Lighting, Substrate, Skimmer - plus pics of hirocks baserock

[badfish]

Hi Guys,

sorry to post yet another thread, i have three quick questions,

(1)- i have 60lb of sand in my 50 gallon tank, i would say it is at least 2 inches in the shallowest part and up to 3-4 inches in some parts. Is this enough, can i add more later if need be.

(2)- if you check the pics in the links below, you will see the lights i currently have. I think that it is regular flourcent, it says 17watt aquarium lamp. Is this good enough for a FOWLR? If not can i just buy better bulbs or should i buy a compact flourecent setup? If so, how many bulbs and what sizes should it have? Can it wait until my wallet recovers? Any suggested brands. I do not plan on keeping corals for a long time.

(3)- My BakPak 2 Skimmer is coming in the mail, and i will receive 20 lbs of keys rock from liverocks.com this week, if you look at the pics of my tank, where would you suggest placing the skimmer? In the middle of the tank? Does my setup look correct so far?

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd01b3127cce90960d1bb60d00000016108AaOGjdi4Ztq

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd01b3127cce90960d18373e00000016108AaOGjdi4Ztq

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd01b3127cce90960d19b60f00000016108AaOGjdi4Ztq

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd01b3127cce90960d07b61100000016108AaOGjdi4Ztq



and if anyone can tell me how to just post pics instead of links to pics it would be appreciated, i tried hitting Img then pasting the url of the pic the iimg again and it doesnt work.

Thanks Again,

- Jeffhttp://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd01b3127cce90960d06372000000016108AaOGjdi4Ztq

 

[ASpec]

You're doing fine. How much base rock do you have in there now?

As for placement of the skimmer, it really does not matter where you place it. Your personal preference is what I suggest.

That light will be fine for a FOWLR tank. The only advantage you'll get by running PC's on a FOWLR tank is the fatser growth of coraline alage. The bulb you have looks like the standard AGA bulb. I would consider replacment with a 50/50 bulb. You can pick these up for $10-$20 at your LFS.

Once your LR comes it you should be prepared to start testing your water several times per week to monitor your cycle. Make sure you have test kits ready and you have additional SW mixing and ready to go for water changes durning the cycle to help minimize die off from your LR.com rock!

 

[badfish]

Thanks ASpec, that is 30lb of baserock, i just ordered 20lb of keys, and am doing the shrimp cycle method now, i wanted to start a mini cycle before adding my LR in hopes that all my keys rock would not die off. i have a seachem basic testkit and will start testing shortly. When would you suggest the first water change? 40 gallons filled my tank, would 5-10 gallons be a sufficient water change? I plan on buying a ten gallon tank and an airstone to stir up the salt, i also brought a 50 Watt heater in plans for mixing water and for quarantine tank. Once cycled, how often should water changes be?

Thanks again.

 

[malkore]

I'd also suggest planning on upgrading your pump on the CPR to a maxi-jet 1200. The Rio600 will be fine for a while, but as the Rio ages it'll slow down, and never be what it once was.
I have a thread going under the General Hardware section about changing out the pump. You can get a MJ1200 for $20 online, and the adapter to connect to the CPR is only $5.

 

[badfish]

Thanks for the advice malkore, i will definetly look into this in the near future.

 

[leafyseadragon]

I have a Bak-Pak 2R and I'm about the replace the RIO powerhead with a MaxiJet 1200. I seem to recall reading that a MaxiJet 1200 would be tight fit into the Bak-Pak nozzle, but it will work. If that's the case, why would I need an adapter? :?