Total NOOB With Questions

[Pier777]

Hello,

So as the title says, I'm very new to anything aquarium-based. I had a Betta in a 5G tank 20 years ago, that's it.

RIP Eeyore

At any rate, I have a 3 gallon tank with aragonite sand for the last 3 weeks. However, just yesterday I learned (from this site) that "Brackish Salt" is not a good way to up the salinity. So I removed most of the water (say about 90-95% water change) with the proper water and marine salt. SG is about 1.011 or 1.012.

I have ordered snails, a macroalgae, and a mini mystery algae ball. I did not order the shrimp yet since the tank is not established yet. So it should come in mid-week next week?

I have 2 questions, though:

1) Will the snails be ok? I see some stuff floating on the water's surface, I'm assuming that's some sort of bacteria from the leftover water I had when doing the water change. The tank is not established, so can the snails survive?

2) I keep on reading about putting in calcium carbonate, etc. into the water. But I also heard that argonite sand IS calcium carbonate. Is this enough? Would I need to add anything else to the tank?

Any help would be appreciated! Any extra tips also would be great .

Take care!

[MrsT_2]

Hello,

So as the title says, I'm very new to anything aquarium-based. I had a Betta in a 5G tank 20 years ago, that's it.

RIP Eeyore

At any rate, I have a 3 gallon tank with aragonite sand for the last 3 weeks. However, just yesterday I learned (from this site) that "Brackish Salt" is not a good way to up the salinity. So I removed most of the water (say about 90-95% water change) with the proper water and marine salt. SG is about 1.011 or 1.012.

I have ordered snails, a macroalgae, and a mini mystery algae ball. I did not order the shrimp yet since the tank is not established yet. So it should come in mid-week next week?

I have 2 questions, though:

1) Will the snails be ok? I see some stuff floating on the water's surface, I'm assuming that's some sort of bacteria from the leftover water I had when doing the water change. The tank is not established, so can the snails survive?

2) I keep on reading about putting in calcium carbonate, etc. into the water. But I also heard that argonite sand IS calcium carbonate. Is this enough? Would I need to add anything else to the tank?

Any help would be appreciated! Any extra tips also would be great .

Take care!

Hello dear,
I rarely have time to comment here but since I'm here I will answer your question.

1) the snail will be fine, just pour the whole package with the water that came with it, into a temporary container.

2) I never use sand so I'm not fimiliar with it. I use one piece of coral rock and recently added a snail shell, the rest were lava rocks plus an ornament sea fan tied onto rock with sewing thread.

As for sea salt, they contain minerals. I used Red Sea Salt mix with RO.
Your did 95% water change? Might as well start all over fresh.
For your easier mixture, try ratio 100g mix to 4L RO. Adjust to your requirement, this ratio will bring about the range 1.008 to 1.015. Make sure to add an air pump to dilute the salt for a day or 2.
The shrimp can wait until there are visible growth of algae first. Test with the snail if you want to.

You can also use the same tank water pour in small jar, add in any items from your tank with tiny bits of spirullina powder and cover the jar. Bring it outdoor and leave it there for few weeks. With the help of sunlight, algae will grow.

Good luck ya