Ok, now what?

very newbie

very newbie

New Member
Alright, Here is what I have done so far: I bought the 60 gallon tank & set it up. Mixed and added the salt water & started the heater and hung on the back carbo filter. Then I added about 10 lbs of live rock and a bed of crushed coral. This was all about 2 weeks ago. Today i ordered 50 lbs of live rock,20 lbs live sand, 50 lbs of dry rock. Then I ordered a Marine test kit, a tank vacuum, an algea glass scraper, water conditioner, HYDOR KORALIA EVOLUTION CIRCULATION PUMP/POWERHEAD 1050GPH, ACRM AQUAC REMORA PROTEIN SKIMMER WITH MAXI-JET 1200 PUMP 1, AQUAC REMORA HANG-ON PROTEIN SKIMMER WITHOUT PUMP, MAXI-JET 1200 POWERHEAD / MP 1200, AQUAC REMORA PRE-SKIMMER FOR MAXI-JET 1200.
Now what? I expect all this to arrive in the next few days. Can I go ahead and add all the rock and sand when it gets here or does it need to somehow be quarintined.
I also bout a 10 gallon tank and the local wal-mart for a quarintine tank. Should I put some of the live rock and sand in it now, or cycle it all in the big tank first and then move it? Can I just use water from the big tank to start the quarintine tank?
 
kylev

kylev

Member
Not a lot of help to you, but I do know not to add any live rock or live sand to your qt because it will all die if you have to treat with any kind of copper. I would just put some pvc fittings in there for hiding
 
very newbie

very newbie

New Member
Do I put the live rock, dry rock & sand in my tank when it gets here, or do I need to first put it in something else until it cures? The site says the rock is already cured, but didn't know if I needed to do it again. I read it is good to put the live rock in tap water dip first to get any unwanted critters off, but the good ones would die too, so not so sure if that is a good idea. The live sand should have critters in it too, so maybe I don't have to.
 
very newbie

very newbie

New Member
My rock didn't come today, but I am hoping tomorrow. Still just wondering what to do. Also, I am going to start my quarintine tank right away. Should I start it with water from my tank or fresh salt water. There can't be much bacteria in it yet, I have no fish and only about 10 lbs of live rock. Maybe I shoould wait til after I introduce some fish?
 
tur4k

tur4k

Member
Originally Posted by Very Newbie
http:///forum/post/3261122
Do I put the live rock, dry rock & sand in my tank when it gets here, or do I need to first put it in something else until it cures? The site says the rock is already cured, but didn't know if I needed to do it again. I read it is good to put the live rock in tap water dip first to get any unwanted critters off, but the good ones would die too, so not so sure if that is a good idea. The live sand should have critters in it too, so maybe I don't have to.
I would never dip live rock in tap water. It would quickly become dead rock if you expose it to clorinated water. Besides, finding hitch hikers is half the fun with a newly setup tank.
You shouldn't need to cure the rock since you don't have any fish or inverts in your tank yet. If you did have fish/inverts then you would probably need to recure the rock because of die off in shipping. I personally have never cured any of my rock because I purchase it precured from a LFS that is 5 minutes from my house.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Very Newbie
http:///forum/post/3260967
Alright, Here is what I have done so far: I bought the 60 gallon tank & set it up. Mixed and added the salt water & started the heater and hung on the back carbo filter. Then I added about 10 lbs of live rock and a bed of crushed coral. This was all about 2 weeks ago. Today i ordered 50 lbs of live rock,20 lbs live sand, 50 lbs of dry rock. Then I ordered a Marine test kit, a tank vacuum, an algea glass scraper, water conditioner, HYDOR KORALIA EVOLUTION CIRCULATION PUMP/POWERHEAD 1050GPH, ACRM AQUAC REMORA PROTEIN SKIMMER WITH MAXI-JET 1200 PUMP 1, AQUAC REMORA HANG-ON PROTEIN SKIMMER WITHOUT PUMP, MAXI-JET 1200 POWERHEAD / MP 1200, AQUAC REMORA PRE-SKIMMER FOR MAXI-JET 1200.
Now what? I expect all this to arrive in the next few days. Can I go ahead and add all the rock and sand when it gets here or does it need to somehow be quarintined.
I also bout a 10 gallon tank and the local wal-mart for a quarintine tank. Should I put some of the live rock and sand in it now, or cycle it all in the big tank first and then move it? Can I just use water from the big tank to start the quarintine tank?

First you wasted your money on the tank vacuum. In a saltwater tank you don’t use it, can you return it? Put your rock in before the sand, the sand should not be under the rock. If you have already added the sand, move it out of the way.
Let the rock cure right there in the tank. Just use your test kits to watch your cycle. Set up your power heads and filters, no reason to turn on the skimmer just yet.
For your QT tank…paint the outside bottom black or use a dark cloth under it. PVC pipe is better, no substrate. That way if a fish is sick you can treat it with medicine. Rock and substrate can absorb your medicines from the water.
Are you mixing the crushed coral and sand or replacing the crushed coral with the sand? Again, rock first then substrate, because lots of saltwater critters like to dig in the sand and it can make the rocks unstable and fall.
 
very newbie

very newbie

New Member
Thanks guys--I think I can return the vacuum, however, it has a 25 ft hose that might work good for water changes--straight into the toilet!! lol Although I do have a small sump pump that I could use and suck it out too. I have the crushed in the 60 gallon now and thought it might be good to add some sand for fish that dig. bad idea? I will add the rocks as soon as they get here and thought I would then add some or all the sand. Now, I can sure paint the bottom of the qt tank--that should be easy, now tell me more about the PVC...not sure what I should get. I'll keep the rock & sand out of the quarantine. I soo appreciate all your help. I am excited about this hobby, but am obviously dumb on the matter. Looks like I have alot to learn! Any suggestions on what kind of background to use on the 60 gallon?
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
sounds like you got lotsa stuff.
I would also add some macro algaes to balance out and stabilize the operation.
just my .02
 
very newbie

very newbie

New Member
what type of macro algea would I use? I know that probably sounds like a dumb question, but is it an additive, a creature, or what. Sorry for sound so dumb.
 
fishyscientist

fishyscientist

Member
I was curious about one of your previous questions too. I am also new, and was going to set up a QT tank. So I now I know htat I need a dark bottom, and pvc for fish to hide. What about the water? Do you use water from the DT, or do you make fresh saltwater for the QT tank? Do you need powerheads, and filters for the QT tank as well? And for how long to do quarantine fish?
 
very newbie

very newbie

New Member
Great questions! I was wondering about that too on the QT tank. What size PVC? And I was thinking the same thing about the QT tank, just taking some out of the big tank when I need it for QT fish. When should I add the macro algea?
 
fishyscientist

fishyscientist

Member
Originally Posted by FishyScientist
http:///forum/post/3261726
I was curious about one of your previous questions too. I am also new, and was going to set up a QT tank. So I now I know htat I need a dark bottom, and pvc for fish to hide. What about the water? Do you use water from the DT, or do you make fresh saltwater for the QT tank? Do you need powerheads, and filters for the QT tank as well? And for how long to do quarantine fish?
I guess nobody has an answer for these questions? I'd really like to set one up. I have a 20 gal tank that I could use to quarantine fish eventually, but other than adding PVC pipe and powerheads, I'm not sure what else to do!
 
tur4k

tur4k

Member
You can (and probably should) use water from your DT for the QT if the parameters of the water are good. You can also do a mix of water from the DT and fresh saltwater if you want. Using water from the DT will give you a head start on biological filtration. Plus it's a water change for your DT. So you are killing two birds with one stone.
 
fishyscientist

fishyscientist

Member
Originally Posted by tur4k
http:///forum/post/3262561
You can (and probably should) use water from your DT for the QT if the parameters of the water are good. You can also do a mix of water from the DT and fresh saltwater if you want. Using water from the DT will give you a head start on biological filtration. Plus it's a water change for your DT. So you are killing two birds with one stone.
Thanks so much for your reply! I will do that!
 
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