....point of no return diary

[tferrante]

I thought I would start a thread on my new saltwater setup. This a conversion from freshwater to saltwater....Always wanted to do it and now that there is circulating saltwater, I am committed

. Here are some pics of my main tank and my QT. I hope my pic is attached.....(such a newbie)

 

[tferrante]

oops....give me a few...pic too large....

 

[tferrante]

let's give this a try

 

[texasmetal]

Congratulations! Looks good so far.

 

[tferrante]

now that I am on a roll....My 55G and 10G QT....and nice piece of live rock that was given to me. I will be adding more live rock this week....The tank has been running for about 2 1/2 weeks and I am starting to see a little algae and some brown algae (as you can see on the LR).

 

[rcdude1990]

lol congrats on the move, looking good so far
is that backround painted on or is it one of those tape ons?

 

[anthonyq]

Are those the lights that come with the tank? If they are and you are wanting coral the expensive part is going to start now. To try and save you from my mistake buy a good light like mhs or vho or T5, because I went the cheap way of PC and then you realise that you want something that a pc cant handle like a clam and you decide to upgrade later. Yes they are more expensive but I bought PC lights and now have upgraded to T5 within 3 months. Also a skimmer is a big priority some will say they run a reef without a skimmer but most say its a must. Buy one that is rated for something about double your tank size. Sorry this gets expensive but ask any person on here and you will upgrade if you start out buying cheap because it either breaks or you get so worried your water is not absolutly perfect that you go out and get a better one anyways later on.

Long post sorry but trying to save you from buying twice and spending more $$$ than needed. Have fun and get addicted like all of us idiots that cant get on a computer without first checking the message boards.

 

[tferrante]

It is one that come in a roll. I should have redone when I set-up, but..oh well

. I actually applied many years ago by sparaying the glass surface with water and pressing it on. I just used an old credit card to sqeeze the water out. Put on similiar to window tinting. It has held up fairly well....

 

[texasmetal]

Originally Posted by tferrante
It is one that come in a roll. I should have redone when I set-up, but..oh well

. I actually applied many years ago by sparaying the glass surface with water and pressing it on. I just used an old credit card to sqeeze the water out. Put on similiar to window tinting. It has held up fairly well....
Looks good.

 

[tferrante]

Thanks anthonyq.....Those lights came from my feshwater set-up and I just carried them over. I am planning on a FOWLR. I have 2 24 inch fixtures with 50/50's and a 48 inch with a std 6500 in it. Both of these sit on glass covers I had made several years ago. I will probably upgrade in the future. I do think I will get a brighter tube for the 48 inch (10,000k) and possibly replace the 50/50' with blue actinics.
I plan on buying a skimmer soon to hang on the back and adding another powerhead to increase my waterflow. I am only moving about 900gph at the moment, but it covers almost all the tank.

 

[tferrante]

Thanks TexasMetal....

. Being new to this I am trying to use the tank and much of the equipment I already had to work on my first SW tank....I will probably upgrade many things including the tank once I get more experience. I am really just taking my time reading and asking many questions. I do have someone locally who is very experienced that is making suggestions and answering questions. I figured that taking my time and learning by doing is the best way.

 

[hammerhed7]

looking good

 

[anthonyq]

Patients is deffiniatly a good thing in this hobby. It sounds like you have some which is a good thing. Keep reading and ask away many people on here would love to help.

 

[ophiura]

Looking good.
I would recommend, however, that you remove the LR and the sand from the QT. QT tanks tend to not have LR and sand and they are not really needed. Get a variety of sizes of PVC pieces to use for shelter for fish (they can be easily cleaned and sterilized).

 

[tferrante]

Thanks Ophiura.. I debated this issue and had read not to do it, then I had read justa small alyer would be fine. I think I will let the tank Cycle awhile and then remove. I have a 4" diameter piece of PVC pipe to put in the tank. I assume that if I have to treat the QT, then my sand will need to be remove afterwards. Is this true? Thanks for the information

 

[1journeyman]

Exactly. If you medicate a QT tank with sand or rock in it the sand/rock will need to be discarded. That's why we go with cheap, easy to clean PVC in QT tanks.

 

[tferrante]

I have a question for folks when it comes to setting up a cleaner crew in their tank. What do you guys think is the best cleaner crew set-up for a tank my size. I do not want to get carried away, but would like to have a little variety...again this will be a FOWLR. My rock should be here midweek....In addition, I am probably going to start off with a pair of clowns. I will need to get them in the QT tank soon. I have been told that Damsels are too aggressive. ....so many decisions.

 

[anthonyq]

Damsels are mean. I put one in as my first fish

It just picks on new additions for a while untill they finally settle in. It almost made my dimond goby jump out of the tank because it chased it for the first 2 days i had it.

 

[tferrante]

Sitting here in an airport waiting to get back home.....LR has arrived and I will be putting in the tank tonight. Its going to look good...putting about 45 more pounds in the tank.....

I will post pictures after I am done

 

[tferrante]

Finally...more rock...and I had the best luck today. In addition to the rock I received via UPS today, A friend gave me four nice pieces of rock out of her tank that she no longer wanted. It is beautiful as you can see in the picture with all the coraline and mushrooms. The tank still needs to clear up. I am going to let it circulate for a few days then check the water...maybe a clean up crew early next week....then some fish!