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absolutrebel28

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Messages
5
Hi all, I am in the current process of setting up my 20g saltwater tank (salt mixing, aeration, equillibrium-seeking stage :lol: )

*20lb Tidal Marina -- Gray Coast Calcite
*2lbs live sand -- Source: CaribSea Aragamax
***My question however is, how will the light and dark gray substrates mix? I am now planning to slope the Gray calicite to a peak of 2-3" difference to the left side, and then putting the 2lbs live sand in along the right side about 4-5" across and an inch or two deep. I will then manipulate the tank flow of water w/ my Regent 660 powerhead and topfin 20g HOB filter. I envision a flow of water going across the tank and over the live sand, and then back around through the bio-ball loaded HOB. Does this sound like an okay idea?

*Second, I have a Oddysea 65w Daylight 12000k, is this a good light for a saltwater tank?

My other main question is how long can i keep the live sand in the wet mix that is currently is in a bag from the shipper? I want to get all of the salt mixed and correctly measured to proper salinity before adding the live sand right ? Thanks for your time, any help would be great and I will check back later!
 
Welcome to AA :D

I’d place your Gray Coast Calcite on the bottom with ls spread out over top personally. You don’t have enough ls to fully cover anyways so it’s not that big of a deal but you just don’t want it below the other stuff.

I’d ditch the bio-balls and replace with lr rubble. The lights are fine for low to medium light corals.

You want to mix your salt/water for 24 hours to fully dissolve. You can either do that in a bucket/trashcan with a ph and add it to the tank or directly in the tank before adding sand.

Research is key to successful SW fish keeping and reading all the saltwater articles on this site and the articles on liveaquaria.com is an excellent way to get acquainted with all that’s required for this expensive hobby.
 
I would just put your calcite sand on the bottom at equal depth, then layer the live sand on top of it all equally as well. It may not look great at first, but is your best option to mix them.

Your question about your light is tricky to answer. It will light your tank enough to see your fish, which is fine, but ultimately, your future tank goals will dictate what type of light you'll need. For example, if you are going reef, then no, it's way underpowered to keep many of the corals that do well in a captive environment. I think the light you are refering to is a NO fluorescent... you may want to consider a PC strip if you want to eventually keep some corals. PC light with around 4-5 watts per gal, will allow you to keep soft corals, and some LPS corals as well.

I would bring your SW up to temperature and at least float the bag in the new SW until you have it at the appropriate salinity.

Ryan
 
ryguy, I haven't seen NO lights in that wattage that would fit on a 20 gal tank. I think they are PC lights but it looks like 24” in the norm for that wattage.

That probably means that it’s a 20 (high) and not a 20 long. Low light corals would be fine IMO and even most moderate light corals should be ok with a height of 17”. Of course if you had the PC 130W lights it wouldn't even be an issue ;)
 
I'm hoping you have read the article on the fishless cycle.. don't use some poor damselfish to cycle the tank.

welcome!
 
yes, i work at the only local pet store in kirksville missouri, and am a big time aquaria enthusiast, also a 3rd year comm major at truman st. university. anyways, thanks a ton for the input, have the bag floating in the tank now, temp stable at 78* w/ powerhead, HOB, and aerator, salt is visibly dissolved after 1/2cup per gallon. i will fishless cycling. i also have a 65w blue actinic bulb for the fixture, but it cracked. I can get a replacement bulb of 65w, what should i get taht will fit?
 
Is it a 24" light? Just make sure you buy the right size/type of 03 light that you have now. Then you would be at 130W and have a greater selection of corals to choose from down the road. Is your tank a 20 gal high?
 
Tecwzrd.... I stand corrected. You're one of the good ones..... :) (not implying that there are any bad ones though).
 
ganjaMan28 said:
yes, i work at the only local pet store in kirksville missouri, and am a big time aquaria enthusiast, also a 3rd year comm major at truman st. university. anyways, thanks a ton for the input, have the bag floating in the tank now, temp stable at 78* w/ powerhead, HOB, and aerator, salt is visibly dissolved after 1/2cup per gallon. i will fishless cycling. i also have a 65w blue actinic bulb for the fixture, but it cracked. I can get a replacement bulb of 65w, what should i get taht will fit?

Sounds like it's coming right along. After the salt mixes and the water clears be sure to check your SG. Shoot between 1.022-1.025. Regarding a replacement bulb, I recommend a 65w 50/50 bulb for your application.

A few questions though, by 'aerator' do you mean air stone? If so you can ditch, no need for it. Also, what are you floating in the bag?!? :?:
 
ok ditched the airstone...so you guys really think i will be best off just having the live sand scattered fairly evenly across the entire substrate surface vs. a concentrated corner of flow? i still have not added the live sand, i am waiting for a salinity measurement as soon as i swing by the store to grab a few supplies...which leads me to my next question...

we have a just opened container of a bio enzyme, that is supposed to cycle new tanks quickly, along w/ several other products i will let you guys know of first before dosing anything into the tank. thanks again for your help so far, feeling confident about success, doing a lot of reading/research, so fingers crossed... i'd like to have some sort of organism in my tank w/ in 2-3weeks.
 
lagger said:
I recommend a 65w 50/50 bulb for your application.
Even with the 12k 65W he already has? Wouldn't a 03 look better?

ganjaMan28 said:
we have a just opened container of a bio enzyme, that is supposed to cycle new tanks quickly
Those are a waste of time usually, I would just use lr or shrimp to cycle and it will take 4-6 weeks to do it right.

You will be looking for a nh3/no2 spike and once they reach 0 then do a 30% pwc every day until you get your no3 <10 ppm. Then you can add a clean up crew of snails/hermits and after another couple of weeks I'd add a fish to keep the bacteria going.
 
Tecwzrd, By reading his first post I was under the impression Ganga has a single bulb 65w PC fixture. So my recommendation was to replace the ex. 12,000k with a 50/50 bulb. But Ganga also states he broke his actinic. So maybe he does have a 130w dual bulb fixture :? If thats the case then yes, I would run 1-10,000k and 1-actinic 03 instead of 2 50/50 bulbs, lol.

Ganga, I would not use the bio enzyme. If you're in a hurry, the only product that works help speed your cycle is Bio-spira. Most LFS don't carry it as it needs to be refrigerated. Also, when you add the sand, be prepared for a week-long sandstorm. :lol:
 
NP Lagger, I was thinking the 12k and a 50/50 would still work but be kind of “white” and not show off the tank as well.

I did use refrigerated Bio-Spira that wasn’t expired and it still took 3-4 weeks before my nh3/no2 got down to 0. Some people have had success with this product but due to the short life cycle of the bacteria it contains and since there isn’t an nh3 source to keep it going even refrigerated I still doubt the radical claims that it can provide “instant bio-filtration” and is ready to go with fish.

Nothing like taking your time and doing a proper cycle IMO. Plus if using a qt tank you will have to wait anyways to add the fish so why rush using a “cycle accelerator” when the bacteria would slowly die off anyways due to a lack of nh3 in the tank?

Adding your sand through a 4” PVC pipe resting on the bottom and slowly moving as needed usually helps keep the sand storm down to a minimum.
 
haha, i added the 2lbs live sand this morning, salinity is measuring close to 1.025, starting to creep down though and i added a little less than a gallon of treated freshwater, so it should be about where i want it to be soon.

I had one large dead crab in the live sand mix, and another small live one, kind of interesting, I am not sure the now live one will live 2 long!

Of course, i will take my time with this tank, and make sure everything is stable before adding anything else live. So you guys are telling me that another 65w blue actinic bulb is the best to have alongside of my 65w 12000k bulb? Also, I still have not figured out the best way to spread the live sand...thin over most, or maybe just 1/2 the tank?
 
Spread it over the whole sand bed evenly. I think you'll like the actinic bulb, they tend to enhance many of the colors in the aquarium and make a nice dawn and dusk too.
 
If you have multiple plugs for each light putting the 03 on a timer from 8am to 9pm and the other 12k light on from 10am to 8pm would be nice to help simulate the dawn/noon/dusk lighting as well.
 
tecwzrd said:
NP Lagger, I was thinking the 12k and a 50/50 would still work but be kind of “white” and not show off the tank as well.

I did use refrigerated Bio-Spira that wasn’t expired and it still took 3-4 weeks before my nh3/no2 got down to 0. Some people have had success with this product but due to the short life cycle of the bacteria it contains and since there isn’t an nh3 source to keep it going even refrigerated I still doubt the radical claims that it can provide “instant bio-filtration” and is ready to go with fish.

Nothing like taking your time and doing a proper cycle IMO. Plus if using a qt tank you will have to wait anyways to add the fish so why rush using a “cycle accelerator” when the bacteria would slowly die off anyways due to a lack of nh3 in the tank?

Adding your sand through a 4” PVC pipe resting on the bottom and slowly moving as needed usually helps keep the sand storm down to a minimum.

Great advice with the PVC drain Tec. I hope thats how Ganga did it 8O

Regarding the Bio-Spira, I'm surprised it took so long for you to cycle. I've always had success using it in FW and SW. When I changed my substrate from gravel to sand I lost all of my established water. Funny story in that I originally put down play sand and filled back up with the established water I did save, but ended up tossing it all for a little bigger grained sand the same day. That night I added Bio-spira and added my fish and they're still all with me today! The only other time I've had to use it was for a small ammonia spike when a sick Coral Beauty died on me and couldn't get it out for around 3 days.

Ganga, yes, buy an actinic 03 bulb to complement your 12,000k. I would also spread the LS out evenly. Will probably look better that way.
 
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