SW Tank

[ScubaBaker]

i have a 55 gallow salt water tank that i will post a pic for. i would like some one to look at it and tell me if i lack sand or live rock. i have a ph problem and i am wondering if the lack or either item could be my cause.
feel free to make suggestion in witch to move my tank around. always looking for something new
thanks

 

[ScubaBaker]

i am have trouble posting a pic to look at could some one help me?

 

[badfish]

Do you have a website to host your images, i use shutterfly.com, it is free and you can place a link to your actual pictures. I think others use shutterbug which allows you to paste the pic in the actual thread. good luck. How many pounds of each do you have?

 

[ScubaBaker]

30 pounds of live rock and about 30 pounds of agornite? sand.

 

[badfish]

yeah, you are gonna want at least 55lbs of liverock, you should look into ordering around 30lbs of baserock from hirocks.com, its pretty good stuff and is only $48 shipped. The baserock will eventually become live and youll be all set. I have a 3 inch sandbed in my 50 gallon tank and that is 60lbs. you should probably add at least 30-45 more lbs. This is just my opinion, though i think most would agree.

 

[dizzyliz]

i would say more rock for sure, i am up to 78llbs in my 55 with 3-4" LS everything seems pretty stable here, getting the base rock sounds like a good idea. I am also wondering not the expert here but what is the ph of the water u r using for mix and top off?? not sure what other causes could mess with your ph.
kinda a newbie with SW
--Liz

 

[ScubaBaker]

i use distilled water i did infact test that water and all came up 0 ppms
you say i need to buy base rock. would it be ok to buy more live rock. i dont like base rock. and about my sand bed i dont have a very deep one. some spots where the water comes out of my return you can see through the bottom. is a deep sand bed a must have?
if so how could i go buy making it deeper with out hurting whats in my tank now?
thanks michael

 

[badfish]

You dont have to buy baserock, its just a lot cheaper. Anyway, you will prob. want to have 1-2 lbs per gallon. I am a newbie myself, but my understanding is that a DSB helps keep nitrates down and acts as a biofiltration along with the LR. What is in your tank now. I think i read somewhere if you buy more sand just make sure your rinse it out really well, and if you happen to have a smaller tank, like a ten gallon you can just soak it in there for a couple of days, so when you add it to your main tank it wont get as cloudy. I guess it all depends on if you have life in your tank now. How long has it been up. Tell us as much as you can, im sure a more experienced person will have a lot more to say. Good luck.

 

[Phyl]

How long has your tank been setup for? New tanks will typically see pH issues until the tank has cycled and become stable. What are your other levels (Ammo / trite / trate / Alk / Ca)? What time are you testing pH and with what kind of test kit? One reason for a pH problem in an established tank is lack fo surface disturbance to promote gas exchange. You could ph test water that has been sitting out of your tank for 5-10m and if the pH is higher then pointing a powerhead at the surface for a bit of a surface disturbance would help your pH. Also removing glass covers would help that. What kind of salt are you using and what SG are you mixing to? Are you having any algae issues?

More questions than answers so far, but hopefully with some of these answers we'll be able to point you in the right direction!

 

[EJS4]

You can use just LR if you prefer but as badfish said BR is a lot cheap and will become LR (bacterial growth inside rock). The algaes just takes time to grow.
Can you adjust your returns, you want the water to move across the sand not move the sand. DBS not a must have but a good thing (more bio-filtration)

 

[ScubaBaker]

how could i add more sand with disturbing or causing stress on my fish?

 

[Dr.Nate]

if you want LR, check out LR.com, you can't beat it.....it's awesome....