Starting a salt water tank need some pointers!

[sng]

Hello im new to the forums, i just recently brought a OCEANIC BIO CUBE AQUARIUM - 29 GALLON. I have a few questions if anyone can help me. Im planning to make this tank a coral/fish tank.
1) Should i purchase those salt water at my LFS or mix my own salt water? How much does those salt water usually cost at the LFS?
2) How much live rock should I purchase? How much live sand should i purchase?
3) What should i purchase at the LFS to start this tank.
4) Is the Bio Cube noisy? Im planning to have this tank in my room, just wondering if it will be buzzing the whole time its running.
This is a lot of questions, but any help would help out a lot

 

[chankanaab]

1) I personally buy water from my LFS. It cost between $3-5 for a 5 gallon jug.
2) I would buy 25lbs of live rock and 40lbs of sand. ( I have a aquapod 24 gallon)
3) I would just buy the rocks,sand and water. Then just sit back and cycle the tank with a raw shrimp.
4) I don't know how loud that brand is but I have my aquapod in my room and the noise is not bad. The led light at night is the thing that bugs me.
Good Luck

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by sng
Hello im new to the forums, i just recently brought a OCEANIC BIO CUBE AQUARIUM - 29 GALLON. I have a few questions if anyone can help me. Im planning to make this tank a coral/fish tank.
1) Should i purchase those salt water at my LFS or mix my own salt water? How much does those salt water usually cost at the LFS?
2) How much live rock should I purchase? How much live sand should i purchase?
3) What should i purchase at the LFS to start this tank.
4) Is the Bio Cube noisy? Im planning to have this tank in my room, just wondering if it will be buzzing the whole time its running.
This is a lot of questions, but any help would help out a lot

1. I mix my own water..It comes out to around .33 a gallon(Instead of $1.09 from my LFS)
2. I would say about 35lbs of LR and prolly 35 lbs of LS if not more prolly like 40lbs
3. A nice book to read up on.
4. Have no clue on that one..

 

[sng]

Thanks for all the help =)
I think i might purchase salt water from my LFS, sound like a easier way instead of measuring the salt.
Is there anything i should watch when adding the live rocks, sand, and water?

 

[nigerbang]

I have heard ppl fill the tank most the way..add the sand still in the bag and cut the bag then slowly pour the sand from the bag to avoid a huge sand storm..I dont I just pour the water over a huge bowl on top of the sand...Thats prolly why all the sand was stirred up for about 8 days..

 

[sng]

Originally Posted by NigerBang
I have heard ppl fill the tank most the way..add the sand still in the bag and cut the bag then slowly pour the sand from the bag to avoid a huge sand storm..I dont I just pour the water over a huge bowl on top of the sand...Thats prolly why all the sand was stirred up for about 8 days..

Nice tip :thinking:, will for sure try it that way!

 

[scotts]

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/205584/so-you-are-new-here
This might help you out. Forget what I wrote, just a bunch of babbling one day (Except for the research part and the seach part) But look at the links to the threads, those will definitely help you.

 

[nigerbang]

and go ahead on spend the money on a nice test kit...dont let your LFS check it...most the time they will tell you everything is okay when its not..

 

[autofreak44]

my lfs sells water for like 59¢ a gallon, so if yours is cheap i would buy it from them
about 35 pounds of lr will do fine for you
a book, testing kits, uh,... thats all i can think of
i know some ppl on here who have biocubes and i have never read about anyone complaining about noise

 

[sng]

Another question, should i add a skimmer to my Bio Cube 29? Which one would you recommend?

 

[trainfever]

The reason people have sand storms is because they pour the sand directly from the bag into the tank. The sand should be thoroughly rinsed in a bucket until the water runs clear. Do this and your water will not be cloudy at all.

 

[rbaldino]

1) If you mix your own saltwater you'll have more control in terms of your specific gravity, and it's a good time to add supplements.
2) The general rule is that you'll need a pound of rock for each gallon, though the density of the rock can mean you'll need considerably more or less. It's best to just eyeball it. Star with 20 and see how it looks in your tank. Sand follows the same basic rule, but how much also depends on how deep a sand bed you want.
3) Tank, rock and sand are all you need to get going. If you're going to mix your own salt, you'll also need a hydrometer and containers of some sort, most likely a bucket.
4) I have no idea if it's noisy, but I'm sure you'll hear something.