BASIC SET UP
Place the aquarium on its stand in a safe location away from direct sunlight, the televison or stereo.
Fill the bottom of the aquarium with the coral sand. You may have to rinse the sand first, as per the
directions on the bag.
Fill the aquarium with saltwater. Premixed water from our local store cost us around .80/gallon. You
can also mix your own using sea salt.
Arrange the decorations.
Set up the heater, biowheel, thermometer, airpump and airstones. Remember to let any electrical
cords "dip" down so that water won't drip into your electrical outlets.
Let everything run for a while. I waited two weeks, even though I had used live sand, before
introducing the first fish.
I introduced the chromis after about 2 weeks. He did well and my levels on ammonia, nitrates &
nitrites were great, so I added the clownfish and later the blue devil. The last animal I added was the
crab.
The aquarium is working well and isn't overstocked. We recently had a power outage. I did stir the
water occasionally, but the fish did not seem distressed. The chromis began to fade, however, and had
to be put down. We plan to replace him with another suitable fish.
CARE
Daily: Feeding fish, equipment and temperature check.
Every-other-day or even weekly: Wiping salt off hood and sides.
Weekly: Test (Test more often when you start the tank.) An ADULT OR OLDER TEENAGER has
to do this, as these tests are not very easy and are dangerous.
Bi-Weekly: 5 gallon water change and vacuum sand/coral.. (Most books say change 20% of your
tank's water, however many gallons that is.)
Monthly and More: Check and change bio-wheel filter (not the wheel). I also occasionally wash my
decorations- the fish probably would rather that I didn't, but I like the tank to be attractive. I also
periodically add new shells for the hermit crab to move into.