just starting and feeling a little dumb....

[BRIANSTAUFF]

hiya...im converting my 55g fresh to salt. I'd like to have a reef tank if all goes well. So, I ditched all my freshwater filters and got a nice skimmer. also put in a 1150 gph pump. I also bought a double bulb HO T-5 light. One blue and one white. i put in 3.5" of beautiful sand (not live). i purchased 35# of fiji live rock that has only been cured for one week from the supplier. apparently i need to cure it for another couple of weeks. I knew NOTHING about salt one week ago....pardon me for lack of appropiate lingo. I noticed some little critters come out of the rock last nite....but they were dead by this morning. should i get a test kit and monitor it for a couple weeks more??? i assume im looking for zero amonia.? can i expect to visually see any changes in the tank throughout the next couple weeks as it's curing???algae blooms/??etc... but what im confused about is curing the rock vs cycling the tank. just because after i cure the rock in another two weeks does that mean the tank is cycled too? what do i need to do to start the cycling process after the rock is cured? Cheers friends. Brian, spokane, wa

 

[senji]

id say just set up tank fill with rock and saltwater around 35 ppt or 1.025 salinity and temp between 77 -80f no light and let it run for 3-4 weeks then start testing till u have 0 amonia, 0 nitrite"no3",and 0 nitrate"no3". i say no light cus that will cause massive algea to grow. all the little critters u seen leave and die actually started the cycleing proccess after a monthe do a lage water change. then continure to moitor. dr tim does make some bacteria products that will speed up the proccess. all in 1 and waste away both good bacterias.

 

[user 26995]

1st get some good test kits for ammonia, nitrates & nitrites and ph.
Sounds like you have some life in the rocks and are having some die off. That may be enough to start a cycle. You may be in the midst of one now. Do the tests for those mentioned every couple days. You've done FW, you know about cycling a tank. You should end up with zero ammonia and zero nitrites and a trace of nitrates. If nitrates are high, you will want to do a water change to help bring them down and then monitor the parameters a little longer. If your unsure if the tank has cycled or not, you can always throw in a piece of raw shrimp and test every few days. If the tank is cycled you should still see some nitrates but zero on ammonia and nitrites and your biological filtration should be able to deal with the decaying shrimp.
Yes you will get an algae bloom usually very soon after the tank is cycled. A good cleanup crew will usually take care of that.

 

[user 26995]

OH and welcome to Reef Frontiers. Glad your here!

 

[Tuku4u]

Sounds like you're off to a great start as it is Brian, considering you've chosen to convert from fresh to salt. Once you get everything going and on the right track, it's soooooo addicting. I'm somewhat new to the saltwater hobby and to reeffrontier too, also converted from freshwater. Learned and researched a lot in the past 6 months or so, and it seems to only get better and in the past couple of days of being a membr of this site, have learned tons more from these awesome reefers here. Welcome!! Question, is your tank setup with a sump or just tank alone??

 

[senji]

yea pics we love pics and a big welcome to frontiers!!

 

[Skimmy]

WELCOME!!!!

it sounds like you need more flow if you only have 1 powerhead @ 1150gph, thats how much i have in my 20g...
assume you purchased a hang on skimmer, what type is it??
the best advice i can give you is to bite the bullet now and get a cheap glass aquarium as a sump,
say a 20 long from petco/petsmart... dirt cheap.
do you have a glass or acrylic tank? and assuming theres no overflow built into the tank??
also, you will need more light than that for a full blown reef.

so a couple tips,
DONT do any water changes until the cycle is done... you will just dilute and prolong the process.
DO look into using many of the benificial bacteria products to help seed your system with a good sized colony.
DO use only ro or ro/di (reverse osmosis/de-ionization) purified water in your small closed system.
and carbon, carbon, carbon, carbon.... get a good GAC(grannular activated carbon) reactor.
in the mean time if you have a freshwater hob filter you can strip the guts out of and just run a bag of carbon in it.

 

[BRIANSTAUFF]

wow...i never realized i'd get this much great help and advice. thank you friends. I am going to return to Petco the HO T-5 double bulb system. the more i research the more i realize metal halide/t-5 is the way to go. so, i have a budget of about $400-500. i REALLY REALLY want to support a local marine business close to me. Aquatic dreams owned by Kevin in Post Falls Idaho. so are there some thoughts on an ideal lighting system for that price??? Id rather have kevin order it and make a little money than me order it myself for cheaper and not support a local businessperson. that's just how i am.

 

[BRIANSTAUFF]

I do have a hob running right now just to get more flow going. so....i should get some carbon to throw in there???? i assume i could buy it at petsmart? and i am also going to get one more 1150 gph powerhead for the opposite end of the tank. so, when this fiji rock is cured (in about another 7-10 days), Aquatic Dreams i believe is going to give me a pound or so of his live sand from his tanks for me to seed what i have in my deep sand bed. I have a glass tank...and was hoping to not have a sump (because the cabinet underneath has a divider in it which won't even allow a 10g tank to fit.). my protein skimmer is an Aeroforce 2. $220. I know i could have spent more, but Kevin recommended this one over any junky one from petco.
A big problem here too...i have pretty hard water on tap at the house....and i can't imagine buying dozens of gallons of distilled water jugs from the grocery store all the time for water changes or just adding daily water. will i eventually hurt the system if i continue to use tap water??? is there a cheap way of making ro di myself? how do most folks overcome this water issue?

 

[Tuku4u]

NOOOO!!!! I don't think you should go to petco and get lighting from them. Depending on what types of coral you want to have, they don't usually carry lighting good enough for that. I would go on ebay and search there first. Lighting will be one of the most important parts of your tank I've learned...after buying 3 different fixtures working my way up to the one I am finally happy with. I regret not doing a lot of research on lighting before starting corals in my tank. Definitely look into halides if you are planning on SPS or Clams for your reef system. I currently have t5 and seems to do great on my 46 bowfront. Do tons and tons of research on your lighting and make sure it's the one you want, cause it gets pricey trying to replace, or upgrade to something "better".

 

[senji]

u can buy a ro/di off craigslist cheap and get a float auto shutoff kit and a 55g barrell and ull have all the water ull ever need. cabon is always good.

 

[Tuku4u]

Oh forgot, if you don't know by now, just a tip, you should have about 4-6 watts per gallon, and thats what I would considerate "moderate" lighting for most of your corals. Probably around 8 or so watts per gallon for SPS and clams. Didn't know if you knew that or not. Maybe even consider throwing on an LED strip...i got one to add to my t5 and it makes the corals and fish look amazing!! Just a thought.

 

[senji]

u can build a nice led system for around 400 dolla and have a beeter light system than most and wont have to worry about heat like the mh will produce. ur choice 500 for a chiller and 200 for mh or 400 for led. ther are some greate peeps here who can help u get the leds up and running.

 

[Tuku4u]

Senji is absolutely right. I currently use t-5 and an LED strip so my total watts are around 7watts per gallon. But in the end I did end up spending around $350 total for the fixtures, and I totally avoided mh because of the heat they put out. But LED's are amazing!!! And definitely get one with a dimmer switch if you choose to go that route.

 

[Tuku4u]

Senji is absolutely right. I currently use t-5 and an LED strip so my total watts are around 7watts per gallon. But in the end I did end up spending around $350 total for the fixtures, and I totally avoided mh because of the heat they put out.  But LED's are amazing!!! And definitely get one with a dimmer switch if you choose to go that route.

 

[BRIANSTAUFF]

any good brands of led/t-5 strips??? the google button is always a good bet but is too overwhelming when i don't know what is ideal for my tank. thanks again for your time guys...

 

[senji]

dont buy build ur own i will direct u to mojoreef he is the led king pm him and get the ball rolling look in the diy forums lots of led builds ther and if u got some time look up eric and beccas 180g build and read it it will help allot read from beginning to end this might take a while but a good 1

 

[senji]

diy is a quarter the cost than buying retail if u can build it do so dont ruch on a reef. the great barrier reef wasn't build in 1 day and neither should yours. patience is key or it is going to cost u allot money and deaths of corals and fish.

 

[BRIANSTAUFF]

tuku4u and senji...good idea!!! any words of wisdom on a specific lighting setup?? brand?? or website?? or just do the research and piece one together myself? cheers.

 

[senji]

research the led do it yourself and contact mojoreef tell him i sent u. he has a whole sale account on leds hes the 1 to talk to, or eww is another great person to contact