Im back and Equiped

aaronz

aaronz

Member
Well I posted about a month ago asking some general questions. Well I have finally done the deed. I found a local pet store where a guy (Andrew) works and he knows his stuff from front to back. So then I went out got a nice stand and a 5 gallon tank. Went back to Andrew and started walking around the store with my check list. I ended up getting as follows:
55 Gallon Tank
Stand
Twin Light hood
Emperor 400 filter
Visi-Therm Stealth 250 Submersible Aquarium Heater
33 lbs of Live rock( Picked out some bad -$$ pieces, pictures to come)
3 bags of Substrate
1 bag live sand ( this is what he recomended, 1 bag live to 3 fake. He said the bacteria would transfer from the live sand over to the substrate)
1 bag Instant sea salt ( Bag treats 50 gallons)
Hydrometer
Seachem Prime
Step by step:
Washed with WARM WATER ONLY inside of tank( vacumed first)
Put tank on stand( put together stand obvioulsy)
Filled tank half way with Brita filtered water
Pourd half bag of salt in and started stiring
Filled tank the rest of the way to the top with Brita water. Rest of Salt bag put in.
Put two bags of substrate in
Put Live sand in
Put last bag of Substrate in
Installed filter and heater
Let set for 2 hours
Became semi-clear(You could see the heater in the back of the tank
Put all live rock into tank
Sat back and watched, then got bord and started watching t.v.
Now just waiting for the cycle
Anyone have any suggestions or things myabe I should change???? Anything I did that really could mess things up??? Thanks in advance
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
Sounds like Andrew has you on the right track!
A few notes:
-Only RO/DI water....No tap water, no Brita water....RO WATER.
-Refractometer. One of the single best investments I have made for my tank.
-Always have extra salt and water. You'll never know when you'll have to do an emergency water change.
-Depending on what type of tank you choose (reef, FOWLR) you'll want more LR. I have 75 gallons in my 50g, and would like to add more. Helps w/ filtration
-Get a GOOD protein skimmer if you're goin' for a reef tank. You won't need it until you finish the cycle though.
HTH and good luck!
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
IMO, a protein skimmer is a must, no matter what. It'll help keep your tank clear of small particles floating around.
As for the way you set up your tank, everything sounds good, but the one thing i try to suggest is to put the LR in first, and then put the sand around it. This way, the LR is on the bottom of the tank, and you know it's sturdy. If it's on the sand, there's a possibility a fish may burrow and cause the rock to fall, and possibly squish someone... It's ok to have it on the sand if you're not planning on getting anything that digs in the sand, but just a warning.
I also agree with KDFrosty, us R/O water only. Brita water still leaves traces of the absorbed minerals and whatnot, while R/O water is only water. These minerals can cause excessive algae growth in your tank.
If you are like most of us who don't have the $$$ just yet to get an R/O unit, you can purchase R/O water from your local Walmart. If your walmart is a supercenter, it'll have a water machine where you bring your own container and fill up for about 33 cents a gallon. If it's just a normal Walmart, you can purchase their "drinking water". It's located in the drink section, and it's in a clear jug with a green label and a green lid. This is R/O water with caclium added in (R/O water generally has less calcium than other water because it's super-filtered). I've never had to add calcium to my tank. it's always perfect!
Everything else sounds great so far!!! Keep up the good work!!!
Jenn
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
Originally Posted by jdragunas
IMO, a protein skimmer is a must, no matter what. It'll help keep your tank clear of small particles floating around.
A protein skimmer is designed to skim the surface of the water to remove any buildup across the surface. Nature's version is the sudsy skimmate you see washed up on beaches.
As for the way you set up your tank, everything sounds good, but the one thing i try to suggest is to put the LR in first, and then put the sand around it.
Good point. I wish I did this when I started.
If you are like most of us who don't have the $$$ just yet to get an R/O unit, you can purchase R/O water from your local Walmart. If your walmart is a supercenter, it'll have a water machine where you bring your own container and fill up for about 33 cents a gallon. If it's just a normal Walmart, you can purchase their "drinking water". It's located in the drink section, and it's in a clear jug with a green label and a green lid. This is R/O water with caclium added in (R/O water generally has less calcium than other water because it's super-filtered).
Be careful using these machines at Wal Mart. Many people have reported success, but when I tried it I got an algae outbreak. I should've tested the water first. I used to use bottled distilled water purchased at Wal Mart. It worked great, but got too expensive. I think I used to pay $1.47 for three gallons.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
Yeah, the bottled water is like 58 cents a gallon.
Yes, i should've said that. Always test all water before you put it in your tank! Even if it says it's distilled or R/O water... you never know. :thinking:
If you decide to use the brita filtered tap water... although i strongly suggest you use R/O water, or at least distilled... make sure you buy chlorine and chloramine tests, and you should also add a water conditioner. They have testing strips. You can't have either of those chemicals in your tank when you add fish. You should acutally test for that now, come to think of it.
Good luck!!!

Jenn
 
aaronz

aaronz

Member
Took a water sample in today...Andrew said I was right on track and that Chlr lvls were suprisingly low. I told him we used the brita and put some chem in it and he said I have very low leverls. He said the nit. process has started and im am to bring him another sample on saturday and if all is well ill be getting a couple fish just to get the process started off slowely. NOw I need to start reading about lighting. I want a reef/fish tank so I know im gonna have to get some nice lights. Any suggestions or good places to get deals. I have a split top hood design if that helps out. I want a kit that looks stock/ sleek.... if thats possible :)
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
Aaron, the fish store will tell you to add fish to help cycle the tank, but this is very cruel. It burns the fish's guills. Instead, add flake food to your tank daily for a few days. The food will break down and kick off your ammonia. You could also buy a cocktail shrimp and throw it in the tank. Let it stay there until it becomes a big blob, then remove it. That'll also get your ammonia levels up. Using fish, though, is an old trick that has been replaced with some less barbaric tricks.
As for lighting, in order to maintain a good reef, you need to have about 5 watts of light per gallon. With a 55 gallon tank, i'd suggest 275 watt light setup, or more. You could get a power compact 4X65 light set, but this will bring you below 5 watts per gallon, and may limit the kind of corals you can keep. My suggestion, if you have the $$$ is to get a metal halide lighting set. These can run about $500-$600 on that great auction website, and are worth the money. This kind of lighting setup will allow you to keep most of any kind of coral you want (except for those with low lighting needs). IMO this is the best investment you can make, as long as you're willing to spend the $$$.
Hope this helps!
Jenn
 
kdfrosty

kdfrosty

Active Member
I'd say go with a 4x55w or 4x65w setup. They are cheap, but they'll let you keep most soft corals. In fact, I've seen a nice new 4x55w setup for $75 shipped on the popular auction site. Granted it's not the best brand or bulbs, but it does the trick. I used to have the same fixture.
 
aaronz

aaronz

Member
Yeah tanks for the info. That frozen shrimp is in there, I ended eating a few myself :)
If anyone could PM me with some links or suggestions I think MH is $$$ but as for now I just spent 1000+ for everything else. SO i need some time to heal my pocket, The other option should be fine for the time being. I will eventually go MH and just go all out but for now I just need something that works and gets the job done ....
Thanks for the input
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
Originally Posted by aaronz
Yeah tanks for the info....
Did you mean to say "tanks"? lol that's funny, get it? TANKS for the info... Anyway!
Well, aaron, it just happens to be that i'm in the same market as you. I found a great lighting setup on that great auction site for about $130 shipped. It has 4X65 bulbs (total of 275 watts), with 2 fans, and lunar lights. The way it works is that there are (2) Actinic bulbs and (2) 12,000k daylight bulbs. The actinic bulbs are to stimulate the "dusk" and "dawn" effect, so you turn these on about 1 hour before the daylight bulbs, and leave them on 1 hour after the dayligh bulbs.
The main trick is to find this setup with 2 or 3 different plugs. This way, there's one plug for the actinics & one for the daylights, and you can put them on timers. This is best for the fish and corals too!!!
Jenn
 
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