CJ Guy
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey guys, fresh noobie right here. Over the past couple of days i've been doing so much research and reading stuff from this forum that sometimes I don't go to sleep at night because I'm always thinking of something else that I want to know or need answers to. But i'm glad to join this community because I know all of you will be able to help me through my endeavor with this saltwater aquarium project.
Anyway, I will be getting a 125 gallon aquarium with the dimensions 72x18x23 pretty average yet well size tank IMO.I figured that it's long enough and wide enough for enough space for the fish to swim in,so that should be alright size for em,and ya I know what you might think about asking me in terms of stocking, but that will come in time. Well here are some questions that I have in mind, and I know I have a million more but as for right now the only ones standing out are these:
1) (This may be a very very noob question, but it's been puzzling me) How would I fill the tank with saltwater? Obviously you don't put the water and then just keep adding the necessary amount of salt and stir while inside. But then do you put water in another container mix in there and then just keep adding into the tank, but wouldn't that create an inconsistency if there is to much mix in one application to the next? Another question I have about the water is where do you get the water from, I know the water has to be like dechlorinated or well not have any chlorine in it, and the only thing I could think up of was buying the distilled water or whatever type of water from the grocery store, but then again buying about 125 gallons of water seems impractical and costly. But I have also seen the thing about RO/DI systems, but I saw that they were quite expensive, and i'm sure not everyone has a system for their tank (or I could be wrong). So exactly how does this go about?
2) In terms of cycling, the method that really caught my attention was the placing of food as if feeding invisible fish. The question that came to my mind was, when doing this method should there be live rock already in to aid in the process or just plain saltwater and the addition of food to the "invisible fish" enough?
3) I wanted to have corals in my tank, and I know that is usually for novice aquarists but eventually the time will come, and I wanted to know if I also need Live rock as well? This question came to me because I realized that some fish are not well suited to be kept with corals because they may eat some of them, and that brought me down to just having fish that are reef safe, which is just a handful of peaceful fish. Now I wondered if I had live rock and coral would the fish be alright and not really fight with each other (well except for their compatibilities) in terms of food?
Well those are some of the questions that I have for now, and sorry that they are so long, I was just trying to be as descriptive as possible. These are some of the equipment that I have in mind of getting:
Lights: Coralife LUNAR Aqualite Deluxe Series 2X36"
Powerhead: Turbelle Stream with controller
Protein Skimmer: Don't know any good ones to get (Any input would be great)
Filter: Not sure if I need it since I would have the Live Rock and Skimmer
Water Pump: Not sure if this is the right name or if it's just the powerhead but I usually see water that is brought back into the aquarium.
Welp that's all that I have for now, and i'm sorry for it being so long, and I know it must be boring to read it all but, as you can see these things have been kept in my head for a long time just waiting to come out hehehe, which is why they are so long and descriptive. Well anyway hope to hear from all of you. Thanks
Chris
Anyway, I will be getting a 125 gallon aquarium with the dimensions 72x18x23 pretty average yet well size tank IMO.I figured that it's long enough and wide enough for enough space for the fish to swim in,so that should be alright size for em,and ya I know what you might think about asking me in terms of stocking, but that will come in time. Well here are some questions that I have in mind, and I know I have a million more but as for right now the only ones standing out are these:
1) (This may be a very very noob question, but it's been puzzling me) How would I fill the tank with saltwater? Obviously you don't put the water and then just keep adding the necessary amount of salt and stir while inside. But then do you put water in another container mix in there and then just keep adding into the tank, but wouldn't that create an inconsistency if there is to much mix in one application to the next? Another question I have about the water is where do you get the water from, I know the water has to be like dechlorinated or well not have any chlorine in it, and the only thing I could think up of was buying the distilled water or whatever type of water from the grocery store, but then again buying about 125 gallons of water seems impractical and costly. But I have also seen the thing about RO/DI systems, but I saw that they were quite expensive, and i'm sure not everyone has a system for their tank (or I could be wrong). So exactly how does this go about?
2) In terms of cycling, the method that really caught my attention was the placing of food as if feeding invisible fish. The question that came to my mind was, when doing this method should there be live rock already in to aid in the process or just plain saltwater and the addition of food to the "invisible fish" enough?
3) I wanted to have corals in my tank, and I know that is usually for novice aquarists but eventually the time will come, and I wanted to know if I also need Live rock as well? This question came to me because I realized that some fish are not well suited to be kept with corals because they may eat some of them, and that brought me down to just having fish that are reef safe, which is just a handful of peaceful fish. Now I wondered if I had live rock and coral would the fish be alright and not really fight with each other (well except for their compatibilities) in terms of food?
Well those are some of the questions that I have for now, and sorry that they are so long, I was just trying to be as descriptive as possible. These are some of the equipment that I have in mind of getting:
Lights: Coralife LUNAR Aqualite Deluxe Series 2X36"
Powerhead: Turbelle Stream with controller
Protein Skimmer: Don't know any good ones to get (Any input would be great)
Filter: Not sure if I need it since I would have the Live Rock and Skimmer
Water Pump: Not sure if this is the right name or if it's just the powerhead but I usually see water that is brought back into the aquarium.
Welp that's all that I have for now, and i'm sorry for it being so long, and I know it must be boring to read it all but, as you can see these things have been kept in my head for a long time just waiting to come out hehehe, which is why they are so long and descriptive. Well anyway hope to hear from all of you. Thanks
Chris