alright fellas. i just got a 125 gal salt water tank. im going with fish only. havent done anything to it yet, just put in 2 heaters. (75gal each) i got the temp set to 78 degrees. i was told to get a bunch of live rock and put it in the tank first then go from there. looking for all and any advice for this. i want it to look nice. it has been setup for a week now. here are a couple pictures of it.
NEW TO SALTWATER
- Thread starter lonestar98
- Start date
you could do the live rock thing. that would be a FOWLR (fish only with live rock). if you are going to add corals later this is probably the best direction. if you are going to keep a fish only tank, you don't need any live rock if you don't want it.. you will need a wet/dry for filtration though. bio balls will house the necessary good bacteria.
what do you see yourself doing in the future?
100 pounds of hand picked live rock would be nice for starters! you have no livestock, so you could cure it right in the tank if you like.
what do you see yourself doing in the future?
100 pounds of hand picked live rock would be nice for starters! you have no livestock, so you could cure it right in the tank if you like.
mr_X":1qsprmrx said:
like i said im totally new to this. so the terminology is new to me. pardon my ignorance. in the future i see myself keeping it fish only. whats the going rate for live rock. i plan to get some next weekend. so all i do is just put it in the tank and thats it???
it depends. it depends on a few things. if you purchase "cured" live rock, you will experience a moderate spike in ammonia, nitrates, nitrites...
if you purchase "uncured" live rock, you'll probably see a longer, more intense cycle. either way you are going to go through the normal cycle of a new tank.
live rock goes anywhere from about 3.50 a pound, to 8.00 a pound, depending on the type of rock, and the store.
you can buy some real nice stuff online as well.
basically, you will put the rock in the tank, and wait till all tests have zeroed out.
nitrates 0
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
then you'll be ready to add some beginner fish, and snails & hermits
my guess would be the cycle will last about 3 weeks to a month before the water parameters are good enough to add animals.
if you purchase "uncured" live rock, you'll probably see a longer, more intense cycle. either way you are going to go through the normal cycle of a new tank.
live rock goes anywhere from about 3.50 a pound, to 8.00 a pound, depending on the type of rock, and the store.
you can buy some real nice stuff online as well.
basically, you will put the rock in the tank, and wait till all tests have zeroed out.
nitrates 0
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
then you'll be ready to add some beginner fish, and snails & hermits
my guess would be the cycle will last about 3 weeks to a month before the water parameters are good enough to add animals.
First of all, :welcome:
Does your tank have over flows? That will determine ALOT of things that you can or cannot do with your tank as far as filtration. Have you considered what kind of circulation you will want. A couple of semi-strong pwoer heads(or a close loop system)to keep detritous from settling will be necessary. The general thought now day is that LR is the best way to help aid in the over all health of a tank. It would look quite barren and unatural without some sort of decoration to give the fish somewhere to hide and feel like they are in their natural environment. Have you considered a skimmer? A real nice one IMO is key to help keeping algeas and nitrates down. Im sure this is just the first of a series of questions that myself and others will ask and the more you find out, the more questions from you will abound.
Does your tank have over flows? That will determine ALOT of things that you can or cannot do with your tank as far as filtration. Have you considered what kind of circulation you will want. A couple of semi-strong pwoer heads(or a close loop system)to keep detritous from settling will be necessary. The general thought now day is that LR is the best way to help aid in the over all health of a tank. It would look quite barren and unatural without some sort of decoration to give the fish somewhere to hide and feel like they are in their natural environment. Have you considered a skimmer? A real nice one IMO is key to help keeping algeas and nitrates down. Im sure this is just the first of a series of questions that myself and others will ask and the more you find out, the more questions from you will abound.
I was going to ask about overflows too 
I don't see any, BUT you can always either drill the tank or install HOT overflows that work just fine for a lot of people.
What the overflow would do is allow you to have a SUMP underneath your display in which you can put your skimmer, heaters, and all that sort of thing.
As far as general advice; I would have 2 things to say #1 dont skimp on skimming. #2 dont skimp on lighting (although this will be less important now with only having a FOWLR tank). These 2 things are probably your biggest expense in the hobby (as far as equipment goes) but they are what keeps all your stock alive
Keep posting questions!!! It's a little confusing at first, but it'll all start making sense soon!
B
I don't see any, BUT you can always either drill the tank or install HOT overflows that work just fine for a lot of people. What the overflow would do is allow you to have a SUMP underneath your display in which you can put your skimmer, heaters, and all that sort of thing.
As far as general advice; I would have 2 things to say #1 dont skimp on skimming. #2 dont skimp on lighting (although this will be less important now with only having a FOWLR tank). These 2 things are probably your biggest expense in the hobby (as far as equipment goes) but they are what keeps all your stock alive
Keep posting questions!!! It's a little confusing at first, but it'll all start making sense soon!
B
lonestar. read the beginners threads they have supplied here. there is alot of good information already typed.
read the "sticky" ones.
also read the members threads.
all the questions you have, have already been asked, by either me, or someone else here! :wink:
read the "sticky" ones.
also read the members threads.
all the questions you have, have already been asked, by either me, or someone else here! :wink:
mr_X":3bra3efb said:
They have also been asked by me and him and her. :lol:
Mr. X is right. Reading is your biggest ally in proper reef keeping basics. I know, you have a tank just sitting htere waiting, even begging to be filled with fun and exciting creatures from the oceans of the world. But, If you have time, I would highly recommend just browsing through the last hundred or so pages in the new reefkeepers forum and click on topics the look like they could be interesting. You will be suprized at how much you can learn and it is actually far more interesting than you might think. Thats what I did along with reading a book or two. Believe me, I still had a million questions. I still ask questions like most others do as well. Second and third opinions are always nice. Thats where the forums come into play. As I said, Please dont be afraid to ask questions. thats what we are here for. But I (we) beg of you, dont forget to do your homework and read to.
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