I'm baaack... lol... Anyway, I'm going to continue an old thread which asked for help setting up a salt water aquarium... I've got a few questions about setting up a SW tank... Firstly, do I need my live rock when setting it up, or can I set it up/ have to set it up and then put the live rock in. Or do I even need the live rock, considering my parents bought me live sand... I've got salt, a hydrometer, live sand, some sort of powder for the reef (not planning on having corals yet, but my parents went all out last Christmas xD)... And I think that's it, might be wrong... Oh yeah, a really cheap (and kinda crummy) power head... I don't know if I'm gonna replace it with a Kovalia powerhead or just use it temporarily... Anyway, I've got a 30 gallon tank... I'm asking this, cause I think it's too small, but I wanted to have a pink bar goby (the shrimp kind) and two clown fish, along with some inverts (not corals, shrimp, hermit crabs, snails, etc), but I'm afraid it's too much... Could someone help me out here? I've asked this on TFH forums, but no one is on there, so I thought I'd post it here...
Salt Water Tank
- Thread starter Frogki
- Start date
You can setup your tank with all the equipment, and your mixed water (leave enough volume for LR/Rock, so fill about 50%-70% up with water. you can leave the water running until you get your rock and live rock. Its a good idea to buy at least one small-medium piece of live rock to start your bacteria going. the rest can be base rock if you want to save some money.
after you got your rock in there, you can let it run a few days and clear up or you can add the sand immediately, its up to you. aim for about 1"-2" of sand, it does not all have to be live. you could use aragonite sand. live rock is more important than live sand because LR always has living bacteria in it (if its kept in water at the store) as opposed to LS having the possibility of having all its bacteria dead by the time you use it. i mean its sealed in a bag with no source of ammonia lol!.
after a few days of running your tank with LR/rock and the sand in there you may want to test the water and see where youre at. if you see no ammonia then you need to provide ammonia to the tank by means of an in-fish cycle or a market prawn shrimp in a container.
in a 30 gal its a good idea to have two powerheads at opposite ends of the tank aimed at the opposite side.
Do you have any idea yet if you want to make a refugium or sump for the tank?
Your stocking choice seems reasonable if this is going w/o corals.
first things to add when you are done with your cycle are the CUC. snails and hermits based on what you think the tank needs and the types of algae that are beginning to grow by then.
remember to use only RO/DI water to mix your sea Salt with. tap water is unacceptable.
after you got your rock in there, you can let it run a few days and clear up or you can add the sand immediately, its up to you. aim for about 1"-2" of sand, it does not all have to be live. you could use aragonite sand. live rock is more important than live sand because LR always has living bacteria in it (if its kept in water at the store) as opposed to LS having the possibility of having all its bacteria dead by the time you use it. i mean its sealed in a bag with no source of ammonia lol!.
after a few days of running your tank with LR/rock and the sand in there you may want to test the water and see where youre at. if you see no ammonia then you need to provide ammonia to the tank by means of an in-fish cycle or a market prawn shrimp in a container.
in a 30 gal its a good idea to have two powerheads at opposite ends of the tank aimed at the opposite side.
Do you have any idea yet if you want to make a refugium or sump for the tank?
Your stocking choice seems reasonable if this is going w/o corals.
first things to add when you are done with your cycle are the CUC. snails and hermits based on what you think the tank needs and the types of algae that are beginning to grow by then.
remember to use only RO/DI water to mix your sea Salt with. tap water is unacceptable.
Yes I know, but I do not know where in my town to get an RO kit, and I don't want to lug 30 gallons of water plus a few gallons for water changes all the time... And how much does an RO kit cost?
Also, I have a big bag of live sand, although it's more than definitely dead by now, seeing as it's been sitting in my room for montsh xD... Anyway, are there any other tips on setting it up? I don't really know how to mix the salt lol... And I don't have the best powerheads so I don't know if I could mix them like that... (they are zoo med rotating, so yeah... Need to get Kovalias)... And are there any real specifics for the care of those fish? I've been reading up on them in here and I've decided on the Oclaris...
Also, I have a big bag of live sand, although it's more than definitely dead by now, seeing as it's been sitting in my room for montsh xD... Anyway, are there any other tips on setting it up? I don't really know how to mix the salt lol... And I don't have the best powerheads so I don't know if I could mix them like that... (they are zoo med rotating, so yeah... Need to get Kovalias)... And are there any real specifics for the care of those fish? I've been reading up on them in here and I've decided on the Oclaris...
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To answer your question, live sand is not a replacement for live rock. You should get a minimum of 30 lbs of rock for your tank. You will want to put that in after you get your saltwater in your tank because that is what will jump start your cycle process. As far as the live sand goes, you don't really need it. Your live rock will turn your subsrate into live sand in no time at all. But seeing that you already have it you may as well use it since it is probably too late to return it. I question anything that sits in a sealed bag for that long of a period as being live. Who knows how long it sat on the shelf before it found its way into your house.
For mixing the saltwater, get a 5g bucket, put a powerhead and water in it, and add the salt. It should mix for about 24 hours, ideally. Never add salt straight into a tank with anything alive in it (including live rock). You'll need to get a refractometer (preferably) or a hydrometer to test the salinity. It will take you a while to get the initial water made up, but after that you can do a 3 gallon water change each week.
RO water is pretty important. You can get RO units at home improvement stores (Lowes, Home Depot), but they're not as good as an RO/DI unit. You might be able to sell your parents on getting a unit for the kitchen, as it makes good water for drinking/cooking.
You can also check with a LFS (not a chain store) to see if they sell RO water or premade saltwater.
RO water is pretty important. You can get RO units at home improvement stores (Lowes, Home Depot), but they're not as good as an RO/DI unit. You might be able to sell your parents on getting a unit for the kitchen, as it makes good water for drinking/cooking.
You can also check with a LFS (not a chain store) to see if they sell RO water or premade saltwater.
Thanks Lotus... Alright, so I need a decent powerhead (my parents got me a rotating zoo med type of powerhead, so that won't work... Will it?) and an RO kit... I don't think I can sell my parents on it, considering they think I "take it to the extreme" with fish because I try to do water changes and all that... Anyway, I guess I can't start setting it up today then, can I...? I don't know if I could convince my parents to go down to Wal-Mart to get thirty gallons of fresh spring water lol... But yeah... I really wanted to start setting it up today lol... And I know that the live sand is dead, seeing as it's been sitting in a bsg in my room for months... I'll just try and get a peice or two of live rock and then make the rest of the structure from base rock... I think I'm going to put my rocks in first because of the fact that the goby I want burrows. This way it won't be as likely to get crushed... I'm really at a dilema here with the powerheads... Can I use them to mix my water, or should I get another type of powerhead before attempting to set up the tank? It's a Zoo Med Power Sweep... I've heard it's not the best... Could I use it to mix the water and then for the fish, or can I use it to mix the water and find some other powerhead for the fish? Or should I just not use it all together...
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The powerhead you have will work in the meantime... BTW the sand is still "live" if its in the sealed bag still! I think I may have asked this a while ago but do you have a reef club in your area? or even craigslist sometimes you can find some one breaking down a tank and sell live rock for a dollar or 2 a lb!
What's a glacier machine? lol... Also, alright, so do you suggest that, or the RO kit? Which is cheaper? Also, I've been told that a refractometer is better than a hydrometer... Also, the bag of live sand, I just discovered, had a small hole in it... So it's dead now lol.... How much live rock should I get do you think?
a 5 gal Paint Bucket will do you good. You want around 30 lbs of rock once youre done, so at least two of them should be live.
as a note you put NO livestock in the tank until youre done cycling. this means no burrowing goby until the tank is complete, so there is no risk of him getting crushed under the rock anyway. 1. set up equipment and put water in tank+run equipment. 2. put your base rock in and the live rock if possible. 3. put sand in the tank and wait a few days for it to clear up. 4. remove film/foam from the water surface and test your water after a few days. if no ammonia shows up throw in a market prawn in a container with holes in the lid. 5. test water weekly and see when you get 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, then do a big water change. 6. the goal is less than 20ppm nitrates. more is unacceptable. So now that the cycle is done you can put Chemi pure elite/Purigen/active carbon in your HOB filter or sump and run that to get rid of an to control your nitrates. 7. Once the market prawn has completely dissappeared from the container and you still get readings of 0 for everything and very low nitrates its time to get the CUC and maybe a hardy fish.
Mixing salt water is easy. you put a few gallons of water in your bucket and take the sea salt that you bought and add as much per gallon as instructed on the bag. then let it mix for 24 hours as mentioned. easy as that. also a heater in the bucket is a good idea. you do not want to shock your tank with cold water....
as a note you put NO livestock in the tank until youre done cycling. this means no burrowing goby until the tank is complete, so there is no risk of him getting crushed under the rock anyway. 1. set up equipment and put water in tank+run equipment. 2. put your base rock in and the live rock if possible. 3. put sand in the tank and wait a few days for it to clear up. 4. remove film/foam from the water surface and test your water after a few days. if no ammonia shows up throw in a market prawn in a container with holes in the lid. 5. test water weekly and see when you get 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, then do a big water change. 6. the goal is less than 20ppm nitrates. more is unacceptable. So now that the cycle is done you can put Chemi pure elite/Purigen/active carbon in your HOB filter or sump and run that to get rid of an to control your nitrates. 7. Once the market prawn has completely dissappeared from the container and you still get readings of 0 for everything and very low nitrates its time to get the CUC and maybe a hardy fish.
Mixing salt water is easy. you put a few gallons of water in your bucket and take the sea salt that you bought and add as much per gallon as instructed on the bag. then let it mix for 24 hours as mentioned. easy as that. also a heater in the bucket is a good idea. you do not want to shock your tank with cold water....
Oh, I knew that, I was saying for when I get the tank complete, the rocks would already be buried under the sand, so he couldn't burrow under it and have it collapse on him... Or her xD... I'm so excited! Anyway, so I have to have a HOB refugium or a sump? I don't have a refugium tank and I have no idea how to make a sump... Maybe my dad's friend can help me... Anyone got tips? Do I need a refugium if I make daily water changes?
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if you like SW then you should be attempting it sooner or later lol.
If you are experienced with FW, and it looks like you are, having a 70 gallon tank, then SW would just be another fun challenge for you.
You dont need a sump or refugium, but you'll probably benefit from a medium HOB filter that can hold chemical filtration, such as the ones I mentioned. plus it will add to your flow which is always good.
buy any cheap HOB filter, take all the supplied media out of it, and run it w/o anything but a small bit of filter floss while youre cycling. replace that floss every week or so cuz it catches a lot of sand/debris.
Once youre done cycling completely you should add that chemical media to your filter to help reduce phosphates and nitrates in the water. Chemi-pure elite is my favorite, so i'd recommend that one.
you'll benefit from a 10 gal fuge I would think as it will help control nuisance algae in your main tank. OR just get appropriate CUC members, do water changes at least 2x a week (even if its just one gallon), run chemical filtration including phosban, and you dont overfeed the tank/load the water with nutrients for the algae.
If you are experienced with FW, and it looks like you are, having a 70 gallon tank, then SW would just be another fun challenge for you.
You dont need a sump or refugium, but you'll probably benefit from a medium HOB filter that can hold chemical filtration, such as the ones I mentioned. plus it will add to your flow which is always good.
buy any cheap HOB filter, take all the supplied media out of it, and run it w/o anything but a small bit of filter floss while youre cycling. replace that floss every week or so cuz it catches a lot of sand/debris.
Once youre done cycling completely you should add that chemical media to your filter to help reduce phosphates and nitrates in the water. Chemi-pure elite is my favorite, so i'd recommend that one.
you'll benefit from a 10 gal fuge I would think as it will help control nuisance algae in your main tank. OR just get appropriate CUC members, do water changes at least 2x a week (even if its just one gallon), run chemical filtration including phosban, and you dont overfeed the tank/load the water with nutrients for the algae.
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Alright, so an aqua clear HOB (where can I find one, cause again, my LFS is small...) and Chemi Pure... Where am I likely to find Chemi Pure? I'm very excited about this, and I want to get the thing up and running by the end of the summer... Also, I'm worried about everything being right... And where could I find filter floss? Or is that something in the HOB already? And so I replace the supplied media after cycling? Or I just keep it running with the chemical?