Questions from a beginner

reefnut

Active Member
I should mention... to keep a sand bed clean and functioning you do need critters in the sand. Pods, worms, etc mostly come from LR and then you can add sand shifting snails and such to help maintain the sand bed... nothing a beginner isn't capable of though.
 

reefnut

Active Member

Originally posted by jay knows
Does LS require special lighting or anything to keep it alive?
Is it easy to clean with a vacuum?
I am just trying to do the right thing form the beginning..
I totally appreciate all of your information.

No special lighting needed. No vacuuming needed or recommended.
 

jay knows

Member
Awesome and thanks....
Last questions bc you all helped change my mind...
Is special lighting needed for the LS, and when should I add the live sand, after the 1st cycle, or before I load the tank with water.....?
Also can tap water be used for the first fill, or should distilled only be used, or a mix of both?
Thanks
Jason
 

evilbob22

Member
No special lighting needed for live rock or live sand. Really the only things that need special lights are clams, corals, and anemones (unless I'm missing something :thinking: ).
Don't use tap water unless you have no choice (or, from what I've heard, you live in Baltimore...)
 

reefnut

Active Member

Originally posted by jay knows
So for a 55 gal tank, go for like 60lbs of ls or should i go for more...?

Are you wanting a deep sand bed or a shallow sand bed??
 

evilbob22

Member

Originally posted by jay knows
So for a 55 gal tank, go for like 60lbs of ls or should i go for more...?

If you are going for a deep sand bed (which has anerobic bacteria, that completes the Nitrogen cycle, near the bottom) you need around 4" of sand. That usually equates to around 2lb / Gal. As ReefNut said you can put "Play sand" from Lowes/Home Depot under the live sand for bulk. It comes in 50 lb bags for about $2.50 a bag.
 

jay knows

Member
well to be honest, i have no idea the pros and cons for the deep versus the shallow sand beds...
I am alittle lost as to the right thing here....
If I get some play sand, is there any specific stuff needed? Does it require to be washed etc?
 

ctgretzky9

Member
Originally posted by jay knows
Some people have told me the CC is the only way to go, other say sand... Maybe a mixture of both? I am so new to this and Jay doesnt know all that much about the SWF. [/B]
One thing you must understand in this hobby, some will tell you one thing, others another, and each will be sure their way is best. Take all of it with a grain of salt (pun intended.)
I have had salt water tanks for about 20+ years now, done the sand, done the cc in many tanks along the way. For my PERSONAL cleaning habits, the way I like to maintain my tanks-and i have to say in 20 years ive had maybe 2-4 fish die from something other than old age or "their time to go"-I like the cc.
It could be my maintenance practices, good luck, or the creatures that inhabit this ecosystem that make the difference, I don't exactly know. I have friends who have had the complete opposite experiences with cc, and as well know people who will die singing the mantra of the cc.
Point is this. On a subject like this one, go with what you like and see if it works for you. Frankly, no matter what, you aren't going to lose fish because of a cc base. There are many many many many many many many many many other factors (did i mention many?) that will kill your fish. Worry about the important stuff.
 

evilbob22

Member
Shallow sand beds look nicer to some people, they don't like to see 3+ inches of sand at the bottom of the aquarium glass. From my understanding, when you have a deep sand bed, the advantage that you get is being able to grow the anerobic bacteria at the bottom (and that's it). IMHO it is worth it to have the deep sand bed... the anerobic bacteria converts Nitrate to Nitrogen, which means less water changes needed.
 

pontius

Active Member
as far as tap water, take my advice and don't use it. I started mine with tap and then started using RO. I still regret that decision everytime I'm pulling out handfulls of hair algae.
 

jay knows

Member
Ctgretsky, and everyone....
Thank you for responding to this with your advise.
I am now posting two more beginner questions....
1. With the water, can I buy like 5 gallon jugs or something of distilled water? Would like water from tap, filtered with a brita or water treatment system work as well?
2. I want to do some live rock, should I add this to the tank after setting it up or should I wait a week or so?
 

evilbob22

Member
1. I'm not a water expert, but I'll tell you that I ended up getting a RO/DI unit. It is supposed to give you the best kind of water for a SWA. I don't remember the exact price, but it was $200 or $300. Both distilled and Brita water are much better than tap, but I think I remember hearing somewhere that the distilled water can sometimes have metal in it, depending on how it was distilled, and Brita isn't as good at removing stuff as a RO/DI.
2. Add it right away. Live rock has stuff on it that will die basically right away and release amonia. Just like the shrimp, this will help the tank get started. If you already had it up and running for a while, you would want to only add a little live rock at a time to avoid releasing too much amonia.
Of course there is also cured live rock... that is live rock that has been in a saltwater bucket, or something similar, long enough that all the dead stuff should be gone. You can usually add cured live rock at any time.
 

woodymdt

Member
Ctgretsky, and everyone....
Thank you for responding to this with your advise.
I am now posting two more beginner questions....
1. With the water, can I buy like 5 gallon jugs or something of distilled water? Would like water from tap, filtered with a brita or water treatment system work as well?
For now, I purchased three 7 gallon water jugs from the hunting/fishing department at Wal Mart. They're blue jugs that have spouts you can turn on and off for the water flow. With those I take them to Wal Mart and buy the Currigan R/O water for .33 cents a gallon. Eventually we'll setup an R/O D/I unit at the house.

2. I want to do some live rock, should I add this to the tank after setting it up or should I wait a week or so?
Go ahead and add your LR to the tank. As posted earlier, the LR will help with the cycling of the tank.
 

jay knows

Member
you guys are seriously helping me out and I appreciate it....
I am planning on converting my tank tomorrow to saltwater, and I think I will go an buy like a 5 gallon jug of distilled water if I can find it.... Worse comes to worse, I am just gonna go and buy a tap water cleaner fliter that connects to my faucet and use that as a source....
I didnt realize how much work is really involved with the SWT.
 

evilbob22

Member

Originally posted by jay knows
I didnt realize how much work is really involved with the SWT.

I don't think anyone does at first
 

ctgretzky9

Member
Ok, I see a lot of questions about water. I don't like to give advice per se except to let you know what I do, and what works for me.
First off, I have a well, so chlorine etc isnt a problem for me.
I run all of my swf tank water through a high end filtration system (once it has already gone through the whole house system that removes metals and is a softener as well etc) that consists of UV light (kills any bacteria/virus etc) ozone process, and 2 chambers with a 1 micron carbon filter in each.
These countertop units are awesome, and if you have a well (or even city water) is highly recommended for your OWN health as well. Cost of the unit is around $375, but is well worth it!
 
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