RE: Stop Me! New Q's...new thread.

[youronlysin]

RE: Stop Me! New Q's...new thread.

Regarding the setup of a new saltwater FOWLR tank:

So how do I start this thing? Do I add sand, rock and water and thats it? What about live sand? If the tank isn't cycled, how does it stay alive? I can get the rock and sand locally and fast as there is a saltwater specialty store three blocks from me. I only worry about starting the cycle process....I assume I can do this with the live rock and live sand without killing whatever critters are there? The shrimp idea sounds easy enough to start the cycle; think I'll do it that way. Do I need to fill the tank with water and get it up to temp before I add the sand and rock?

Just a question cause Im curious.... How do you put an Anemone in your tank anyway? Just pick it up and set it on a rock? Dont they sting or something?

 

[scuba_steve]

if it was my new tank id get some base sand and rock !! set up the tank run a shrimp in it to cycle !! wait a week or two !! then buy lr/ls and add on top ya might get a little cycle but imo its better than starting a new tank with just lr cause ya might kill some good critters !! some anemone can sting ya best to use rubbergloves when ya can

 

[Hammer]

As far as the anemone`s go if this is a new setup wait wait wait they will look great for a few months but then blam you could end up with a blob of jelly and a clown fish that is pi**ed at you for letting his home die
Rubber gloves are good just dont try to force him off a rock, they will move to a location that best meets their needs,lighting, current etc.
I have lost 2 and will wait for about a year before trying again.

Hammer

 

[fishfreek]

Before you do anything have your saltwater mixed up or mix up the FIRST batch of saltwater in the tank. Then add your sand and rock after your salts mixed to the proper salinity and the water temperature is correct. Adding live sand or live rock before the water is ready will surly spell doom for the live aspect of the rock.

For yoru tank I would put the anenome idea in the back of your head as anenomes have an awful track record for surfivability in the aquarium and requre high lighting, supplmental feeding and stable water quality. Im not sure how large a tank your planning on setting up but if you could give us that info it would go along way in getting you the most helpful advice we can.

 

[youronlysin]

O.K.

Wife wants salt tank and is pressuring. Problem is, we're moving 2600 miles next spring. SO, I decided to set up a very small FOWLR tank and see how it goes. I understand the difficulties in setting up a tank that small, but I hate to have to move something big later on. Also, I pretty much obsess over my tanks as it is, so this should be a nice challenge; that IS a big part of what makes this enjoyable for me.

18 Gallon Tall. Its the same footprint as a 10 Gal, but 18 inches tall. 10x20x18.
I'm thinking about 30 pounds of rock for this tank arranged in a tall stack. I'll probably mix base and LR. I'm not in the right location to get a good shipping deal from LR.com so 15 pounds of keys rock is a little over 105 bucks shipped. I love that rock and want it sooooo bad, but I think I'll wait til we get to Virginia in the new home before I order it. I can get Fiji LR locally for 4 bux a pound at one place and 8 bux a pound at another. The difference? I dont know. They both look about the same. I DO know that it doesn't look anywhere NEAR as nice as the LR.com stuff.

I think I'll get a 50 pound bag of Hardcastle Calcium Carbonate sand from the saltwater store for 20 bucks. It seems to be the cheapest compared to the commercial prebagged stuff at petsmart, etc. The live sand runs about 5 bucks a scoop (1 pound if that) and I just scoop it myself from one of their many, many tanks.

I already got the salt, and I hope its ok. I got Oceanic Natural Sea Salt Mix( in the blue jug), enough for 50 gallons. It, also, was cheaper than some of the cheaper looking stuff in the petstores. I'll get the DI/RO water from Walmart in the morning to fill the tank with, then add the salt. In a day or so I'll add a base of sand and let it settle. I want about a 4 inch bed. (I guess ) I may add a few scoops of the live sand from the saltwater emporium. Once it is all settled I'll add my base and live rock and see what happens. I guess I need to add a raw shrimp and let it go.

I know that momma and kids want a clown fish or two....an Anemone would be cool, but I was actually thinking of getting a fake silicone one from the pet store in place of a real one. One lfs I spoke to said that most of their clowns weren't even interested in the anemone, since they were tank raised. plus, I dont need the hassle of trying to keep one at this point. I'm not sure what else to do as far as fish, thinking maybe some small damsels; I understand Im limted with this small of a tank.

I'm still unsure of lighting. Id love to go with some CF lighting, but its hard to find anything that fits a 10x20 top. I'm thinking of going with normal Flourescent strip lights....say two of them; one with a 50/50 bulb and another with maybe a 10K bulb? I am planning on adding a diy moonlight setup as well with some bright blue leds. I have many ultrabright white and blue leds that I can make some phenomenal light in the tank, but I want to make sure the LR flourishes as well. Im sure it would thrive in my ten gallon tank with 18 5000 mcd ocean blue 460nm LEDS and 20 11,000 mcd white leds. That tank is bright and beautiful. I only use 6 of the blue leds at night and can select fewer of the whites to reduce the brightness. Will this type of lighting benefit my LR in the saltwater tank or do I really need to invest a hundred bucks just to grow my LR?

Forgot to add that I plan on using a small power head or two...say Penguin 145GPH or a cheaper 125GPH unit. I have an extra Aquatech mechanical filter for a 15 gal tank that I thought about using to increase current in the tank and help clear the water after I add the sand. I havent decided on a protein skimmer yet, but have looked at some smaller Berlin skimmers (cheap, but for smaller tanks???)... I dont know anything about skimmers folks, but it seems a bit strange to buy a large 175 dollar nice skimmer for an 18 gallon tank. I'm banking on the LR and deep sand bed to perform my filtration here. Maybe someone can recommend some inverts or cleaners that the kids might find fascinating?

 

[fishfreek]

For the CF lighting a quad 96W PC bulb might fit. If you can get one thats rated a 50/50 that would be good. Expecially if your thinking corals later on. Make sure the salinity and temperature is good before adding the sand and rock. You want a salinity of 1.020-1.025 range and a temp of 80-82F.

The tall tank will have the same fish capacity as a 10 gal tank so your looking at 2 fish only. That would be a comfortable stocking capacity. Any more than that and you risk having issues with water quality.

The difference in price for the rock could be that the cheaper rock is not cured or just that they have less of a markup on the rock. If you take the rock out of the tank and smell it the rock should not smell bad but should smell like the sea.