DESPERATELY NEEDS HELP!!!

[mike3epanda]

I AM STARTING A SALTWATER AQUARIUM... I DON'T KNOW MUCH SO I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I NEED TO BUY... I ALREADY HAVE A 75 GAL TANK, STAND, AND A FLUVAL FILTER SO IDK WHAT ELSE I NEED?.... also i just bought 2 48" flourescent light for it.. is dat any good?
WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP / comments ty

[Sadielynn]

There are alot of things that you need . What kind of tank are you looking for , do you want a reef , or just fish ? If you want a reef you will need to look in to T5 or MH or T5/MH combo for that size tank. Power heads you will need to move the water around , for a tank that size I would recommend a skimmer a heater , chiller for the temps to be stableized depending on your location but the larger tanks usually end up spiking the temps and need a way to cool them due to the lighting needed to get to the bottom , and the size of equipment that puts off heat transfer to the water, test kits, refractometer, thermometer, grounding probe (salt water is an EXCELLENT conductor of electricty), also depending on location if you get frequent or long power outages get a generator (please do NOT ever run this in a house as it gives off deadly co2 a colorless , tastless gas) ... Get a few books like the conciouencious aquarist Books
You will need to read as much as you can the basics for a tank start up
There are things that need done before the first drop of water goes in .

[melosu58]

Just a little note that typing in capital letters is considered shouting. OK try this link by one of our members on what you`ll need.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=76139

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

Please do not cycle you tank with live animals. That is a great article Mike pointed you to. I would also suggest you check out the Articles Page for additional info.

[mike3epanda]

I still dont get about the light if iget a reef or just a fish?... hmmm, welll i was gonna get freshwater but i accidentally bought a crushed coral so now im going for SW. I'm thinking of getting salt, live rocks, & skimmer for now as im just "stabilizing. I kind of already have a power head because i have these two pumps that acts as filters and also sucks and blows out water. thank you & appreciate all helps

[cmor1701d]

I would respectfully suggest that you slow down and read the articles before buying anything else.

Crushed coral as a substrate is fine for a Fish Only tank, but it traps detritus (uneaten food and fish waste) which causes a buildup of Nitrates. You need to vacuum the detritus out of the tank regularly.

A reef tank refers to keeping corals in addition to fish. Corals require much more light than normal fluorescent bulbs produce..

When you say you are "stabililizing" , what do mean by that term? Cycling?

Please read the articles that were pointed out an post more questions as they come up. Spend a few weeks thinking about what you tank to end up looking like. This can be a very expensive hobby, especially if you do not plan your purchases in advance.

The moderators and regulars here are quite knowledgeable and willing to share their experience to make your experience a pleasant one. The best advice I ever received here was "nothing good ever happens quickly in a salt water aquarium".

Welcome to AA and good luck with your tank.

[mike3epanda]

ty tips fr lighting, i guess i'm not getting corals for awhile.... and yes i mean cycling.... sry im noob to SW so not much xp, so i shall vacuum once its cycled and after i put livestock in there?.... if so, how many times in a month?.... also, how much?... i dont really want to keep adding saltwater because its pretty pricey... I remember long time ago when my teacher had one in his class and he said he didnt have to change the water, just checking hp and adds some to keep it balanced, and he had everything set-up with corals & fish etc...

1 more Q if i get the light with the most power... does that mean i can get all the corals.. or just the ones that can take that much light?

lol... yeah i think i gotta slow down on this, im just excited so i just bought stuff.... but i think im just gonna look for a protein skimmer, salt, and LR for now and get my aquarium started!... ty for advice and advance
feel free to comment

[Sadielynn]

SLOW DOWN !! 1st you need to have a plan . 2nd you need to line up what you want to do with this tank so that you are not disappointed in the long run and set back buku bucks . You need to understand the basics before you should even start ! Avoid the crushed coral all together , it will eventually cause nitrAte and phosphate problems ,that will lead to bad algea problems in the long run .One easy way to cut a corner (safely ) is to look for agronite sand that is play sand sold at most home depot stores you can get around 50 lbs for about 10 bucks rinse well and then place into your tank.As for vacuuming you can just use air line tubing to get the excess junk off the LR and top layer of sand . Get yourself about 70-85 LBS LR add your salt water , sit back and read read and read some more . This will allow your tank to cycle you do NOT need a live fish to cycle it is kinda mean to do it that way it burns their gills and they can NOT exchange o2 . You can use an unseasoned deli shrimp to kick start it all the bacteria need is a food sourse that it can feed off of , next wait a bit longer and test once the tests show a high level of ammonia you can remove the shrimp and toss it ,your cycle is now under way , now for some more waiting till you are cycled out do NOT rush this ! This allows you to observe for nasty hitch hikers. It just seems that you want some one to out line it for you and "hold " your hand you have ALOT of reading to do and need to understand alot more than someone do it for me the 1st year is ALOT of work checks and balances to start . Once it has been up for a period with out issues then you can cut back on the testing to monthly insted of weekly . You will eventually learn to read the fish and corals to be able to identify that something is just not right and you will pick up your cues to run tests to figure out the issue at hand . As for the light you must know what each coral needs it is not simply "lighting" you need to know are they agressive , do they need high or low water flow , lots of light or no light do they need to be fed or are they phytosynthetic . There is the water changes that should be done weekly and at very leasty monthly, never add anything with out first testing for it never add salt water for top offs just RO/DI or distilled , tap water is a no no so you may wish to invest in a RO/DI unit for that size tank ! Plain and simple you have a long way to go before you should add even your first drop of water . There is much more to consider than jsut the lights , water and I want corals RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH ! Good luck

[mike3epanda]

Originally Posted by Sadielynn

SLOW DOWN !! 1st you need to have a plan . 2nd you need to line up what you want to do with this tank so that you are not disappointed in the long run and set back buku bucks . You need to understand the basics before you should even start ! Avoid the crushed coral all together , it will eventually cause nitrAte and phosphate problems ,that will lead to bad algea problems in the long run .One easy way to cut a corner (safely ) is to look for agronite sand that is play sand sold at most home depot stores you can get around 50 lbs for about 10 bucks rinse well and then place into your tank.As for vacuuming you can just use air line tubing to get the excess junk off the LR and top layer of sand . Get yourself about 70-85 LBS LR add your salt water , sit back and read read and read some more . This will allow your tank to cycle you do NOT need a live fish to cycle it is kinda mean to do it that way it burns their gills and they can NOT exchange o2 . You can use an unseasoned deli shrimp to kick start it all the bacteria need is a food sourse that it can feed off of , next wait a bit longer and test once the tests show a high level of ammonia you can remove the shrimp and toss it ,your cycle is now under way , now for some more waiting till you are cycled out do NOT rush this ! This allows you to observe for nasty hitch hikers. It just seems that you want some one to out line it for you and "hold " your hand you have ALOT of reading to do and need to understand alot more than someone do it for me the 1st year is ALOT of work checks and balances to start . Once it has been up for a period with out issues then you can cut back on the testing to monthly insted of weekly . You will eventually learn to read the fish and corals to be able to identify that something is just not right and you will pick up your cues to run tests to figure out the issue at hand . As for the light you must know what each coral needs it is not simply "lighting" you need to know are they agressive , do they need high or low water flow , lots of light or no light do they need to be fed or are they phytosynthetic . There is the water changes that should be done weekly and at very leasty monthly, never add anything with out first testing for it never add salt water for top offs just RO/DI or distilled , tap water is a no no so you may wish to invest in a RO/DI unit for that size tank ! Plain and simple you have a long way to go before you should add even your first drop of water . There is much more to consider than jsut the lights , water and I want corals RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH ! Good luck

whoa... thanks for the tips ^ .. learned so much... but as i said i already bought the crushed corals and i don't want to waste it.... tho i might get the sand later(sounds like a good price!)... also im rly in a budget so i cant buy much stuff so i'm looking for something just to get my aquarium started w/out fish... heres what i've got so far:

Aquarium & Stand
Fluval & other filters
Heater
and sadly the crushed coral

so what else do i need for NECESSITY?

i love this place!!.. its been very helpful!

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by mike3epanda

i dont really want to keep adding saltwater because its pretty pricey... I remember long time ago when my teacher had one in his class and he said he didnt have to change the water, just checking hp and adds some to keep it balanced, and he had everything set-up with corals & fish etc...

Bad advice. PWC`s do alot of things but two important things they do is add back trace elements that have been depleted and dilute excessive nutrients that cause stress and nuisance algea. I would at least do monthly PWC`s. I do weekly PWC`s for a healthier tank. It just seems to me that you want to do SW but you dont want to spend the time and money it takes to be sucessful and that worries me. JMO