Help requested: correct/comment on what LFS said

adee

adee

Member
I met the nicest guy (who appeared/sounded like he knew quite a bit about saltwater tanks)! He works at our local "Big Als" they are a HUGE aquarium store (they have a couple reptiles but specialize in aquatics) what a great experience.. he explained how things work so i gotta apply it here and see what everyone else thinks.
Please let me know what is/isnt right
Filling/mixing tank:
Put the bag of sand at the bottom of the tank (do not open) fill with mixed water, if using tap water treat the tank with that, let cycle for 24hrs, check salinity, open bag(s) let cycle for another 24hrs check salinity again, if low add salt. (he reminded me to always under mix i can always add salt) Leave space for the live rock, once the salt/sand is within good salinity levels i can add the live rock, let that cycle for a couple weeks and monitor levels.
He suggested I use their premixed water (less hassle and only .69 per gallon, totally worth it to me!)
He suggested I get 3 PH, one on either side and one on back wall facing inward.
Also spoke to me about cured and uncured rock.. which should I get? They do have both (wow the uncured STINKS!) they are exactly the same price.
Base rock, he suggested getting the "twig" type of rock for base rock (make sure to wiggle it till it touches the glass) because that way i can make my own caves and what not. 4.99lb.
He also said there should be *no* lid on the tank, use a type of lid that clicks onto the tank itself, this is what is best for the coral.
I cant wait to hear comments!!
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
Everything he has said is pretty ok in my opinion. The difference between cured and uncured rock......well I would still cycled the tank with the rock in even if you do buy cured rock.
You never know if it really is cured all the way and there may still be die-off when you add it to your tank.
 
slf125

slf125

Member
agreed. Sounds all right. IMO there is no need for lids and if you block off good airflow then your gas exchange won't be as good. Also if they are glass they may filter out some of the light ( someone might want to comment here. I am not really sure). But only if you are able to top it off daily should you not have a lid.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member

Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/2900607
I met the nicest guy (who appeared/sounded like he knew quite a bit about saltwater tanks)! He works at our local "Big Als" they are a HUGE aquarium store (they have a couple reptiles but specialize in aquatics) what a great experience.. he explained how things work so i gotta apply it here and see what everyone else thinks.
Please let me know what is/isnt right
Filling/mixing tank:
Put the bag of sand at the bottom of the tank (do not open) fill with mixed water (I would not do this), if using tap water (I would not use tap water, period) treat the tank with that, let cycle for 24hrs, check salinity (I would check the salinity of the premixed slatwater before using it), open bag(s) let cycle for another 24hrs check salinity again, if low add salt. (he reminded me to always under mix i can always add salt) Leave space for the live rock (I would add the sand and rock, making sure there is enough water to cover the rock, than I would fill the tank to the top with premixed saltwater) , once the salt/sand is within good salinity levels i can add the live rock, let that cycle for a couple weeks and monitor levels.
He suggested I use their premixed water (less hassle and only .69 per gallon, totally worth it to me!) (not a bad idea, specially if the cost is less than mixing it yourself, just check thier salinity before using and try to have it at the same level everytime)
He suggested I get 3 PH, one on either side and one on back wall facing inward. (This might be o.k., depends on the tank size)
Also spoke to me about cured and uncured rock.. which should I get? They do have both (wow the uncured STINKS!) they are exactly the same price. (I use cured rock only, unless I want base rock)
Base rock, he suggested getting the "twig" type of rock for base rock (make sure to wiggle it till it touches the glass) because that way i can make my own caves and what not. 4.99lb.
He also said there should be *no* lid on the tank, use a type of lid that clicks onto the tank itself, this is what is best for the coral. (This is recomended in saltwater aquarium to allow gasses to exist the tank)
I cant wait to hear comments!!
Hi there,
It sounds like you are trying to setup a tank.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Ah I was close I thought it was a 40 gallon,

Well good luck and enjoy it. This hobby is very rewarding. Fustrating at first, but very rearding once it is set up and running.
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
37 Gallon.....Great starting tank.....you definitely do not need 3 powerheads then.
Here is what i would do......
Fill the tank with the premixed water....add the Live Rock (cured or uncured)....then add sand.
If you can afford it, you should always use RO water. Even for topping off.
Then have patience and let it cycle.
 
adee

adee

Member
Great! Thanks so much.. i was reconsidering its size today.. glad i stuck with it. I cant WAIT (of course i really can, but im very excited)
Where should I position the power heads and how many should I get? Also.. he showed me a few filters today (i wish i remembered the name!) there was one that did 150 gallons an hour and one that did 250 an hour.. he said if i wanted i could get the high one but it wasnt really necessary, the bigger one was double the price, do i need the 250 or can i make due with the 150? I would rather do it right the first time and not have to replace filter anytime soon (not the cartridge, the unit) Keep in mind, I do already have a rio skimmer (That comes with a filter) Im going to be getting a salinity reader for sure tomorrow...
Will the uncured rock make my house stink? It smelled like major boiled eggs lol out of the water, i dont mind getting the uncured, i just want to make sure and get whats best for a beginner tank... input anyone or is it personal preference
 
cal559

cal559

Member
If live rock smells don't buy it...Just buy some base rock and some cured live rock mixes perfect...thats what i did...lol
 
sueandherzoo

sueandherzoo

Active Member

Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/2900607
I met the nicest guy (who appeared/sounded like he knew quite a bit about saltwater tanks)! He works at our local "Big Als" they are a HUGE aquarium store (they have a couple reptiles but specialize in aquatics) what a great experience.. he explained how things work so i gotta apply it here and see what everyone else thinks.
Please let me know what is/isnt right
Filling/mixing tank:
Put the bag of sand at the bottom of the tank (do not open) fill with mixed water, if using tap water treat the tank with that, let cycle for 24hrs, check salinity, open bag(s) let cycle for another 24hrs check salinity again, if low add salt. (he reminded me to always under mix i can always add salt) Leave space for the live rock, once the salt/sand is within good salinity levels i can add the live rock, let that cycle for a couple weeks and monitor levels. I'm confused about the part where you put the sand still in the bag in the tank. What's the purpose of leaving it in the plastic under water for 24 hours? Also, I've always heard you want to add your rock BEFORE the sand so that the rock is stable against the glass. If you place rock on TOP of sand, your sand-burrowing critters can cause a collapse.
He suggested I get 3 PH, one on either side and one on back wall facing inward. I think that will depend on what you're going to have in the tank. Different livestock requires different flow.
Also spoke to me about cured and uncured rock.. which should I get? They do have both (wow the uncured STINKS!) they are exactly the same price. If they are the same price, get the cured but STILL go through a cycle by testing the water every day or two to watch for the spikes and falls of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
Base rock, he suggested getting the "twig" type of rock for base rock (make sure to wiggle it till it touches the glass) because that way i can make my own caves and what not. 4.99lb. $4.99 a pound for live tonga rock (I assume that's what you mean by twig type) is a good deal, especially since I think it's no longer available so you should probably grab it while you can.
He also said there should be *no* lid on the tank, use a type of lid that clicks onto the tank itself, this is what is best for the coral. I'm confused again: he said to use "no" lid yet says to use a click-on lid? I cant wait to hear comments!!
I'm still learning, too,so I'm anxious to hear the comments to your comments!
 
adee

adee

Member
I meant the lid that has legs, its suspended above the tank.
Leaving the sand in the bag keeps the water purifier from killing the sand but lets you know how much space the sand itself will take up (prevent over filling of tank) he said cut the bag open when the tank has at least 24 hrs to filter and let the water purifier time to work... and of course thats if we were going with our own water (Which we did the first 20 gallons our self, we have debated dumping the water and just buying theirs, they said they would test it and show us the levels before we buy it)
They had cured rock that didnt smell like anything too, There was a TON of the twig stuff, ill be sure to grab some while I can.
I have every intention of letting the tank cycle too ;)
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
Eveything he told you sounds pretty good. I may need to take a drive over for branch rock at 4.99 a lb. If you get some post pictures. I am looking for it for my seahorse tank.
as far as powerheads, I can see where he is coming from. with three small ones you wont have any dead spots. but you also have a skimmer on the back that will add flow and another filer, so I would just start out with 2. something like two maxijet 900s. then add another if you dont have enough flow.
T
 
adee

adee

Member
Im in South East Florida... its about an hour north of Miami about 20 minutes from the coast (aka, ft. lauderdale beach)
Here is big als website.. the store was AMAZING to say the very, very least
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
oppps, no posting competer sites - sorry, you should remove them.
I have bought premixed water for a couple of yrs. I finally bought my own RO/DI unit.
 
scopus tang

scopus tang

Active Member
Agree with others that most of what you where told appears to be on track; only thing I would caution you on is the lid. Your livestock (esp. fish) will determine if you need to use a lid or not - several types of fish, esp. wrasses and some gobies are known to be jumpers - if you don't have a lid of some sort, they will committe suicide
.
 
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