I'm slow so please bear with me

[ozorowsky]

Hi everyone, I'm lost in this world but wanna get my feet wet so to speak and try it.

That said, i'm going to be asking lot of questions and want to dumb everything down step by step.

I live in Tampa, FL. I will be filling my tank tomorrow and putting in sand that someone previously had in their tank.

All I have so far is a 125 gallon tank, refugium, and pump.

I also have 2 heaters that was in my fresh water tank. Will these work in my salt water tank? What temp should I set them at? I am going to (when ready) start off putting a few clown and puffer fish in the tank.

Where should I buy chemicals to make the tap water salt water? Is there something critical I need/missing to get the tank started to put rock in and start cycling the tank?

Thank you for your patience and advice.

 

[Grizz]

Hi and Slow is the way to go Yes you can reuse your heaters i keep mine @ 78-79F you might want to look into a RODI unit stay away from tap water if you can to much junk in it.
PLS do a fishless cycle( http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html)
you'll need a cupple of power heads for water movement some rock and be sure to wash that sand. If you must fill with tap water i use Prime to treat the water 125g is a lot of water to buy so again a RODI is the way to go

 

[ozorowsky]

Nope, no fish going in (fishless cycle) until I test, test, and re test water.

Are the power filters expensive? I'm gonna research on those right now ty.

 

[carey]

Powerheads are about $50 each give or take. I'd recommend the Koralia brand. I have 2 1400's running in my 125g which is a bit overkill, so you can go with the koralia 1050's or the 1400's...

Oh and defintely look into getting a ro/di machine it will be priceless i promise.

heres a link to a popular one, I and others use it. It's a portable unit so you dont have to hardwire the plumbing.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380255124367&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Grizz]

Carey no links i must say im shocked JK OZ listen to Carey she knows her stuff just follow some of her threads

 

[ozorowsky]

Carey no links i must say im shocked JK OZ listen to Carey she knows her stuff just follow some of her threads

**Noted**

And carey, If I buy that I run my house from my kitchen sink through that to my tank right? So fill the tank up and then get some salt water solution and let it cycle?

Thank you in advance everyone.

PS: Side note, please tell me if there's anything I need to think about. . .
My aquarium had a glass top which broke when I was moving my tank, I was going to get some plexi glass cut and made for the top but gonna leave the top open. Instead I am going to build myself a cabinet, stain it, make space to house lighting, and build it so I can set the unit right on top of my tank. Anything I need to think/worry about?

Thank you everyone.

 

[carey]

If you get a ro/di unit you run it to a bin or garbage can or maybe some buckets. You mix the salt out side of the tank then add it after its dissolved.

Do you have a canopy or anything? What are youre plans for lights? You can go open top if you want and just put the light fixture with legs on top.

Cycling the tank is a bit more involved than just putting in water and letting it run. You'll need an ammonia source, whether a rotting raw shrimp, pure ammonia or some live rock.
There are some awesome articles on cycling on this site, take a look around. I'll try to find some links

 

[carey]

Found it!

Cycle your salt tank

 

[ozorowsky]

If you get a ro/di unit you run it to a bin or garbage can or maybe some buckets. You mix the salt out side of the tank then add it after its dissolved.

Do you have a canopy or anything? What are youre plans for lights? You can go open top if you want and just put the light fixture with legs on top.

Cycling the tank is a bit more involved than just putting in water and letting it run. You'll need an ammonia source, whether a rotting raw shrimp, pure ammonia or some live rock.
There are some awesome articles on cycling on this site, take a look around. I'll try to find some links

No I don't have a canopy. And THANK YOU for being so patient with me.

I don't have light plans yet though I know I will need them.

Light fixture with legs sounds enticing; maybe 2 3 footers of some type then build a nice wood canopy to hide the lights and make the tank look nicer.

I have heard about the raw shrimp idea. Thats what I meant about cycling the tank, going to put the sand and rock in, and throw in a few raw shrimp, test the water and when the water is exactly where it needs to be I'll get my first fish, then second and so on

Thank you again

 

[ozorowsky]

another question here. . .

when I do water changes, I just use a siphon like I did in my fresh water tank, siphon the water to a bucket and dump it right?

Does salt water kill grass or anything? Can I just throw it in my back yard?

Thanks again

 

[carey]

I went with a 72" fixture for my 125g reef, but I wanted a 12 bulb system abd it was priced right on craigslist. I wanna have mostly corals in mine so thus the need for alot of light.

If you build a canopy then you would get different light that can mount to the wood top and stay hidden. here is a picture of how my tank is with the lights.

I use the siphon or my python siphon to remove the water, same as my FW tanks. BUT you need to add the new salt water back in via buckets or a pump in a garbage can for instance.

I make my ro/di water and it goes into a 32g garbage can. I add the salt and keep a powerhead in there to mix it up. I usually do this the day before a water change. I bought a small submersible pump and some hosing from home depot and have the water pump from the garbage can to the tank instead of doing buckets.

I don't worry about temp matching as much since I live in Florida. Just make sure the salinity of the new water matches the current tank water and youre pretty much set.

 

[Grizz]

Yes just drain it into a bucket. And yes SW doz kill grass i use my old water for weed control around my house and driveway

 

[ozorowsky]

oh awesome! I just realized your were in FL haha I'm in Tampa!

I'm going to get to building my top this weekend, and picking up some sand tomorrow, then going to get a garbage can/reverse osmosis system and get things rocking!

Are there any worries about dumping the wastewater in my grass out back?

 

[carey]

I water my flowers with it in my back yard. I have mine setup outside on my lanai using a garden hose hook up.

 

[ozorowsky]

I water my flowers with it in my back yard. I have mine setup outside on my lanai using a garden hose hook up.

You have inspired me! I am going to buy a garbage can, and tap into my cool side of my hot water heater, run water through that reverse osmosis filter you linked me into the can and mix salt solution in there.

Then I'm going to rig something to pump from there to my tank, and when I need to do water changes I'll pump from my tank out and then from the garbage can into the tank.

Buying two of those 1400 power heads as well right now. So if I'm correct my tank setup will be something like this right?

|Power heads| Over Flow to refugium|
| TANK |
-------------------------------------
|Refugium | Protein Skimmer|

 

[carey]

Looks right. Except I would have the skimmer before the refugium so it doesnt skim out your stuff from the refugium like pods.