Finally starting my salt water aquarium. . .

[ozorowsky]

Hi guys and gals,

I joined her a few years back and life got in the way for a while so I haven't been able to start my salt water tank. I am now FINALLY ready to begin my tank.

So far, I have a 150 gallon tank.

I know I have to purchase a refugium and protein skimmer (Searching Ebay now)

I scuba dive so thinking of going about 5-10 miles out and pull up some buckets of sand and rock and bringing those home (Any issues with that?)

Am I off to the right start? What should I know? Am I missing anything? I am no huge rush to start the tank so I'm fine with it cycling for a while before adding fish.

Thank you.

 

[Gti_Leo]

you don't have to get a fuge but its best to get one,the natural filtration is far better then anything else.

what are your plans for it?? FOWLR FO or reef?

 

[ozorowsky]

you don't have to get a fuge but its best to get one,the natural filtration is far better then anything else.

what are your plans for it?? FOWLR FO or reef?

What is FOWLR and FO?

I am thinking a semi reef. I want to do a finding nemo type tank for my son.

 

[Maya]

Check local laws. In some areas the reefs are protected and removing anything could get you into trouble.
FO is fish only. Fowlr is fish only with live rock. Reef is coral, inverts, and fish.
Patience in this hobby is a good sign and will end up saving you more time and money than you could ever imagine.

 

[ozorowsky]

Check local laws. In some areas the reefs are protected and removing anything could get you into trouble.
FO is fish only. Fowlr is fish only with live rock. Reef is coral, inverts, and fish.
Patience in this hobby is a good sign and will end up saving you more time and money than you could ever imagine.

I don't plan on removing reefs from the ocean; just curious if I pull up some sand, is that sand dirty? The guy in fish store was telling me its polluted (I live in Tampa area FL) and if I got beach sand/sand from the water my tank would never begin.

I was wondering if it would be ok to find myself a refugium and protein skimmer, throw tap water in my tank, then put the salt solution in there, put sand from the beach, and rock from the ocean (without coral) and then throw some shrimp in there and let the tank mature, test add fish, test add coral.

Thoughts?

 

[Maya]

http://www.steadyactionfishingcharters.com/Fishing-Regulations.pdf

A copy of the local laws in tampa. Harvesting live rock from Florida waters is prohibited without proper permits. Not sure about the sand. It wasn't listed.

 

[iDream]

The Nemo Tank Guide

Nemo tank isn't gonna work

 

[Maya]

Why idream? He has a 150 gallon tank. He could keep most of the fish featured there. The gramma, the clownfish, the tangs, a star, etc. The moorish idol
and the anemone should wait for the tank and the tank keepers abilities to mature but a Nemo "style" tank (which is what the OP is going for) is doable. I don't think anyone plans on adding great white sharks or a deep sea octopus to their "Nemo tanks".

 

[jenatron]

Why idream? He has a 150 gallon tank. He could keep most of the fish featured there. The gramma, the clownfish, the tangs, a star, etc. The moorish idol
and the anemone should wait for the tank and the tank keepers abilities to mature but a Nemo "style" tank (which is what the OP is going for) is doable. I don't think anyone plans on adding great white sharks or a deep sea octopus to their "Nemo tanks".

Many of them are hard to care for, incompatible, or not reef safe. Yes, he can do some of them, but not all. That was the point of the article. It states you can do some, but it also educates you of some that won't work.

 

[ozorowsky]

Yes Maya, you are correct. Thank you.

I am not a fanatic that wants every tiny little thing like finding nemo. I was vague due to my inexperience in this hobby. I don't know the difference between a coral and an anemone other than a name.

But I'm learning and part of why I'm taking up this hobby is I scuba dive and it would be cool to know what is down there that I'm interacting with (not touching).

At any rate, is it true I have to go 50 miles off shore to get sand (laws aside) to put in my tank without fear of pollution/not ever being able to start a tank?

For starters I plan to get sand, a refugium, and protein skimmer, then throw water in there.

 

[Maya]

Well that is a fairly difficult question to answer. The problem with sand and sea water straight from the ocean is it's hard to tell. The rain runoff and pollution are hard to track. 50 miles out sounds like it would be clean but with things like the gulf spill, boat fuel, even certain minerals from volcanic eruptions (in some areas), etc male it hard to say. You might get the best sand you'll ever find or you might get something that will annihilate a tank. Most of the large aquariums who use products straight from the ocean run them through rigorous purification procedures. Large scale filters, uv sterilizers, and they cure them for months. Some folks on forums swear by it. Some people say that they've lost entire tanks. This hobby is time consuming and expensive. I personally don't even hate when I have to take the chance of putting live rock into my tank... However I am fairly conservative. If I were starting out a new tank I would be cautious. It sounds natural... What could be better right? But as a novice in the hobby I'm not sure that you have the ability to be able to quickly identify problems that could arise. Aquariums are a very delicate balance. It doesn't take much to throw that small closed system off. In the ocean a small amount of toxic substance (heavy metals for example) is quickly diluted. 150 gallons is not that much to work with and even trace amounts of cleaners like windex can be lethal. It's not as straight forward as we would like it to be. It's up to you to discover what is legitimate risk for your tank. Your decisions will be vastly different than other peoples but there is always more than one way to do things. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[ozorowsky]

Well that is a fairly difficult question to answer. The problem with sand and sea water straight from the ocean is it's hard to tell. The rain runoff and pollution are hard to track. 50 miles out sounds like it would be clean but with things like the gulf spill, boat fuel, even certain minerals from volcanic eruptions (in some areas), etc male it hard to say. You might get the best sand you'll ever find or you might get something that will annihilate a tank. Most of the large aquariums who use products straight from the ocean run them through rigorous purification procedures. Large scale filters, uv sterilizers, and they cure them for months. Some folks on forums swear by it. Some people say that they've lost entire tanks. This hobby is time consuming and expensive. I personally don't even hate when I have to take the chance of putting live rock into my tank... However I am fairly conservative. If I were starting out a new tank I would be cautious. It sounds natural... What could be better right? But as a novice in the hobby I'm not sure that you have the ability to be able to quickly identify problems that could arise. Aquariums are a very delicate balance. It doesn't take much to throw that small closed system off. In the ocean a small amount of toxic substance (heavy metals for example) is quickly diluted. 150 gallons is not that much to work with and even trace amounts of cleaners like windex can be lethal. It's not as straight forward as we would like it to be. It's up to you to discover what is legitimate risk for your tank. Your decisions will be vastly different than other peoples but there is always more than one way to do things. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I follow ya Maya, so let me ask this. . . .

For a tank with nothing but air in it right now, where is the cheapest place to buy sand (Anywhere online?)

Also, same question about protein skimmer/refugium.

If you were to ask me where to buy scuba gear, I'd say leisure pro. Electronics; New egg. Is there somewhere like those places for aquarium supplies?

 

[Dary421]

Well that is a fairly difficult question to answer. The problem with sand and sea water straight from the ocean is it's hard to tell. The rain runoff and pollution are hard to track. 50 miles out sounds like it would be clean but with things like the gulf spill, boat fuel, even certain minerals from volcanic eruptions (in some areas), etc male it hard to say. You might get the best sand you'll ever find or you might get something that will annihilate a tank. Most of the large aquariums who use products straight from the ocean run them through rigorous purification procedures. Large scale filters, uv sterilizers, and they cure them for months. Some folks on forums swear by it. Some people say that they've lost entire tanks. This hobby is time consuming and expensive. I personally don't even hate when I have to take the chance of putting live rock into my tank... However I am fairly conservative. If I were starting out a new tank I would be cautious. It sounds natural... What could be better right? But as a novice in the hobby I'm not sure that you have the ability to be able to quickly identify problems that could arise. Aquariums are a very delicate balance. It doesn't take much to throw that small closed system off. In the ocean a small amount of toxic substance (heavy metals for example) is quickly diluted. 150 gallons is not that much to work with and even trace amounts of cleaners like windex can be lethal. It's not as straight forward as we would like it to be. It's up to you to discover what is legitimate risk for your tank. Your decisions will be vastly different than other peoples but there is always more than one way to do things. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

+1 right on Maya ..... Btw hi

 

[Maya]

Hi there dary!
Marine depot runs good sales on things. That's where we bought our skimmer. Dr.'s Foster and smith is a great online and catalog resource as well and liveaquaria is an online option for stock. For a refugium, craigslist is a great place to find used tanks. Ebay is also a huge resource for CHEAP prices, and a great place to find things like refractometers, thermometers, etc. Places like Petmountain.com have good prices on some things like testing kits and powerheads. Shop around and make good use of google cause you honestly don't ever know where you can find good deals on this stuff. Also make a conscience effort to find a good reputable LFS (local fish store). If you find one that really knows there stuff... You've found gold. They are out there but sometimes hard to come by.
Sand is a hot button issue around here. Some folks use pool filter sand and you should research deep sand beds to see how you feel about those. They make a great natural filter if you plan on doing natural filtration with live rock and a refugium. If you are patient, sand can easily be seeded from a few pieces of live rock. Other folks buy live sand in bags and use that. Search some old threads and see what you think about other member's ideas on sand. You'll quickly form your own opinion. We all do. Lol

 

[jsmith]

The next build I do.. Im looking at doing a fowlr .. pool sand is not only cheap imo but also at that right grain size... Also if your looking at saving money on rock I know personaly a few poeple in my town that make thier own..there are some great articles on line .. Here is one that I feel is simple to follow. http://www.premiumreef.com/forum/showthread.php?37-Make-your-own-Live-rock . Im looking at doing this I think it would be a blast to incorperate the kids in to it.. Plus u can do your part being a responsible reefer.