Megan's first Saltwater Tank

[Psychocircus91]

water changes 1x a week is the norm. As mentioned, you will be better off by taking the filter media out of your hob filter. cleaning the filter media once a month would not suffice. With a skimmer, live rock, and powerheads you do not need a hang on back filter at all. it's just one more thing that may detract from the beauty of your tank.

 

[Lilmack07]

water changes 1x a week is the norm. As mentioned, you will be better off by taking the filter media out of your hob filter. cleaning the filter media once a month would not suffice. With a skimmer, live rock, and powerheads you do not need a hang on back filter at all. it's just one more thing that may detract from the beauty of your tank.

Yup yup I understand water changes. I've never messed with skimmers or power heads. So I will go look into those right now and get back with any questions I might have. Thank you! And I also thank everybody for their patience. Just wanna make sure I get off on the right foot with this tank.

Ktom- Yes I plan on getting a RO/DI system, not sure on how big of a system I need thou. Also when mixing the water do I just get like a big trash can ( something big that can hold water) and mix it up in there and then add it? I will be sure to remember that important piece of knowledge thank you. Oh yes I understand that.

 

[Psychocircus91]

Yup yup I understand water changes. I've never messed with skimmers or power heads. So I will go look into those right now and get back with any questions I might have. Thank you! And I also thank everybody for their patience. Just wanna make sure I get off on the right foot with this tank.

Ktom- Yes I plan on getting a RO/DI system, not sure on how big of a system I need thou. Also when mixing the water do I just get like a big trash can ( something big that can hold water) and mix it up in there and then add it? I will be sure to remember that important piece of knowledge thank you. Oh yes I understand that.

Since this is 40 gallons, you won't really need a trash can. When you first mix, you can do it directly in the tank, since nothing will be living in there. Then for water changes you could just use a 5 gallon bucket.

 

[mr_X]

You probably want to wash a canister filter out more frequently than once a month. I suggest weekly. 50 pounds of rock, and a good quality protein skimmer are all you need to keep a healthy tank. You don't even need a "clean up crew". I find that name comical. When food is eaten, it's not gone. It's simply changed. Nutrients must be removed from the aquarium by it's keeper. I don't remember the last time I saw a crab or snail leave the tank to poop!
Get snails and crabs because you like them, not because you plan to rely on them to do maintenance for you.

 

[Lilmack07]

I only say a trash can because i would figure using a 5 gallon would a bit of a pain in the butt. But now thinking about it, it prolly would be so bad to use for mixing. Also with the skimmer how many gallons do I wanna go for? Could I do one that does 65 gallons or would I wanna go bigger then that? Also I attached a picture of two power heads would one of those be ok?

Mr.x- well from the sounds of it I might try to go with he skimmer, live rock and power head. Though that is good to know its better to do once a week then once a month, thank you. Hahaha I like your outlook on the clean up crew. Never hear anyone talk about it like that but that makes a lot of sense.

Edit- also adding a pic of a skimmer I was looking at.

 

[MyR6Rocks]

I only say a trash can because i would figure using a 5 gallon would a bit of a pain in the butt. But now thinking about it, it prolly would be so bad to use for mixing. Also with the skimmer how many gallons do I wanna go for? Could I do one that does 65 gallons or would I wanna go bigger then that? Also I attached a picture of two power heads would one of those be ok?

Mr.x- well from the sounds of it I might try to go with he skimmer, live rock and power head. Though that is good to know its better to do once a week then once a month, thank you. Hahaha I like your outlook on the clean up crew. Never hear anyone talk about it like that but that makes a lot of sense.

Edit- also adding a pic of a skimmer I was looking at.

That protein skimmer for up to 65gal. will be fine. That was my first skimmer on my 60 & it worked great. Also might wanna check Amazon, that's where I found it the cheapest.

 

[TommyP]

Do you know if you are planning to do a sump/fuge? If you don't you can get the reef octopus skimmer. It's a HOB. I have a 55 tank, and I use the bh-100. It was like $125 when I got it a couple months ago and I love it. I do have an emperor 400 hob filter, however from reading this, I may actually remove that since I have a ton of LR and 4 powerheads and the skimmer.

The powerheads you posted look okay. I would go w/ 750gph I dont think you need more than that. I would buy two of them. 1 for each side of the tank, face them at eachother. You may even be able to go two 500's. I use hydro korolia's. I got two 750's for $30ea. from Dr. Foster & Smith.

With a 4 bulb t5 light, you can keep a bunch of softies but not too many corals with that fixture. Many corals need 6-8 bulb or LEDs. I currently have a 4 bulb as well, just wish I spent the extra $ in the beginning on a better system so I can have corals I actually want.

Best of luck, will be following along.

 

[Lilmack07]

MyR6Rocks- Sweet! Thats great to know, thank you. Oh yes i usually search petco for easy reference, then later on see if amazon has it or not. xD

TommyP- No i don't wanna have one of those unless i really need one. Oh ok i will have to look into that skimmer fer sure, thank you. Haha nice, learn something new everyday. :] I think its pretty crazy to be able to get away with out having a filter.

Oh thats not bad at all and good to know, i will go check that site out. Ive seen people talk about it but ive never went and poked around on it.

Hm i will do a little more research into my lighting fixture then. I wanna be able to grow corals for sure. I had looked at a t5 ho lighting fixture at petco but it was only a two bulb i believe.

Sweet, thank you!

 

[mr_X]

I'm not a fan of that coralife super skimmer 65. I would even go as far as calling it "junk". There are far better skimmers out there for just a few dollars more. If you already bought the ss65, I would definitely do the mesh wheel mod on it. Google "coralife ss 65 mesh mod". You will find step by step instructions on how to make this skimmer much more efficient.

 

[Lilmack07]

No sir I have not bought it yet, not rushing into anything with this tank. I want to get everything mapped out and then start spending money. Lol I'm glad you brought that to my attention though. May I ask if there is any skimmer you recommend?

 

[ktomminello]

Lol, a clean up crew is helpful when you first start up, though. I just know that by watching mine I have been able to get a feeling for good and bad algae- like an indicator to show me what to research... I got thrown into the saltwater universe almost a year ago from being a 'freshy' with a love of crustaceans.... I found this crossover element helped me make sense of things with my puffer tank, which is when the salt water obsession got me, so now I'm trying learn a 'science' starting from scratch so I used what I already knew- crabs. I am well aware, however, that it's not replacing my need to care for my tanks... I keep freshwater fiddler crabs- I know how much waste my little buggers make in there and how much algae and dead plant matter they clean and it's a non issue to me... They will stir my sand and provide food for my puffer, won't they? I'm not being sarcastic, I seriously am that new to salt

 

[mr_X]

No sir I have not bought it yet, not rushing into anything with this tank. I want to get everything mapped out and then start spending money. Lol I'm glad you brought that to my attention though. May I ask if there is any skimmer you recommend?

Reef Octopus makes decent HOB skimmers. I like the BH 90.

 

[Lilmack07]

Ktom- personally I love the clean up crew I think they are fun to watch. I will have a clean up crew most likely in my tank, don't know what it will consist of yet but chea. As for your question I wish I had the answer for you.

Mr.x- oh ok sweet Tommyp said the same hung except I think he said the bh-100. Will look at those today.

Been trying to plan a surprise bacherolette party for one of my friends. Been hectic but exciting.

 

[ktomminello]

I absolutely love the antics of crabs and shrimp, though from what I've researched they are not always coral/ reef safe. Most people I have talked to tend to like nassarius, cerith, turbo, Margarita, and spiny star astraea snails, serpent and brittle star fish and dwarf blue foot and dwarf zebra hermit crabs, emerald and arrow crabs and banded coral, skunk cleaner, and peppermint shrimp. Liveaquaria.com and reefcleaners.com are pretty good sites for information and fellow aquarists experiences with specific cleaners.