New To Salt, Filter, Skimmer Questions!! Tank Pic!

ohiorn67

Member
Hi, all, very new to this hobby. Just started a 90 gallon tank. Have about 50 lb live rock cycling and about 30 lb. base rock. Purchased a cannister filter for tanks 77-155 gallon EHEIM. My lfs said best on market and sooo easy to deal with. Would like opionions on this. did not want to sump because seems so messy. Also I upgraded our lights to 268 I believe it is with 4 double lights, some white, some blue and moon lights. Pretty cool. I have power heads going to move the water, heater of course, cool airation of a line of bubbles coming up the back of the tank. Live sand we used $$$ but hopefully well worth it. Ammonia is up, nitrites very high, ph was a little low so we buffered. Any other ideas? We will purchase a couple of corals at first once we are cycled, then see how that goes and then a coup of community fish. Would love some advice on protien skimmer. Our lfs says don't really need right now with all our movement, filter and airation but I keep seeing alot of posts with them. Do I need? thanks in advance for help!:happyfish :happyfish
 

lion_crazz

Active Member
You definitely need a skimmer. Some will say that you don't, but it's an essantial item.
Get rid of the air wall. It will just create extra salt creep on your tank, and is not an item that is used in saltwater fish tanks.
Your tank looks very nice, and you are on the right track. Those are the only two things that I thought you needed a little guidance on. Everything else looks good. Just keep in mind, when you are done cycling, only get one fish every 2 to 3 weeks (unless it is a schooling fish like chromis.) Also, for your corals, start out with something easy when you are done cycling (mushrooms, leather, finger, polyp).
 

ohiorn67

Member
thanks so much for your information. you would have thought that the guy from our lfs would have told us about that air wall after working so hard to get it right!! I keep hearing that alot of people don't like the cannister filters...what do you think? They seemed so much cleaner. Our lfs uses these cannisters in many of his own tanks. He showed us how we only replace 1/2 the rock stuff in it after like 6 months, that is all the maintenance of it for a while. Denitrators we saw you can get also, is this something we need? What do you think of canopy's over the light systems...will it make our lights turn hot? They are on little legs to raise them up. Thanks for giving me information about what kind of coral to start with. very helpful. We are going very slow with this tank. My first mistake I think I made was trying to clean off some of the live rock in my sink under tap water, did I hurt alot of stuff do you think? I then put it straight in the salt tank...lots to learn but loving it!! Will go get a protein skimmer today. Any suggestions for kind?
 

blemmy_guy

Active Member
you dont need the skimmer untill you have fish in the tank, in my opinion, and really there all good, of course some better than others. you really get waht you pay for as far as the skimmers go. I was told not to get the Prism skimmer, but then people who have them usually like them. The Denitrafiers , you wont need them if you have a good filer, i really dont know anything about the cannister filters. Maybe someone else will chime in about them. good luck to tou all. todd
 

lion_crazz

Active Member
Originally posted by ohiorn67
I keep hearing that alot of people don't like the cannister filters...what do you think?

They are okay. You either like them or you do not. I don't think they are a bad. The only reason I like the idea of a sump or wet/dry is because you can store all of your misc. junk in there, like a skimmer, heater, etc. Other than that, I think with the right amount of flow, a cannister is fine because like you said, sumps and wet/dry's are definitely more messy.
Originally posted by ohiorn67
Denitrators we saw you can get also, is this something we need?

I have been actually looking into these as well, as I know many people who run them and opinions are pretty much split down the middle. As long as you do not mind water changes every so often, these are absolutely not neccessary. You can definitely maintan a beautiful tank without one. They allow you to do less frequent water changes, but you really have to get the right one or it is a total waste of money and time.
Originally posted by ohiorn67
What do you think of canopy's over the light systems...will it make our lights turn hot?

I think canopies make aquariums look more like furniture, and I really like how they make a tank look. If you feel that it is something you like, I would get it. They should not make your lights any hotter at all.
Originally posted by ohiorn67

did I hurt alot of stuff do you think?

No, you should be fine just as long as you did not soak it in the tap water (and as long as you did not do every single piece under the sink.)
Originally posted by ohiorn67

Any suggestions for kind?

Since you are not running a sump or wet/dry, you will need to get one that hangs on the tank. I would suggest you try either an Excalibur or AquaC Remora.
The only real suggestion I would make at this point is to make sure you have about 15 times the turnover rate in your tank (gallons per hour), and that you perhaps get a little bit more live rock. I would suggest that while you are still cycling, get another 30 lbs. of live rock because that will help seed all that base rock a lot faster, plus it will seed all that lost "live" rock that you ran under the tap. Besides, it will greatly help you in having a lot of flow and rock because you have to get a a hang-on skimmer rather than an in-sump or external. You will pay $150 less for the Excalibur than you would for the skimmer that I would recommend for a 90, so put $100 towards getting more live rock. Then I think you should be good to go.
If you only want to make one purchase now, get the 30 lbs. of rock now, and get the skimmer when you are done cycling. The skimmer does not need to be turned on until you are done cycling anyways.
Hope this helped. Let me know if you have any more questions.
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
Get rid of the base rock. The microalgae will outcompete the beneficial, macroalgae on base rock. Baserock and wet/dry filters are the tool of the devilfish!
 

ohiorn67

Member
THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT RESPONSES TODAY. I am so excited to have started this tank. My friends just don't get the big hype of it I am sure and probably think I am nuts, but I think it is so much fun to learn about it as you go. I was going to buy a used completed tank from someone but truly, you just don't learn a thing that way. I might try and get a little more live rock but not sure if I can really fit it well in the tank at this point. I would like to have some corals and I am hoping to get some great things growing on the rocks. How fast does it take for things to start growing off the rocks? thanks all!
 

blemmy_guy

Active Member
3 to 6 months, depending on your water quality and lighting, and your rock, some times you will get live rock with stuff already on it. But dont worry, it will grow . The one thing ive learned about salt water tanks... is Patience, a lot of it too! Goodluck to ya, and if you have any questions at this is the place to ask! there are a lot of great pople and lots of great advise on here! Todd
 
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