New To Sw Needing Starter Help ohio

mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
I HAVE BEEN READING AND NEED SOME HELP

i want to do fowlr
do i need a,---
sump
protein skimmer
power head
special lighting
i have had a fw tank in the past it was a 55 so i have some left items over
i am debating still between fw or salt

my tank is a 50gal corner
it is a pentagon (5 sided) tank thant mesaures 22*22* 13*13*13front stand is a little bigger but not much
i have a heater that will handel a 70gal
i have a fluvel 404 canister filter
optimo air pump
tank lid/top can handel 2 18" fixtures
i have 1 18" light and i built 1 18" led panel that holds 70 led's
built my own stand so it does not look cheap and has extra supports
i also live in lima ohio so any local people maybe can help
thanks in advance matt
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
u dont need an air pump for saltwater, thats the bubble system right? its actually really bad for saltwater lol now what u may look into is a sump/refugium setup, or just a straight refugium, thats generally better filtration than a canister filter, and less upkeep as well
 
mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
sump/refugium setup, or just a straight refugium

please give some examples
i am asking you cause people at pet store are like
all you need is sand and live rock, salt , and a $30 light bulb
and just put carbon in my canister, and a polishing pad ?
that is why i am here to get educated i learn better but seeing examples
 
mboswell1982

mboswell1982

Active Member
well, you can always do like im doing, if you have the room, im using a pair of aquaclear 110 hang on the back powerfilters that im modifying into refugiums, they will work great with my 20 long, an they should be fine on your 50 as well, that solves the space issue lol, and then you can get a hang on the back skimmer, an go to town lol
 
alix2.0

alix2.0

Active Member
welcome to the boards! i am in ohio also. if you are looking for a local reef club, you should check out CORA (Columbus) or C-SEA (Cleveland). i am a member of C-SEA, and we are having a meeting on friday. its open to the public, so if youd like to come check out out and meet some people, its at the cleveland zoo. im not a member of CORA, so i dont know about their schedule.
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
Welcome to the saltwater.com !!
You can run the saltwater tank on that canister without a sump or refugium. The sump and refugium are the most popular and best way to run tanks because they are a form of natural filteration and have benefits that other methods can't duplicate. The one thing you have to do with the canister is a complete tear down and cleaning about every three weeks. The filters trap alot of food and waste witch will break down into nitrites and then nitrates and that can be deadly to everything in the tank. If you clean it regularly you will have no problems. I ran my 125 on two canisters for along time and I have a very heavy fish load. I used the intial large sponges in the first stage, mini bio stars and ceramic cylenders in the next three sections ( this gives you maximum surface space for beneficial bacteria to grow )and then a fine sponge in my last section. When I cleaned my canisters I made sure to rinse off the media for any build up. My only other recommendation to you is try to trade or get a new tank. The hex tanks are horrible for saltwater. Its almost impossible to get the correct flow without dead spots. Thats just the first of many problems you have. Once your into this hobby its like an addiction. You will eventually want a sump/refugium and you will always be limited to almost nothing with that hex. Try to find someone selling a used tank. With that post before mine giving you two local clubs you should have no shortage of people willing to help you find good used equipment. It will be just as fun for them as it will be for you. Good luck !
 
mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
My Tanks Is New And Has Never Had Water I Was Originaly Planing To Go Fresh Sinsce That Is Wat I Have In The Past Till Lady Ad Pet Store Was Telling Me About Salt Water
I Got The Tank Due To Layout Of Room It Will Be In.
I Am Not Wanting To Get Rid Of I Will Have A Larger Tank Some Day When I Move But That Is Not For A While
THIS IS THE TANKS ON THE STAND I BUILT

........................................(

[hr]
)
(--)THIS SECTION IS A DOOR WITH SUPORT POLE INSIDE NICE LARGE OPENING
If Salt Water Is Not Going To Work I Will Just Have To Go Fresh
Lima Is On I75 Exit 125 We Are About 3 Hours From Clevland
1.25 Hours South From Toledo
2 Housrs North Of Cinci
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
Saltwater will work. You will have a dead spot if you do freshwater as well. Might as well do what set up you want. You could throw two korilla's in there for some added flow. They are quiet and sexy looking. If you put enough Live rock in it you wouldnt need a skimmer or sump system. You would just have to keep up with with your water changes and clean out your filters like others have posted every 3 weeks or so.
I would add a 3 inch bed of live sand. 75 pounds of live rock. Stack it high, tight, and in the back to leave the front open for swimming room. Get a sweet clean up crew and some shrimp.
You could put some nice small community fish in there with lots of color. Even get a SnowFlake eel. The eel would be fine in there for a few years.
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
Thats a really good looking stand you built. Definately agree to go with korilia pumps. Definately agree with stacking the rock up high. Do you want aggresive fish or peacefull community ? If you want a peacefull community plan on the swimming range of your fish and it'll look nice. Eventually you'll be addictid enough to want a sump or refugium and that point its too late. Then you'll end up buying another tank because the addiction is too over whelming ! HA HA HA !!!!
 
mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
SO THE BIGGEST THING IS
water circulation
cleaner shrimp
lots of live rock
.
i want calm fish
just somthing i can watch
 
mantisman51

mantisman51

Active Member
I use a 100g Fluval 404 canister and a 100g Skilter, which I only use as a filter. I have a $250 sump that was a TOTAL waste of money.Get a good canister and a HOB filter. You can aim the canister return any direction you want and you won't have any dead spots. My 125g tank hasn't had any problems with dead spots or nitrates.And if someone is SO SCARED of nitrates without a fuge or sump-put cheato in the DT.It will grow, or shrink, based on the amount of nitrate and there are a few fish that love to hide in it-green clown goby, clowns and lawnmower blenny.
 
mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
i also have a fluvel 403 i had as a back up
so are you running 2 canister filters at the same time
what media do you have in you filter
 
mantisman51

mantisman51

Active Member
I have one canister-the 404 and a Skilter HOB filter. I use the HOB to stir up the surface of the water, for better ph/oxygenation.
 
mayhem_audio

mayhem_audio

New Member
Du Hob Hang On Back
what is the deal on live sand do you go 100% live sand or mix it with somthing
does live sand count as any of the live rock weight needed or not ??
 
mantisman51

mantisman51

Active Member
Live sand, as I understand, can be used to seed "dead sand". I was told by an old guy, here in town to buy 1/4 live sand and to buy playground sand for the rest and that the bacteria and bugs in the live sand would populate the whole sand bed. I will get reemed for saying I used playground sand (from Sutherl@nd home improvement), but it is 3/4 of my live sand. Some folks swear by coral sand. I just made sure to give a VERY hot bath to the sand and washed all the dust out in 5 gallon buckets. Live sand usually comes from the ocean directly. BTW the large mushrooms are about 4" in diameter and bright red with blue spots. The picture makes them look brown, but that's not even close.
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by MAYHEM_AUDIO
http:///forum/post/2915991
Du Hob Hang On Back
what is the deal on live sand do you go 100% live sand or mix it with somthing
does live sand count as any of the live rock weight needed or not ??
Sand isnt that expensive for the size of your tank. Live Rock is going to get ya. The sand bed doesnt account for the amount of rock you put in your tank. You can mix the sand. People normally do it on large volume tanks.
I would make a nice base with base rock which is cheaper than LR. Id say about 20 pounds. Get some nice big sturdy pieces. Then when you get your live rock get about 30 -40 pounds of quality LR with lots of growth.
I would buy a large tub if you dont want to buy all the rock at once with a power head and heater. Mis some slat water and drop the rock in as you collect it. This will actually cure the rock as well. Just buy the live rock as you go and drop the pieces in. Get your sand in your tank. Set up your filters and water and start the process with the rock you buy at first. This way it wont feel like you just dropped $300 on rock all at once.
Hope this helps you get an idea.
base rock.

great Live rock with good growth and what will really keep your tank healthy
 
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