newbie

[DIZZLE808]

In about 2-3 months I'm planning on starting my 150gallon tank and I'm totally stoked about it. I am new to this but I have "studying" for about the past 4 months or so (i do know that there is a ton more to learn) and at this point I feel comfortable moving forward with my tank and by that I mean beginning to start purchasing items/equip., but here are some questions that I have...

I'm going to start out with FOWLR then later on down the road I was thinking of adding some invertebrates.. good idea or should I just start out that way?

A guy at my lfs told me that unless my tank is already established then there is no need to cure the live rock... is there validity to his statement?

as far as the filtration goes I want to use a wet/dry system. I did a few searches to find the best one but there are just so many to choose from... any suggestions?

I guess this will do for now. Thank you in advance for any input/help that you guys can give.

 

[AquaRick]

Hi there and welcome to AA

What inverts do you want to keep? Shrimps, and crabs....or an anemone?

If your tank is cycled, you can slowly add base rock to it. But since you're starting from scratch, I'd go with mostly base rock and a bit of live rock to seed the base.

IMO/IME, ditch the wet/dry and go with a sump and skimmer/fuge.

Just noticed you're out in Hawaii. Lived for awhile on Maui a few years back. Miss the haupia ice cream, poke, and loco moco....mmmm.

 

[DIZZLE808]

hey AquaRick, thanks for responding bro..

As far as inverts go I was thinking of a few cleaner shrimp and, if compatible, a small lobster as well. I wanted to get an anemone or two to go along with the clownfish that my daughter wants in the tank (naturally) but because I live in Hawaii the options for that is pretty slim...at least from what I know.

With the LR I was thinking of around 40lbs of live rock with about 60lbs of base rock (rough estimates). So when I buy the LR can I just take and put it in the tank as soon as I get it home since my tank will not be established at that point?

So in your opinion why would a sump be better than wet/dry? I'm sure there are pros and cons to each I was just curious as to how your experiences were with each. I was of the idea that with the LR and the wet/dry that the filtration would almost completely be biological so I was digging on that idea.

I actually have never been to Maui, a few of my boys are from there though and they told me that its super chill. And the food... bro everytime I leave the islands the first thing that I miss is the food! when I'm in the mainland visiting family, we cruise, we have a few drinks and what not and when that happens I start craving poke BIG time!!

 

[TommyP]

Welcome to AA! I have a HOB filter and skimmer so I'm not familiar with the wet/dry set ups but your idea for the rock is ideal to start your cycle.

I never been to Hawaii, im from NY but it sounds amazing and i'm jealous!

 

[DIZZLE808]

thanks TommyP.

The live rock was my biggest hurdle to overcome, but once the guy at my lfs told me that they can ship LR from a neighbor island and it that it was legal (they, for lack of a better word, cultivate rocks there so its not coming out of our ocean) I was soooo stoked!!

my wife is from NY, I only went there once and it was in December. Needless to say I was pretty frozen walking around the City! I am definitely lucky that I'm from and live in a place where its summer year round because I can't handle the cold stuff!!!

 

[TommyP]

I would love to up and move to somewhere that's warm. i hate the snow and the temperature changes like crazy this winter. That's awesome about the live rock. I cant wait to watch everything come together.

 

[DIZZLE808]

Believe me when I say that I CAN'T WAIT either!!!

 

[DIZZLE808]

I started thinking... while I'm waiting to purchase my 150 gallon tank that I might as well go and buy a smaller tank (10-30g) and get that up and running so that when I do upgrade to my 150g than I could just use the smaller one as my quarantine tank. so lets say I buy a 20g FOWLR what would be a good set up as far as lighting and filters?

 

[TommyP]

As far as the filters go, since its a smaller tank would you do a hob? If the tank is drilled then do a canister. I am a hob fan only bc it's more affordable. Make sure the filter you get is rated for double the size of the aquarium. Mines made by marineland. There's a bunch of good brands out there.

For the lighting, I'm not 100% sure... I bought my system off eBay. 4 bulb t5 HO. 2 daytime 2 actinic and 4 led. It was 102 shipped and the quality is good. It was 48" though so yours would be cheaper. Check it out.

 

[DIZZLE808]

Yea I'm definitely going with a HOB filter with this one. I'm heading to the store now to pick up the tank and everything else I need right now. So if all goes well it'll be filled and cycling by this weekend. Speaking of cycling...could you explain the dead shrimp thing?

Thank you in advance

 

[DIZZLE808]

starting 30g

So I ended up getting 30g. and as you can see I didn't get the stand yet. I'm toying with the idea of making my own but I'm not sure yet. I got the EHEIM professional 3 ultraG65 canister filter rated at 250 GPH. The lighting is Marineland double bright LED. I also got 30lbs of substrate and a Hydrometer. todays purchases came out to just a little under $600 . I'm planning of going back maybe next week to get live and base rock.

I also decided that instead of using this tank as quarantine tank when I eventually upgrade to a 150g that I might as well turn it into a sump. but for now I'm just so excited to have started my first project!