First Attempt at Saltwater

[breebrry]

so i have read the stickys and I have gone to my LFS (which is hometown hobbyists not a franchise and they are helping me.. plus you guys of course) and i have decided to set up my 26g bowfront tank as a small saltwater reef tank. I know the size of the tank should be bigger but i need to start where i can afford and upgrade as i go

my idea to post my process here is both for newbies and for help as i go (if you guys don't mind)

all the stickys everyone sounds 100% prepared and knows exactly what is needed and how it goes.. so this i figure might be a good thread to show trial and error in the begining..

my boyfriend (David) and I have decided to start the tank with just salt mix to make sure we can get the gravity where we need it.. and maintain it for a week and if so this weekend we are going to add rock.. and again let it do it's thing for about a week before adding sand.

So far this is what we have done

we set the tank on it's stand.. hung a tetra 30-60 hanging filter on the back (with no media in it) and attached a 130gph power head on the opposite side of the tank so the powerhead blows to the right and the filter pushes water down.. causing a lot of different current to circulate

(this may be frowned on by you guys.. but our LFS has a 30 gallon reef with corals and fish running this way.. no sump or protein skimmer at all) He has said this could not work if we went bigger and has also said that down the road we could add a sump or skimmer and so on but to get the tank up and running what we have is fine to start.

We intend on adding salt and seeing if we can keep the evap and salinity under control for the week before attempting anything alive

as far as equipment goes we have a light fixture which holds one T5 light which is a reef rated light (for easier stuff like leathers) and we have the powerhead and the filter-less filter running to circulate

we have a heater for a 60 gallon tank in there to keep the water warm especially when adding the salt to help with the dissolving

right now the tank has no background on it I am debating on painting it on or if i want to just tape on a background I will update on that later.

thanks guys

 

[TAL]

I'm going to love this thread!

Thanks for the updates and maybe a few pictures...no?

 

[breebrry]

when i get home TAL i will post the pic i took lastnight and then maybe one of a background should i find one suitable...

I am hoping that this thread can be a learning support for me and for others.. I read Wayne's setup but he started off right away talking about skimmers and sounding like he was already knowledgable.. so I am 100% fresh at this.. yes i've read and am still reading.. but this will i hope help people in the future to learn what stuff is too thanks for the support

 

[TAL]

Your freshness is what has my interest. I'm interested too in SW set-ups. My wife wants us to do one. But I am like you......protein wha?

Good luck.

 

[exhumed07]

I too am looing into salt water. but it's looking like it will be way out of my price range for a bit as I was thinking of doing a 20 gallon reef. got the tank and stand but I have been talking to the only salt water lfs within 50 miles of me and they are saying it will cost me about 500+ to convert it and get it started. then another 100-200 for coral and fish.

 

[breebrry]

ok so here is the initial set up and then with a background ... now the background is just acrylic paint in navy blue which i sponged on.. now mind you.. that it is coat number one... and it needs another or so to darken.. but it gives you the jist of it..

as far as cost.. exhumed.. so far i have spent... well i will list what i have bought k?

Little Giant statuary Fountain pump -pumps 130gph (top left corner of tank) roughly $30.00

the 26g tank (already had)

the aqua tech 20-40 filter (already had)

paint for background $2.47

15lb bag of salt (Instant Ocean) $19.99

Instant Ocean Hydrometer $13.99

and david wanted a new tank thermometer $3.49

activated carbon $6.47

and i bought a set of panty hose to make shift a bag for the carbon $.33

and an air-tight container for salt keeping (so it doesn't spill or get moist) $5.50

so right now I have a running salt water tank without decor or any of that good stuff and I have spent.. $82.84


KEEP IN MIND guys that the pump i have is technically not a power head but does the same thing.. pumps water in and pushes it out.. practically looks the same.. lol and pumps 130gph

onward..

like i said in the first post my LFS said i don't need a protein skimmer off the bat or even a sump because a tank that small will pretty much hold its own with the live rock and some corals and the little critters in the tank.

so this weekend our LFS is going to hook us up with some rock

this is where your $$ comes into play... our LFS is doing $5 per lb of rock and $25 for a 20lb bag of live sand and this is all from a curing tank...

so theoretically.. 1lb of rock per gallon of water.. so... roughly $130.. but you DO NOT need to start out with all that you can buy say.. 10lbs or so.. just to let the tank cycle and add as you go..

and at this step there is no prettiness.. lol.. it's basically throw rocks into water and let sit.. lol..

after a bit of that with water changes and checking stuff for a cycle.. (which you know how to do) you can add more rock and sand.. and then decorate.. but i'm getting ahead of myself.. so i will stop now.. and post the empty tank pics.. and i will update when i add some rocks!!

 

[TRe]

Sounds like your doing you homework and well on your way but just to clarify a few things... Yes you can have a successful tank with out a skimmer and I have done so in the past (55g) but you just have to stay on top of your water changes like say a minimun of 5g's every other week is a good starting point... I disagree how ever, it is best to save up and add all the live rock at once. Reason being When ever add new rock your tank is most likely going to have a mini cycle EACH time! If you have to add the rock little at a time its best to cure the rock yourself in a seperate container (rubbermaid) with a small pump to keep water moving for a few weeks... Make sure you use R/O water for all topping off aswell as mixing with the salt.... When I first got started I had a few 5 gallon jugs that I would fill up out of the machine in the front of the grocery store. Also with a smaller tank where your only changing out small amounts of water i found it easier to bring those same 5g containers to the LFS and have them fill them up with premixed salt water for .50/gal to save on some of the mess

 

[TRe]

The light in the pic wont support coral, That pump you have IS a powerhead lol and with a top on the tank you dont have to worry about much evaporation

 

[breebrry]

thanks TRe.. the boyfriend and i figured on 20lbs of rock rather than 26 is that ok or do you think i should go more? i'm thinkin that with the live sand it may be enough... also do you mean the light won't work cuz of it's size or just because of how it sits? i'm confused.. the light itself is not on in either picture thats just the camera flash

 

[exhumed07]

the local salt water lfs was trying to sell me some clear acrylic hob saltwater filter for about $240. then again the live rock, and the critters. but I found a better deal about 70 miles away that I jumped on. 30 gallon full setup with 23 pounds of live rock for 75 bucks. 2 dammsels died in transport and while waiting for me to get the tank set up but I was not to concerned as I figured an hour and a half in the truck and another hour or so for setup I was bound to loose some.

 

[TRe]

Dependng on how pourus the rock is you should be able to get away with 20lbs but youll really have to get the rock in and see what it looks like... again even if youve gota save for a few weeks itll be better to add the 20lbs all at once! the lighs you have there look like the regual flouresent light strip that comes with that tank, is it not? Its not as easy as just throwing some "reef" bulbs in the orginal hood

 

[breebrry]

ok well do you have a suggestion as far as the light that would work?

 

[breebrry]

ok so had the tank up and running for a while just water and the currents.. added salt saturday morning and by sunday morning the salinity/gravity had maintained a 1.022 so we went to our LFS and got 25lbs of live rock.. and 30lbs of live sand

25lbs live rock -$125.00
30lbs live sand - $25.00

we came home and put the rock in the tank and then the sand and it made a very cloudy messy tank... Luckily i took pictures of the rock first

also we found a hitchiker i believe it to be a feather duster worm or something like that i have seen them before but not sure if thats what they are called.. i tried to get a pic but its little.. its on the 2nd big rock from the left you can see his tube on the rock and a slight purple fan at the top

anyway we arranged the rock and then added the sand and POOF super cloudy... but yeah.. so here are some pictures

OH also.. our LFS gave us 5 gallons of already cycled and established water from their tanks so maybe it will help with the cycle

i'm gunna post pictures now enjoy

P.S. I added a picture of the hydrometer too showing our gravity.. i'm so excited so far so good

 

[breebrry]

so day 2-3 depending on how you are looking at it.. we have now seen 3 feather duster worms and possible an aiptasia.. or glass anemone.. it's roughly the size of a quarter and stands about 1/2 an inch tall.. i cannot see a stalk however.. so i'm not really sure what it is.

anyway i'm so excited cuz we have living creatures in the tank that did not die.. or at least not yet

so far so good

 

[breebrry]

new pics!

so we have an anemone which i actually think to be aiptasia... but so far its not hurting anything so i will leave him alone...

we found a brittle star.. or serpent star lastnight

and we have 3 feather duster worms..

so right now we are trying to figure out how to feed them ... tomorrow we go to our reef store.. so we'll see..

yesterday i checked the Nitrate and Amonia levels.. amonia is at 0ppm and nitrate was about 15ish ppm..

i think the stores already cycled 5 gallons helped a lot.. we'll see..

 

[breebrry]

here is a full pic of the star

 

[breebrry]

almost a year later UPDATE

i was in the neighborhood and decided to post an update on this thread.. its been almost a year.. and we have DEFINATELY learned and UPGRADED..

we started with the 26g bow-front tank with a 130gph power head and one t-5 light.. and then went to a 30g with a 2 T-5 (420 and a 10K) but the same powerhead set up.. and NOW we have
...DRUM ROLL PLEASE

a 55g with bulk heads overflowing into a 30g sump below with a seaclone protein skimmer.. 2 Hydor-Koralia 750gph powerheads on opposite sides..a 4 T-5 light fixture with built in cooler (has a 420, 460, 10k, 10k)

we also have roughly 90lbs of live rock..

AND we built the stand its on
-we bought a bathroom sink setup.. (4 drawers and 2 doors) and built a wall to seperate 2 of the drawers for food and chemical test storage and the other 2 drawers we removed and made them false fronts that can be removed for access to the sump. i then coated the entire inside with drylock and david added extra framing and support around the entire stand and then we added the counter top and drilled holes to run the PVC from the bulk heads into the sump (i have pictures of all of this if you would like to see)... actually we will start there..

here are the old tank set ups..

 

[breebrry]

stand pictures...the original.. me drylocking.. the framework of David.. and the undersupporting framework... and then the finished stand with unfinished sump and tank on top.. tank was painted with the same blue acrylic as the 26 and 30... and bulk heads attached afterward .. one hint though- i did something different here.. i painted the back and then put a fishtank background on and taped all the edges and put the bulk heads on over the background to help hold it.. this keeps salt creep off of the paint and so if you wipe the back you wont scratch off paint