"Inherited" saltwater tank questions

[Sapperski]

Ok, I just bought a fully setup 95g SW tank, included everything:
A decent amount of LR
Saltwater
2 hanging filters
Live sand
Heater
And one black and white tiger stripe damsel
Unfortunately, I have no lighting yet. Will invest in lighting soon (next couple days)

The tank also came with a starfish that didn't make the journey home.
Now my question is this: do I need to do anything to encourage growth on the LR? I've read a number of posts saying that once they introduced their LR, it started blossoming right away, this tank has been setup for quite some time and has little to no growth. There is a couple rocks that have some orange algae (which I was told was beneficial to the tank), but little to no other growth on the rocks. I also understand that I need some CUC, which will be purchased with the lighting in a couple days. I tested what I could of nitrate nitrite and salt, both nits are zero, and salt is 1.024. Thanks in advance for any help. Also, I have no experience in saltwater, but I have done a lot of research, just can't find anything on the live rock situation.

 

[Pisces3473]

If you moved the LR in the water then you should be ok with BB just throw a PH in the bucket with the LR to keep the water moving, it's what the LR needs. I'd try and get it set-up as quickly as possible, but take your time and do it right. No that's not a joke. You don't need to worry much about lights unless you're gonna do corals. If you're only going FOWLR then pretty much any light is cool.

 

[Sapperski]

I'm not doing corals yet. Everything is already transported and setup in my home. Transported in the water that was originally in the tank, just had to add approximately 10 gallons from a PWC prior to transport. The entire process took approximately 3 hours, from drain to fill. So basically all I need now is a quarantine tank, then gradually introduce new livestock?

 

[Pisces3473]

I'm not doing corals yet. Everything is already transported and setup in my home. Transported in the water that was originally in the tank, just had to add approximately 10 gallons from a PWC prior to transport. The entire process took approximately 3 hours, from drain to fill. So basically all I need now is a quarantine tank, then gradually introduce new livestock?

That'll work, QT should be 4 weeks if you're being very cautious. WIth a thank that size I'd be pretty cautious. No corals in a tank that size almost seems a shame, but you'll save a bunch for fish by not doing lights. I've been new to this hobby for about 2-2.5 months now. Learning and having so much fun.

 

[Sapperski]

I plan on doing corals at some point, but I'd like to be comfortable with the tank, and do some more research on corals before I dive into it. I had originally planned on taking the next year and setting up a tank from scratch, but I kind of got thrown into the full deal after I was offered a completely setup tank for one heck of a deal.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Save your money and buy coral capable lights. Heres how it starts just fish then shrooms and softies then lps then sps. Happens to us all. Skip all the upgrades and buy a good set. Sooner or later OCD obsessive coral disorder sets in!!!! In the mean time by a two bulb t5ho decent set about $130-150 or used ones.you can keep fish, softies and some lps.

 

[Sapperski]

I intend on buying good lighting right off the bat, rather than upgrading, thank you for the suggestion on type though. As far as fish, I need to make sure they are coral safe, correct? Same as any inverts I get for my CUC? Also, how much time should I give corals before introducing a new one, such as from shrooms to softies?

 

[Daniel Fishy]

As long as the lights are good you can add anything with some wisdom of course.t5 if you want to wait to save money will get you by and allow you to have some fun. But LEDs are the way to go now. What I meant by softies shrooms lps and sps is we all say just some softies but after awhile you want it all so get the good lights upfront then your not upgrading three times!! Check out design a sump/fuge to makes it a lot easier check out Melevs reef. Com / sumps. Water changes and cleaning out your filters is most important after it gets rolling its really not that hard. Good water movement to.

 

[Michaelbknudsen]

I would hold off since moving a system may trigger a small cycle, especially in a decent size setup. Lay back and check parameters for a week or two before you decide what your next move is.

 

[Sapperski]

I don't intend on getting anything for the tank right now except lighting. I really need to get a quarantine tank set up before I even think about purchasing any fish or corals. Just getting information right now so I can plan my tank accordingly. As far as water movement, how would I gauge how much movement there actually is in the tank?

 

[Michaelbknudsen]

I don't intend on getting anything for the tank right now except lighting. I really need to get a quarantine tank set up before I even think about purchasing any fish or corals. Just getting information right now so I can plan my tank accordingly. As far as water movement, how would I gauge how much movement there actually is in the tank?

What type of HOB filters are they? Seems you would need to add some additional flow through two or more PH depending on their size and if you plant to switch to a sump/refugium setup. You're turnover on the two filters you have added together divided by your water volume would give you what your looking for.

 

[Sapperski]

One is an emperor 400, the other is a whisper 60. If I calculated correctly, I have a 7.68 on the water flow.

 

[Pisces3473]

One is an emperor 400, the other is a whisper 60. If I calculated correctly, I have a 7.68 on the water flow.

20 - 40 times the volume of your tank is what your flow should be. I've got a 40 gallon tank with equipment moving 800 gph. 20x my volume.

 

[Pisces3473]

Also, check out, "lighting - best bang for your buck" it's a thread around here.

 

[Rutrag]

Good move on investing in a quarantine tank. It will pay for iteself pretty quickly.

Also, the damsel that you have while very hardy, also tends to be very mean and territorial - especially for its size.

 

[Sapperski]

The damsel I have can go, if need be. Which he probably will, considering he's been alone in a 95 gallon tank for at least the past 6 months, maybe longer. Also explains why the guy I got the tank from wasn't too concerned about letting him go. So I definitely need to upgrade my filters before I get my lighting. I'm only moving 900 gph, which is just under 10%. Would that be alright for fish only? And upgrade my filters before I invest in lighting and corals?

 

[Pisces3473]

U can get wavemakers for a descent price $35 and up. I just got an 800gph nano Koralia for $37 on amazon. Put one on either long tank side of your and that will help a lot. Ther are bigger too. Check amazon or bulk reef supply, dr fosters and smith are good too. Don't forget your LR is ur bio filter. If your looking for an HOB top fin makes a 300gph which I've got on two different tank.

 

[Sapperski]

Just ordered a 1200 gph PH, combined with my 800 gph I get from my 2 HOB filters, will give me just over 20% water flow in my tank. I also just got a cleaner shrimp on impulse and a small 25 gallon tank with filter for my quarantine tank. Next up will be some more CUC, then lighting. Unless there is anything that would be an absolute necessity before I dish out the money for lighting.

 

[Pisces3473]

Sounds like you're moving right along.

 

[Sapperski]

Okay, I have a question about a piece of my live rock in my tank. I have a piece of live rock that seems to be growing something black (I'm assuming some kind of algae) here's the picture




Sorry it's not the greatest pic, but I'm at work and is the only one I have at the moment.

I started the tank approximately 2 weeks ago, and like I stated earlier in my post, transported everything together (water and all). My damsel is seeming to be perfectly fine, and the rest of my LR seems to be doing alright, have a lot of reds and purples growing on the rest.