Absolute Minimal Salt Water Aquarium

[blasterx]

In the interest of cost savings I would check your local hardware store for sand, I bet you can get it cheaper and also remember sand is heavy and costs a lot to ship.

[thincat]

A couple of weeks. Just remember...Nothing fast happens to a reef tank except problems. Check with your DLNR and see. You might be able to collect a few pounds a day legally.
The shrimp is your Ammonia source instead of a live animal as your source.

[mrg02d]

Hello,
Thanks for all the great advice guys! I went with the ebay sand, as I got 30lbs for $20.00 and Priority Mail is $10.00 as the bag fits in the flat rate box.

I have been reading for hours each day and finding a lot of information. I came across GARF and their GRUNDGE product which is supposed to be some type of "super" sand meant for seeding a system. Has anyone heard of it? The site claims it is full of life and actually cures many types of algea and bacteria problems. They reccomend dumping some into a tank to seed the sand in it and base rock.

They also reccomend a 45 member cleaner crew for a 20gallon reef tank. This seems like an awful lot of critters. Would that be safe? How much ammonia to crabs and snails produce?

Anyways, the tank and everything is on the way. I will go pick up Instant Ocean at the local pet store when the tank and equipment comes.

As for de-chlorinating the water: Can I just fill the tank up with tap water and mix in the de-chlorinator right then and there? I could then mix the salt mix and then dump in the sand. This ought to begin the cycle, no? (The sand is claimed to have life as well that will last up to 3 weeks in the packaging the ebay seller claims to use). I imagine that if anything survived, I would notice changes in ammonia right? If not, I could get something such as this grundge or Bio-Spira?

Also, incase I decide to add coral in the near future, is my current lighting choice (the 65watt coralife as referenced earlier) adequate for some of the more simple corals?

Thanks!
Matt

[severum mama]

Originally Posted by mrg02d

Hello,
Thanks for all the great advice guys! I went with the ebay sand, as I got 30lbs for $20.00 and Priority Mail is $10.00 as the bag fits in the flat rate box.

I have been reading for hours each day and finding a lot of information. I came across GARF and their GRUNDGE product which is supposed to be some type of "super" sand meant for seeding a system. Has anyone heard of it? The site claims it is full of life and actually cures many types of algea and bacteria problems. They reccomend dumping some into a tank to seed the sand in it and base rock.

They also reccomend a 45 member cleaner crew for a 20gallon reef tank. This seems like an awful lot of critters. Would that be safe? How much ammonia to crabs and snails produce?
Sounds like an awful lot to me too! Our 20 gallon reef has 2 turbo snails, 5-6 nassarius, and 3-4 astreas. They were added slowly, we took our time to see if our tank actually needed them so they wouldn't starve. We also have a peppermint shrimp for aiptasia control (plus it's cool!). We opted not to use hermit crabs because they often pose a risk to snails. Just take your time and ask questions. Chances are you will know if you need to add more CUC.

Anyways, the tank and everything is on the way. I will go pick up Instant Ocean at the local pet store when the tank and equipment comes.

As for de-chlorinating the water: Can I just fill the tank up with tap water and mix in the de-chlorinator right then and there? I could then mix the salt mix and then dump in the sand. This ought to begin the cycle, no? (The sand is claimed to have life as well that will last up to 3 weeks in the packaging the ebay seller claims to use). I imagine that if anything survived, I would notice changes in ammonia right? If not, I could get something such as this grundge or Bio-Spira?
I'd suggest mixing your water outside of the tank and then adding it to the tank after you get the specific gravity where you want it. It's good to let it mix for about 24 hrs. We don't use tap water, ever, but if your tap water is low in TDS I suppose you might be able to get away with it. The sand sounds kind of like a snake oil product to me. I'd be surprised if there is much life there by the time you get it, but I could be totally wrong, I don't know. I would not suggest using BioSpira. It's really important IMO to take your time and make sure your tank cycles. I use a raw shrimp and it works great for me. Just one shrimp cycled our 20 gallon. It is tempting to try and take shortcuts, but in my experience it will only lead to difficulty and unnecessary expense. I think it was Thincat that said "nothing good happens quickly in SW" and this is absolutely the case.

Also, incase I decide to add coral in the near future, is my current lighting choice (the 65watt coralife as referenced earlier) adequate for some of the more simple corals?
Well, you won't have a ton of options for corals, but you can keep a lot of the mushroom corals, some zoanthids/palythoas, some of the leathers... just do some research on corals that can grow with low light and ask questions here about the ones you like. I have a feeling you'll be limited to easy soft corals, *maybe* a couple LPS. There are some that are not photosynthetic, but the flipside to that is that they must be target fed often. When you get some more money, you could always just add a second 65W strip light. That's what we did (I already had one laying around, so it was cheaper just to order a second one). Now we can even keep some of the SPS corals. When you're ready to add to your lighting, you will have a lot more possibilities.

Thanks!
Matt

Comments in green.

[mrg02d]

Hello,
thank you for the tips, and I will be sure to ask here before doing something. As of right now, I just want to keep things simple. A couple crabs, shrimp, and fish. Coral is expensive! Sheesh! And then there is shipping! Uggg! I have a petco near me. Has anyone been to petco looking for salt water stuff? I know they have it, as I would go there just to look around in the past, but never made note of anything such as coral or live rock ect.

Thanks,
Matt

[mhart032]

I have heard nothing good about Petco.. i stayed away from petco even know their prices are cheaper. i believe it to be a "you get what you pay for" and i dont think i want to buy something from a place that mite have a high school kid that doesnt care about anything besides where the party is and doesnt know much about this hobby and cant give you th advice that you mite need to sell me anything or take care of anything that i may put in my tank.. if you dont have any other options then you have to do what you have to do.. i hope i didnt offend anyone with my petco comments but its just my opionin. try and stick to a good local fish store and talk to the people before you buy see what kind of knowledge they have about the hobby and fish and ect. this will help you in the long run. i went to 4 differnt LFS before i found one that knew what they were doing and very helpfull, its 30 miles from my house but IMO every mile is worth the trip knowing that im going to get good advice and a good product...
Matt

[severum mama]

I would never purchase any marine livestock from Petco. I've seen very little there that looks healthy.

[cichildnewbie09]

Mrg...I'm in the same boat, wanting to do the SW thing in a ten gal, after all the cost of ten gal set-up I'm thinking i will just wait a little longer with a bit more budget and get a bigger tank set-up.

[mrg02d]

Yes, cost seems like something that is unavoidable! Fortunately, I was able to sell some stuff on ebay that further extended my budget. I got a Koralia 1 power head and a Marine Land Stealth 100W heater. I also got a digital thermometer and a 65W Coralife light. (With actinic blue or something its called?).

Fotunately for me, a reputable pet store is a mile down the road from me that sells alot of salt water stuff including live rock! That will no doubt save me alot of money! I havent been by, but their mini website claims they sell it. I have been there in the past for iguana stuff and they looked alright. (Carol's Critters).

I will go by there when my tank comes in the mail. (Next week).
MAtt

[bumblebee1976]

My tank is acrylic and it shipped fine. The live rock hasn't scratched it as far as I am aware and I have moved it around a lot. Acrylic gives better visibility and is tougher but more prone to scratching. I can't recommend the tank I've got enough - it really has been so easy to use. No protein skimmers or uv filters to mess with. The only down side is that the light only supports low-light corals (officially none). One other down side might be that you have to remove a lot of rock before you can get to the filter because it is at the bottom. This was designed to be the best for filtration, drawing impurities down through the media where it naturally settles. Your choice of course but simplicity and reliability have won me over, it has proven itself. Though most people are against the biorb, it has worked for me. I think mature, decent live rock is the key. It cycled my tank instantly and the params have remained at 0, 2 months on. Good luck!