seting up a s/w aquarium from scratch!

[oliver moggridge]

whats the best salt mix do you recon? could i just use bottled water and then add salt to it instead of geting ro water? and what would you recomend for the colour of the background im thinking ither balck or blue i cant realy decide

 

[melosu58]

There`s all different types of salt mix out there. There is no one brand that is better than anyone else. If there was then we would all be on it. As far as the background color I would prefer blue but it`s your tank and you`ll have to look at it all the time so you better decide.

 

[joy13]

Most bottled water is not RO water, in fact I have actually seen chlorine listed as an additive in some bottled water. If you are near a LFS ask them if they sell RO water. My store will only sell 5 gallons at a time so when I was setting up a bigger tank I had to figure out where to get it so that is when I checked out local stores and did some research to find out what filters were being used and what they were taking out of the water.

I like black backgrounds my 2 friends both use blue it is a matter of personal taste the fish don't really care as long as their needs are being met.

 

[oliver moggridge]

cool cheers.

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive orderd the light so it should be on its way soon. cnat get anymore at the moment as my company i work for has just signed over to a new owner so theres problems with my wadges. geting closer by the day. woop woop

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...idProduct=ES53124&IdCategory=FILTFIPCTI&tab=2

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok i found a good thread on nanoreef.com telling you how to set up the nano reef but it dosne go into much detail!
http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/?article=1
what i want to know is how long can you leave the water in the tank before you add the heater and live rock and sand? and also when buying a powerhead pump how do i know if there is too much or not enough circulation in the aquarium?

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive brought a power head a new heater and will have to wait till next week to buy the refractometer. the light should be here by friday hopfully and the other bits and pieces. i found an awsome marine store nerby that i didnt know even existed the prices are good and they sell all kinds of corals, fish and whatnot. also do i have get the water perfect before i add the LR and sand?

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive got the power head and heatyer but still the light has not come yet. just wondering the best way to set it up? can anyone advise me otherwise?

 

[severum mama]

IMO all you can do is experiment with the flow once you get your sand and rock in there. You want to avoid dead spots, as I'm sure you know, but you may have to move your powerhead some to avoid blowing your sand around. There's no "right answer" here and every tank is different.

 

[oliver moggridge]

cool thanks ill bear that in mind. cheers.

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive got rid of the small tank and got a slightly bigger one its about 5.5g. the light finaly did come but was not big enough for the new tank so ive got a new light and as the tank is bigger ive brought a hang on back filter. just waiting on the light bulbs they should be here in the next few days and then at the weekend ill fill the tank get the water ready and then add the L/R and L/S. cant wait!

 

[thominil]

I can't wait either, that is if there will be lots of pics! IMO filters are pointless in sw unless you pull out the media and stuff with live rock rubble. You can try and add a clown goby to that 5.5g as that tank is plenty for one of them IMO. Good luck with a bigger nano!

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive got rid of the small tank and got a slightly bigger one its about 5.5g. the light finaly did come but was not big enough for the new tank so ive got a new light and as the tank is bigger ive brought a hang on back filter. just waiting on the light bulbs they should be here in the next few days and then at the weekend ill fill the tank get the water ready and then add the L/R and L/S. cant wait!

ok my mistake its a 12.5g not a 5.5 thats smaller lol

 

[ncrawford1973]

My husband and I have been fascinated for some time about getting a saltwater tank setup.We now have the tank (30gal.) and stand but we want to make it our own by customizing the light.We are looking into filtration now and was wondering which canister filter and bulbs would be the best for us? We are planning on having s/w fish placed in this tank along with coral but we are going really really slow with this process,possibly several months before completion.Any help would be very appreciated.

 

[oliver moggridge]

id love to help but this is new to me aswell so any info from me might not be completly correct. lol

 

[fishmonkey]

My husband and I have been fascinated for some time about getting a saltwater tank setup.We now have the tank (30gal.) and stand but we want to make it our own by customizing the light.We are looking into filtration now and was wondering which canister filter and bulbs would be the best for us? We are planning on having s/w fish placed in this tank along with coral but we are going really really slow with this process,possibly several months before completion.Any help would be very appreciated.

go read the articles and start a thread. we would all love to help!

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive filled her up added the salt and the salinity is reading 1.041 i need to get some more ro water to even it out. also the filter i bought is not good. i cant belive i bought it cheap i guess i learned my lesson. so tomorro ill get some more water and a filter that works. i also added the sand but its stayed cloudy for ages and it still hasnt settled down so i just put the lr in and ill reorange them tomorro when the sand has settled down. so on the whole its not gone too well.

 

[fishmonkey]

yeah, it will be cloudy fort a few days. try getting a rena smartfilter if you can. they are one of the best HOB's out there. REALLY good.

 

[oliver moggridge]

i was thinking on getting a v2 nano skimmer? is this too much for a 12.5g tank?

 

[fishmonkey]

you dont really need a skimmer

PWC do the exact same thing in small tanks like yours. if you wanted one you could, but its not nessecary