Nice to meet you all

[shane33]

Hello everyone!
After 2 years of planning and 3 'saltwater' for dummies books, We took ( I ) took the first step in the hobby of marine fish tanks. I have looked over many of the post you folks have had on this web site and know I found a great place to ask questions.
There are some great sales going on all over the place lately with marine and freshwater equipment. I just ordered 2 Fluval 304 canister filters and one Marineland emperor 400 filter for 192 bucks. New...*****, free shipping even! There is a local fish store that has a used protein skimmer for 40 bucks or best offer. The store does not deal in saltwater supplies yet and is just reducing stock until they get on their feet. I did not see what brand the skimmer is, but it was huge, approx 24 inches long. Almost looked homemade. It did have a powerhead with it. Do not know what speed or strength.
I am going to set up a 75 Gal- fish -liverock, with a little live sand tank. Maybe an invert or two, just not right off the bat.
Having read all of your post and all of these books, I know I can not have too much filtration. both canister filters are rated for 70 gallons per filter. And the Marineland Emperor is for over 100 gal. The protein skimmer should be plenty when I add it after the cycle stage.
My questions for now are-
I hear you folks talk about a wet/dry system. What is that? The Emperor 400 speaks of wet dry capabilities. Same thing?
What is a sump?
Do you want all the filtration started while you are trying to cycle your water/tank?
The tank comes with some sort of double flourecent looking light thingy, is this adequate for my set up?
Do you place black or blue crate paper over the rear glass of your tanks?
If ANY of you wish you would have done something different when YOU were first starting yor hobbies, TELL ME!

I guess those will do it for now. I will post a pic on the other section to introduce ourselves to ya!
My name is Shane and the wifes name is Angie
We look forward to many many questions answered and asked over the years here!
Thank you

 

[shane33]

Bump...Maybe I spoke too soon and with too many words? lol

 

[ebsochin]

First off, welcome to the hobby and welcome to the boards!

I'll try to answer some of your questions.
I hear you folks talk about a wet/dry system. What is that? The Emperor 400 speaks of wet dry capabilities. Same thing?
A wet/dry is basically the same type of filtration as your Emperor 400 ( I had 2 on my 75 before I consolidated to one tank, they work great). Most people think of wet/dry filters as the type that are big and bulky and are usually under your tank in the stand. The principle is the same whether it be a canister or a "sump" (more on that). Your bio-wheels on the emperor400 are the "wet/dry" part of the filtration. In the larger type that are usually under the tank the wet/dry is the trickling of water over a media (sometimes bioballs, sometimes LR, sometimes filter media). So in all reality they are the same. Hope that makes sense.
What is a sump?
A sump is an extra area to contain more water volume and house additional filtration. Most people refer to wet/dry filters as sumps but you also can use a sump as a refugim.
Do you want all the filtration started while you are trying to cycle your water/tank?
YES, this will allow your water to turnover your tank and allow the cycle process to begin and end.
The tank comes with some sort of double flourecent looking light thingy, is this adequate for my set up?
Most likely this lighting is normal fluroescent or NO lighting. If you are planing only to keep fish then it will be fine. But if you are wanting to keep corals, anenomes then this is not sufficient at all. There are several types of lighting, NO, VHO, PC, MH, T-5 . All of these in combinations are good for corals and anenomes. I would suggest figure out what you want your tank to be in the end and then get the appropriate lighting.
Do you place black or blue crate paper over the rear glass of your tanks?
This is personal preference. There is no real advantage or disadvantage to this. I personally have the back of my 180 painted black. It is all how you want the look to be.
I hope these helped out a little. Keep researching and looking around. And most of all ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE! Welcome again.

 

[hot883]

Welcome, glad to have ya. It's great that you are asking for advice. It's the best way to start. I will echo Ebsochin. Great points and right on IMO!

 

[shane33]

Thank you for the pointers...It will be a slow process, but a process that is worth the wait and worth the effort. I will check back and learn as much as I can from you all.
Shaner

 

[dougai]

welcome

 

[shane33]

For my set-up, how many power heads should I have. I have established I need 375watts of heat. So I will get 400. Do different fish need different temperatures? I heard 78 is a good startign point for live rock and fish...
What else am I missing?
Shaner

 

[ebsochin]

You want to keep your tank at a steady temp, usually 78-82. As far as powerheads, it depends on how much flow you need in the tank. If you have different corals you need more flow for some than others. If you only have fish then you don't need more than 2 I would think. Actually depending on your filter or return lines you may not need any. Basically powerheads are used for to help eleviate "dead" spots in the tank. To make sure water is flowing in all areas and detrius doesn't build up. Hope this answered your questions.

 

[jambi0n]

Shane,
Welcome to the board...
If your going to be gettinga heater, you should get 2 of them that equal the 400w that you want. Cuz if the big one that you were thinking of getting breaks down for some reason, then the water will get kinda cold, as if you have two and one seems to have clunk out on you, then you have the back up for the time being until you replace the other one... I learned that here on the posts...
Also 78 deg is a good temp... I've heard 77-80 is good, but to be honest with you... I keep mine at about 81-82 degrees and have no problems... My fish are lively and my corals that I have are great and my freaking anemone is staying put.
Just wish my maroon will stop nipping at me when I try to feed his home...
Gosh... you try to do do the anemone a favor and you get nipped... oh well, I'd rather get nipped than bit by a shark.

 

[shane33]

I think I am pretty much ready to go now. Two 200 w heaters is the way to go.
Do I have to use Live Sand? I have read if it gets too deep, you have problems...I guess a thin layer will do...Have to get some pics up and running here as soon as I figure out how..
Thanks
Shaner

 

[ebsochin]

Do I have to use Live Sand? I have read if it gets too deep, you have problems...I guess a thin layer will do...Have to get some pics up and running here as soon as I figure out how..
I think you are refering to a deep sand bed usually 4" or more. If that is the route you want to go, they are great for filtration. You need to make sure to have a good clean-up crew. I personnaly have about 2-3". You don't have to use all live sand. I would get some play sand and "seed" it with some live sand. If all you use is live sand it will cost you quite a bit of $$.
As far as pics go. All you need to do is click on the "manage attachments" button towards the bottom when you reply to posts or create posts. Make sure your attachments are no larger than 500X500. Browse your computer for the pic you want and click upload. Then just submit the thread.

 

[farmboy]

I just figured this out recently and I'm very PROUD of myself.

To resize a pic off my digital camera, which takes photos of the size 1024 x 768, I open the jpeg file in paintbrush. THen select "image" then "attributes". This will tell you the size of your photo(like I said, mine is 1280 x 960). Then divide the biggest # into 500 to find out how much to change your pic. Mine would be 500 / 1280 = .39 or 39%. Next go to "image" then "stretch/skew" and change the horizontal AND vertical to the percentage you came up with. It would be a good idea to "save as" to give it a different file name to preserve the original. VOILA!

. . .Like I said, I'm pretty proud. Oh yeah, they let me use a butter knife now!! :jumping:

 

[farmboy]

Oh yeah! WELCOME!
You will probably spend a lot of time here. THere is a load of info here

and some really nice folks, too.