setting up a 40 gallon... new to salt water....

[vicnair]

I just bought a 40 gallon breeder and was originally going to make it a freshwater, but decided to change it up and make it salt (reef). I already filled it up with water and dechlorinated it, but there is no sand or decor in it. I have a 45-55 gallon HoB filter and want to know what use that could be.

I have a few questions......

1. Do I absolutely HAVE to drill my tank? Are there any alternatives? Can I use my 45-55 HoB filter?
2. I already have it filled with nothing in it. Can I just add salt?
3. What testing things do I need?
4. I am almost positive I read that all live sand and live rock goes in the salt water immediately. Is that true?
5. What all do I need as far as lighting, right now I have one of these:

http://www.*****.com/product/122155/Fluval-Sea-Full-Spectrum-Marine-And-Reef-LED-Aquarium-Light.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
Will that be sufficient?

6. What else do I need? Powerheads? Skimmers? I know a bit about them, but can always learn more!



I have done, and will do some more research while the forum gets views and replies. Any advice is helpful!

God bless!

 

[jay0705]

Add your salt. Then live sand or regular "dead" sand. Then add your rock. Yes a hob is fine its what I use. Water should be 1.023-1.026 sg for a reef tank

 

[vicnair]

Thank you Jay0705, that was my biggest question. Do you have any other tips? tomorrow I'm going to get salt and some sand and rocks.

 

[jay0705]

What kind of rocks? If u buy live rock I would wait. Get your salt in and give it a day to settle. Once your salinity is holding go ahead and add live rock. If u use live sand I suggest again waiting for salinity to level out. Either type of sand will cloud your water so I like to add sand let water clear than add live rock.

 

[jay0705]

Also your lighting will be fine for soft corals but if u want to do hard or light loving corals you will want to up grade

 

[vicnair]

Okay. I have another question. I already have the water dechlorinated and cycling. Can I pour salt into the tank full of water or would it be better to empty it and do it with like 10 gallon buckets at a time?

 

[trigger40]

if i wher you i would pour about a cup of salt for every two gallons. i used to want to do a 40 breeder and in the prosses found out its actualy 47 gallons and will vary up to 50g depending on the brand. leave about 2 to 3'' of space from the water and the mouth of yout HOB filter. i wated 3 days just to make shure every thing was setled then added sand and live rock. and sence you are going reef you will need all the test kits ( sence you are a begginer i would not recomend going reef from what i have heard its pritty diffacult) you will need some thing to keep your water moving. i think they are called power heads but im not shur. and no you do not haft to drill your tank. happy reefing

 

[jay0705]

Yea just put the salt in. If u have power heads or the filter get those going and they will help mix it

 

[silverado61]

If all you have in your tank is water then its not cycling. It won't begin the cycling process till after you add the live sand and live rock and ghost feed or use table shrimp.

 

[jay0705]

Whats live dock? lol sorry I had too

 

[silverado61]

Lol. Damned fat fingers and a small key board on my cell.

 

[silverado61]

There. I fixed it.

 

[jay0705]

Lol

 

[vicnair]

So I need to put the sand and rocks in too? I thought I read somewhere to wait a day or so before putting rocks and sand in it.

EDIT:Nevermind, I found it, Trigger waited after putting salt in to put teh sand and rocks.

 

[jay0705]

Yes lol salt, then sand, then live rock. Big thing is make sure the salinity is where u want it bc too low or high will kill live sand and live rock. Or i Should say kill what lives in and on them

 

[trigger40]

oh and be prepared for a real mess when you add the sand. it took over 24 hours for my tank to clear up after adding my live sand

 

[jay0705]

Yea sounds about rt

 

[silverado61]

When I first set up my 36g I put about 4 inches of water in the tank to start. Then I added the sand. Then I tried the old trick of putting a plate on top of the sand then adding the rest of the water. It still got a little cloudy but it drastically cut down the clearing time.

 

[jay0705]

Not a bad idea

 

[geridoc]

Since you already have dechlorinated water in the tank you can go ahead and add salt. However, be prepared for the outgrowth of a variety of things during and after cycling - a burst of diatoms, algae, etc. This is because the tap water that you used contains silicates that will favor diatoms, and phosphates that support algae growth. Moving ahead, you should use only RODI water for your water changes and eventually the silicates and phosphates will be removed from the system. Before you go ahead, read Snake's beginners guide so that you will know how to cycle the system. Good luck, and keep asking questions. The moment you think you know what you are doing is the precise moment that disaster will strike from some unexpected direction.