new sw set up

[abrahamavelar]

hello every one i just recently purchased a 75 gall aquarium and it came wit the uv sterilizer and filter and the full spectrum light, i think thats wat it is, so i bought 100 lbs of prepared live sand and put the water salt the dechlorine thing and some live rock, thise are some pics, what else do i need? i have the termometer hood lights filter uv sterilizer, how long does it has to cycle b4 i can add some fish and the guy that sold me this aquarium told me that i dont need the protein skimmer because of the uv sterilizer, is it true????????? also today it looks less cloudy i also put the white thing there in case the filter leaked and i removed it already also im about to put some back ground but idk if i have to doit or sw doesnt require one

 

[GhostKnife]

You definitely want to keep the protein skimmer...
What kind is it? The skimmer in my opinion is more vital than a filter. I dont run any sort of filter on my tank and never have... I have a 75 and am running a Reef Octopus extreme 160 skimmer, UV, and Dual media reactor(Ferric Oxide and Carbon).
Also you will want to get more live rock before you add anything. Generally the starting poundage of live rock per gallon is one pound. Maybe a little less if you wanted to do a swim tank. This will also help cycle your tank being that the rock(cured or uncured) will have a little die off depending on quality and jump start your cycle. If the rock is cured and is of good quality you may not get any sort of ammonia or nitrite meaning that you bypassed the cycle all together and are good to go... STILL TEST FOR CYCLE.
Anyways welcome to the site much much much help can be found here.

 

[abrahamavelar]

thanks, well i dont have the skimmer yet, the guy tthat sold me the tank told me that i didnt need the skimmer because the uv sterilizer will be enough,im islo wondering if i need a water fan(or how ever its called ) because there is not enough water movement? also i have a new pic of my tank, and thanks for ur response

 

[austinsdad]

Read up on protein skimmers so you can better understand the guy that sold you the tank doesn't know much about SW tanks. A skimmer is gonna remove waste from the water that you cannot see. A UV sterilllzer only deals with killing live organisms that pass thru the UV light slowly enuf.

Also, read the articles section of this site to better understand what "cycling" a tank is all about. It's not about "how much time" it takes, but the method of introducing ammonia to the tank to establish nitrifying bacteria. do yu have a test kit?

Pls stop relying on the guy that sold you the tank and become more informed on your own. You'll have more fun as you understand better.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. We like pictures too!

2 powerheads like the Maxijet 900 or 1200 would do nicely for the water movement. Place them on either side of the tank, higher up and make them blow into each other, the current crashing into each other on the front glass.

 

[Zer0]

Just going to throw my 2 cents in this one, since i had it rough when i was cycling.

If i may make a suggestion, i would advise to cycle the tank with the table shrimp method. I just think it is cleaner, and quicker for that matter. Instead of using the decaying matter off of live rock to cycle the tank. I cycled my tank with live rock, and thought it would have been a good idea, but IMO, i was dead wrong. I had so much dirt and grime in my tank, that you could not even see the white sand that i had. And that was all stuff coming off of the rocks. Another thing was that since i had 75lbs of live rock, there was tons of things on it that were dying off from the beginning of the cycle. That was when my ammonia levels went off the chart, way past 10ppm. At 8ppm beneficial bacteria begins to die off.. so in other words, i had so much ammonia, that my cycle could not continue. So that was agonizing. Four 75% water changes later, and i had only dropped it down to 5ppm, but that was a good place for the cycle to begin. So.. out of all this, i would say use the shrimp method, or use the pure ammonia method, and then just get cured live rock to put in your tank when it is cycled. This way, you'll have really nice rock, and your tank won't shoot off of the ammonia readings chart. And restating what the others have said, there is no question that you need a skimmer. A tank that large needs to have a skimmer. Also, if you do get fish like tangs, or triggers etc.. they put a real shift on the bioload in your tank, and by that point, you will definitely need/want a skimmer to keep the water clean. Clean water = healthy everything.

I also have 2 Koralia #2's in my 55G and they produce great flow, all throughout the tank. So in your case, maybe a #2 and #3 would be good. A lot of people say to get all of the same kind when it comes to powerheads, but i've yet to see what the big difference is. If i could have gone back to change what i bought, i would have gotten a Koralia 1 and a Koralia 2 because right now, even though my tank gets great flow, i just think it's a little overkill.

The people above gave some great advice, so all these answers should help you to understand what it is you want to do with your tank.

Good Luck and please! Keep us posted!

 

[MarineFlake]

...how long does it has to cycle b4 i can add some fish...

When your test kits (You did purchase some test kits?) show that the ammonia and nitrite are zero'd out. At that point you would start your cycle of water changes using either RO or RODI water and fresh salt mix (You did get a refractometer or hydrometer?) to lower any nitrates to acceptable levels. I would highly recommend googling or searching this site for any good marine specific tank cycling guides, there are lots of them.

...i dont have the skimmer yet, the guy tthat sold me the tank told me that i didnt need the skimmer because the uv sterilizer will be enough...

I wouldn't worry with either *during* a cycle. You want the cycle to occur, not use filtration methods (In your case, UV being biological/mechanical and Skimmer being mechanical) to interfere with the cycle process. After the tank has cycled is a different story, though, unless you understand when and how to use a UV sterilizer, I would take it out, clean it up and put it away until you've read up on its use.

...im islo wondering if i need a water fan(or how ever its called ) because there is not enough water movement?

In short, yes, you will want some power heads in the tank for water circulation...normally. That is, unless you are setting up some type of specific biotope, such as a sea horse tank, etc. In any case, you will need something to move the water, kind of like people like a nice breeze on a warm day.
Let me just go out on a limb here, maybe save you some time and frustration and say that, it sounds like, and I could be dead wrong here...but it sounds like you may need to do some serious reading to sorta catch up on the hobby a bit. Before you dump money into skimmers, stock or pumps, maybe google for some articles, a trip to the local library, whatever it takes to read up on keeping a salt water tank. It will save you a lot of money and stress in the long run. Just my 2 cents...
Best of luck!

 

[melosu58]

I also think you should get away from tap water. You are going to have all kinds of problems with it. Read this

Chemistry and the Aquarium

Also moving this to the getting started forum.

 

[abrahamavelar]

thank you everyone i spent the hole day today researching things about salt water and went from place to place until i understood the importance of a skimmer, so i went and took some water to the pets store to do the test and they said it was good i just needed to drop a little bit of the ammonia and i bought the test kit and the skimmer and the power heads, here are some pictures, by the way the watter looks so much better today

 

[Zer0]

Meh, i've only heard bad things about those seaclones, and that they are seajunk. I hope that one works out for you.. but i've read multiple reviews giving the seaclones horrible reviews. I know someone here that had a seaclone, and it was such garbage, that he took it apart and just turned it in to a powerhead for the tank. Not sure who it was. But anyways, glad you know what you have to do and your on the right track.

 

[abrahamavelar]

thanks, i talked to the guy at the fish store where i bought it and he said this one was one of the good ones cuz i asked him to show me the ones that were good and he said that this will work fine, and this place is a saltwater fish store only but hopefully works cuz it was alittlebit expensive

 

[Zer0]

Well, that's an LFS for you. Im almost 100% sure that he was just trying to sell you the skimmer. And im 100% sure that no one should ever trust what an LFS employee tells them. That's one thing you will learn shortly if you stick to this forum haha. Trust me, he just duped you. The seaclones really are below the bottom of the barrel as far as skimmers go. Hence why you find them being sold at petsmart, and you don't find skimmers like Reef Octopus' being sold there lol.. If you think that seaclone was expensive, then you've never seen any skimmers lol. Some go over $2000 dollars. I bought my Reef Octopus for 124$, and it's definitely one of the best HOB skimmers out there. Those and Bak-Paks by CPR. If you were going to get a HOB skimmer, i would have suggested either the Reef Octopus or the CPR Bak-Pak. They get great reviews contantly, and are not in the least bit expensive, for the amount of work that they do. But still, i hope that skimmer doesn't break down on you. :s

 

[abrahamavelar]

yeah i saw some that were about 400 dollars but they were the ones that u have to put inside the other aquarium

 

[Zer0]

You mean the sump right? The sump is that extension of the aquarium where all of the other equipment goes in to, and adds more water volume. But yeah.. generally speaking, the ones that are "In-Sump" will be more expensive. Depending on the brand you get of course.

 

[abrahamavelar]

yup ill get one of those some day first i just want to establish a simple salt water aquarium to start off and like add some things here and there because im not rich and all of those things come out of my own pockets

 

[Zer0]

Heh, i feel the same way man. I worked the entire summer before i started college, and then i blew whatever i made on this SW tank that i have, and i'm still not satisfied with it. But yeah, to start off, you're definitely doing the right things. Just keep asking questions, and don't fell that your'e alone! We're all here to help you. Good Luck

 

[Flake]

my seaclone is a bit of a pain to actually GET skimming, but once it's set right it works like a champ. I fully expect it to break soon with all the bad reviews, but as of now, it does its job, so I have no complaints.

 

[abrahamavelar]

thanks for everything i took some.water to the pet store yesterday so they can test it and the guy said it was fine that i just needed to do a salt test which i have done and im confused i dont know if i am doin it right because the hydrometer gives me 4 different numbers but Idk ill doit when i get home again, my ammonia its just barely high atleast thats what the guy said and that wit the protein skimmer it should come down is it true?

 

[Flake]

I never had luck with the plastic hydrometers. I would look into the glass ones (they're cheaper too!) or a refractometer. I love mine. So useful.

 

[Zer0]

Yeah, i have a refractometer as well. When it comes to accuracy, nothing beats them.

 

[abrahamavelar]

cool thanks i actually went to the store and learned how to use itand now it seems that im doing good, i also bought some more live rock and i took more water and the guy that tested it used chemicals and a weird machine for the salinity (or however it spells XD)and he said that everything its on except the ph that its spiking up and down and that because its changing i should wait until friday to do another water test and well here are some pics of my new live rock