I'm gonna go for it.

[ace1uno_00]

will that be good enough to up the PH?
What about water conditioning?
I mean. I have kept freshwater tanks for years and all you really have to do is condition the water and add the bateria, let it cycle, keep it at the right temperature, Test your perameters and its good to go.

Is that the same case for salt water? Condition the water, add salt.... and...? what else?

 

[Fluff]

It's pretty much the same. It's really not that much harder to take care of, just a have few more things to watch. Yes, the agronite sand would be good for ph but salt plays an important roll in that as well. You'd condition the water just like normal with a good dechlorinator. Add your salt, let it mix, add a raw shrimp and let it do it's thing.

 

[Drake]

I used silica sand for a freshwater tank, and I let it cycle for a good two months. I got the sand from Lowe's Hardware, it was $2.50 for a fifty pound bag, so I took it. I decided I would move my pair of blue rams into the 29 gallon aquarium which had the sand in it. They where doing great for a couple of weeks and one day after I was gone all day, the male was dead and the female was still alive but was dying. She eventually died and I was wondering if the silica sand had anything to do with it and if I should of used argonite sand instead.

 

[ace1uno_00]

That sucks Drake.

Hey Fluff. The water conditioner i use is aqua plus and the bacteria i use is "cycle" Do i add that to the water along with my salt mix?

 

[ace1uno_00]

Oh and what about filtration? im either going to use my 55 gallon or 80 gallon for my saltwater tank. what should i use as a filter?

 

[Fluff]

No, don't use the cycle. I would get a raw shrimp and let it rot in the tank for a few weeks. This is a sure way of making the tank cycle. I don't believe in the instant cycle stuff. I've tried them on fw and find they don't work most times. SW is a slow process to start but you'll save yourself alot of headache to not rush it. To get started, I would premix the water, put the sand in the tank, place a shallow bowl on the sand, poor the water in the bowl to help keep the sand from stirring to much. Add your raw fish or shrimp and let it sit.

 

[Fluff]

Personally, I don't use filters on my sw tanks. If you get some baserock, or even some lacerock and put that in, at about 1.5-2lbs per gallon, add a few powerheads to move the water through and around the rocks, that is good enough. You want to aim for about 10x's the gallons (550gph-800gph) turnover is a good average. You don't need to add all the rock at once and you may even want to invest in some liverock as your adding it.

 

[ace1uno_00]

wow no filters?
I dont think my skills are that advanced to use no filters. lol If you dont use filters wont the water get cloudy? and stank?

 

[Fluff]

Nope, the rock works as your filter. Just have to be sure you have enough rock. You can run a filter if you want. I'm not saying not to. Only offereing another alternative for you. When I started out I used a tetratec 500 filter on my tank. It's a little overkill on a 55 though. Any filter that is gonna turn the water over at a good pace for you will work. Your still gonna want a couple powerheads to move water around the bottom of the tank to keep from getting dead spots.

 

[ace1uno_00]

oh i see, so what about 50Lbs of Live rock and a filstar xp3? would that be enough for a 80 gallon?

 

[Fluff]

I know nothing about canister filters so you'll have to use your judgement on if it's enough water turnover. But, you'll still want to get one or two powerheads to put behind the rocks so the water gets cycled and you have no dead spots for waste and nasties to build up.

 

[David03]

Ace,
Here is an article on Cycling that Fluff is talking about.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

And here is an article on the filtration system.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=10

They are both in the Articles section (ton of good stuff there)!!!.

Happy Reading!

 

[Fluff]

Kudos to you David03, for searching and posting those links.

 

[aznbob]

oh i see, so what about 50Lbs of Live rock and a filstar xp3? would that be enough for a 80 gallon?

I am running a 29 gal tank with no filter but I have 50 lbs of lr. If I were you I would just get 100-150 lbs of lr for your 80 gal tank.

Don't buy all lr though buy maybe 50/50 of lr and br. The br will help keep the cost down and will become lr later anyway.

 

[ace1uno_00]

Wow. This really isnt as hard as i thought. Whats a good price for lr?
and what is the best salt to use? i want to run a canister filter to use a U.V. Is that a good idea?

 

[MT79]

Wow. This really isnt as hard as i thought.

Thats b/c you don't know enough yet to know what you don't know-if you know what I mean LOL. Keeping a reef is a never ending learning process.

 

[ace1uno_00]

Uhmm. my brain hurts. lol j/k
Yeah i can tell....Learning, Thats Half the fun right?

 

[Brenden]

For the record I know what you mean. I think?

 

[sdellin]

Addictive? Are you kidding?! I'm consumed! I thought this was going to be my hobby, but now my husband is getting addicted also! It's definately worth the work and cost imo, if you have the ability to commit. Every living creature is a pet who depends on the aquarist to survive. I am finding someone new living in one of my tanks all the time.

My husband is a pilot and also flies model airplanes in his spare time... that is an expensive hobby, so I got away with changing over to saltwater, he still spends more!