Going salwater

[Michaela521]

Hello everyone,

I will be going salwater here. My current setup is a Magnum 350 Canister Filter with eheim substrate pro in it, heater, air pump, and a 36 gallon acrylic fish tank with a bow front. Just gave the fish to the petstore. Will this setup work just fine for the fish or should I use carbon as well? Maybe I should place some carbon in with the eheim substrate pro or perhaps carbon is not needed? Anything else?

Fish I plan on getting with quantities

1) Bulb anemone - 1

2) Coral Beauty Angelfish - 1

3) Ocellaris Clownfish - 2

4) Royal Grama Basslet - 1

 

[Lotus]

Are you going to be using live rock in this tank? I hope so!

With live rock, you're better off ditching the filter and getting a couple of powerheads, and possibly a skimmer. In saltwater, biological media will produce nitrates, which are bad for corals and anemones.

As for the anemone, wait until your tank is at least six months old (a year is better), and make sure you have sufficient lighting for it (T5, metal halide or a really good PC fixture).

 

[Michaela521]

Looks like this is going to be more complicated than I thought. Should I just place carbon in that pump or do I just get rid of it. Could you tell me what powerhead and skimmer you recommend and also how much live rock should I have in there. I will never understand why my LFS doesn't know that much about fish tanks. Thanks alot .

 

[strout]

My advice to you, as someone who has also just gotten into SW Tanks is to, Take the time and read all the stickeys in this forum BEFORE you buy anything, your LFS may be real good and maybe not, reading these will give you an idea as to what you need to get and how to set up your tank. Try to find a SW Forum in your area on line, you can get alot of used stuff at discounted prices this way,and make alot of new friends. This is MOST IMPORTANT: There are diff. sorts of SW fish tanks Reef tanks not reef tanks, you need to make up your mind BEFORE you start what kind of fish tank you want. The best way to do this is to go on You Tube and look at the diff. kinds of tanks. If you have a non reef tank, you can have the pretty Angel Fish and you don't have to get the expensive lights for corals but the fish cost more ( they stick you either way you go in this hobby, lol) if you decide to go with a reef tank you will need to get the lights that will allow you to grow them, these lights are not something you will need at the start but like I said you have to get an idea as to which way you might be going. Reef tanks will not allow you to keep certin kinds of fish as they will eat the corals. The fish for reef tanks cost alot less but the corals can cost alot, but you can get corals from your local forums at discounted prices. I know you said you only want a few fish and an anemone, thats what I said to, lol. Now what I am fixing to say here might be wrong and if it is I will be corrected. I wanted when I started was to get small 55g tank which I already had, but I ended up with a 125g tank. I was told that bigger is better and not for the reason you might think. The smaller the tank the MORE you have to really no what your doing, how much more I don't know because I didn't get the small tank. The reason I bring up this point is that I saw you had a 36g tank. Keep reading this post I am sure someone will have something to say about tank size. Also you picked a very good forum here these people in the SW side of this forum really no what they are talking about. That didn't sound right, I am sure the FW side is very good also.

 

[Lorna]

Thanks Strout for the encouraging words. This is a complicated and expensive hobby. The more information you know the fewer costly mistakes you will make, and belive me we have all made some. The tank you have is fine. You will need live rock which provides the biological filtration of your tank. The recommended amount is 1-2 lbs per gallon. Pourous south pacific types are lighter and you would need less (like the 1lb rating) as opposed to carribean which is heavier and denser and would need the 2lbs per. This rock is live as it is populated with beneficial bacteria that convert waste to gas in the aquarium. Powerheads are needed to produce movement to keep detritus in suspension and also to break the surface to aid in gas exchange. Air pumps are not used in saltwater as they tend to cause saltcreep which will coat everything and becomes a hazard. Get rid of the cannister unless you use it to run carbon in.....otherwise it is pretty useless. A skimmer, a nice additions removes disolved organics from the water. It is not necessary but if you don't have one expect to do 20% water changes a week to keep nutrients in the water down ...... Seconding Lotus, please forget the anemone for at least a year....let your tank mature first as anemones require very stable conditions......good luck, read the stickies and research, the internet is your friend.

 

[Michaela521]

Excellent information everyone.

As you know there are so many different brand names and sizes online to purchase. I am not to sure exactly what to purchase. I always make bad purchases so I guess an important question would be what powerhead would you recommend and what protein skimmer would you recommend as well. Size, brand, model number etc.

You are right, alot of good reading on here. One thing I read was about water changes. Is it my understanding that I should be using ro or distilled water for the fill and water changes. Ouch. Does everyone do this. Thanks

 

[Michaela521]

I guess after searching this site more I have found that most seem to recommend the AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer with Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump and purchase of the live rock at drsfostersmith.com. So one powerhead should do fine.

After all my searching I am not to sure what light fixture I should go with size etc. I will spend the money if I have to inorder to do it right. I know how sometimes you can go cheap and it can just give you a bigger headache with changing bulbs etc. Thanks

 

[Michaela521]

Would a 12 inch Giesemann Nova II 1 x 150W HQI Light Fixture - Black be a good light system here. Thanks

 

[strout]

Yes, you need to get an RO unit.

 

[Lorna]

Or you can purchase your water at a water kiosk in the grocery, I did that for years before finally buying an ro/di unit. You should try two powerheads one on each side pointing toward the center front to create random flow and not a toilet bowl effect. The aqua remora is a great skimmer for the price and you won't be disappointed. Plug and play virtually fool proof. I like maxijet powerheads they can be modded and run on timers and are relatively inexpensive. Korallias are good too though more pricey. I am not familiar with that light but a 12" light will not light the whole width....on a 29g you need a 24" fixture....check out ebay.....and retro kits.

 

[GlaringToast]

Aquatraders.com has a 250 metal halide for $99 that would be more than sufficient for this tank to keep any coral you would want later on down the road. The brand of lights is Odyssea, when they started off they had a very, very bad product but have since made vast improvements, fixing all the problems they once had. The thing is, they still have a bad reputation so they are the cheapest around.

As for the tank, you will want to run a sump. This is another water source such as a tank underneath the main display tank. The advantages of having a sump are too many to not have one. Such as Increased water volume, somewhere to hide unsightly equipment (heaters, pumps, uv sterilizers, etc), filtration and one of the most important aspects is water turnover. The more your water is moving the BETTER! This provides gas exchange, which is very important and probably one of the most underrated aspects of saltwater.

HOW TO run a sump. Your tank, you said it was acrylic. This means it can be drilled with ease. So this is an option, or you can run a siphon overflow. Either way this will drain water into the sump and a return pump will push it back into the tank.

As for powerheads, maxijets are probably the cheapest, most versatile and foolproof pumps out there. They can be modified with the greatest of ease, a dremel and 30 seconds of your time and you can have one pumping over double its rated flow, at the same power consumption.

Koralias are good pumps as well but are no where near as much bang for the buck.

Patience is going to be your best friend in this hobby. I would have to say almost all of my saltwater mistakes have been related to impatience, the rest I chalk up to stupidity. We all make mistakes and this hobby is an easy one to do so in, you just gotta take it all in, mistakes are a part of success. A great investment for the saltwater hobbiest, a Shop Vac.

 

[Michaela521]

The aquatraders does look nice and I will probably go with it.

I don't believe I can run a sump simply because the tank is on a stand that has see through glass on it.

Should I purchase another Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump for it or do I modify one maxi-jet 1200 to split it into two.

When filling with RO water the water will probably be the temparature of the house which is around 72 degrees. How should I add this do the tank. Place ontop of tank and use a very small siphoning tube after I dissolve the salt in it. Thank you

 

[Michaela521]

As far as the carbon filter goes I will probably just hook it up and use it every know and then to clean the water.

 

[GlaringToast]

I would use 2 maxijets. Don't worry about the temperature of the top off water, or the initial water you use to fill the tank. You'll worry about temperature when the tank is set up. I would advise NOT using RO from the grocery store. There are some that use it and I have in the past but I have had bad results with anything other than RO/DI. As for the sump, the only problem with the see through glass is you'll see the sump. The canister, I would just run filter fiber (polyester fiber) and maybe carbon, this will be helpful with the set up of the tank as no matter how much you rinse the sand you put in there it will be cloudy and the filter fiber will help catch all the sand dust. But you'll want to clean out the canister in a few days though.

 

[Lotus]

Always mix your saltwater outside of the tank. While the first time you can mix it in the tank, it's a good idea to get your equipment set up for mixing. Once you have live rock, fish or inverts in the tank, adding salt directly to the tank will kill them. Get a bucket (one for food use is good), a powerhead or pump and a heater, and use it to mix/head/aerate your water before it goes in the tank. Once it's mixed, the saltwater is good for several months, just heat and aerate before putting in the tank.

 

[Michaela521]

I already have RO water. I believe it is a six stage unit. I think it should handle it. How much and how often should I do a water change with the system I am planning on getting? Perhaps 2.25 gallons every week which would equal 25 percent every month. For the initial fill I might just use distilled water because of how slow my ro water is. What should be the maximum amount of nitrates in the system. I believe the anemone is the most sensitive to the nitrates.

What is your opinion of live sand?

I will probably purchase cured live rock because it is easier for a beginners. thanks

 

[GlaringToast]

Don't waste your money buying live sand. Just buy an aragonite sand and through a short period of time it will become live in your tank.