New Giy Needs Help

maw06d

New Member
Hey guys/gals,
I am about to start my first salt water tank. It is a 55 gallon glass aquarium. I am using live sand and I am only putting fish in it for now. Live rock is on my list things to do after I begin. I have a canister filter, a biowheel filter, a heater, plenty of salt mix, a RO filter to make my own water, decor and some other little odds and ends to get this puppy rollin. I have purchased several books to help, but none of them seem to say how to start this thing. One book says to put the sand in when you are filling it with water for the first time and the other says to fill it with water and let it run for a night, then put the sand in. One says I should just put the sand on the bottom and then the other says i should put a layer of gravel under the sand. Anyone got any tips or answers to help me start. You can either post back or e-mail me at maw06d@fsu.edu. THanks!!!
 

fishygurl

Active Member
ok first of all WELCOME im sure u will enjoy the site...now for the important stuff...

i HIGHLY recommend u wait to get all your live rock before adding ANY fish this is for many reasons like the fish will have places to hide and sleep in, you will have more of that bacteria that helps your tanks levels, and to not cause a cycle again which will kill anything in the tank most likely... so again i would DEFIANTLY wait...
Second of all so all you are doing is a fish only tank right? no corals? what about a clean up crew? or is it going to be aggressive?
make sure you have to wait till your tank is cycled with live rock and sand before adding anything.
First you can put in around half a tank of water then put your rock in FIRST then add your sand then fill the tank up with the rest of the water, turn all your equipment on and let it cycle.
if u have any questions just ask...also what type of fish do u plan on putting in here?
 

maw06d

New Member
Thank you for the help. I am sorry I didn't clarify on the liverock situation. I intend to add it before any fish get put into the tank, but I also wanted to put the sand and water in before I get the chance to purchase the liverock. But now that I think about it, sticking my hand all the way down into the water doesn't exactly sound like a fun idea. I intend only to have fish in the tank. Clean up crew? The only fish I deffinetly want to put into the tank are some clown fish, a yellow tang, and a regal tang. To be honest my ultimate goal is to have all of the fish in the dentist's fish tank in the movie, "Finding Nemo." I know it is kinda corney but I thought it would be awesome to have all of the fish in that tank. How much liverock would you recommend for a 55 gallon tank? I am going to go the lazy way and get live rock from the local store that has already been cured so I have less of a wait.

Thank you for your help.
 

maw06d

New Member
Could you list the fish that you would suggest to compinsate for the different ones in order to resemble the tank?
 
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