im just getting started i need some advice!

[Brandyn85]

ok guys im totally new to the whole saltwater thing so i need some help. Please tell me what you think and sorry ahead of time for the lengthy post.

im getting my tank from my brother in law because he is upgrading to a custom built 270 gallon tank. I'll be getting my tank in the next 2 or 3 days when his new one is set up, it is a 90 gallon tank which measures 48x24x18 i believe. along with it i will get the sump, pump and stand. I know my brother in law will be available to help out but i don't want to rely on him to be there all the time, and this is all stuff i want to learn anyway.

My goal is to end up with a FOWLR tank, so please tell me if im missing something or if i should do something different.

I've been doing a lot of reading and searching and heres what ive come up with. in order to get started i need to buy Lights, sand, rock, powerhead(s), and a heater, and then this is where i need help..

I'm trying to figure out in what order to do things, and if i need to get everything before water or not. as i have a second child being born in about a week and my wife will probably kill me if i go out and spend 500 buck at a time on this thing... so i will probably have to space my purchases out by a couple weeks

should i get a protein skimmer first or can i add that later?

can i get sand then water and add rock after the water or should i buy sand and wait for water until i get rock?

what should i put in the sump? i read a forum that said not to do bio balls? is that true?

I found a 260W light on amazon for a little over $100 will it work ok?
(2) x 65W Fluorescent 12,000k White Daylight PL Lamps
(2) x 65W Blue Actinic PL Lamps
(4) Pairs, 8 Blue-Moonlight LEDs

i also saw koralia had pretty good reviews on their power heads, should i run one bigger one or multiple smaller gph ones?

thanks ahead of time, i have a feeling i will be spending a lot of time on this site. again please tell me what you guys think and if im way off.

i just want to do my research before i start so things go smoothly.

thanks again!

 

[Terrance]

What does your sump look like? You don't need bioballs since you will have live rocks. Look into skimmers and growing macroalgae in your sump.

Fill your tank with water.
Get all of your rocks (lay them on top of eggcrate if you don't want to scratch the bottom of your tank).
Cycle your tank.

Sand and lights can wait.

 

[Grizz]

Lots of great info here should answer most of your questions
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

 

[Brandyn85]

i dont remember exactly how the sump is set up im still waiting to get it. ill try to take some pictures of everything when i get it in a few days. im thinking now about just getting all my rock annd letting it set in some totes until i get my water and sand maybe in a week or two.

 

[Brandyn85]

hey guys, well things have been moving slow in terms of getting my tank set up. i got it about 2 weeks ago, and repainted the stand, spent a few hours cleaning and repainting the back of the tank. got the stand and tank set up where it will sit in my living room. ordered a light(2-Fluorescent bulbs, 2 actinic bulbs and 8 blue leds). ordered 100 lbs of dry base rock from reef cleaners(still waiting for that to arrive) my brother in law is going to give me an established rock from his tank to get my rock seeded.

along with the tank i got a HOB over flow running 2 flex lines down into an eshopps model 200 wet/dry filter, he removed the bioballs and had the flex lines running into a sock filter and i believe he had some rock rubble below the sock, and in the second chamber is where the return pump(GX-2400), he also had his protien skimmer in there which i will be getting in the near future. once my rock arrives, im planning on getting sand, and water, and hoping to get my tank up and running to start the cycle. im in the process of researching an ro/di but for the initial start up im going to buy water from the lfs.

should i put any sand or rock inside the sump?

should i just let the tank run and do weekly water changes or do you guys recommend i do anything different.

any input is greatly appreciated.

i've been doing tons of research but everyone tends to do things a little different and i just want to be sure i'm not doing anything wrong.

here is how she looks now.

 

[Terrance]

Seems like you're on the right track.

You can put sand or rocks inside your sump. It wouldn't make a difference if you put some or all sand/rocks inside your sump or display tank.

The longest part is cycling the tank with rocks inside.

 

[Brandyn85]

thanks! what do you guys think about filter socks? 100 micron? 200 micron? should i run each of my overflow lines into their own sock or both into 1 sock? or does it even matter?

 

[Terrance]

I like big socks at 100microns. 1-2 socks is your option. If you want to run 2 socks together at the same time, then buy 4. This makes it super easy to change the old ones out for new one without interrupting the system for too long.

I think its a really good idea to change out the socks at least once per week. Reason being that the waste will break down into dissolved waste and run past the 100microns. If you're not overfeeding or overstocked or the sock is not too small, then the sock shouldn't clog up in a weeks time.

 

[Brandyn85]

i just ordered a couple 100 micron socks, i will run both lines into 1 sock for now and see how things go. just waiting for my rock to arrive in the mail now.

 

[Brandyn85]

well i'm kind of pissed, i've been waiting on my rock to show up for a couple days. i come home from work and there is a box on my porch. my first thought was "that's a small box for 100lb of rock".... looked at the label, package 1 of 1, 53lbs. so i emailed john at reefcleaners to see whats going on since i never got a tracking number so i havent been able to tell where it was or if there was a second box somewhere.. He tells me they accidently only shipped me 50lb. then asked if i still wanted the second box! yes! that's what i ordered and paid for! so now i have to wait for the second half of my rock order to come before i can do anything....

i haven't heard a single negative thing about them, but my first experience with these guys hasn't been too great

 

[Terrance]

Thats annoying, but learn to be patient from their mistake. Get the cycle started. You can just fill the tank halfway and put the rocks in. This way you don't have to waste saltwater for cycling purposes. Its not much of a savings, but every penny is worth saving IMO.

 

[Brandyn85]

im trying to be patient, still waiting for the other half of my rock to come. got my filter socks in the mail the other day, hydrometer came today, should have mag float and a syphon coming in the next few days, i have about half my sand, and still need to get my test kit.

i'm thinkin to go about 2 inches deep with an aragonite sand, you guys think that is an ok depth?

with all this waiting i've been doing, i was able to work a deal with my brother in law, i traded him one of my new rocks for a live rock from his tank. so once i add water i will get my live rock from his tank, along with a cup full of sand to help with my cycle process.

you guys think i should stick a damsel or something in there too?

i have read a lot about cycling with fish and without. seems like the process goes faster with a fish, but sometimes the fish doesn't make it.

what do you guys do? what would you recommend?

 

[Brandyn85]

i also just got a koralia evo 750 powerhead. i got it used from my bro in law, for 20 bucks. he didnt need it with his new setup.

it still has some purple coralline on it, but its dried up. should i leave it on or try to clean it off? will it come back once its in the water again?

 

[Brandyn85]

im going to get my water in a day or 2, to start my cycle, i will be getting a live rock and a cup of sand to seed my tank from my brothers tank, i also read something about wringing his filter out into mine or scraping some gunk out of it to add to mine to help get the process going.

does that sound like a good idea?

if i do all that should i still stick a damsel in there for the cycle? if i do how many should i use for the cycle in my 90 gallon tank?

 

[Jmkb02]

im going to get my water in a day or 2, to start my cycle, i will be getting a live rock and a cup of sand to seed my tank from my brothers tank, i also read something about wringing his filter out into mine or scraping some gunk out of it to add to mine to help get the process going.

does that sound like a good idea?

if i do all that should i still stick a damsel in there for the cycle? if i do how many should i use for the cycle in my 90 gallon tank?

Lots of questions... I personally think the shrimp only method for cycling is the best. I have cycled three tanks now and it seems to be the most thorough cycle with no random spikes.

As far as sand or lr in your sump, I recommend it highly! I prefer mud and frags of lr that are too small to put in your display tank, but I also have a refugium which is great for reef, not needed for fowlr. Lr rubble will benefit your tank though so if there is a small compartment, fill it.

If you are going to cycle your tank, sand from your brothers tank is not needed. Sand as well as rock will become live through the cycle. You may also get some critters or bacteria you may not want as well. Sand is very good at hiding things.

Oh another thing I learned, what did you clean your tank with? Be sure there is no remnants and make sure you spray it out or clean it out with Ro/Di water as tap can have all sorts of contaminants as I learned the hard way. I lost several inverts due to the way I was cleaning my filter sock and my refugium.

Hope this helps some. Good luck and remember you have to have some serious patience in this hobby.

 

[Sniperhank]

Lots of questions... I personally think the shrimp only method for cycling is the best. I have cycled three tanks now and it seems to be the most thorough cycle with no random spikes.

As far as sand or lr in your sump, I recommend it highly! I prefer mud and frags of lr that are too small to put in your display tank, but I also have a refugium which is great for reef, not needed for fowlr. Lr rubble will benefit your tank though so if there is a small compartment, fill it.

If you are going to cycle your tank, sand from your brothers tank is not needed. Sand as well as rock will become live through the cycle. You may also get some critters or bacteria you may not want as well. Sand is very good at hiding things.

Oh another thing I learned, what did you clean your tank with? Be sure there is no remnants and make sure you spray it out or clean it out with Ro/Di water as tap can have all sorts of contaminants as I learned the hard way. I lost several inverts due to the way I was cleaning my filter sock and my refugium.

Hope this helps some. Good luck and remember you have to have some serious patience in this hobby.

I agree with cycling with an uncooked shrimp. I did the pure ammonia method and I screwed it up by not measuring right. Cost me extra cycle time. It is easier with the shrimp.

As for sand in the refugium, it is not needed. If you have the right amount in your display, it serves no benefit and makes it more difficult to clean. I run a bare bottom and it is very simple to siphon out buildup with a piece of airline tubing.

As for "If you are going to cycle"...you have to cycle your tank or you will have your fish die basically. But, I would suggest taking some sand from your brother's tank to help your tank cycle. It will get some of the bacteria in your system and you will hopefully get some neat critters like pods in your tank.

Cleaning your tank and equipment with RO/DI is very good advise as well. No chemicals should ever be near your tank, you can crash it and have to start all over and be out alot of money. It will also prevent unwanted things from your tap water from getting into your tank. I have spring water for my home tap and all kinds of things leach into my system, it actually killed off about 500 bucks worth of coral when I got my 55 gallon up and running originally due to chemicals leaching into my system from a farm right above my spring. An RO/DI unit is the #1 purchase anyone can make in this hobby.

 

[Terrance]

As for sand in the refugium, it is not needed. If you have the right amount in your display, it serves no benefit and makes it more difficult to clean. I run a bare bottom and it is very simple to siphon out buildup with a piece of airline tubing.

+1 Keep the maintenance as easy a possible for long-term success.

 

[Jmkb02]

+1 Keep the maintenance as easy a possible for long-term success.

+1! Yes maintenance is key and the easier it is, the more your tank will flourish.

On a side note, bare bottoms are really cool, well unique, but in my opinion it's almost a little more work. You really have to keep up on your siphoning and you wanna make sure your "dead" areas of water flow don't cause your dietrus end up under existing live rock. A well kept up bare bottom, especially since ur already planning a fowlr, would be a cool idea. May be a bit premature, but do you have any ideas for your stock?

 

[jjwilley718]

+1! Yes maintenance is key and the easier it is, the more your tank will flourish.

On a side note, bare bottoms are really cool, well unique, but in my opinion it's almost a little more work. You really have to keep up on your siphoning and you wanna make sure your "dead" areas of water flow don't cause your dietrus end up under existing live rock. A well kept up bare bottom, especially since ur already planning a fowlr, would be a cool idea. May be a bit premature, but do you have any ideas for your stock?

I believe he was talking about a bar bottom in fuge. I want to do that too with my fuge.

 

[Brandyn85]

as of now i have 100lb of base rock from reefcleaners and about 50lb of crushed coral sand,nother 20 or 30lb of live sand when i get my water, im thinking i may put some small rock chunks in the sump, just because i have them and no place in the display for them. other than that i am planning on running my sump with nothing in it except my pump until i get my protein skimmer,

as for my stock list, i need to do some more reading on compatibility but i'm thinking a couple clowns, a blue tang, i really want a naso, and maybe some chromis. i've been keeping track of neat fish that i find on the web but i think i need to get closer to that point before i decide for sure.

here is an update pic, not sure if i like the rock setup yet.