Starting New Reef

[eldiablo]

I'm jumping in and starting a new Reef...37gl..tall "show tank"...'bout 24" tall...24" wide and 14" thick...how much sand?....and do I have to put L/R all the way to front of bottom of tank?...or can I leave space for some sandy bottom view?...I can post pics as soon as my girls school is out...wifey dominating camera...

 

[fishguy84]

You want to put in about 2-2 1/2" of sand (some will say less, some will say more), but that's about the average depth for a healthy system. You'll want to grab at least one bag of LS, and probably just fill the rest with regular sand, so you don't blow your wallet on just the bottom two inches of your tank. As for how much... um.... ah.... I would say up to 35-45lbs is good.
As long as you're not like me, and put all your filtration equipment in the back

then I would plan your tank to have LR and BR slope up from about 3/4 of the way from the back. So that'll leave you with a good 4-5" of free space right up front, not to mention stacking it in a way to make some cool caves.

 

[bluelove]

knowledge will save you $$$$. get as much research as you can while your tank cycles. do you know what that is???? put your sand and live rock in with some bottled water or reverse osmosis water. and let it do its thing for aobuth 2-3 weeks it will get ugly expect it!!!

then buy your clean up crew. you need it some snails some or one kind of crab, blue leg hermit is what i got but get 3-4 dif. kinds of snails some pepermint shrimp and let themgo to work. youll also need some things to test your salt water like a hydromitor to check salt levels and also check amonia, nitate, nitrite, and your ph and alkalinity. once levels are close to good be patient and dont buy the whole store, add a lil at a time.1-3 things a week. words to $ave by inspect ALL you buy, if there any slug like creatures tweeze them off and throw them out they are bad news. record your daily and weekly readings, do water changes weekly and enjoy, be prepaired to be captivated by a job well done!!! youll spend countless hours in front of your tank just staring!!!

:hilarious :happyfish have fun. there are things you should hold off on buying untill your tank ages. the fish store will sell you any thing tough. so watch out

 

[eldiablo]

THANKS!!...those are the awnsers i'm looking for...AND I do know about the stores..and how some of them do buisness...and will not put critters in before their time...I had a 35 oct..tank many years ago...but need to get tips due to tech advances...I did buy a complete test kit and hydro..but I didn't know about putting a clean-up crew in first..again...
Thanks guys...

 

[eldiablo]

my water salinaty is right on the mark 1.021..my ph at 8.0..amonia 0..I have added a piece of sushi grade tuna 1 inch square...and have started introducing micro-bio critters for the filter...and have added some non-live sand bout 10lbs..water temp is 82deg F...
Can I add live sand and rock...or should I wait?....and if I can..Do i need to acclimate the live rock/sand?

 

[triga22]

You dont need to acclimate the live rock. I dont know bout the sand prolly not.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Add the sand so it can cycle and develop you're bio filter. Bring that SG up. Most of the people here recomend around 1.025

oops i made a booboo. had to edit.

 

[glengoby]

bring yur PH up to 8.2 or 8.3, bring temp to about 80 to 79 and introduce a bag of live sand and for live rock put in about how many ever gallons yur tank is in LBS, put the rock in now so that it has time to cure unless you bought cured rock already, also bring salinity up 1.023 to 1.025

 

[eldiablo]

OK....will do...thanks!!!

 

[teen]

aragonite sand acts as a buffer and should bring your Ph up to 8.2 or 8.3 , im not sure what kind of sand you already have, figured id just let you know.

 

[anonome]

This is just a suggestion--when stacking the rock stay away from the back glass, maybe 2 inches. This allows the water to flow around the rocks. When pointing the powerheads, put one to move the water behind the rocks. Always, Always, keep the rocks off the glass. As far as the stacking, this is where your artist side comes out. Have fun!!

 

[seasalt101]

i am surprised nobody mention that the hydrometers are not that accurate get a refractometer it is a very good investment

 

[monalisa]

Hi eldiablo,
I have a pretty well established 37gal reef at this point. It's been set up for over a year, and I'm in the process of searching out my last 1-2 corals and hopefully a nice clam.
I didn't read through this thread really super carefully, but my first bit of advice is to take your time. Nothing in saltwater, it seems, is done quickly or at the spur of the moment. Problems, when they occur, will wait until you find exactly the best way to deal with them. I know that you mentioned having a 35gal in the past, but was that fresh or salt (not that it matters)?
I would be happy to post a pic of my 37gal if you would like...but again, slow and easy wins the game in this hobby!!
Have great fun with it.
Lisa :happyfish

 

[eldiablo]

I just took some pics...I put some sterile "filler rocks"in....and my "store" carries only cured live rock...I'll try to post the pics as soon as I can...refractometer?......never heard of it...ty for the stacking tip...Anenome..You folks are the BEST....