Sw tank

[lmccluer]

Ok all you SW people I have a question or two or three for you.

I have been a FW tankie for years and about to start SW as well.

I obtained a Oceanic 60 or 70 gallon bow front tank, stand, a Amiralcle filter and pump, a uv sterilizer, a ro unit, a skimmer, 3 buckets crushed coral and other Misc supplies for (ok no heart attacks) for 80.00 at a garage sale yesterday. Everything is in good shape, just dusty from being in a storage unit for two years.

First question- is the crushed coral still good to use, it has a lot of dust/dirt in it, do I just wash it out?

2nd question- does anyone have a link to a manual for the Amiracle filter? Don't know a model number, nothing on filter, I can provide a pic if needed.

Will the skimmer be necessary, missing some parts.

How much live rock should I get for this tank? I have read on here where some tankies just put the LR in the filter.

I'm sure I will have more questions when I start putting this beast together, but have to wait until we get our house. Currently live full time in a 5th wheel and don't think I can talk my better half into letting me put another 55+ tank in the trailer.

Thanks guys and gals!

 

[atte]

Wow, great price! I would ditch the crushed coral and pick up some aragonite sand. Sand is much better for saltwater - lets you keep several types of snails for your clean-up-crew and helps buffer pH. Skimmers are great for maintaining good water quality but not absolutely necessary. If you can get the parts easily I'd say go for it. The suggested amount of live rock is ~1.5lb/gallon, so you want to get around 80-90 lbs.

Check out this sticky for some tips on starting a SW tank.