starting out

[aceheart]

:help:im thinking of starting a slt water tank but for now i want to keep it small(20 gallon). i need to know what i will need for this tank as far as live sand, live rock and decent but easy on the wallet equipment. any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated
and for fish im thinking something along the lines of 1-2 clown fish and maybe a couple of shrimp..... possibly some nice looking crabs or something. just trying to get started and dont want to spend alot of money until i get moved in the next year and can set up my 75 gal tank or buy a bigger one than the one i have :thinking:

 

[joncat24]

If i were you I would wait til i could do that tank I wanted...meaning if you start small, you end up wasting money on equipment that will not be large enuf for a bigger tank in the future so you end up buying everything twice. I would not start with anything smaller than a 75 or a 90. It is a bug that bites really hard and you will always want bigger.
I just put up a 180 and already thinking about another 90 or so for my bedroom.
Just go as big as you can afford and space will allow, it is easier to care for than smaller tanks are.

 

[aceheart]

right now the 20 is the biggest tank i have room for until sometime late next year

which even after i move i will probably keep it set up with a few smaller fish in it in my bedroom probably
i bought a set of tanks thati have to keep in storage for a really cheap price (75 gal and 55 gal) for $125 no stands or anything but im good with wood work so i was thinking after my house is ready for me to move in i will build a cabinet for the 75 to sit on and have the 55 for what ive been told is a sump system or riptide system having the smaller of the 2 tanks hidden
but for now im really interested in doing this small 20 gal tank but cant figure out how much sand or rock i need to start with the tank measures 23 inches by 12 inches and i want atleast 2-3 inches or sand for sure. i read that the thicker the sand bed is the easier to mantain it is.

 

[rot_stupid]

i'm just getting started in this and I have quickly learned that nuthin in this hobby is easy on the wallet. Good luck. I have been told that you need at least 1 lb of LR and 1 lb of sand per gallon. But that's just what I've been told.

 

[aceheart]

well, that doesnt sound too bad then for the sand and rock. i was think of around 40lbs of rock and 30-40 lbs of sand actually. just really would like to know of a good skimmer, pump, heater and any other thing i might need
any and all help is appreciated and since im new with saltwater i will listen to all that wants to help

 

[joncat24]

i like the corarlife skimmers. You could get a ss65 which would be good enuf after you upgrade to a 55 or 75. as for powerheads , I have always used the maxijets...seem to work fine and are cheap..and i would get a 100 watt visitherm stealth heater...just my .02

 

[aceheart]

Originally Posted by joncat24
i like the corarlife skimmers. You could get a ss65 which would be good enuf after you upgrade to a 55 or 75. as for powerheads , I have always used the maxijets...seem to work fine and are cheap..and i would get a 100 watt visitherm stealth heater...just my .02
joncat, where can i find these items for sale at? would love to see prices of them and pics so i would know what to look far and thank you for your .02

 

[joncat24]

you can find then at the famous Drs web site. They have about the best prices I have found and really fast shipping and good info about the stuff. email me @ jhnlittle@hotmail.com if you cant find it

 

[aceheart]

joncat, i went to a local fish store and found a nice starter set up for a good price. its called aquapod 24. the guy that owns the store said its a good starter set up, all it needs is sand, rock and water and a very nice price too of $199.99
going to see if i should get the live sand from him $50 for 40lbs but not sure about his rock since he has live and dead rock for sale and i know for sure i will be ordering the fish and shrimp from SWF.com, got better prices here lol
he also said i should get everything and get the tank started up so it can start cycling itself for atleast 48 hours before adding fish to it.tell me what you think about it :joy:

 

[joncat24]

aquapod 24 is nice...I just looked at one myself at lfs today. $149.99 You would probably only need 20lbs of sand with that tank and the lighting and filtration and everything are already there....dont use the bio balls...fill that chamber with live rock rubble instead . after you are done and have your water mixed and filled up and everything settles (dust storm) feed the atnk fish food everyday just like yuou had fish in it til your amonia spikes and nittrates are spiked then do a 25% water change and you are good to go...

 

[aceheart]

im thinking of going and buying the auapod 24 gal system. as you said everything is built in and ready to run... my only problem is the live rock now lol the guy wants $6-$8 per pound for it and i havnt seen anyplace much cheaper than that around here where i live. his price for LS is pretty good though i think since it costs more here for 20lbs than the 40lbs at his shop.
now for a tank of this size what would be the maximum fish it could hold without being overcrowded? im wanting 2 clownfish, maybe a diamond goby, some shrimps and crabs and maybe even a horseshoe crab.
not sure what else i would want for this starter besides maybe some sort of smallish coral for extra looks :joy:

 

[joncat24]

sounds pretty good for the fish list. $6-8 pound is not out of line for cured live rock. if you buy it from lfs you can take it right home and put it in the tank. you will need around 30 pounds for the aquapod. if i were you I would wait a month or so after you cycle b-4 adding any corals ,,,and then go with something easy like mushrooms or zoas....good luck to ya

 

[aceheart]

i was thinking of around 25 lbs of rock actually to start, i have heard you can add more in later lol. thinking of going ahead and getting the tank, salt and live sand and let it cycle until i get back home from new york in about a month or so then add the fishies and see how they do.
another question i have is aboutthe test kits i have seen. should i get a master test kit or would i need something like that?
joncat, i hope you dont mind, but i added you to my freinds list on here :joy:

 

[royalgamma]

go with a master test kit because fromw what I've hear the test strips are very unrealible.
The tese kits are easy to use , I've had no problems following the directions. How soon are you going to set up because if you willing to wait making your own rock is way cheaper and you can make cool shapes/ caves/ ledges..etc...comes out to about 10 cents a pound.Very easy to do also. hope some of this helps

 

[aceheart]

royal, how do you make your own rocks? you just got my curiousity up alot with that statement.
im not in a great big hurry on putting fish in it until i get back in town from working, whish i leave out for NY in about 2 weeks and will be there for about 2 weeks or so
i have a freshwater tank running and i use the test tube test kits for it so im pretty sure the SW tank kits wont be to hard to understand

 

[royalgamma]

i have a posting on new hobbyists if you wanna check it out , I have been maessing around with it for around a week now and each batch is getting easier

 

[aceheart]

im looking for that post royal. sounds interesting though.
now for the actual water, is instant ocean a good salt to use for it or do i need something else?

 

[royalgamma]

IO is what I started out using ...I've had no problems.
Any other qusetions with the rocks ask away I'll tell ya what I know
:happyfish

 

[aceheart]

im looking around for ways to make the rocks, still havnt figured out how to cure them and turn them into live rocks lol. before i looked at your post for some reason i was thinking you was some type of granite or small cement rocks and drilling them or chipping them out to make the rock.
do you use some type of mold to make them, or do you make your own molds?
im not sure where i can find the plastic at unless i can just use plastic beads or something of that nature.
and how long does it take to cure the rock you make to be able to actually add it to the tank?

 

[royalgamma]

Well as for the plastic- I/ve seen several differnt ways to go about this( the plastic I got is easier cause we have thousands of pounds of it @ work ) anyway the first batch I tried I used cut up straws and that works ok but I went to the regrind for mainly to lighten up the rock some. Also if you go to the GARF website the use basicly scrap plastic from another factory but the say to buy some pvc of other plastic and drill through it and keep the little pieces that come off of the bit. The reason to use plastic is that the coraline grows really good on plastic . But you don't even need it, just get crushed oyster shells ( call a local feed store 50lbs for around $6 ) and get some portland cement type I,II,or III
I used type I bnecause its all I could find, but from what I've heard from other people type I/II is better because its stronger than type I , anyway 95lbs costs about $7 at Home Depot, Lowes ,Menards,etc.. I mix about 4 or 5 parts shells and 4 or 5 parts plastic to 1 1/2 parts cement and then mix it up ( a paint stirring thing that you can get for a power drill work good only a couple of $$$ ) then I let it set for 1/2 hour to an hour and I mold it on a peice of plywood into the shapes I want . I use bollons to make cave and I've used a water bottle to make an over hang. You could also use sand to mold you cement but its a pain to get all of the sand off of the rocks, I find it easiewr to do it the other way. ive also hear of people putting air tubing int the rock for latere use..some one did that so it would be easier to feed some coral and another to use it for air bubbles .
I tried putting pvc pipping inside and then drilling holse in it and then driiling into the rock as to create more water flow throught the rock, but I've gotten the batch down now and the rocks are very pourus and dont need any help.
Well that is alot of info here let me know if any helps or if you need more....
O yea curing well you just put them in water in tubs or a garbage can and change the water twice aweek or more ( what ever you want, I do it every day I figure get rid of the old ph heavy water and start a new) for 3 to 4 weeks and then 1 or 2 weeks in salt water and your good to good. I even put on in my tank that hand't cured and I haven't seen a increase in my PH yet

so any more questions , go ahead and ask.