New Saltwater Tank Starter....

[FynFysh818]

Hi everyone...

I am new to marine life. I have a 37 gallon tank with a backpack protein skimmer and a tronic heater. The backpack came with a powerhead. And I have a themometer. I currently have coral bedding. Am I on the right track?? Do I need any other equipment?

 

[electrikat]

Lights? Some kind of mech filter or several pounds of live rock for filtration? Test kits? Research and good luck.

 

[FynFysh818]

Opps....Yeah I got a double strip light with a blue light. I havent got any rock yet. I am not sure what kind to get. Does it matter where it comes from? Like Fiji Rock??

 

[electrikat]

It's a matter of preference, cost and availability. You can get some inexpensive base rock for the bottom layers and add some nice pieces of live rock to seed the base rock.

 

[RMPD109]

If you are not setup yet you may to rethink your substrate. Crushed coral will be needed to be siphoned regularly to keep detritus from building up. If you dont stay on top of it you will have a problem with nitrates. On the other hand Livesand will help in the reduction of nitrates and does not need to be siphoned. Just an idea for you to think about.

 

[foma2000]

yah, if your ok with it ide switch out the crushed coral for some play sand. the coral is fine it just takes more care. but other then that your doing good. the cpr bak pak is killer. good choice. do you know how many watts the heater is? you really should only need a 50-100 watt heater. if the cpr bak pak came with some bio bale i would use that unless you are planing on going the berlin (click here for more info on the berlin method http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=10 )

 

[lando]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Your crushed coral will work fine, just know that it is more work to take care of. Food and detrutus can get stuck in between the little pieces of crushed coral and cause a nitrate problem over time. Vacuum it often and get a good clean-up crew and you will be fine. I reccommend the Berlin method also. Get 60-80lbs of live rock and add a good skimmer and your filtration needs will be met. Check out liverocks.com for some of the best LR around. What are your plans for this tank? FOWLR, or reef? Your lighting will be just fine for a FO tank. If you plan to start a reef tank over time, you will need to upgrade your lighting in the future. Good Luck!
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