newbie here

[seanboy88]

ok here I go... I just purchased a 125 gallon tank. Now here is where all of my confusing starts. I had a salt water tank 10 years ago and now thing have changed so much dont know where to start. oo7 articles were great and did give a lil bit of help. But I believe i want a all fish tank with live rock. (I think) still need to get the stand and conopy this week or next. but then I will really need help.
do I use the grates on the bottom of the tank or is that all sand ? as i said earlier wanta fish tank. all of the these skimmers, ro/di thing I dont know what thsoe things are. Do I need ? do I need special lights blah blah blah... so confused..... send help....did I bite off more than i can chew ? It's amazing what you will do for your chile... lol to be honest it for the both of us....SEND HELP IM SWA STUPID. thanks for any help !!!! :help:

 

[buddahjon]

ok, one newbie helping another......
Sand is deffinatly better than crushed coral..
If you arent doing corals/anemones/reefishness your lighting doesnt have to be spectacular.
a protien skimmer takes gunk outa your water and makes it alot sexier.
all these deffinitions are deffinatly not an experts ideas or opinions

 

[essop3]

lets see...
sand you can use 1/2 inch for looks or you can use 4-5 for denitrafication
skimmer takes out waste before it can be broken down. very helpful to any tank.
ro/di filters water. keeps algae and some water levels in check. not required but nice
lights. If you don't want coral then regular strip lights will do.
you can make a nice fish only in a tank that big. good luck!

 

[seanboy88]

so do I add those grates that the tank came with ? or just 1-2 inch sand base ?

 

[seanboy88]

so 4-5 inches with no grate ? how does a power head coming into play ? or does it

 

[aquaman]

A few years ago I was in the same situation as you, I had been out of the hobby for about 11 years due to money, and when I got back I was going to pick up where I left off. As I was getting my tank, and looking at crushed coral and under gravel filters a thought stuck me. it had been a long time since I did anything, there must have been some advances in the hobby. I looked around and got some magazines, and then found a book The New Marine Aquarium. This book took me through the simple but fundamental steps of modern salt water tanks. It does not have all the answers but it is so foundational it will get you going in the right direction. You should be able to find it used for about $10. This message board is also a great recourse, and a good community for encouragement and ideas. Do some searches to answer the basic question, as they have all been asked and answered dozens of times. And Welcome Back, if I can do anything to help, let me know.
Bob
Aquaman.

 

[dalerich]

I to was in the hobby 10 years ago. This is what I did wrong please don't make the same mistakes I did.
Under gravel filters are not used anymore. The tubes that came up from the under gravel filters are not used anymore.
The new way is to buy Live sand. 1 pound per gallon is the rule of thumb. You can use 1/2 live sand and 1/2 regular sand to save money but the sand should not contain any metals or toxic stuff. I would buy regular sand from a LFS that is for a fish tank. You will see it at about 1/4 to 1/2 the price of live sand.
The next and very important improvement is no using fish to cycle a tank. I used black mollies because I did not find these message boards till after setup. They gave thier life for my tank.
The new way is to put two raw shrimp in your tank to cycle and also to feed the invisable fish. Add food with no fish. This helps to cycle the tank.
Live rock can be added at the start to help bring in the correct things to help the cycle move along.
Power heads are to move water to keep things in the tank moving they use to sit on top of the tubes of your under gravel filter that is no longer there. make sure you buy some with a way to attach to the tank.
protein skimmers are a life saver along with a hang on the back filter. sumps are the best but will add cost. I wish I spent the money on one.
use RO water or distilled water. tap water is a no no now. read about diatoms or look at the brown sand in my tank if you want to make the same mistake by using tap water. Another mistake.
The last thing to remember and most important is the LFS guy doesn't always tell the truth and will always know your a sucker if you say the word nemo. These message boards are not tring to sell you anything and are the best advice I have found.

 

[inf]

best advice I ever got READ! READ READ READ and look more on what other hobbist have done and TAKE YOUR TIME! ! !! get the salt right ........warmer tank helps then before you even add even ONE damsial check your nitrite, nitrates, ammonias, and PH! my tank took a week to come down after setting up . the damsials help speed things along with the tank with the bactiria to get other fish in. I started with 3 in a 100g and noticed everhting was fine after another 4 weeks and got a yellow tang and a regal blue. Fish only is a very easy way to start , it gives YOU time to see if you have everything RIGHT before droping alot of money in to something that will die but just dont take One persons ideas.....do more research .......20 peoples ideas are better than 2 or 5 and patiance! ! ! ! ! ! ! Patiance!!!!!!!!..........Patiance! !! ! ! ! ! !