New tank! YIPPE!

[fraggle]

After about 2 years of studying (half assed the last half year) I just spend some money on a new tank. The LFS here seems very knowledgable and prides himself on doing things right. He was very non bullshit. He is delivering my tank to me tonight in his truck Anyways here is what I got...
55 Gal Tank
250 Skilter (Flame away, but that will get upgraded)
2 402 powerheads
200 W Heater
Sound pretty good for starters? Anyways, I am buying my RO Water from him premixed with salt, for about 60 cents a gallon or so. I will be getting that tomorrow. My only part I am not happy about the shop is his lack of quality live rock. I would like to do live sand also. Is it ok to layer the bottom with live sand and put live rock on top of that? I KNOW I need better lighting, I will be doing a reef tank so what is suggested for lighting? How much rock should I start out with for cycling. ( remember his rock isn't of the best quality so I dont want to start out with too much of his, I will buy some off of the net but I want to start the tank cycling) I willbe taking my time with this so I am in no hurry. I am extremely excited about this. Thank you for the help. Please point out anything else I might have left out that I will need. Lights are a must I know.
Thanks!
Paul

 

[andymi]

First thing that caught my attention is the .60 cents a gallon. You prolly cannot get much better than that, especially mixed with salt. I am not a salt water know it all and my previous posts prove that
I was just curious if maybe using their salt if that could be an issue maybe he used some cheap stuff, but not sure that really matters much with RO water. As far as live sand and rock I have heard that you could start with one piece of live rock and it would do the cycle , yet I have not heard anyone on this board state that. I actually own a 70 gallon and I bought 20 lbs of live sand, 40 lbs of tropical sand and 40 lbs of live rock. On top of that I added 2 chromis to my tank and a bangai. Only because I rushed into more than I should. I think you can get away with a couple of pieces of live rock to start the cycle.
As far as lighting as stated before approx 3-5 watts per gallon. I bought the compact lights that emit 12000k /day and 7500 blue. I still need another for a good coral tank. It seems most people have good luck with the VHO lighting as well.
Depending on how far away this person is you may want to pick up some extra RO water so that you can have some for topping off the tank after evaporation. Other than that, only thing I can suggest is wet your sand before putting it in the tank or it will be extremely cloudy for days (thats a mistake I made )
Again I am no expert I just setup my tank a week ago, but these are things I have heard over the last 7 days of posting and reading messages.
--Andy
P.S. Dont forget a good test kit for Nitrates, Nitrites, PH, Ammonia, Calcium and Phosphates.

 

[saltwater marauder]

Layering the bottom with LS and placing LR on top of that is not only o.k. but ideal. One thing to watch, if those are hagen 402's which I assume they are as I havent seen any other 402's, they are great powerheads but have a knack for sucking inverts and smaller fish into the powerhead, not to mention snails often get stuck. My suggestion is to use some sort of screen like from an old foam media or get a pre-filter for the bottom so your inverts especially shrimps wont get sucked in and croak. My 402 claimed two peppermints, a false perc and four snails before I moved it over to my FO and put a maxi-jet 600 in my 37. Maxi-jets have worked excellent for me and they come with a plastice mesh already over the intake. Hagen 301s also have the mesh, dont know why they left it off of the 402. Cap that intake and have a blast. gl!

 

[fraggle]

Yup those are the same 402s. And I thought that was correct about the LS and LR. The LFS said not to put the LR on top of the LS. So I figured I would ask and am glad I did. How much LS should I get for a generic 55 gal tank? cause I will put that in before the water. That will help make it non cloudy. I will prolly add like 2 peices of LR for now, and then slowly start adding more. Also, what is a good temp for a reef tank?

 

[fraggle]

Wooohooooo! Tank just arrived. I can pick up the water tomorrow! Now how much live sand should I get for starters. What kind of lighting should I get and how much? In as much detail as possible with the lighting cause that is one of the things I dont know much about.
Paul

 

[hermit enthusiast]

For the lighting question look at my post entitled "LIGHTING" it's the first post. I got a-lot of good info from the people on this board and hope u do to.
Peace

 

[saltwater marauder]

I do not remember the formula for depth od sandbed based on the dimensions of your tank. I used a 20 lb bag and another 10 lb bag in my 37 then added steralized play sand until my desired depth of 4 inches was reached. You can just eyeball it until you get to desired depth

 

[fraggle]

Where did you get the steralized sand, and how deep was it before you put the steralized sand in? did you mix the 2 sands together before you put it in, ore did you put in the LS first? thanks!
Paul