Aquatics Anonymous

Would you like to react to this message? Create an account in a few clicks or log in to continue.
Aquatics Anonymous

The place fish-aholics come to feed their addiction!


4 posters

    New to Saltwater

    avatar
    smicho2
    private
    private


    Posts : 3
    Points : 5
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-03-29

    New to Saltwater Empty New to Saltwater

    Post by smicho2 Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:38 pm

    Hi all,

    I am just starting my first salt tank and I have been looking around and trying to find ideas. I am a member of USAfishbox and CajunGator told me LordRaptor1 is the man to talk to so here I am. I have a 55-60 (not to sure) flat back hex tank that I am planning on using for my salt setup. The tank has a internal filter that is built in (i had never seen one like it but I got it from a friend for cheap). I bought some Tropic Marin salt and about 40 pounds of live sand. I mixed the salt with tap water (I figured I could switch to RO after I do a water change when I add live rock) and added the sand. The tank has been sitting for about 4 weeks like this. I added a 1200 lph power head to add some more movement and I bought a coralife t5 HO light. Its a 36" with one actinic and one daylight. I just ordered some live rock from my local fish store and it's supposed to be from Walt Smith (idk if thats a good name or not). I am concerned about ordering the rock because I read that some of the living material dies during shipping but it was cheaper and I am sort of on a budget. The rock is supposed to come in on Thursday so we'll see how that goes. Any advice on cleaning the rock/removing possibly dead material? I'll post some pictures so you guys can see what I'm working with.

    Thanks,

    Shane



    https://s880.photobucket.com/albums/ac1/smicho2/
    avatar
    fish guy
    corporal
    corporal


    Posts : 160
    Points : 182
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-02-19
    Age : 70
    Location : Houston Texas

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by fish guy Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:48 pm

    cycle the the tank before you start adding to many fish. Cycle with mollies or puffers. When the AQ. grows algae you are almost there. Live rock is shipped by boat from islands. Rinse rock and do a good job looking for bristle worms. You need a protien skimmer. You won't find much on the rock. The rock eill help cycle the Aq.
    turbovr3six
    turbovr3six
    private
    private


    Posts : 28
    Points : 36
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-03-02
    Location : PHX AZ

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by turbovr3six Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:45 am

    This is a very broad question... do you want a fish only tank or a reef? if a reef what kind of corals do you want to keep? Buying LR local is highway robbery if you ask me.. get some from some locals and ask what pests they have. Tap water in a reef tank is a HUGE No No.. did you test the TDS of the tap water? if its anything over Zero, i wouldnt use it... a Protien skimmer would be on my top list of stuff to get asap. if this is going to be a fish only tank then you will be good with your current light set-up.. if you want corals beyond Zenia and mushrooms, then id upgrade the lighting. Honestly i could type forever about what each system requires but its just way too much... Can you give specifics on what your plans are for this tank? HTH

    -Justin
    lordraptor1
    lordraptor1
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 486
    Points : 755
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-02-12
    Age : 49
    Location : ardmore oklahoma

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by lordraptor1 Wed Apr 07, 2010 1:34 pm

    my net is down right now however i am trying to use these slow library pc's anyway. ok as far as tap water goes if you must use tap water then use prime, i have a reef tank and i use prime with tap water, although i prefer rodi water i am stuck with tap water until i can get new filters. live rock is best got from individuals instead of shops because shops are way overpriced. ok with that said the tank you describe sounds like it is a DAS tank. make sure you seed your tank and go slow with addign inhabitants. when seeding put in your water substrate, some live rock, and use stability to help get it going, also you can use mollies as mentioned above or if you plan a reef tank where small fish wont be eaten you could even use a mated pair of clownfish. i will help you with information but bear with me as i am currently using library pc's till i get my net back up.
    avatar
    smicho2
    private
    private


    Posts : 3
    Points : 5
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-03-29

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by smicho2 Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:14 pm

    Yeah from what I have found the tank is a DAS eccolux tank. I added caribsea live sand and water about month ago. I used tropic Marin salt to mix my water. The sg is 1.024 and the temp is right around 78. I have a coralife t5 ho light with 2 bulbs. Last week I bought a coralife 65 protein skimmer and I got my live rock on thursday. I washed the live rock in a bucket with salt water before adding it too my tank. I have been keeping the light on for about 12 hours to try and get the rock to start growing good. I had my water tested on Friday and they said ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, were good. Calcium was around 320 so I got some calcium to add. I figured getting the exact calcium levelvwadnt that important because I am curing the rock right now. I haven't checked levels since Friday but I am going to try and get it tested again this afternoon. As far as livestock, I thought just fish at first but I am now thinking I would like to add some corals. I have been asking around for opinions on good beginner corals and I was thinking of just getting mushrooms. Any other options that would be ok under t5s? Like I said I have 2 I think 39 watt bulbs, on actinic and one clear. I am considering adding a second t5 fixture but because of the odd shape of my tank I was going to try to use a 24" fixture. As far as filtration, the tank has this strange internal filter box. It looks like an overflow box bit there are no holes. It has a filter sock with a power head sitting inside that draws the water through it. I read that if you have enough rock the filtration isn't as high of a priority. Any thoughts? My friend has the tank before me and he had it running for several months with (guessing on all measurements) a 5 inch dogface puffer, 4 inch stars and stripes puffer, 3.5 inch other puffer, 1 damsel, and about a 6-7 inch snow flake eel. He had a much smaller skimmer than the one I bought and they fish were fine. He also only had about a 5 pond piece of live rock. I just got about 52 pounds to start off with. This is all new to me so any help is appreciated. Any recommendations on test kits? I am currently bring it to the fish store because they do it for free. I have also been wondering about what water addatives I should use. I got the calcium because I was told my levels were low, but I know some people say add essential elements and that coralvite stuff. I figured it would be best to wait to put too much until after I finish cycling and do a water change. Thanks again.
    lordraptor1
    lordraptor1
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 486
    Points : 755
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-02-12
    Age : 49
    Location : ardmore oklahoma

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by lordraptor1 Fri Apr 09, 2010 3:18 pm

    i use seachem fuel instead of coralvite,
    avatar
    smicho2
    private
    private


    Posts : 3
    Points : 5
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-03-29

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by smicho2 Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:24 pm

    Any recommendations on how much water turnover I should have? I have one pump powering my internal filter that has about 270 gph output and a small powerhead that has about 317 gph output. I was considering buying one of the hydor koralia evolution 1050 gph powerheads. How much circulation should be required for a 55 gallon aquarium?
    lordraptor1
    lordraptor1
    Admin
    Admin


    Posts : 486
    Points : 755
    Reputation : 0
    Join date : 2010-02-12
    Age : 49
    Location : ardmore oklahoma

    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by lordraptor1 Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:55 pm

    well i cant be certain with power filter or cannisters, i myself use a refugium setup myself. on my 90 i use a mag 7 return pump with a head height of 5 feet and on my 110 i have 2 mag 8's or 8.5's with a head height of 5 feet. giving by mu guestimate 5 to 7 times turnover from my return and i use power heads in the tank for more flow.

    Sponsored content


    New to Saltwater Empty Re: New to Saltwater

    Post by Sponsored content


      Current date/time is Thu Mar 28, 2024 4:58 am