new tank setup HELP
- Thread starter chentiell
- Start date
trigger11
Member
Your LFS is correct. You do not want to have regular gravel in a SW tank.
There are two options
Crushed Coral (which kind of does look like gravel)
Or
Live Sand
Live Sand is the preferred substrate as it requires less maintenance and also provides more of a natural biological filtration for the tank.
CC needs to be cleaned fairly often because detritus gets stuck in it.
Hope that helps.
There are two options
Crushed Coral (which kind of does look like gravel)
Or
Live Sand
Live Sand is the preferred substrate as it requires less maintenance and also provides more of a natural biological filtration for the tank.
CC needs to be cleaned fairly often because detritus gets stuck in it.
Hope that helps.
chentiell
Member
Thanks my next question is how long should I wait to put fish in. Its only been since Sunday. He put some live rock in and on monday he came back and put 5 damsels in. I am not sure what else he did. I am just getting a negative empression of this person who has his own tank service center
seasalt101
Active Member
yeah putting in the damsels was/is cruel i call it torture, he could of told you to feed the tank like there is fish in their aka ghost feeding or a large raw shrimp, no fatalities, and just as effective you need to ask this board a lot of questions and i would recomend a good book or 2 on saltwater fish keeping the conscientous marine aquariust is very highly recomended...tobin
kilhullen
Member
Originally Posted by chentiell
Thanks my next question is how long should I wait to put fish in. Its only been since Sunday. He put some live rock in and on monday he came back and put 5 damsels in. I am not sure what else he did. I am just getting a negative empression of this person who has his own tank service center
Your person is using a cruel and antiquated method. See about returning the damsels to your store and getting credit or something like fish food.
Also, if you don't have time to do it yourself, find someone else to do it for you besides the person who is doing it now. There are lots more effective ways to go about this than the old fashioned torture a fish so it can't breathe and burn it's gills until it suffers so long I can get what I really want in here method.
FYI - Lots of the damsels get aggressive and big and hard to catch in tanks anyway, and you will likely have to remove the rock to get them out if they live through the cycle. Why do that to yourself?
Thanks my next question is how long should I wait to put fish in. Its only been since Sunday. He put some live rock in and on monday he came back and put 5 damsels in. I am not sure what else he did. I am just getting a negative empression of this person who has his own tank service center
Your person is using a cruel and antiquated method. See about returning the damsels to your store and getting credit or something like fish food.
Also, if you don't have time to do it yourself, find someone else to do it for you besides the person who is doing it now. There are lots more effective ways to go about this than the old fashioned torture a fish so it can't breathe and burn it's gills until it suffers so long I can get what I really want in here method.
FYI - Lots of the damsels get aggressive and big and hard to catch in tanks anyway, and you will likely have to remove the rock to get them out if they live through the cycle. Why do that to yourself?
nigerbang
Active Member
Originally Posted by trigger11
Your LFS is correct. You do not want to have regular gravel in a SW tank.
There are two options
Crushed Coral (which kind of does look like gravel)
Or
Live Sand
Live Sand is the preferred substrate as it requires less maintenance and also provides more of a natural biological filtration for the tank.
CC needs to be cleaned fairly often because detritus gets stuck in it.
Hope that helps.
You forgot to mention Bare Bottom tanks....
Your LFS is correct. You do not want to have regular gravel in a SW tank.
There are two options
Crushed Coral (which kind of does look like gravel)
Or
Live Sand
Live Sand is the preferred substrate as it requires less maintenance and also provides more of a natural biological filtration for the tank.
CC needs to be cleaned fairly often because detritus gets stuck in it.
Hope that helps.
You forgot to mention Bare Bottom tanks....
chentiell
Member
Thanks,
I will see if another store will take them. how long do you think i will have to wait to pu fish in it.
next can i take the gravel out and not effect the cycle of the tank.
I also forgot to mention that i had a fresh water setup prior to him adding the salt. he did not take the fresh water out and put new water in. I was a little concerned with that. He just added salt.
I am thinking of just doing this my self, with this forum and some books.
next can i take the gravel out and not effect the cycle of the tank.
I also forgot to mention that i had a fresh water setup prior to him adding the salt. he did not take the fresh water out and put new water in. I was a little concerned with that. He just added salt.
I am thinking of just doing this my self, with this forum and some books.
symon
Member
Originally Posted by chentiell
Thanks,
I will see if another store will take them. how long do you think i will have to wait to pu fish in it.
next can i take the gravel out and not effect the cycle of the tank.
I also forgot to mention that i had a fresh water setup prior to him adding the salt. he did not take the fresh water out and put new water in. I was a little concerned with that. He just added salt.
I am thinking of just doing this my self, with this forum and some books.
IMO the guy doing this is taking your good money and doing a half A$$ Job!
Stop paying him, do some research on how to start your own cycle, take the Live rock out , put it in a tub with a power head to salt water . Now take out all of the fresh water gravel, Now with the tank empty YOU are ready to build yourself a saltwater tank!
Good Luck, Keep us posted!
Thanks,
next can i take the gravel out and not effect the cycle of the tank.
I also forgot to mention that i had a fresh water setup prior to him adding the salt. he did not take the fresh water out and put new water in. I was a little concerned with that. He just added salt.
I am thinking of just doing this my self, with this forum and some books.
IMO the guy doing this is taking your good money and doing a half A$$ Job!
Stop paying him, do some research on how to start your own cycle, take the Live rock out , put it in a tub with a power head to salt water . Now take out all of the fresh water gravel, Now with the tank empty YOU are ready to build yourself a saltwater tank!
Good Luck, Keep us posted!
chentiell
Member
Thanks
do you think the water thats in there is going to be safe since it was the same water that my fresh water fish were in. I thought that he was going to take that water out and put it in a new tank that I bought from him and put new clean water in the saltwater set up, but that didmnot happen. he just added salt
kilhullen
Member
Originally Posted by chentiell
Thanks
do you think the water thats in there is going to be safe since it was the same water that my fresh water fish were in. I thought that he was going to take that water out and put it in a new tank that I bought from him and put new clean water in the saltwater set up, but that didmnot happen. he just added salt
I would think you want a fresh start, just in case you have something in the middle of a life cycle in there (like ich or such). I know they generally don't cross over, but why chance it?
I would want to get everything out, clean the tank with fresh water and a unused sponge (no soap), and then start from scratch.
Besides, I have read that gravel can hold the salt, and give you surprises later when it gets stirred up. I don't know how true that is, but again, why chance it.
Good Luck! The people here are GREAT!
Thanks
I would think you want a fresh start, just in case you have something in the middle of a life cycle in there (like ich or such). I know they generally don't cross over, but why chance it?
I would want to get everything out, clean the tank with fresh water and a unused sponge (no soap), and then start from scratch.
Besides, I have read that gravel can hold the salt, and give you surprises later when it gets stirred up. I don't know how true that is, but again, why chance it.
Good Luck! The people here are GREAT!
turningtim
Active Member
Wow, this guy is a clown. I would have to agree with the above. Get rid of the guy that is working on your tank. It is a waste of time and your good cash. At the very least you could spend the time to set up your tank and then you could hire someone to maintain it but it's really not that hard.
Do you have the Walt Smith rock? Thats good stuff! store in buckets with SW until you get the tank set.
Get rid of the water and gravel. Get your hands on some bags of sand and a bit of LS to seed the bed.
Start over. You have gotten some bad advise but you saved yourself and we can help!
HTH
Tim
BTW, you can clean the equipment/tank with a solution of white vinegar and water.
Do you have the Walt Smith rock? Thats good stuff! store in buckets with SW until you get the tank set.
Get rid of the water and gravel. Get your hands on some bags of sand and a bit of LS to seed the bed.
Start over. You have gotten some bad advise but you saved yourself and we can help!
HTH
Tim
BTW, you can clean the equipment/tank with a solution of white vinegar and water.
turningtim
Active Member
Originally Posted by chentiell
Does it matter what kind of live rock it is, or just as long as it is cured. will this smith premium fiji live rock work ? This is a new set up not even a week old
Slow down, yes the rock is exactly what you want. How many pound do you have? and what size tank is this? and what other equipment do you have?
Does it matter what kind of live rock it is, or just as long as it is cured. will this smith premium fiji live rock work ? This is a new set up not even a week old
Slow down, yes the rock is exactly what you want. How many pound do you have? and what size tank is this? and what other equipment do you have?
turningtim
Active Member
Yes figi rock is just fine. When you say buying it, online or from someone local? You don't have to buy all LS. Just buy some dry bags and then add a small bag or amount and the LS/LR will seed the sand bed. The LS from here I understand is very good, lots 'O' critters!
How big is the tank, I can help with amounts of each you should have........
How big is the tank, I can help with amounts of each you should have........
chentiell
Member
Okay my tank is a 120gallon, i was going to buy it online, the live sand was going to be from a local store. I apologize I am not up todate with abbreviations. so please explain to me ls means live rock & LS means live sand correct. And is dry cheaper and just bas good. and dry sand is ? sorry I dont know this stuff yet
turningtim
Active Member
My fault, I just used to saying it in my head and typing letters. Yes LS=live sand LR= live rock. FOWLRLS Mean fish only with lr and ls. Reef = fish and corals (inverts). FO means fish only. DT or MT=display or main tank. I think there a sticky somewhere with all of they......
First look here SWF for LR and LS they have some real good stuff, have never heard anyone complain. You also can buy say half LR and half dry base rock (much cheaper) and seed the base rock......
You want about 1lb of rock per gallon. 100+lb will be fine and you don't need to buy it all at once.
When I say dry bag I meant dry sand. You will find this at you LFS (local fish store). If you're talking about getting the prepacked LS I would reconsider getting stuff that is aqua cultured. The bagged sand just has bacteria but the Aqua cultured comes from large tanks and has the micro infauna (critters) thats good!
First look here SWF for LR and LS they have some real good stuff, have never heard anyone complain. You also can buy say half LR and half dry base rock (much cheaper) and seed the base rock......
You want about 1lb of rock per gallon. 100+lb will be fine and you don't need to buy it all at once.
When I say dry bag I meant dry sand. You will find this at you LFS (local fish store). If you're talking about getting the prepacked LS I would reconsider getting stuff that is aqua cultured. The bagged sand just has bacteria but the Aqua cultured comes from large tanks and has the micro infauna (critters) thats good!
kilhullen
Member
Originally Posted by TurningTim
My fault, I just used to saying it in my head and typing letters. Yes LS=live sand LR= live rock. FOWLRLS Mean fish only with lr and ls. Reef = fish and corals (inverts). FO means fish only. DT or MT=display or main tank. I think there a sticky somewhere with all of they......
First look here SWF for LR and LS they have some real good stuff, have never heard anyone complain. You also can buy say half LR and half dry base rock (much cheaper) and seed the base rock......
You want about 1lb of rock per gallon. 100+lb will be fine and you don't need to buy it all at once.
When I say dry bag I meant dry sand. You will find this at you LFS (local fish store). If you're talking about getting the prepacked LS I would reconsider getting stuff that is aqua cultured. The bagged sand just has bacteria but the Aqua cultured comes from large tanks and has the micro infauna (critters) thats good!
WOW! Thanks, that even helped me! I was about to buy the bagged ls from one of the further out lfs thinking it was all the same!
My fault, I just used to saying it in my head and typing letters. Yes LS=live sand LR= live rock. FOWLRLS Mean fish only with lr and ls. Reef = fish and corals (inverts). FO means fish only. DT or MT=display or main tank. I think there a sticky somewhere with all of they......
First look here SWF for LR and LS they have some real good stuff, have never heard anyone complain. You also can buy say half LR and half dry base rock (much cheaper) and seed the base rock......
You want about 1lb of rock per gallon. 100+lb will be fine and you don't need to buy it all at once.
When I say dry bag I meant dry sand. You will find this at you LFS (local fish store). If you're talking about getting the prepacked LS I would reconsider getting stuff that is aqua cultured. The bagged sand just has bacteria but the Aqua cultured comes from large tanks and has the micro infauna (critters) thats good!
WOW! Thanks, that even helped me! I was about to buy the bagged ls from one of the further out lfs thinking it was all the same!