questions from a new hobbyist

[whothe]

I have a 65 gallon that I'm just setting up. It came with a sump/wet dry system. My LFS and many posts on this site discourage using a wet/dry w/ bioballs. I am in the process of shopping for my life rock and live sand, which will help me cycle the tank after I foul it with some shrimp. I have a few questions that I was hoping someone could clear up.
1) Can I use the canister for the wet/dry for a refugium after I take out the bioballs? Would it be a good idea right off the bat? What kinds of things would I put in this "fuge tank" and what exactly would they be doing? I figure it will provide more natural filtration and more water flow, which is a good thing, right? The protein skimmer that also came with the setup, I believe, fits right in this sump, so I think in order to use the protein skimmer that I already have, I will need to use the sump. That is why I want to set up the fuge tank right away.
2) Do you suggest usinga UV sterilizer? I have a used one and I'm not sure if I should use it or not.
3) What kind of bulbs should I get? I know Metal Hallide are the best, But I am only going to get LR, and some hearty mushrooms and other things until I can afford a MH. In the meantime, what sort of lightbulbs would I need to put in my flourescent fixtures? I've heard some talk about actinic or something of that sort. Can anyone give an explaination about the best bulbs for a beginning reef tank besides MH?
4) To save money, I'm going to buy about 50LBs of base rock and 75 LBs of live rock, 25 of which will be some really nice stuff. Is it worth it for me to get some nice stuff to cycle the tank with? Or is it all going to die off and turn into base rock during the initial cycle anyway? Can I mix all different kinds of live rock from different parts of the world?(i.e. tonga, fiji, carribbean,etc...) How much LS would I need to cover the bottom of my 65 gal. tank about 1 inch?(I figure maybe 40 LBS?) Any websites that anyone can recommend for this purchase would be helpful.
5) What is the best way to transfer 65+ gallons of water from the store into my second story living quarters? The best way I can think of is getting a bunch of 5 gallon water carriers and make a bunch of trips.
6)I have a costum built wood top, that provides for about 8 inches of open space between the top of water level and the actual place where the hood opens. Is this a good thing?Should I be getting glass top to fit over the tank to keep water and critters in the tank?
7) What about buffers, calcium, iodine, and other minerals that I will need to add to the tank? Do I need to get those right away with the LR and LS? Or do I only need those when I get more invertabrates and corals? Any other chemicals that I need right away, or in the near future during/after my initial cycle?
Wow, I know I ask a lot of questions. I have read many other posts on this site and I'm pretty comfortable with the basics, but I need some of these things cleared up so I can get started correctly. Thanks to anyone with input!!!!

 

[birdy]

Hi and Welcome!! :jumping: :jumping:
Sounds like you have done your homework, I will give you some of my opinions on your questions.
1. Most wet/dry's can be converted to refugiums, to give you specifics I would need a picture of your tank, but you will more than likely want to remove the drip plate (if it has one) and you want to be sure the area is contained so the sand/algae doesn't get into the pump area.
For a refugium, you would put in a shallow sandbed, some LR, some macro algae (I like Chaeto) and you will want a light to go on top so the algae will grow. The purpose is natural filtration and a place for pods to reproduce without being eaten. To use the refugium as a filter you will need to occasionally remove some of the algea, that is how you remove the excess nutrients from the system.
2. UV's are one of those things that some people love and others think are usless, they are not going remove good stuff from the tank (their is way too much "stuff" in the tank for a UV to remove it all), It may help keep the water a bit clearer, more than likely it will only minimally help with Ich. If it is properly sized for the tank and the bulb is not too old then I would go ahead and use it if it were me. You may need to replace the bulb though.
3. Lighting is a tough issue, if you do plan at some point to go full reef then I would recommend going with MH when you decide to start putting corals in the tank, Until then, you can use regular NO (normal output flourescents), You will want a fixture that has at least two bulbs, you want one bulb to be a 10k daylight bulb and the other to be a 03 Actinic, with that lighting, you could keep some really hardy mushrooms, but that is about it. If you think you will only want to ever keep a few really hardy corals, but not go with a full reef then you should look into power compact or VHO lighting. Try to go with at least 4watts per gallon. If you decide to go with MH lighting then look at the 250 watt, if your tank is 36" long and if it doesn't have a plastic center brace then you can go with one MH (I did it on a 58gallon), if it does have the center brace then you need two MH (otherwise you will get a shadow).
4. My opinion on cycling at tank is this:
a. Put dry sand in the tank, then your baserock, then your LR, Do not put a shrimp in, feed the tank flake or frozen foods as if you had three fish in the tank, test your water every couple of days, you may or may not see a spike in ammonia, if you have good quality LR then it may skip the ammonia stage, If you do get ammonia over .50 then I would do water changes to keep it at .25 or below. Once the ammonia is gone I would do weekly 10% water changes until the nitrites and nitrates come down also. Keep feeding the tank during this time, this will keep your bacteria multiplying so your biological filtration will support fish when the time comes.
5. Do not add anything to the tank that you do not directly test for, I recommend you get good test kits like Salifert and test for, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Alk, Calcium, Phosphate. Do not add any buffers, the only thing you should ever need to dose in your tank is Alkalinity and Calcium buffers, more than likely weekly water changes will be more than enough to keep those levels in check.

 

[beth]

Welcome to Saltwaterfish.com!
First off, DON'T use shrimp to cycle. The live sand and the live rock will cycle your tank very well, just feed the rock a tad 1x a day, and you will get a good cycle going.
Are you saying you received a wet/dry with your setup?
There is a difference between a sump and a refugium. A sump is usually a place where you put all your equipment so that it is not displayed in your aquarium.
What kind of reference books do you have? Take a look at the archives, which has some good info in there on tank setup, lighting, refugiums, etc.