle process but keep your fish alive...


Let us know about your system... what type of filters and lights do you have...



and i am serious.. i would love to know where you live, and who knows, maybe you know some of my friends???


ttyl

bill

[pinkorchid]

Hi and welcome to the forum :)
Good luck with your tank. I am also new to the hobby (this past fall). Post some pics if you get a chance  ;D

[Learner]

Hello rbond76,

Welcome to the ocean  ;D. You will get excellent advice and support from the peep's here, the best I've had, as a relative newbie too,(I set up in June '09)

is to be patient, and all will be well.

Sand from a beach nearby.......heaven 8)

Pic's please ;D

[Bergy]

the area i am looking at, is actually the area i grew up on, and it literally is less then a 100 feet from the beach... with nothign between me and it, other then road/street...

I plan on setting up a tank if, the place includes electricity... hehehehehe

if not, i will just walk across the road and swim in myBIGocean

[Just_Greg]

cool...we can visit you and then we can all go snorkeling in Shark's Cove!

[Bergy]

shark's cove is ok, it is instant 30ft deep water, but actually, there are a couple other much nicer areas, and i have heard they have 'set them aside' so no harvesting

hehehe
\

[Just_Greg]

true, but once they set things aside, they tend to turn into Hanauma Bay type places...way to crowded and touristy.  i didn't mind the depth at SC tho, and there are plenty of rocks to explore there...like mini-drop-offs.

[rbond76]

Sorry---been busy I will answer questions in a little bit......stay tuned lol

[Bergy]

oh, no rush, bra'

we jus' reminissin'


yea, i was told that a couple of airlines have posted stories in thier in air magazines which are contirbuting to some serious traffic on no' sho'

which is / was bad to begin with, but now, they get dozens of busses every day, which turns a 10 minute drive into a 2 hour drive...

not good...

but, I will have to see it for myself as thier idea of bad traffic is not the LA version of bad traffic

[rbond76]

Does your tank have any sand right now? YES ADDED TODAY FROM THE OCEAN..ABOUT 2 INCHES DEEP
Did you get the rock from the ocean? THE LIVE ROCK CAME FROM MOLOKAI (HAWAII) YES FROM THE OCEAN
where in hawaii are you? I LIVE ON SCHOFIELD BARRACKS (ARMY) NEAR WAHIAWA
I also want to know what it is like to keep an aquarium in hi.... are there any local fish stores???
THERE ARE LOCAL FISH STORES...MOST WILL SPECIAL ORDER FISH FOR YOU IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THEM IN STOCK...
Let us know about your system... what type of filters and lights do you have...
I BOUGHT A STARTER 55 gal SYSTEM, CAME WITH 2 HOODS WITH FLOURESANT LIGHTS AND A WHISPER FILTER THAT USES THE BIO BAG SYSTEM..IT IS A DOUBLE, SO 2 FILTERS AT A TIME.  I PLAN ON GETTING A PROTEIN SKIMMER AND ANOTHER POWER HEAD NEXT FRIDAY.  CURRENTLY I HAVE ONE POWER HEAD THAT PUTS OUT 400 GPH, IM GOING TO PUT THE OTHER ONE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF TANK.
I did a water test this morning before I added the sand (more on the sand in a sec) and the results were....AMMONIA was at 0, NITRITE was at 1, and NITRATE was at 20.  So I guess it is doing what it is supposed to do....ZERO AMMONIA YAY!! ;D  My wife and I went to the North Shore at 8am this morning to get sand, we went down to just after where the water was coming up on the beach and filled a 5 gal bucket up..put a little ocean water in it to keep stuff fresh.  
Ok that is it for now....pics are being posted.

[rbond76]

[rbond76]

[rbond76]