new 72 gal bowfront

[Bill G]

hello new here and to saltwater. i went to the lfs and get a bug that i wanted to have a saltwater aquarium so i go home and research online and get confused, go back to store and get more confused, research more and a light comes on so i go back to said store and now wonder if i am in over my head. i purchased a 72 gal bowfront fluval 405 canister filter 80 lbs of live sand about 55lbs of live rock(i know this is not really enough but budget wouldnot allow more) nitrifying bacteria, amquelo dechlorinater t-5 series 10000 k daylight and true acting blue t-5 flourescent light.

i have questions maybe someone could enlighten me

1.is not haveing enough liverock a really big deal or just not ideal can i add anything later without going through cycling liverock

2. how long before i will notice a rise in amonia from die off of live rock and sand

3. at this point is there anything i should be doing other than research and waiting

water temp 78 f - unchanged
salinity/S.G 37/1.027 36/1.026
PH 7.8 - unchanged
ammonia 1.0, 1.0, .75, .50, 0,0
nitrites 1.0 ,1.0, 1.5 ,between 2and5 ,1,1
nitrates between 0 and 5, 0, 5, 10, 10, 20

my original plan was a reef tank and the salesman at the store told me i could grow into it with what i have to start with. i am beginning to doubt the ability to keep any coral at all with the light that i have and am wondering about how much structure should be in the tank

thanks for any help and this is a great site BTW

----Bill

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

I'll try to answer your questions.
1. You should be OK for the first few months. However, as your fish stock increases, you may want to add more live rock. To add more live rock, you'll need to cure the new rock outside the tank in a bucket or rubbermaid container.

2. It's usually a day or two after you add the live rock. It could be a few days longer than that.

3. I don't think there's anything other than lowering your salinity a little and maybe adding a powerhead or two.

Water: Your salinity is a little high. You should aim for 1.025 to 1.026. You'll need to top off with fresh water every few days to keep the salinity stable.

Water movement: I didn't see a mention of powerheads in your tank. They're essential for oxygenation and the good health of the system. You'll need to make sure you clean the Fluval's media weekly, or even more often, to make sure you're not encouraging nitrates in the system.

 

[Bill G]

no powerhead he said they were not necessary at this point was he wrong?
i didnt mention those readings are from this past week (daily)
at what point will i add cleanup crew and or fish and what will i need to do to keep corals and how long (roughly) before i could consider them

 

[Lotus]

I'd say he's wrong about the powerheads. Water flow is one of the most important factors in keeping a saltwater tank healthy. It increases oxygenation, which keeps pH stable and fish healthy. It helps remove debris from live rock. It helps the bacteria on the live rock remove ammonia/nitrites from the water column. I believe there's a sticky at the top of this forum about flow that might help with more information.

The readings seem about on track. I wasn't sure what they represented
Once ammonia and nitrites are at zero consistently for about a week, it's safe to add your cleanup crew.

For corals, you'll need a stable tank (no ammonia or nitrites; low nitrates < 10ppm). I'm not sure how many bulbs you have in the fixture, or what kind/brand of fixture you have, but it sounds like you'll need to upgrade before you can get corals. Different corals have different lighting needs. It might be a good idea to start reading up about them once you've got fish in the tank, and then work out from there what kind of corals you want (and from there, what kind of lighting you'll need). Lighting gets expensive. It certainly wouldn't be unusual to spend $500 or more on lighting. So, it's important to know what you need/want before you make an expensive mistake.

 

[Bill G]

another question

Is there anything i can add as far as artificial structure or rock that would be less expensive than live rock to add shelter and or hiding spots

 

[Bill G]

thanks for the help (he says as he goes back to the reading and then the store)

----Bill

 

[Lorna]

Remember that what the lfs tells you is not always the law so to speak. I have heard many an employee in the local lfs tell people things that made my skin crawl. You are off to a wonderful start, keep researching and research each fish or animal you intend to add to ensure that you understand their needs and compatablity with other inhabitants. a 72 bowfront is a nice tank but as the sides narrow down you may not be able to house the same fish as you could in a standard 75g. You should try and get a nice community tank with fish and corals. As stated by Lotus you haven't said what exact lighting you have. Powerheads are important as you are recreating a reef environment which is turbulent and the fish and corals that reside there need the water movement to thrive......

 

[Bill G]

Remember that what the lfs tells you is not always the law so to speak. I have heard many an employee in the local lfs tell people things that made my skin crawl. You are off to a wonderful start, keep researching and research each fish or animal you intend to add to ensure that you understand their needs and compatablity with other inhabitants. a 72 bowfront is a nice tank but as the sides narrow down you may not be able to house the same fish as you could in a standard 75g. You should try and get a nice community tank with fish and corals. As stated by Lotus you haven't said what exact lighting you have. Powerheads are important as you are recreating a reef environment which is turbulent and the fish and corals that reside there need the water movement to thrive......

the light i have is an aqualight t-5 28w 10,000k daylight t-5 flourescent 28watttrue actinic 03 blue flourescent this light was relatively inexpensive and the lfs told me with caution i would be able to keep some lower light corals and upgrade to a better light later Is this bad info?

what powerhead would you guys recomend keeping budget in mind--i dont want to do anything harmful to any fish or critters that may bbecome residents in my aquarium but i do not have unlimitted funds either

 

[Lorna]

Well the information from the lfs is somewhat inaccurate as most corals would require higher intensity lighting and it will probably cost you money down the road to upgrade your lighting. My advice is usually the get the best possible lighting you can afford right away and that way costs later can be somewhat contained....

You could easily do with a couple maxijet 1200 with the mods and both will only set you back minimally, the powerheads with mods usually run about $30 each

 

[sunnymittu]

good morning bill...and a warm welcome to the site ....lol
now lets see
you asked a question
how much live rock ect ect
look
dont buy anything ecept inverts .....untill the cycling process
wash the rocks
cure them in your tank for two months as they carry germs
which kill fishes in form of many deseases
like ich,velvet ect ect
now
everybody nows live rocks are never dried
they are freshly picked from the big ocean to your sweet home
they actully carry some nonsense material too
to get rid of them you need patieance
every nonsense material will die in approx 8 weeks
amonia will lower
nitrite will start to be eaten by many organisms
that is cycle
but the problem is deseases
which comes with rock
if you cant wait till 8 weeks
do this
collect all the money you can
and buy 100% capacity of live rock into your tank
keep it cycleing
after few weeks
your tank will be settled
then you can add inverts like snails,crabs ect ect
as inverts are imune to deseases like ich,velvet ect ect
keep it cycling
put fishes at the end of third month
that will be more safe
becouse dear all the unknown staff of deseases will be gone till then
hard no to fishes till your tank amonia,nitrite,nitrate shows zero
best of luck
ask more as on this site you will find many intellingent and novince people and crazy to help you out on this
for light question ..it depends on the depth of your tank
if you want to grow corals then you will need atleast 8watt/gallon
but as corals to grow will take atleast 6 months with regular maintanance
dont think bout the light to much right now think bout the live rock,and inverts

 

[Lorna]

Live rock does not harbor disease or carry germs. Disease is introduced by animals that are infected. Do not wash the rock but rinse it with saltwater and a scrub brush to remove any dead material.

 

[Bill G]

Well the information from the lfs is somewhat inaccurate as most corals would require higher intensity lighting and it will probably cost you money down the road to upgrade your lighting. My advice is usually the get the best possible lighting you can afford right away and that way costs later can be somewhat contained....

You could easily do with a couple maxijet 1200 with the mods and both will only set you back minimally, the powerheads with mods usually run about $30 each

is that all i really need for a powerhead or just a really inexpensive one?...The reason i ask is it is kind of aggrivating that for $30 (that i would have spent and not known the difference) now i have to go back to the lfs and probbably buy more crap.

 

[Bill G]

also do or will i need a protein skimmer?

 

[Lorna]

Well remember that the lfs main goal in life is to sell stuff.......to you!

I think you could easily do with 2 maxijet 1200 one in each back rear corner facing the center middle to create random flow. You want turbulence and surface agitation to enhance the oxygen exchange on the surface. Another option is 2 Hydor Korallias which may cost a bit more but are equally a good bang for your buck. The maxijets need to be with the modification that turns the impeller into a propeller and increases the flow from 295 gph to about 1200 gph. more than enough flow even for a reef.

A protein skimmer is not essential if you are only going fish only right now especially if you are dilligent with water changes. If you are planning a reef you should look into getting one and if you have a sump you can put it there or get a hang on style if not. Shop around and don't buy anything until you come here and get some input.

 

[Bill G]

Well remember that the lfs main goal in life is to sell stuff.......to you!
Shop around and don't buy anything until you come here and get some input.

i appreciate all of the advice and help as it is easier to trust info when it is given in good faith with no agenda..

 

[Bill G]

would i be going backwards?

if i were to add more rock now would i be starting over and would it screw anything up?

 

[Lorna]

If the rock is fully cured and you bring it home from the lfs in water then you probably should not see much of a spike. On the other hand you could add fully cured live rock to your tank and watch your ammonia closely and do water changes to reduce it if it should rise. If the rock isn't fully cured you can place it in a bucke of saltwater with a heater and powerhead and let it cure in the bucket.....then add it to your tank

 

[Bill G]

an update and a question

i got three chromis and two clowns aproximately 1 month ago(one f the clowns died the second day i had him ) all water peramiters were good and everything else has been fine so i guess there was just something wrong with it from the beginning?? anyway back to my real question i have this red, hair looking, algae growing on the glass and sand...pretty much allover is this ok or normal and how do i eliminate it..a couple weeks ago(3) i had some brown algae and the lfs said to leave it be and it would go away on its own and it did after about 5 days. also this red algae apeared about a week afer adding my new light...260 watt compact flourescent all i had to start was 56 watt

 

[Lorna]

is this red algae kind of slimy....if so it is probably cyano bacteria which can be caused by overfeeding (leading to high nutrients in the water) this can be corrected with very frequent water changes as I can't remember if you have a skimmer or not. If not you should change about 10% a week to reduce the disolved organics in the water. Increase your flow to problem areas. Reduce your light period and let us know what spectrum the light you bought is? the lower the spectrum the more algae likes it. I would suggest that you siphon as much of the red algae out with each water change as this is probably the biggest concern.