1st Build - New to the game!

[rukis]

Hello ALL!

My name is Damien, and have never had a salt water tank before. I have a friend at my job, that was talking about it, and said he had an extra 29 Gal tank, if i wanted to try it.

So i got the Tank... and on payday, i went and got the InstantOcean SaltWater Mix. 30 pounds of Crushed Coral. A Hyrdometer, and Koalia 2 PowerHead.


Mixed my water, put it in the tank. Added the powerhead to keep things mixing.


Then the next day was my wife's birthday, so i took her shopping up at the outlets in Marysville, Wa. And just happen to drive passed Jones & Co. PetStore
they happen to be having a Anniversary Sale, which today is the last day.
So i picked up a heater and a over the back filter to start with. And a 6 pound Live Rock. i was gonna wait a few days to get the rock, but i saw one that had a lil cave like feature to it, and got excited and had to buy it.



So i got the heater in and going, and the filter. Checked with the Hydrometer and got a 1.023 which i was told was a good level. Once all that was done, i had to put the rock in...



Still alil murky from trying to figure out where i wanted the rock, so here is alil closer pic of the rock



Today i woke up to a nice a clear tank.



I am really excited to get this moving. I love seeing all the input from people on the site, i find myself even checking on my phone to see what people do to there tank, just so i can get idea's.
So in turn i decided to start a thread of my build, and can wait for the input from all y'all on idea's, and stuff that i didnt know, because as i said this is my first salt water tank.

My buddy said that i should get about a pound of rock per Gallon of water. I got 6 pounds to start. Is that something that is so important that i should do it as soon as possible? or can i add it every other week or so. I have set aside about 75- 100 bucks per payday out of my budget just to get things started. I am located in Silver Lake, Wa South Everett area. Is the Jones & Co the best place to go for my area? Any Idea's, Critisicm or whatever is completely welcome, as i want to know if i am doing something wrong, or out of order. I havent got a light yet. which is something i want to get but i already spent this weeks budget and next's hahaha i just got too excited..

Well i look forward to everyones input, and getting to know all y'all!

thanks again,
-Damien

 

[rainydave]

Hi Damien,

Tagging along to watch your progress.

You have a great local shop down in Shoreline. Rob at Red C Aquarium is an excellent resource.

You might look into his dry rock. Your liverock will seed it. Dry rock is usually priced much lower than liverock, so you might be stock up quicker.
Here's a picture he posted in his forum section.

 

[rukis]

thanks dave, i will for sure take some time to check out red c this next week... is there a ratio i should use when getting dry rock? i got 6 pounds of live rock.. should i not over do it with dry rock?

 

[Krish]

Welcome Damien if I haven't welcomed you already!! :welcome:

Congrats on getting into the hobby!! I would learn and gather as much info as you can about the hobby as keeping a saltwater tank is a bit more challenging than a freshwater tank. We have a great community of members here though so any questions that come to mind, be sure to ask them. On your question regarding the rock, it's usually best to add in all the rock you plan to keep all one time so that the tank can cycle and you can be done with it than to add in a bit in every week or so as you will just prolong your cycle each time you add in more rock. Dave made a great suggestion on the dry rock. Much cheaper than liverock and you avoid any chance of possibly transferring in a pest/bad hitch hiker or nuicance algae of some sort. As per the pound per gal thing, that is just a general rule of thumb people use just to give you an idea of how much rock the tank will need, but it isn't etched in stone that that is the way it goes. Some rocks are more porous than others so 10lbs of one type of rock could provide more biological filtration than say 20 lbs of another so I wouldn't worry too much about trying to get yourself exactly 29lbs of rock. Also, I see you added a power filter. Does it have a bio-wheel in it? If it does, I would remove that now. It will in time become a nitrate factory (do to its highly oxygenated atmosphere) and where there are nitrates in excess in any tank, then you have provided a food source for algae to grow and feed on. Also, the filter pad it uses, if you continue to use it, it is something you will want to either change or clean every 3 days or so once you start feeding the tank. The reason why is any waste it traps, if left in the tank too long will begin to rott which degrades water quality making way for nuicance algae to grow so that is something to keep in mind. Typically people don't use power filters or even canister filters in this hobby unless they are using it just to run carbon or don't mind the up-keep they require like I mentioned. For biological filtration purposes, your liverock and sand will do all of the work for you. Once piece of equipment I would suggest you getting if at all possible is a protein skimmer. I personally would never run a tank without one and you can buy a hang on type that will work just fine on your setup.

Good luck and keep in mind there is more than one way to do things in this hobby and be successful so go with what works best for you!

 

[NC2WA]

Damien,

Welcome to RF !!!

Looks like you are off to a good start. However, there is one more piece of equipment (if you wanna call it that) that I might suggest you getting.

It is a book by Robert Fenner, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". Excellent resource and will help you immensely..it might even answer some questions you might already have.

the main thing I like about this book, is it describes water parameters, what is cycling a tank, how to aquascape your tank, fish diseases and treatments, etc....that is the first part of the book..the second part of the book describes the multiple fish genius and what to look for when buying them and more importantly what fish to not buy.

you are not too far from me (and others), you are more than welcome to swing by and see my tank..door is always open..

Kirk

 

[Peppie]

Welcome rukis,
No need to worry about a light until your tank has finished its cycle. This will give you enough time to do some research on what type of lights you want. That will depend on what you want in your tank.

 

[noobaquariumust]

like peppie said, your lighting will decide on what you put in your tank, but maybe you want specific corals than certain lights will work and others wont. There are three types of lighting, Metal Halide or MH than there is T5 = five eighths of an inch in diameter or five eighths of an inch thick bulbs(just a type and size of bulb, and last but certainly not least are LED's. All three of these lights have multiple bulbs, sizes, amount of light output, heat output etc. Basically theres three lights, certain lights cannot provide enough light for certain corals. Hope that mumbo jumbo of a paragraph clear some of it up btw i like the liverock

 

[NC2WA]

IMHO, the only reason you want to consider MH as a lighting choice is if you plan on keeping SPS, otherwise, lean towards T5 or LEDs...cooler bulbs and if you go LEDs will save on electricity bill too.

 

[noobaquariumust]

any updates?

 

[rukis]

Sorry everyone for the lack of updates, work has been hectic over the last few weeks.. BUT i do have some updates! I went down to Red C Aquariums, and got about 20 more Pounds of LiveRock. My buddy that got me started brought over 2 saltwater Mollies just to have something moving around in the tank. He said he didnt want me to get discouraged because i didnt see anything in the tank. HAHA.. After going to Red C, i almost think i might want to have a reef tank... and not really focus on fish... Well minus possibly a clown fish or two.. cuz my kids keep saying they want marlon and nemo. ;c) but i could replace my tv with an amazing reef tank. So now i am just working on trying to get a good idea on Lighting so that i can pinpoint what its gonna cost to get what i want / need. I have been so excited to have some time and sit here and share with yall...

So on to the pics...

 

[rukis]

I am actually hoping on getting some more rock today... so more pics coming soon!

 

[rukis]

Alright so i grabbed a bunch of little peices today, i got about 15 lbs of smaller chunks... After alil moving around i think they have their new homes! so here are a few pics... MAN O MAN, i can stop looking at it.. just imaging what it will look like in 2 months or so...

now to just work on lighting, so that i can start with corals!

























Well thats all i got for now.. I will take some more when the water isnt merky, from moving the rock around!...

 

[noobaquariumust]

wow nice rockwork, there will be multiple levels for different types of coral to recieve different amounts of light. Such as an anemone could have a nice high spot and a couple of mushrooms could settle in at the base of your rocks. your tank is going to be jaw dropping, just depends on what you want and how bad you want it. Keep chuggin

 

[Thrawn]

The rockwork is coming along nicely, it looks really good.

Does it have a bio-wheel in it? If it does, I would remove that now.

No bio-wheel on these ones, just some funky blue plastic thing that the return water passes through that's supposed to handle the biological filtration. It's easy to pop off though.

 

[TJL]

Hey Damien, another BIG :welcome: to Reef Frontiers and like Kirk (NC2WA) I'm close by (1 mile East of Silver Lk in Pioneer Trails dev) and you're welcome to visit as well. All good advice ^above^ and will suggest looking into a Eshopps HOB (hang on back) Protien Skimmer, very nice skimmer for the $'s and with an external pump won't take up much room in the DT.
One more item(s) of great importance would be a set of test kits Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH to start then Calcium, Mag and Alk once yloou start to add corals (especially if keeping stoney coral SPS and/or LPS)
Cheers, Todd

 

[IPisces]

Another BIG welcome form me too. I know you said its a 29 gal tall tank, but what are the actual dimensions of the tank? Just wondering if it is 30" wide.
Great start. I like the rock work too. Looking forward to more pics as it progresses.

 

[rukis]

@IPisces, Thanks for the welcome and yessm it is a 30" wide tank. I hope to picking up more hardware for the tank in the near future. Lighting first, then i am looking into getting a sump/refugium started... i find myself staring at my tank... the wife will laugh, and be like should we move the TV? hah

I could totally move my tank to where my TV is... and watch it... and well that just means i get a 42" LCD for the bedroom!

 

[rukis]

The rockwork is coming along nicely, it looks really good.

Thank ya kindly! it took me a little bit of playing with to get em how i liked em...

 

[rukis]

Hey Damien, another BIG :welcome: to Reef Frontiers and like Kirk (NC2WA) I'm close by (1 mile East of Silver Lk in Pioneer Trails dev) and you're welcome to visit as well. All good advice ^above^ and will suggest looking into a Eshopps HOB (hang on back) Protien Skimmer, very nice skimmer for the $'s and with an external pump won't take up much room in the DT.
One more item(s) of great importance would be a set of test kits Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH to start then Calcium, Mag and Alk once yloou start to add corals (especially if keeping stoney coral SPS and/or LPS)
Cheers, Todd

I think its time for my own kits as well... my buddy has been coming by to do it for me... he wanted me to spend my money on rock and stuff to get started. Now that thats outta the way, i think its time for me to get lights... so if anyone has an extra setup let me know!! I dont think i am ready to add corals yet, i read/skim prolly about 30 mins a day on here and am getting alot more knowledgable, but i wanna put together my tank... lights, sump/refugium, and get my tank as stable as possible. As well as i wanna understand the differences in coral, to where i can say, ohh no my tank wouldnt be adequite for that type of coral or fish or whatever... i dont wanna make bad decisions... I really appreciate all the input/help i have been recv'ing here... i cant wait till i am season'd enough to where i can help some one just starting.

 

[rukis]

If anyone has extra lighting they are looking to get rid of please let me know. My buddy really wants to build a sump from scratch.. I am not sure if i am ready for that yet... haha sounds prolly way more difficult than it really is... But i think for my first initial setup, i might just grab a hand me down or buy one... one question though, when i start the sump, should i instantly start with a refugium? my buddy said i should so i dont have to later... any input on that? i just cant wait to see life start running around in my tank...