New to Saltwater... I feel clueless

[jk1nole]

Hello!

I am in the process of setting up a 65 gallon reef tank and I know close to nothing. But, I am a quick learner.

I have 60 lbs of live rock in there now and the water has been cycling since Saturday. I bought everything used, but it was all a year old. $275 for tank, coralife lighting, Pro Clear 150 wet/dry filter, and protein skimmer. I need lots of help.

Questions...
How often should I be replacing the evaporated water? I bought my water pre-mixed at the the local shop. I intend to start mixing my own.

Where should I buy a cheap RO water filter?

My lighting is 10,000K and Actinic. Can I have the lights on now with just live rock while the water is cycling? What should I do for lighting once it gets up and running?

My protein skimmer needs repaired... Do I need it right now with just live rock or can it wait a week or so?

Once I am ready to add some things... what should I start with that is fairly inexpensive in case I lose some things while I am learning?

Are there some recommended intro books and articles I can read? I feel like I need a chemistry degree the more I read articles and threads.

Thanks. I'm sure I will have more questions. I'll try to post some pics here in a few.

 

[thominil]

Replace the evaporated water with freshwater every day, or when it gets low. I try to top mine off when it gets down to 1/2" below the top brace. Try ebay for the RO filter. Your lighting is fine now, I would keep it off during the cycle as there is no need to have it on. I would also recommend replacing the bulbs if you plan on getting coral. There is no need for a skimmer when your tank is cycling, most say it will slow cycle down if you have it on too. A good book that I started with was "Reef Secrets" by Alf Jacob Nilsen and Svein A. Fossa. Lots of good info in there, covers just about everything like lighting, skimming, stocking, and even gives you a small profile on a bunch of fish and inverts. Welcome to AA!

 

[melosu58]

1) As often as needed. I would replace FW top off water every day instead of waiting so long. It prevents wild salinity swings.
2)If possible I would get a RO/DI unit. You can get them on ebay for about a hundred dollars.
3) What kind of lighting system do you have? what is the wattage of the bulbs?
4) You dont need it right now and there are some folks that dont even need one but IMO they are good to have.
5) There is many inexpensive fish out there. I would check out the images of the folks here so you can get a good idea of what`s out there. Here is a good link
Beginner fish
Just make sure that the fish is recommended for your tank size and is reef safe if you are going to have a reef.
6) Read our articles section and read this link for equipment needs.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

BTW welcome to AA and enjoy your stay.

 

[jk1nole]

Some Pics

Any thoughts positive or negative would be great.

 

[melosu58]

Looks pretty good.

 

[jk1nole]

Mike,

The lighting system is a Coralife. The bulbs are 10,000K/96 watt and Actinic/96 Watt

 

[melosu58]

OK, that lighting should be OK for moderate light LPS and soft corals.

 

[thincat]

Nice looking tank setup. I would remove the bio-balls in the wet/dry filter now and replace it with LR rubble. It will end up being a much bette filter system. The wet/dry setup you have in the picture will end up being a nitrate factory and will be hard to maintain.

 

[jk1nole]

Nice looking tank setup. I would remove the bio-balls in the wet/dry filter now and replace it with LR rubble. It will end up being a much bette filter system. The wet/dry setup you have in the picture will end up being a nitrate factory and will be hard to maintain.

Thanks for the advice. Can you buy rubble cheaper than the big chunks of live rock?

 

[melosu58]

Thanks for the advice. Can you buy rubble cheaper than the big chunks of live rock?

Yes you can buy BR (Dry) and break it up in pieces and put it in there.

 

[thominil]

Usually people get rubble from taking chunks of live rock, wrapping a towel around it and busting it up with a hammer or rubber mallet. Sometimes when you get rock, small pieces will break off during shipping/transportation. You could go to your lfs and ask if they can sell you some if the have any, or you can take base rock and bust it with a hammer or rubber mallet as stated above but remember to wrap the towel around it to keep it from flying everywhere and hitting you. The base rock rubble will eventually become live rock rubble.

 

[joy13]

When you break a live rock the seem to smell to me and it isn't a good smell. Most of the smaller LFS have rubble cheaper than LR in my area.

Your tank is looking good.

 

[jk1nole]

Thanks!

Ok, so I have had the live rock in there about a week now. And here are the things I have identified.... (65 gallon tank, 60 lbs live rock)

2 patches of button polyps are growing.
A few feather dusters
Many Amphipods
Maybe some sponge
Maybe 1 barnacle

I just noticed a bunch of Asterina Stars all over my live rock. They were not there yesterday. I heard they can be bad?

I think I may have some Mini Brittle Stars I see little striped worm like things sticking out of the rock.

Is this amount of activity normal? Or did I get lucky. I'm sure this is elementary to most people, but to me it is all new and exciting.

 

[thincat]

You are on the lucky side with the amount of hitchhikers you are talking about. Here is a link so you can id the good and the bad guys:
Xtalreef

 

[Jaybird]

yeah, you are pretty lucky with the number of hitchhikers. Depending on the asterina stars, they are usually harmless. I wasn't sure about some of mine, but the ones I have seem to be common in people's tanks and no troubles reported.