new to salt,sand,rocks,water

[varpanus]

they both have suction cups. i dunno if they'll hold but if they don't i will attach a hanger on them. then I'll just hang them on the back where the cutout is for the filter and wires.

 

[ronj]

the tank looks goosd so far...it might help to take about half of the sand out...once you get your rocks in there, there will be very little swimming room!! it would help even more to remove all of the sand and do a bare bottom tank...in a tank that small,waste is going to accumulate in the sand ..you are going to have to do very regular water changes already..if you took out the sand, it will help greatly in keeping the water quality up!!.(this is just a suggestion..just want you to know the other options before you start!!)

 

[varpanus]

i don't really like the bare-bottom look. although krish's tank is absolutely stunning. all the sand that's in there already is going to be about halved,and I'm going to add back in about a lb of ls. about the swimming room. I think just about everything I want to put in there isn't going to be swimming.(I hope). the regular water changes are no problem.i'll probably do them at least 2x a week after the tank cycles until it stays good you know? then drop it down to 1 20% 2nd week and a smaller maybe 10% on the opposites.

 

[Krish]

Sounds good Tony, but when you go to add the rock, make sure you remove all the sand first, put in your rock, and then add the sand in around it afterwards. Not many people do it that way, but that is the right way to do it. Otherwise you will end up with issues from that sand being trapped underneath the live rock

BTW...Bare bottom rocks!!!! I just put down pvc board (similar to star board) and I get the appearance of sand, but no sand storm from my flow and I can kick up all that detritus that may try to settle on the bottom and let my corals feed on it

 

[varpanus]

yeah!! i made it to PA yesterdy and let me tell you. that store is awesome! I got all the rock I needed as well as a couple other things. i put it all together last night to get the ball rollin. I got a pic eventhough it's still kinda cloudy. these were taken last night right after I got everything in .

now maybe I'll start reading the photography section to find out how to get the flsah away!lol

 

[burning2nd]

just an idea, i red thur most of the post,
I 2nd the skimmer you will have better results when your tank is clean (think of it this way) Do it nice or do it twice. you dont want to come home after a bad day and expect to find a nice tank to stair at for a while but when you get home.

anyway, you might also want to consiter geting your self a RODI unit, there cheap and in the long run and it will pay it self off. runing to gramma's house (reguardless of gas prices) will cost more and not be worth it (in the eyes of a machanic, and old school driver to get Ro water)

just IMO,

my friend kyle get that kit from wallmart, the heater is not relieabul. you will need a reliabule heater.

 

[burning2nd]

lots of lights let it sit, no water changes for about a month at least,

start the light cycle and let her cycle

 

[Krish]

Hey Tony! Don't know how I missed this! Did you catch up with Rob? Cool man...Now just let her cycle

 

[varpanus]

i was told not to use lighting for the first 2-3 weeks?
the run to grandma's house is the only option for me to get water. no $ for an r/o unit as of right now.
and so far I got 400gph,is that enough flow? 40Xph?
would it be bad for the temp to go above 80? cause right now it's 81*.i'm not sure how to lower it.i turned the heater off, but I dunno if that will help. aside from being kinda yellowish, the water is already fairly clear, you can kinda see the rock now.

 

[Krish]

lots of lights let it sit, no water changes for about a month at least,

start the light cycle and let her cycle

I mised this That is debatable...With a newly setup tank, you will have an increase of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate etc as it cycles and with running lights from the get go, any un-wanted algae, pests etc will conitue to grow as their demands would be met. Most people leave the lights off for the first few weeks as a result. The coraline that is on your rock, will live and will come back one lighting is added. Just a thought...

 

[Krish]

and so far I got 400gph,is that enough flow? 40Xph?

Sounds good Tony...That's 40x over rate! Just keep your eye on things and look for any dead spots. Sometimes I toss in a pinch of flakes or something in the tank and watch where the flow takes it. If it never rests anywhere in the tank and keeps on moving, I know I've got full coverage. You can even tell where is weak and can use more flow by watching as well.

 

[varpanus]

if you can see, at the bottom front, the waterflow is so strong that it's moved the sand up to either side. i can see bare glass right there. and does anybody know where I can get a glass canopy, because i'm already getting some hefty evaporation.in that picture, it's exactly 24 hours old, and the water used to be at the black rim last night. how can I fix this? and i'm getting a reading of about 1.0235, it's kinda inbetween the .023 and .024. but that will change once the water goes back down to about 78 right? i found out the heater was set on about 83, so I adjusted it back down to 78.

 

[Krish]

if you can see, at the bottom front, the waterflow is so strong that it's moved the sand up to either side. i can see bare glass right there

LOL...That's why i went bare bottom. Could you imagine sand in my tank!:shock: (LOL)

and does anybody know where I can get a glass canopy, because i'm already getting some hefty evaporation...

Unless you live where it is freezing, you won't want those glass covers. Heat will kill your corals! Your tank will need to breath in order to allow the tank to be kept cool. With the lights on there the temp may go too high in the summer for the corals. You want your temp between 78F-83F The only fix is to top off. I add about 1 gal a day to my cube. When I had my 75gal, I almost added tripple that a day!

and i'm getting a reading of about 1.0235, it's kinda inbetween the .023 and .024. but that will change once the water goes back down to about 78 right? i found out the heater was set on about 83, so I adjusted it back down to 78.

I'm not sure I've ever heard of temp affecting salinity...In any event, most people keep their tanks at 1.025-7 these days. The ocean water here is 1.027. 1.023 is good for introducing fish etc, but you will want to bump that up once you go to add in corals

 

[varpanus]

i was just going by simple logic. hot water holds more suspended salt because of absorption. like gargling with salt water. best to do it with warm water because you can get more salt that way. we did a science experiment about it in highschool. i figured it was the same thing. you would get a higher reading when the water cooled after putting X amount of salt in while it was hot. i dunno, i might be remembering wrong, it has been a couple years and I've done some not to smart things to my memory since then.(finally getting it back lol)

 

[Krish]

ROFL!!! Well, like I said, I'm not sure so alteast you have something to go on I have no clue!

 

[ronj]

i keep my tanks at 1.025..i have reef tanks..if you do a FOWLR, you could do anywhere from 1.021-1.023...i would stay away from the hood for your tank..you will get evaporation anyway.. the covered hood could affect the ph in the tank..also, i like to keep my temps anywhere between 78-81 degrees...my heater in one of my tanks goes haywire sometimes and gets up to 86 degrees, then sometimes it will be like 72 degrees..i like mine to be at 79 degrees if possible..sometimes, with the lights though, they will get up to 82

 

[NaH2O]

I agree - no glass tops. Your tank will heat up more than it is now. If you continue to have problems with your tank's temperature, then you may need to add a small fan blowing on the surface of the water to help with....yes, evaporation. Evaporative cooling is very helpful when your tank temp is slightly elevated compared to where you want it. I also would not run lights during the cycle. Light + nutrients = algae growth. You will go through your algae cycles soon enough once the initial bacterial cycles are balanced, and IMO, you'd be better off waiting until then. I don't remember, do you have a skimmer?

As for temperature and specific gravities, I think some hydrometers may be made with ATC plastic (Automatic Temperature Compensation) ....I can't remember. That would be a question for Boomer. I know my refractometer has ATC, so I don't worry too much about whether my water is 76F or 80F, I know the salinity will be the same.

Temperature Corrections for Hydrometers, by Randy Holmes-Farley

Product Review: Marineland Labs/Aquarium Systems Hydrometer, Part 1 by Steven Pro

 

[mark peacock]

if your temp is constant at 81 just leave it and check your ammonia and that as well

 

[varpanus]

got at least one good picture, alot better than the others,

can anybody tell me what that white stringy stuff is at the top by the light? i can't see it without the lights on.(btw no lights for more than time to take pictures are going to be used)

will that green patch on the left come back to life? or will it just die off completely?kinda looks like that carpet stuff

 

[Krish]

Can't really say...Just keep an eye on it as it cycles