Ok what next?

[IbnOzn1]

I'm the proud new owner of a reef tank! Unfortunately I have no idea what I'm doing. I have two planted freshwater tanks and haven't done anything in saltwater so far but $75 for a 35 gallon hex setup seemed to good to pass up, so...

I have the empty tank and stand, a hood w/ 2 15 watt actinic and 2 15 watt 10000ks, a Fluval 103 and a 5 gallon bucket full of live rock.

Everything is at my office right now in pieces with the filter, sans media circulating the water in the bucket of live rock.

I dont even know what kind of media to get for this filter (aside from sponges). Apparently I need RO water? I know I have some reading to do but in the meantime I need to know what to do when I get back to the office tomorrow. Any tips?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mr_X]

i'd fill the tank with your salt mix(with RODI water if possible) and then add the rock and let the tank cycle BEFORE you add any livestock. will you be using a sand bed or bare bottom? as far as the fluval filter, if you are using live rock in your tank, that filter may very well work against the live rock's de-nitrifying bacteria, due to the fact that detritus accumilates very quickly in one of those and will end up PRODUCING nitrate, instead of cleaning the tank. you might keep that filter for running different types of media (carbon....) from time to time and go out and purchase a good protein skimmer instead.
also, 60 watts of light is not going to accommodate most corals. i think a single halide pendant would serve you way better.

 

[IbnOzn1]

Thanks Mr. X.

Done!

Just added the pendant last night. It's the Current 150 watt 14,000 K. I went with a 2" sandbed. I'll probably add another inch of live sand to the bed (graduallly of course). I put in a dose of BioSpira a couple of days ago but haven't done any tests yet. I'm currently running the filter with media and Chemi-Pure and I added another 400 GPH of powerheads. I'll add a skimmer soon too.

Here's a pic. The water is a bit cloudy, I had blown some dust off the live rock earlier so it's a bit stirred up. Threw in a few pieces of coral I had around too.

So far so good...

 

[mr_X]

good job. you didn't need to add anything like bio-spira because the live rock will cycle the tank.
also i don't think you'll need to run the cannister filter yet.
now you just sit and wait basically.
will you be keeping the lid? the light will penetrate better without it. nice pendant BTW :wink:
i would add the live sand all at once. will you be adding more live rock? some say a pound or so per gallon is most effective.
i say put as much rock as you can fit in there, and still be pleasing to the eye, and also have decent flow through it.

how will you implement the skimmer? will it be a hang-on type, or will you have a sump underneath to put it in?

 

[snapper1]

Looks good so Far you can never have enough Live Rock it is Natural.

 

[IbnOzn1]

I think I'm going to get an Aqua C Remora skimmer for it. The hang on should fit nicely on the back panel and it seems to get good reviews. I have a Maxi-Jet 1200 in the tank now which I'll use on the skimmer and I have 2 Hydor Koralia heads coming this week which should give me 800 GPH of swirling goodness.

The top is on there temporarily just to keep evaporation to a minimum until I get a source for RO water. My tapwater has some phosphate in it so I'd rather not replenish with it for fear of buildup.

I want to put more rock in the tank but can I add some aragocrete instead of live rock? I was thinking of making some rocks. It apparently takes 6 -8 weeks to cure them so it'll be another month or so til I can get them in. Not that I'm in a rush.

Another question, how difficult would it be to swap out the tank say, in a month or so? The reason being that this tank has a haze on the glass that I couldn't budge. Not with vinegar or even muriatic acid. Seems like the previous owner used sand paper to clean it and now that the water has cleared it's starting to bug me. I don't plan on stocking it beyond a snail & crab cleaning crew before then. I'd just siphon the water into tubs, pull out the rockpile, move the sand to the new tank, reassemble the rockpile and put the water into the new tank. How crazy of an idea would that be?

 

[Anonymous]

It is less crazy than looking at a tank where the glass was cleaned with sand paper! Did the previous owner really do that?

The only issue you will have is the DSB (deep sand bed) will lose it's anaerobic area when the sand is moved. It will get oxygenated and become ineffective at removing nitrate. I think this is very temporary, though. These bacteria recolonize pretty quickly, so when the muck in the water clears, the tank should be good to go. Just test the nitrate level first, of course. You will still have your denitrifying bacteria in your live rock, so I think it will be OK.

If you keep the rock submerged during the move to the new tank (using a large plastic bowl in the tank), you won't lose any sponge that starts to grow.

Too bad about the scratches. This could have been a hot tank.

 

[cindre2000]

I wonder if I should use sandpaper on my acrylic tank...

Coarse of fine grit?




:wink:

 

[mr_X]

you could use a grinder with extremely coarse sandpaper on your acrylic tank effectively, especially if you are sick of looking at it. 8O

i am going to be the first i believe, that will suggest AGAINST an aqua c remora. we have one on our 30 gallon cube, and not only is it louder than my ASM G4, it produces a gillion microbubbles into the tank. i've tried everything there is, to stop it. i even purchased the "prefilter box" and that did not help. i even stuffed a massive sponge down the return column(against aqua c's advice) to filter out the bubbles, to no avail.
i would suggest an in-line skimmer or some other brand or hang-on (aqua medic turbofloater is a great hang on skimmer btw)
the only good thing i found about the remora is that is pleasing to the eye.

i'm stuck with mine now, so i think i'm going to order a custom sump, and throw it in there.

 

[IslandCrow]

Eventually, you'll probably want to invest in an RO/DI unit of your own, but until then, if you're looking for a good source of purified water, I have two suggestions. First, check with your local fish stores (LFS). They sometimes sell or even give away either RO or RO/DI water. Next, check your local grocery stores. If they have one of those fill your own bottle units, those are probably the cheapest. Otherwise, get their cheapest brand of purified water. Check the back label and check for two things. First, their purification method should either be distillation or reverse osmosis (it's a constant debate between which is better). They'll probably list other things like UV radiation, etc., but that's just bonus. Next, check to see if they're adding any chemicals back in for "taste". Most of those chemicals are things like magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride, etc., which are probably just fine, but I'd stay away from them anyway. You probably won't find water that's gone through a deionization filter, because that level of purification tends to actually make the water taste worse to us.

Otherwise, it sounds like you're off to a good start. The tank change shouldn't be too bad since you just have the sand, water and rock in there. Have you thought about hooking up a sump to your main tank? I'm guessing it's tough to fit one underneath those hex tanks, but if you have something like an adjoining closet, they make great equipment rooms so you don't have to worry about the size of your skimmer, probes, monitoring equipment, etc. . .it's all hidden from sight.

 

[IbnOzn1]

So, 12 hours after that post I just couldn't handle it anymore and I switched out the tank to a new 35 hex. Added 20 lbs of lace rock for a base under the live rock. I'll post new pics when it clears.

Thanks for the heads up Mr X but I ordered the Aqua C already. Hopefully my experience will be better. What pump do you have on yours?

I am probably going to head over to my LFS and mooch some RO water. Maybe I can offer a semi-opaque 35 hex for a trade. I don't have any plans for a sump at the moment but I just started thinking that some type of refugium planted with mangroves would be very cool under that window next to the tank.

 

[mr_X]

mj1200. yes, i hope you have better luck.

 

[shavo]

how much is a "gillion" btw????


also the tank looks good I like the pendant, what kind of bulb is in it? single ended I suppose right???

 

[mr_X]

a gillion, is an advanced aquarists' term which means "way too many".
someday you'll be where we are, my little shavo.

also..it's not the pump that's the problem. the mj12 is under water. it's the spray injection thing.

 

[IbnOzn1]

It's a double ended bulb. 150 watt, 14000k. It came in Current packaging and there was no printing on the bulb itself so I'm not sure who makes it for them. Actually it came damaged, one of the ceramic contacts had a small sliver cracked off, it still works but I need to work out a replacement w/ Dr's F&S. I was able to find a 25% off special on one of the price comparison websites, it was either Nextag or MySimon so I got it for like $50 less than the next lowest price.

Mr X, is there another H.O.B. type skimmer you like?

 

[mr_X]

i really liked my aqua medic turbofloater.
i'm sorry i sold it. i would have used it in the aqua c's place.

 

[shavo]

well one day when I grow up I will use words like a gillion.

IBN OZN, I am going to mail you a link.

 

[IbnOzn1]

Hey everyone, here's an update— Got the skimmer running and yes, lots of bubbles! Noisier than I thought too. Managed to get 1/4" of smelly, tea colored stuff in the 1st 24 hrs. then I emptied it and no more foam afterward. Think I have it adjusted now 12 hrs. later as it's starting to collect again. Noise levels and bubbles seem to be decreasing a bit too.

Picked up a small cleaning crew today which is munching away as I speak. I found a local coral farm too, Altisreef.com. Going to try to pick up a starter frag pack this week.

For heating and UV, can I set up a loop with an inline heater and a UV sterilizer off a powerhead?

Here's a couple of pics. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[mr_X]

we are getting great skimmate too. it's just the noise and bubbles.
the bubbles have decreased since the beginning, but they have not left.
i hope it works out for you.
the tank looks good btw. :wink:

 

[IslandCrow]

I know it sucks to wait, but I wouldn't start putting corals in until your tank has been established a couple months. Someone speak up if I'm being too conservative, but I think this tank is a little too young for corals. What type of corals are you thinking about getting by the way?