First Tank

woskie70

woskie70

New Member
OK I figured I would start a thread about my fist tank build and setup and see what everyone thinks and any ideas that might help. Im setting up a 55g with a 20g long sump. I have the 110 octopuss skimmer and a #2 and #4 power heads. Here are some pics up untill now. I just added my live rock and salt water this week.


 
yannifish

yannifish

Active Member
Very nice, and welcome! Looks like you have done your research.

Keep up the good work.
How long has the tank been set up so far?
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
I have a very important question: what did you use to make the rock wall? What is the exact type of foam that was used?
Was it this?
 
stavert07

stavert07

New Member
Im nw at salt water aquariums, i was wondering what the difference between the #4 and #2 power heads is?
 
woskie70

woskie70

New Member
The tank has been set up for 4 days now, I'm not sure exactly what i will be putting in it but I'm starting to think i really like the whole live corral thing so I'm probably going in that direction. The back wall was done by a store here in Phoenix AZ really nice blocks all the stuff behind the tank and will act like live rock. The difference in the power heads is the amount of water they push per hour. I had alot of fun building this tank and look forward to the up coming weeks and months as it grows. I started researching this whole SW fish thing a year ago and wanted to know as much as I could before jumping in!
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by woskie70 http:///forum/thread/384956/first-tank#post_3374228
The tank has been set up for 4 days now, I'm not sure exactly what i will be putting in it but I'm starting to think i really like the whole live corral thing so I'm probably going in that direction. The back wall was done by a store here in Phoenix AZ really nice blocks all the stuff behind the tank and will act like live rock. The difference in the power heads is the amount of water they push per hour. I had alot of fun building this tank and look forward to the up coming weeks and months as it grows. I started researching this whole SW fish thing a year ago and wanted to know as much as I could before jumping in!
I would contact the store to find out if that was the stuff that was used. If they used that Great Stuff foam in the picture, then I would get it out of the tank. It will not last long term in the tank.
 
woskie70

woskie70

New Member
I know its not that stuff.The stuff that is on there is very durable and the store has it in all of their DT
 
yannifish

yannifish

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by woskie70 http:///forum/thread/384956/first-tank#post_3374310
No ammonia yet I guess i will need to add a shrimp or food to start the cycle?
You said it was live rock you put in, so that will be sufficient to provide a source of ammonia.
Is it cured or uncured rock? Normally uncured is used in a new tank, as it provides more ammonia.
 
woskie70

woskie70

New Member
Ok I now have ammonia!
This is what I got today
Temp 78
PH 8.4
Ammonia .25
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Today is one week since set up. Noticed some algae growing on my live rock and some of my live sand i added is kinda getting brown?
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
early stages of diatom bloom is the brown on the sand... let it go and it will take care of itself. Its early cycle stage nothing big
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by woskie70 http:///forum/thread/384956/first-tank#post_3374941
When should I add a CUC and do a water change?

Welcome to the forum...work on a cycle first. Just before you are ready to add fish you can add the CUC. The first water change I do is just before I start to add fish. The good bacteria is in the sand and on the rocks, a good 3 % water change after your tank cycles will mean pristine water when you begin. Are you using RO water?
Gemmy, I think they used the grey pond foam for outside landscaping (from what it looks like), it won't break down in the tank, I used it on my rock and foam back wall.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
That looks like Bryopsis sp.
Is it only on that rock? Google bryopsis. You're not going to find such great things about it, it really is a nuisance algae. If it's only on that rock, remove it.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/384956/first-tank#post_3378929
That looks like Bryopsis sp.
Is it only on that rock? Google bryopsis. You're not going to find such great things about it, it really is a nuisance algae. If it's only on that rock, remove it.
I Googled and sources say BRYOPSIS is hair algae. There are 7 different types in tropical waters but all are hair algae. It is a very bad algae to have.
 
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