New Tank

[mrextc]

I'm just starting with my first tank. I've purchased it used from someone local. It is a 60gallon tank, with a built in overflow, with 50 lbs of rock(not sure if its all alive as most of it has little or no purple), 30 lbs of sand(live??? maybe?), no fish, a wet/dry filter with a 20 gallon sump, and two light fixtures(not sure of the bulb wattage or type). I don't really know where to begin with what i need to buy or what i should do to get this setup going. Im going to try and transport about 50 gallons of the water back to my house so that i don't have to cycle the tank as long. I'm thinking about getting a protein skimmer, and buying some more sand and a bit more rock from the LFS, and a few chromis to get the tank going....any recommendations would be really appreciated. Thanks all!

 

[coraljunky]

sounds like your on the right path. Read and ask questions before you buy(best advice).

 

[tarball]

appears to me you have done 2 things right so far.
1. You are starting a SW aquarium.
2. You have found this site.
They go hand & hand, Good Luck....

 

[mrextc]

Thanks guys. I just got back from the LFS to see if they had any pearls of wisdom. He suggested to replace the bio balls with chunks of LR and to get some hermit crabs to help cylce the water. This store is having a midnight madness sale so all dry goods are 50% off and livestock and LR are 40% off. I'm pretty excited and hope that i can get everything that i need to get started at a discount.

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by mrextc
Thanks guys. I just got back from the LFS to see if they had any pearls of wisdom. He suggested to replace the bio balls with chunks of LR and to get some hermit crabs to help cylce the water. This store is having a midnight madness sale so all dry goods are 50% off and livestock and LR are 40% off. I'm pretty excited and hope that i can get everything that i need to get started at a discount.
Don't cycle with invertebrates! It is unnecessarily cruel. Use the sale to get the other things you need and let the tank cycle with some fish food or a cocktail shrimp.

 

[rabbit_72]

Definitely get a protein skimmer. They do a great job at getting the icky crud out of the water. Use tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Read up on cycling a tank. When your tests read zero, your tank is cycled and is ready for livestock.
Definitely read any and all posts here dedicated to beginning aquarists. It will really help you!
Good luck and have lots of fun!

 

[srfisher17]

Transporting 50 gallons of water will only save you the cost of buying new salt. (or RO water, if you go that route) The bacteria you need are in the filter media, live rock, sand, etc.,not the water. (Here comes the tap water debate again, I happen to live in an area with tap water that is great--for me & my livestock).

 

[kilhullen]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
Transporting 50 gallons of water will only save you the cost of buying new salt. (or RO water, if you go that route) The bacteria you need are in the filter media, live rock, sand, etc.,not the water. (Here comes the tap water debate again, I happen to live in an area with tap water that is great--for me & my livestock).
I am not going to argue with you. I used tap water which I dechlorinated and dechlorimined (is that a word?) and the pH is near perfect, the calcium is decent, the phosphates are reasonable, etc. It isn't going to take a ton of chemicals to make my water work properly. Probably a little macro algea and the likes. Some places are harsh though, so it is important to understand what treatments your municipal water goes through. LFSs can be good sources of info, but sometimes not.

 

[srfisher17]

Your municipal water department will give you a detailed report of their water. It might be more (or less) info than we need--but it is available.