Moving from Brackish to SW

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goisles1

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
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Location
Long Island, NY
Hi,

This is my first group of questions on this upcoming project. In my first post in the Intrductions forum I explained what my intentions are.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f59/taking-the-plunge-109433.html

In short, I've got a 45gal tank, HOF (aquaclear500), Heater, stand, power heads, hood and light.

To avoid killing my wallet right before the holidys, I plan to only purchase a Skimmer and I'm leaning towards the AquaC Remora Pro.

My first question is regarding Live Rock. For my current Brackish setup, I purchased a rather large piece of rock from my LFS. It was a very nice addition to the tank but it quickly turned Brown as the tank get's a bit too much sunlight in it's current location. I'd like to include this rock in my SW setup. How should I go about cleaning this rock before adding it to my new SW tank for the initial cycle? I'll also be adding some live rock around it.

More questions to follow ;)
 
I would put it into a bucket with some saltwater and take a toothbrush to scrub off the major stuff. Don't worry about getting it to clean because its just going to get nasty again during the tank cycle. Once the tank finishes cycling and you put in your clean up crew they will get things much cleaner then you have any way of doing.
 
thanks Pat! Makes alot of sense

I'm going to head up to the LFS and drop off my current Brackish Inhabitants (ony a couple big guys) and check out their LR selection.
I want to break down the tank ASAP and start cleaning everything.

I will take a photo of the Rock in my current tank to see what you all think. My main concern is IF it will actually be able to become "Live". I have no idea of it's origns as my only goal when purchasing was to keep PH Up in my FW tank. I do believe it's a natural piece of Dead Coral.
 
You might want to also think about getting some base rock which will be cheaper and seeding it with some LR.
 
IT will become live, they always do and.......It's about TIME! Welcome to the saltwater world!!!
 
melosu58 said:
You might want to also think about getting some base rock which will be cheaper and seeding it with some LR.
Click to expand...
OK.. I like the sound of that..

So.. Say my current Rock is approx 15lbs andI think I want to shoot for around 45-70lbs of Rock in the end.

So, I'll need to buy around 40-50lbs of rock. What Ratio (live to base) should I buy?
 
Maybe 75% base and 25% Live. Most BR I`ve seen sells for around 2.99 a lb while LR around here sells for about 8.99 a lb. I put 200 lbs of LR in my tank at 8.99 a lb. I wish someone had told me about BR. Hey BTW welcome to AA
 
melosu58 said:
Maybe 75% base and 25% Live. Most BR I`ve seen sells for around 2.99 a lb while LR around here sells for about 8.99 a lb. I put 200 lbs of LR in my tank at 8.99 a lb. I wish someone had told me about BR. Hey BTW welcome to AA
Click to expand...

Thanks for the Welcomes..I love the AA references.. My name is Rob, and I'm about to spend ALOT of Money converting to Salt Water... :)

OK.. really like those ratios.. I don't care if I have to wait longer for the tank to cycle/seed..

I just donated a couple real nice African Ciclids to the LFS and took a look at their Rock Selection.. $13.99/lb for small pieces. YIKES.. Time to shop around. I also priced a Skimmer there. They didn't have the one I bought online but they had the Super Skimmer 65 for $179 which is crazy expensive..
 
Ok.. so here is where I am at. Last night I emptied my Brackish tank, and clean all the powerheads and the filter. I ordered the AquaC Remora Pro Skimmer and should have this early next week.

My next question is should I order the LR Now? I can mix up some SW and add it to a garbage can in my basement with some Powerheads. Or, should I just get the tank all set up first, then Cure the rock in it once it's running and use the LR to Cycle the tank?
 
Go ahead and get the LR and cycle your tank and cure the LR at the same time. Save time and money.
 
melosu58 said:
Go ahead and get the LR and cycle your tank and cure the LR at the same time. Save time and money.
Click to expand...

awesome.. Getting excited.. will clean the rest of the tank tonight.

Question about my Stand... It's one of those Iron ones with the Hollow middle.. So the tank is only supported on the edges all around. I assume the Bottom of the tank is strong enough to hold all this rock?

Dumb q's.. but I just want to be sure I do this right ...once
 
How about my filter media

OK.. So.. Picked up my replacement collar this mornig and will fix the tank today. Skimmer scheduled to arrive on Mon. So.. I'm getting close. As mentioned.. My plan is to use LR as my primary BIO filtration. However, I figure that since I have the HOB Aquaclear 500 (now called 110), I should use it.

So.. If I use it, what should I fill it with in regards to media. I know there is no need for the old media I used when it was FW.

Thanks in advance
 
Sorry to keep replying to myself.. But I've moved forward and want to post progress as well as ask my next question:

My Skimmer arrived on Monday and today I ordered 50lbs of Pohnpei LR from Underwateroutlet.com
Tonight I filled my 45gal with FW to perform a leak test as I had to do some minor repairs.
I also put a 10gal tank I had in the garage on the bottom shelf of my stand. Obviously, I'm thinking a sump might be smart. I wouldn't mind moving my Remora Pro Skimmer down below along with the heater, LR rubble and anything else I can.

I've got 2 Aquaclear HOB filters from my freshwater days and was thinking one of those might work to get my water from the display tank to the sump. I could add a bulkhead to the bottom of the filter where the media would normally go and connect the hose or pvc to it. The filter would pump the water from the main tank into the filter resevour(sp) and it would drain down into the sump via the bulkhead. If the flow from the filter to the resevour was too fast, the xtra water would just return to the tank via the normal filter return. Obviously, I'd need to purchase a pump to get the water from the sump back to the tank.

Any thoughts on this..?? I think I read somewhere that it'd a bad idea to use Pumps in both directions. I just don't recall why that is.

Here's a pic of where I'm at with this project:
tanks.jpg
 
Looks pretty good. Really like the set up. Why dont you try a HOB overflow with a hose to the sump.
 
melosu58 said:
Looks pretty good. Really like the set up. Why dont you try a HOB overflow with a hose to the sump.
Click to expand...
Thanks.. For the overflow, I figured a DIY project for $5 instead of having to pay for the overflow. I looked around and they run around $100 and I still need to buy substrate, a pump, new lighting, etc etc etc
 
RE: overflow

I used to try to make overflows. Overflows are usually tend to fail (do to air in tube) and be noisy I switched to drilling the tank and putting a bulkhead on. I was afraid at first but have not had a bad drill. Go slow and stay away from the edge 3/4 of an inch or so. I got my bits on ebay fairly cheap and also the bulkheads the key is to make an initial drill through a thin piece of plywood and hold the piece plywood on the glass to keep the drill in one place and then use a little water when drilling on the glass and go slow on the pressure
 
UPDATE:

Added 80lbs of Rinsed Fiji Pink Aragonite. Then filled the tank again with FreshWater. I rinsed the sand but the tank is still extremely cloudy.

As my LR has not shipped yet from Underwateroutlets, my plan is to drain the tank today again then refill it with SW.

I bought the large pail of SaltMix.

AS this Tank really has nothing in it except the Sand now, is it OK if I just fill the tank to the top with FW THEN start adding my SaltMix?

And, Will running my skimmer have any benifit to Tank clarity before the LR is intrduced?

Lastly, do you recommend and additives to "condition" the water? FYI.. My watyer is VERY Nuetral. I know this because my other expensive hobby is Brewing Beer where water conditions also play a big role. I do NOT have a RO setup yet.. But will get one eventually as it will be useful in Both Hobbies.
 
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