seting up a s/w aquarium from scratch!

[oliver moggridge]

so if i had a skimmer i wouldnt have to do pwc as offtern?

 

[fishmonkey]

no. you sstill would need to do them as often. the skimmer doesnt remove ALL the things that a PWC does

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok. so if i done pwc every week or so i wouldnt need a filter?

 

[fishmonkey]

well, yeah. but its easier to at least have a HOB filter for Mechanical filtration. gets all the gunk out of the water

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ill look tomorro at my lfs thanks a bunch fishmonkey.also one thing my book says that i need to check the ph and the alkalinity? ive got a test kit but i dont think it has this!

 

[fishmonkey]

get a master test kit for saltwater. that should will have everything

 

[thominil]

I would advise against the HOB. It will become a huge nitrate problem down the road and is more hassel than it's worth IMO. Live rock is all the filtration needed. I agree with fishmonkey, no skimmer needed.

 

[fishmonkey]

but thom, you need SOME kind of mechanical filtration via a filter. and if you replaced the carbon with live rock rubble, it should be fine.

 

[thominil]

but thom, you need SOME kind of mechanical filtration via a filter. and if you replaced the carbon with live rock rubble, it should be fine.

No mechanical needed. The cuc (clean up crew) will eat all the waste and other things that would have been removed by mechanical filtration. Live rock in an HOB provides biological filtration and not mechanical.

 

[fishmonkey]

oh yeah, i forgort about the CUC.

 

[oliver moggridge]

so no hob then?

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive not adjusted the water yet but hopefully ill do that tomorro. i added a internal filter that a had to clear the water so thats not staying in but hope you like the aquascape

 

[melosu58]

so if i had a skimmer i wouldnt have to do pwc as offtern?

Remember that the PWC`s accomplish two things. 1) They remove excessive nutrients which is what your Skimmer does too. 2) They replace trace elements that get used up and are important for fish and invert processes. I would just do frequent PWC`s to accomplish these two things in your tank.

 

[thominil]

HOB is not needed. You can fill it with live rock rubble, but you may ocasionally need to take the rubble out and rinse it in old tank water when you do your pwc. Looks great IMO. Could use a tad more live rock, but if you like it, that's all that matters.

 

[oliver moggridge]

thanks all i might get some more lr and also need to add a background wires are ugly.
i have a test kit it has
Ammonia 70 Tests
pH Wide Range 100 Tests
Calcium - Varying number of tests depending on water conditions
Phosphate 75 Tests
Iron 50 Tests
Nitrite 75 Tests
Nitrate 80 Tests
kH - Varying number of tests depending on water conditions
gH - Varying number of tests depending on water conditions

 

[spoonman]

Definately a black or dark blue background. But the tank looks great!

 

[thominil]

As for background, more your likes and dislikes than anything else. A lot of those test estimations are overrated IMO.

 

[fishmonkey]

looks great! as thom said, a tad more LR wouldnt hurt, but it IS your choice.

 

[oliver moggridge]

ok ive sorted out the salinity and the alkalinity is good got the background on and now its time to cycle. also ive found a hitchhicker any chance of id please?

 

[thominil]

Looks like a sea star.