Keimaxbode
Aquarium Advice Activist
I just purchased a 60 x 18 x 20 Clarity Plus Acrylic tank. It was supposed to be a 125 but according to the size charts I found on-line, the measurements make it a 100 instead.
It came with stand, canopy, 2 x white daylight VHO lights, wet/dry trickle filter with bio-balls, skimmer - can't determine brand but looks very basic and needs repair so not even sure it will run yet, 250w heater that is in the filter, overflow feeds through the bottom of the tank, 1 small (very small) power head, lots of miscellaneous supplies, two saltwater books, about 50+lbs of live rock and another 50+lbs of dry rock that had been removed from the tank and stored (didn't appear to have been cleaned before it dryed out) and the pvc connected to the return went to and along the bottom of the tank under the sand, which we did not take with us (the old sand that is)????
So far, we have placed the live rock in a tub of saltwater with a pump and the small power head and a light over it. I don't have an extra heater to put in it. I couldn't get the one out of the filter (??) Have rinsed out all of the old sand, wiped down the tank and used a credit card to remove algae. Tank is dry and in my house for scratch repair. I plan to purchase pool sand for substrate. I have aragonite in my 29 and play sand in my 55 right now and don't care for the play sand. I've read that the pool sand is coarser and whiter but haven't found it yet. I was planning to check the pool supplier stores last if I can't find it elsewhere cheaper. Any suggestions?
I have ordered (2) Korelia 1400 power heads and an RO/DI system from Ebay. I also plan to order micro-mesh and Hut Ultra Gloss Plastic Polish for repairing scratches (not deep). Have rinsed out the filter and put bio-balls in saltwater - not sure if I'm going to use.
I have a 29G that has been running for almost a year and the last 6 months without any fish so has a nice population of pods so was thinking of turning that into a sump/refugium. Could I use both the wet/dry and the sump/refugium or just scrap the wet/dry once I talk my husband into converting the 29 into a sump per DIY instructions? I don't even know how all of this gets plumbed so will need a lot of help with that as well. I only have two dual output HOB's running on my 55 and an AquaClear on my 29. I plan to use my 55 for QT once the 100 is up and running because I had to treat with copper in it (I know another of my newbie mistakes). It is very old and in poor condition on metal stand (I paid $15) and think it was used for critters, not fish. My husband resealed before we set up so no great loss using it for QT and learned my lesson about needing a QT with both Ich and Velvet. Was fortunate to only lose one fish through it all, but was my favorite of course. Still have a Lemonpeel Angel, (2) Bangaii Cardinals, a B/W Occ. Clown and (3) Blue/Green Chromis, plus snails and crabs - lost my cleaner shrimp about a month ago
. The other clown jumped or was pushed .
Any advice or good links to information on the scratch repair, sump and plumbing would be greatly appreciated. Also, I plan to replace the two VHO tubes and need advice on whether to get two more white daylight bulbs or one blue and one white and maybe a link to some cheap nighttime LED's to add. Would like to go with lighting that would allow me to try some mushrooms and other easy, low maintenance corals for beginners. I'm not even sure what VHO lighting is so need to research that also.
What is my next step with the live rock? Should I scrub it with a brush or will that remove the good stuff as well as the bad, and if so, how do I get rid of one and not the other? After that step, do I put back in clean saltwater with circulation and light and test daily to cycle?
I assume I need to scrub the dry rock with regular tap water then place in tub of bleach water and let it soak for a couple of days, then rinse several times in tap then finally soak in tap for several days - do I need to rinse and soak also in vinegar water or should I do that instead of bleach water? Then finally let dry in sun for several days? Do I then put this in with the live rock to cycle before putting in tank?
All input will be greatly appreciated. I have probably forgotten lots of issues so please add anything I've skipped. I will post pictures as soon as I can get a photo bucket account set-up (is that the easiest/best) and figure out how to link to the forum threads.
Thanks so much!! Really looking forward to getting this underway but lots of work ahead so reminding myself constantly to take my time and not take any crazy shortcuts.
-Diana
It came with stand, canopy, 2 x white daylight VHO lights, wet/dry trickle filter with bio-balls, skimmer - can't determine brand but looks very basic and needs repair so not even sure it will run yet, 250w heater that is in the filter, overflow feeds through the bottom of the tank, 1 small (very small) power head, lots of miscellaneous supplies, two saltwater books, about 50+lbs of live rock and another 50+lbs of dry rock that had been removed from the tank and stored (didn't appear to have been cleaned before it dryed out) and the pvc connected to the return went to and along the bottom of the tank under the sand, which we did not take with us (the old sand that is)????
So far, we have placed the live rock in a tub of saltwater with a pump and the small power head and a light over it. I don't have an extra heater to put in it. I couldn't get the one out of the filter (??) Have rinsed out all of the old sand, wiped down the tank and used a credit card to remove algae. Tank is dry and in my house for scratch repair. I plan to purchase pool sand for substrate. I have aragonite in my 29 and play sand in my 55 right now and don't care for the play sand. I've read that the pool sand is coarser and whiter but haven't found it yet. I was planning to check the pool supplier stores last if I can't find it elsewhere cheaper. Any suggestions?
I have ordered (2) Korelia 1400 power heads and an RO/DI system from Ebay. I also plan to order micro-mesh and Hut Ultra Gloss Plastic Polish for repairing scratches (not deep). Have rinsed out the filter and put bio-balls in saltwater - not sure if I'm going to use.
I have a 29G that has been running for almost a year and the last 6 months without any fish so has a nice population of pods so was thinking of turning that into a sump/refugium. Could I use both the wet/dry and the sump/refugium or just scrap the wet/dry once I talk my husband into converting the 29 into a sump per DIY instructions? I don't even know how all of this gets plumbed so will need a lot of help with that as well. I only have two dual output HOB's running on my 55 and an AquaClear on my 29. I plan to use my 55 for QT once the 100 is up and running because I had to treat with copper in it (I know another of my newbie mistakes). It is very old and in poor condition on metal stand (I paid $15) and think it was used for critters, not fish. My husband resealed before we set up so no great loss using it for QT and learned my lesson about needing a QT with both Ich and Velvet. Was fortunate to only lose one fish through it all, but was my favorite of course. Still have a Lemonpeel Angel, (2) Bangaii Cardinals, a B/W Occ. Clown and (3) Blue/Green Chromis, plus snails and crabs - lost my cleaner shrimp about a month ago
. The other clown jumped or was pushed .Any advice or good links to information on the scratch repair, sump and plumbing would be greatly appreciated. Also, I plan to replace the two VHO tubes and need advice on whether to get two more white daylight bulbs or one blue and one white and maybe a link to some cheap nighttime LED's to add. Would like to go with lighting that would allow me to try some mushrooms and other easy, low maintenance corals for beginners. I'm not even sure what VHO lighting is so need to research that also.
What is my next step with the live rock? Should I scrub it with a brush or will that remove the good stuff as well as the bad, and if so, how do I get rid of one and not the other? After that step, do I put back in clean saltwater with circulation and light and test daily to cycle?
I assume I need to scrub the dry rock with regular tap water then place in tub of bleach water and let it soak for a couple of days, then rinse several times in tap then finally soak in tap for several days - do I need to rinse and soak also in vinegar water or should I do that instead of bleach water? Then finally let dry in sun for several days? Do I then put this in with the live rock to cycle before putting in tank?
All input will be greatly appreciated. I have probably forgotten lots of issues so please add anything I've skipped. I will post pictures as soon as I can get a photo bucket account set-up (is that the easiest/best) and figure out how to link to the forum threads.
Thanks so much!! Really looking forward to getting this underway but lots of work ahead so reminding myself constantly to take my time and not take any crazy shortcuts.
-Diana
