As newbie as you can get!

[tantricfish]

I am the mother of a gifted 9 year old daughter, who has been asking for a saltwater aquarium for about 6 months. SO... I started reading and paid many visits to any store that had anything to do with saltwater fish in my area. I am thinking info overload
So the ol' Saint Nick delivered a new 90 gallon aquarium (and several books on saltwater aquariums) and stand to my house last night.. to the DELIGHT of my daughter.
My plan on this was that I want her to do research, to read, and understand how may decisions there are to make and how many variables there are to consider before placing a single drop of water in this tank.
Tomorrow, I will take her to the best of the saltwater stores I found in this area.
We are going to begin with a fish only tank, with the intent of moving toward having some inverts down the road. I want to get a really good filtration system so we will not need to do much with that moving forward.
I have gathered that by choosing the right equipment to start with will limit the maintenance and headache down the road... is this true?
Also... if there is anyone patient enough to maybe give me a step by step...I would be forever greatful. Starting with the initial water to put in, how long to let it filter before adding live sand, etc.
I have convinced my daughter that patience will be vital as this process is going to take several weeks before we will be adding any fish.
I want to get this right and I want to encourage not only her desire for an aquarium, but as a device for her to learn how delicate our world is.
Thanks in Advance!!!
T.

 

[royal gang]

yes it gets headaches awat down the road, get good stuff not crap, and sand is sand so u can add it right away, if it's live sand then just mix the water and salt, get the measures of the salt right and add it, it's not table salt btw LOL :help:

 

[mandarin w]

Hello, and Welcome to the site. You and your daughter will have so much fun doing this together.
It sounds like you are off to a great start with all the books. I would be happy to give you my step by step. But as you will see you will get several different suggestions. Alot of them will not be wrong, There are several different ways to set up your tank.
I will tell you that the "inverts" are one of the first things you will need to put into your tank. But before you get all confussed as to how to set up the tank step by step, Let start with what you really need to figure out first.
The first is to figure out the equipment you will need for you "Fish Only" tank. So you can start getting that together. Once you have all the equipment that you are going to need. Then I will be more than happy to help you step by step in the setting it up.
EQUIPMENT:
TANK : 90 gallon, that you have.
FILTRATION: If the tank is reef ready (it will have boxes on the back with holes in the bottom of the tank) then you will need to set up a sump. If the is not reef ready,(just plain glass tank) then you will need to decide what type of filtration you want to use. Overflow boxwith an overflow box you can still enjoy the benifit of a sump and/or fuge. Canister filters Canister filters will do a pretty good job on your tank,but you will need to stay on top of the weekly maintaince with these. Hang on the back filters (HOB) These also will do the job,you will need to find a quality filter I like the emperors you will need at least a 400 on a 90 gallon tank. So you will need to decide how you want to go with your filtration.
SKIMMER: You will need a good skimmer. I would suggest staying away from the Skilters, Jebos and the Sea Clones these for the most part are a big waste of money. Most people get very fustrated trying to get these to work, with very little success. The folk here can give you some good suggestion for a good HOB type skimmer if you don't use a sump. If you are able to run a sump then you can definately find a very good in-sump type skimmer. I like the ASM's, for a 90 gallon a G-2 or G-3 would work great.
LIGHTING: Since you are planning a Fish Only tank, your lighting doesn't need to be the best. A PC (power compact) would work great for your tank, They are not to exspensive, and the light will be just what you need too show the fishes in their best colors. The PC will be alright if you decide to do a few "low light" corals down the road. BUT, if you think their may be a chance that you or your daughter may want a couple of corals or an anemone down the road then save your money (by not haveing to buy two sets of lights) then look for a nice T-5 set of lights. These are very nice lights. They will work for alot of the corals and the anemones. They are pretty energy efficient and don't heat up the tank too badly.
LIVE SAND: You will need about 130 pounds of Live sand. Now you can save alot of money by buying about 100lbs of the sand dry, in the package. Then when you are ready to start setting up your tank then pick up the last 30lbs from your LFS.
LIVE ROCK: You will need about 130 to 150 lbs of live rock. One way you can save money is to get alot of base rock. (this is rock that is not cured, there is not life on it. But once in your tank, over time it will become live rock also. I would go with about 50 - 70 lbs of base rock and the rest being live rock. Live Rock can be very expensive. and most can not afford to buy 100lbs of rock at one time it will cost $300 or more. I usally buy my rock 40 or 50 lbs at a time. Then I just keep it in a large rubbermaid tub until I have all that I need. You can keep your rock alive like this by just keeping it in saltwater with a powerhead and a small light over it. The problem with adding you rock a little at a time to your tank is 1). You can send your tank into a new cycle and harm your fish. 2) you have to rearrange you rock to get the new rock to fit in the way you want it, rearranging your rock can stir up your tank and start a cycle again or harm your fish. That is why I do it the way I suggested. other may tell you a different way. but that is up to you.
R0/DI WATER: RO water is reverse osmosis water. You will need to find a sours for your water. Either pick up a RO filter and make your own, check out the LFS and see if they offer RO water. DO NOT set up your tank useing tap water. Even useing a dechorinator. It will cause you a ton of head aches down the road.
HEATER: I would suggest getting two small ones and place one at each end.
POWER HEADS: Powerhead are used to move water around the tank. You wil want good water circulation though out the tank. For a 90 gallon I would suggest two. Maybe look at the Maxi Jets. They have a pretty good reputation.

 

[mandarin w]

Part 2,

It would not let me post the whole post last time, now I have to type this part over.

Before you do anything, have someone change the wall outlets you have dedicated for the tank with GFI type outlets. This is just an safty measure, but can be very important. It could save you and your daughters live if the unforseen happens.
Get you power strips (these should also be at the very least offer surge protection. I mount these up on the inside of my stand. make sure all equipment that will be pluged into these can have their drip loop. and any un used plug hole are covered with the plastic baby outlet covers. You do not want any moisture to get into the power strips. Make sure you arrange things so you will have easy access to every thing. It is a good idea to mark your plugs. Once you have 10 or 15 plugs in there it is hard to know which is which.
As far as setting up your tank, this is how I do it.
I fill the tank about 1/3 to 1/2 full with water. I add a thin layer of sand to the bottom of the tank, about 1/4 inch. I put my rock in the tank how I want it to be. Once I got my rock how I want it, then I add the rest of my sand. I make sure I have my sand in around all the rock and try to level things out as best I can. It will be hard to get the sand inbetween where all the rocks are, but your daughter is 9, she has small hands, and she will probley enjoy that part. Once your sand and rock is in place, fill the tank the rest of the way. I usally wait about 1/2 hour before I start any of the pumps or filters. Let the sand settle before you start these, if you have a lot of sand floating in the tank, it could mess up your powerheads. Make sure your equipment is ready to go. Once things settle some I start up the equipment. Usally after the first day I will replace my filter pads because they will get full of junk quickly from filtering out all the stuff that is stirred up from setting up the tank. There should be some dieoff from the live rock and sand that you should not have to add anything to start your cycle. If after a couple days you don't show an anmonia spike you can throw a cocktail shrimp in to start the cycle. You do not need to use a damsel or any live fish to start your cycle. That is unnessary and cruel to the fish. Once your cycle has started just wait. You will have an amonia spike, then a nitrite spike then the nitrate spike, then it will all go back down to zero. Once everything is back down to zero. then you can do your first water change. and start adding your cleanup crew. Snails, hermits or shrimp.

 

[tantricfish]

Mandarin,
Thank you so so much for your reply. I have printed it out and we are off to see what we can see today. I sincerely appreciate the time you took to share all of this info with me.
Needless to say, I did a lot of reading before Santa brought the tank, so my daughter is busy trying to catch up
Thank you again!

 

[whitetip*09]

I would suggest going with MH's or T-5's if you want an anemone, dont get me wrong amemone's can be kept with PC's but your tank being deeper your going to need alot of PAR. If you want i can get Flanker(our friendly T-5 expert) to help you. ohh and if you have about 3 grand to spend on lights go with the solaris LED lighting system, its top notch.

 

[scotts]

Here is a thread I wrote for newbies a while ago. It has some info that might help you.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=205584
Scott

 

[f14peter]

As a parent, one suggestion I might make is to guide your daughter through it step-by-step. By that I mean, have her understand that there are many processes that need to be gone through and goals accomplished one at a time before the next phase. Treat each step as a project of its own . . . the research phase, the planning phase, the equipment acquisition phase, the set-up phase, the salt preparation phase, you get the picture.
This would have a couple of advantages . . . one, it would certainly demonstrate and re-enforce the sometimes drawn out process setting up this hobby can be. Also, this give kidlins (And adults too) a real sense of accomplishment as each phase is successfully realized. Even focused children can have varying degrees of interest, so concentrating on reaching the next goal instead of the end result of a tank full of fish can really keep their interest alive and flourishing.
Aquariums are outstanding projects and learning experiences for young folks. There's much to be learned by properly going through the steps, as well as maintaining a miniature eco-system.

 

[ice4ice]

That's really awesome that you & your 9 year old daughter getting into this hobby together ! So far, you're doing what is best by having her start reading and researching everything she will need to learn about marine fishes and aquaria set-up.
Mandarin pretty much got everything down to pat. There will be other tried and true methods as far as filtration goes if somewhere down the road you both like to move onto a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) set-up, talk to us and we can help out with any questions you may have. Congrats on your new adventure in Saltwater Aqauria.

 

[murph]

Few things to keep in mind IMO.
Expect to make some mistakes. While books and forums like this are valuable research tools there is no substitute for hands on experience. Look at the inevitable set backs as learning experience and try not to let them get you down.
While a tank will cycle in a month or so it can take up to a year for a tank to truly mature. Avoid sinking a lot of cash into live stock until the tanks "growing pains" have passed. Use this time to finalize equipment choices, lighting and filtration methods and maintnence routine best suited for your particular tank and above all gain some hands on experience.
This will also help to spread out cost over a period of time and when you finally do spend that 60 to a 100 bucks on one of the more advanced specimens your odds for success are much better.
Good luck with your new tank.