My 1st Saltwater tank--New Setup

[Rycko_427]

Hi everyone,

I'm really excited to be getting into this great new hobby! I've had fish tanks before (back in grade school) which were all freshwater tanks, but I had never tried having a saltwater tank. I recently got interested in saltwater or marine tanks when I was at a local pet store with my niece picking up some food for her pet rabbit and I saw a tank there with all of these super cool corals growing on rocks and crazy colored fish swimming around. I thought it was really awesome and I wanted to put something like it in my room. So I've been doing lots of research (I'm new to this site, but so far it has had so much helpful information) and have slowly been trying to build my first ever saltwater fish/reef tank.

So far I've got my tank (30 gal.) which I've filled with about 2" of fine rock (its some kind of rock/shell/sand mix that the guy at the pet store recommended) which I pre-washed to remove dust and dirt, and also put in all of the saltwater (I mixed freshwater with Instant Ocean saltwater mix), as well as putting in 3.5 lbs of cultivated live rock (I would have bought more, but I ran out of money), and I also have an Aquaclear 50gal. Power Filter and a 150watt heater.

I know that in order for me to put coral in my tank I need a very powerful light and alot more live rock. For my 30 gal. tank, how much live rock would I need? Do I need any live sand too?? Also, what would be a good (and preferable not too expensive) tank light that would work best for keeping coral in my tank?? Are there any good places where I can buy live rock and a light for a good price? The last place I got live rock from cost $7.99 per lbs. :/

If anyone could help me out with my questions or give me any other helpful advice about setting up my tank or reef keeping in general then that would be great

Thanks!

 

[Xtremedave67]

Welcome to RF and the hobby, I am a newbie as well (3 months) plenty of more informed will pipe up and answer Im sure, but they say 1 lb of LR for every gallon of tank give or take. I have been told a 1-2" sand bed, I see many posts that argonite is a preferred sand bed ( may be biased I dont know) and you can seed with either a cup of another reefers sand or buy the commercial stuff, a 5 lb bag to seed is cheap ( I am not sure how bacteria stay alive in a commercial bag of sand) but thats what I am told

keep an eye on the for sale threads here, may find good deals on lighting and LR.
do some reading and determine what type of lighting you want ( and can afford) T-5 vs. metal halide vs LED or a combo of all the above.

thats my input from a newbie, Ill let the gang that has more knowledge pipe in

 

[taichimaster]

As stated above, you can wait and always buy live rock from sellers on the forum. The other option is to get only a few premium live rocks and order Dead rock on the internet and seed it with the live rock. Let the tank cycle and test your parameters. Go slow with putting livestock into tank. In regards to light, I would just keep an eye on the for sale forums and buy it used if you are tight for cash. Good luck

 

[jrgilles]

Welcome to the forums!

You'll also probably want a protein skimmer. Careful with the power filter. Sponge pads in them can be a nitrate trap. Need to keep them really clean so they don't throw your chemistry off.

 

[pblutang]

Im new to the hobby too so I'm going to ride on this thread. When you say power filter is this hang on back or a cannister? I'm running both on my system. sumps are still a little intimidating to me.

 

[DonW]

Hi everyone,

So far I've got my tank (30 gal.) which I've filled with about 2" of fine rock (its some kind of rock/shell/sand mix that the guy at the pet store recommended)

Thanks!

If this is crushed coral, I'd get rid of it first thing. As far as rock goes you can buy all dead. The old rule of thumb lbs per gallon thing has long since been dead. Buy the rock you want to make the tank look how you want.

Don

 

[thatguy559]

well first off you dont need to buy live sand (the commercial bags are garbage its pretty much a waste of money) you purchased live rock so that will already seed your sand. be careful with using someone elses tank sand as you might inherit more issues to deal with. i say ditch the filter its gonna give you more problems then what its worth. throw on a hob skimmer. as far as lighting goes depends on what you want to keep in your tank. same thing with flow you are going to need a power head.

rule of thumb to more water you got in your system the easier its gonna be to keep your perimeters in check. also keep an eye out for good deals. with that being said if you are going to buy brand new spending less is not always the best option. ie cheap knock off parts that will fail and you end up spending more money to buy the one you should have bought in the first place.

welcome to the club and say good buy to your money....lol
oh yeah and the search feature is going to be your best friend. read everything first before doing something. i wish i was more patient in the beginning. take your time and it will pay off in the end. good luck

 

[bigblue141]

Welcome to RF!

Just buy a bunch of mature rock off other members and it will save you a boat load in $$.

If you're using floss or a sponge you will need to keep it clean.

I'd get a cup of "seeded" sand from a local mature tank or two to enhance your bio diversity. I would also recommend buying rock out of several tanks than just one. Down side to that is you're introducing any parasites and disease that might be in other peoples tanks.

Just go slow and let your tank grow.

 

[Faciosity]

Welcome to RF and to the most time consuming hobby of your life! I've been in saltwater for a couple years now, and I'm still learning new things every day. As for lights, I got a great cheap starter light on ebay. It has a cheap ballast and cheap bulbs, but dopes the trick very well! Even supports several species of SPS corals and did great with Maxima clams. Definately look to private sources for your rock. You will find it $2-3 per pound rather than $5-10. I've had great success with hang on back filters in my smaller tanks as long as you keep it clean and keep up on water changes. Canister filters also can work well, but the sump/refugium and skimmer setup is the most desireable for a reef setup. Be careful and research EVERYTHING you put in there before hand, and it will save you lots of time, money, and stress!

 

[Faciosity]

Why is everybody so against crushed coral? I have heard that it can trap nitrates and other toxic chemicals since it doesn't get sifted very easily, but I have sand on one side and crushed coral on the other side for a more diverse environment. I also have thousands of mini brittle stars that get in the cracks and crevices of the crushed coral to keep it clean. Doesn't seem to do anything bad for me, and I think a lot of corals do better sitting on the crushed coral rather than the sand where it can get in the polyps and irritate them. If you place zoanthids/xenia, or other softies on the crushed coral, it gives them something to attatch to and grow on.

If this is crushed coral, I'd get rid of it first thing. As far as rock goes you can buy all dead. The old rule of thumb lbs per gallon thing has long since been dead. Buy the rock you want to make the tank look how you want.

Don

 

[Faciosity]

You act like your so new, but I see you researching just about everything possible! Good job, and over 200 posts?!? More or less rock as well as more or less sand totally depends on the look you want, and what you are going to put in there. It is impossible to know exactly what a person "should" have. I origionally heard it was 1 1/2 lbs. per gallon for a fully stocked reef. It's all stuff you need to learn and experiment with. Some people have success one way, but another tries the exact same thing and fails.

Welcome to RF and the hobby, I am a newbie as well (3 months) plenty of more informed will pipe up and answer Im sure, but they say 1 lb of LR for every gallon of tank give or take. I have been told a 1-2" sand bed, I see many posts that argonite is a preferred sand bed ( may be biased I dont know) and you can seed with either a cup of another reefers sand or buy the commercial stuff, a 5 lb bag to seed is cheap ( I am not sure how bacteria stay alive in a commercial bag of sand) but thats what I am told

keep an eye on the for sale threads here, may find good deals on lighting and LR.
do some reading and determine what type of lighting you want ( and can afford) T-5 vs. metal halide vs LED or a combo of all the above.

thats my input from a newbie, Ill let the gang that has more knowledge pipe in

 

[Xtremedave67]

Thanks, when I get into a hobby I read and research, and with this forum I can ask alot of dumb questions and some seem tolerant to my constant curiosity LOL

I have seen a wide spectrum of rock "quanities"
our current tank is really becoming quite the learning aid LOL, but when we do get to our "big" build, Ill have learned hopefully most of the what NOT to do's LOL

 

[Faciosity]

I started with a 10 gallon 2 years ago, moved to a 20 long, and now have a 75 and started the 10 back up a couple months ago. Still learning though. I don't think there is such a thing as a dumb question as long as you ask it in a respectful manner and expect to get a legitimate answer.

 

[freakin]

Thanks, when I get into a hobby I read and research, and with this forum I can ask alot of dumb questions and some seem tolerant to my constant curiosity LOL

I have seen a wide spectrum of rock "quanities"
our current tank is really becoming quite the learning aid LOL, but when we do get to our "big" build, Ill have learned hopefully most of the what NOT to do's LOL

I'd say there is a wide spectrum of rock "quantities" because there is a wide spectrum in rock QUALITY. The difference between a big square block of barely-porous base rock and something that is branching with great pores is huge, imo.

 

[freakin]

Also, be very patient in this hobby. Only bad things happen quickly. I bought my first tank which was already established with for 1 year with a few corals in it about 2 months ago and I still have not added any livestock but 2 fish and some extra clean up crew. I'm just now getting to the point that I'm going to be adding some corals when I'm sure I'm keeping my parameters stable day to day

 

[DonW]

Why is everybody so against crushed coral?

Not everyone. Crushed coral does not "trap" nitrates nor does a power filter as stated above. Understanding reef chemistry is the first step to success, back to the CC. The Crushed coral is a nutrient sink, it traps food and detritus, no clean up critters will keep it clean. The CC gets water flow through the upper layers, water flow means o2. O2 and rotting debris create nitrates releasing them into the water column. The same goes for the powerfilter. Denitrification occurs in the o2 free zones deep within the live rock or down deep in a thick sand bed.

Biodiversity is for the ocean not a aquarium, selective diversity will net longer term results. Control is the the key.

Don

 

[SRWoodcock]

Ask many questions. The people here give great advice

 

[jag3534]

Hi! Check out fishneedit.com and aquatraders.com for cheap stuff. We had the odyssea protein skimmer and that thing kicked butt, surpirsingly! We also had the odysea t5 light fixture. It got a little warm, but got the job done. You "can" order "live" rock off the internet. I got a 40lb box from liveaquaria.com it comes dying, so it can really cycle a tank, and it come out to like $2 a lb or something silly. Just some things I've learned along the way. Good luck!

 

[Rycko_427]

Wow thanks everyone for all the replies! They really helped I didnt think that so many people would reply..haha