Brand new attempting a FOWLR and hopefully adding some soft coral/polyps

[gosteen]

Hi everyone,

First time so be gentle.

Rookie rounds on me -

I've been doing a ton of research and just started converting my fresh water tank to a salt water tank today. 30 gallon that is 30" wide but quite tall. Thought I would start small and go from there.

Couple of questions:

Mixed the salt water, put down the live sand, setup the filter and powerhead. I have a cheap hydrometer so far but it is reading right in the middle of the green marker on the meter. That is to say it is around 1.024 or 1.025 hard to tell with the hydrometer I'm using. A digital one will be one of my next investments. As long as it is between 1.022 and 1.026 am I safe?

How long does it take for the water to clear up? I've been rinsing the filters about once every two hours and it is getting clearer. I just want to make sure I haven't done anything wrong to start.

Also, at what point do you add the live rock and do you recommend uncured or cured. I've read that uncured can smell when being cured.

What test kit would you recommend?

Oh and I picked up a digital temperature gauge and the reading is 79.7 is that number an acceptable number? I've read a ton of different thoughts on temperature. One thing I know for sure is, I live on the gulf coast of Florida and the temp on the reefs are seldom below 75 degrees and often can be as high as 85+. So I'm a little confused as to the right temperature.

Thanks for any input.

[gosteen]

Here is a picture of the tank. Is the cloudiness normal. It has cleared a great deal in the past 10 hours.

[BurntOutReefer]

you're gonna get a lot of grief about running that whisper with a biowheel from this board...but regardless, run that thing and stop rinsing them...that makes no sense at all.
water will clear up in 24 hrs....
throw the rock in now, cured or not.....
FOWLR....you should be able to keep some softies with that light

[BurntOutReefer]

79.7 is OK....but keep near 75~78 as the higher the temp, the more ur fish will need to eat and more O2 required

[gosteen]

Originally posted by BurntOutReefer
you're gonna get a lot of grief about running that whisper with a biowheel from this board...but regardless, run that thing and stop rinsing them...that makes no sense at all.
water will clear up in 24 hrs....
throw the rock in now, cured or not.....
FOWLR....you should be able to keep some softies with that light

Thanks for the reply and the filter will be converted in time. It's a marineland emperor 350 on a 30 gallon tank. By the time I introduce live fish or coral of any kind to it I'll have a wet/dry on it. Just getting started and most of the advice I received from local shops was it will work it just clutters up the view as evident in the picture. I also want to do the filter system myself and build a nice cabinet for the tank. Any suggestions on a DIY filter?

The lighting system will be a 30" 4 bulb 96w with fans, timer, and lunar lighting.

I know the filter isn't the best but I'm 4-6 weeks away from introducing any fish and can get away with it for now.

My biggest question is what is the right test kit for what I want to do.

Thanks for the reply it was helpful.

[mullinsd2]

API reef master test kit. If you want to keep any corals, eventually you will want something to test alkalinity and calcium. You don't need that now, but you will need to have a steady calcium in the 400-450 range by the time you introduce coral. Are you going to incorporate a sump or hob filter?

[gosteen]

Thanks for the information.

I would love to do a sump as it wont clutter up the view as it is now but also realize it is only a 30 gallon tank so I'm still researching the best way to go. Anything in a 30 gallon tank is going to seem like clutter though and I really want to keep it as clear from clutter as possible. From everything I've read and heard water flow is one of the primary keys to a successful tank. So I am still doing a lot of research. Any feed back in this area is very much appreciated.

[Michael]

hi gosteen if it were me id get 20 -30 pounds of cured rock in there and have a powerhead each side of the tank and a hob skimmer and nothing else, id remove the filter and just keep this your first tank simple, rock, flow and skimmer, 2 or 3 small fish and some soft corals, you will be happy with it and providing you keep up a routine it should be an enjoyable experience, good luck with your new venture

[ctenophors rule]

i would do a sump, the sive of the tank matters not. if anyhting, with such a small tank you can have a much larger and more efficient sum than others. i would make it myself, but.....

you need a protien skimmer. which you can easily make yourself witha few water bottles. i have done this with 10 and 20 gallons, and they are more fficient than the store bought ones, i work at a store so i have seen a fair few running. if anyone is interested in will post instructions.

the sump, you can silicon plexyglass and make baffles, dividers and all sorts of stuff with proper planning you can make it look realy complicated, and realy efficient. with little planning, it will look cheap, and will not work well.

water flow is a key ingredient in the succsesful tank, yes.

just keep researching, if possible read marine chemistry by brightwell, this will help you to understand the water chemistry involved, this may seem like a huge hump to overpass, once you do, everything else seems easier, because you know the underling problems.

if it doesn;t make sense i a tired . good night.

[Boca Kris]

I have a 55g tank that is now a few years old. I built a bar and left space for a 55g tank, not knowing much about them, so I didnt leave room for a HOB filter of any kind or a sump. I did alot of research and found an in-tank canister filter called a FreedomFilter...it was pretty much the only available option at the time. After buying it and setting it up, I started to do more research. Almost everyone told me it would be a 'nitrate factory' and a 'death trap'. I thought the whole project would eventually be a wash. Since day one I have never had a trace of nitrates/nitrites, ammonia or anything else that I measure for. I have about 50 lbs of live rock and a semi deep sand bed. I've had fish in there that have been alive for almost 2 years now. I do 20% water changes monthly (at least I try to) and I top off with RO. I don't have any big boy corals, but I can grow all the softies I want. I have a 5 x T5 setup from Aquactinics, and the only real trouble I have is that I do get some evaporation so I have to stay on top of topping off manually, and I don't have an overflow so I do have to make sure the top stays clean. The FreedomFilter comes with a skimmer, but the overflow doesn't work the way it's supposed to, pretty much the only complaint I have about the product to date. Other than that, come to Reef Central and ask ALOT of questions, just like you're doing. People on here are brilliant and will be invaluable to the future success of your tanks. I say tanks, cause there will probably be more! I'm just trying to figure out where to put my next one!

[tipmoff]

Welcome gosteen. +1 one on adding the rock now. It usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to cycle a tank so w=you will have time to do a lot of research. You are correct on the flow thought. Purchse 30-50lbs of LR and put 1 to 2 poewrheads in there for flow. This will help cycle the tank with the LR in there. I started with a FLOWR set up and purchased API Master SW test kit. It's not the best but it will do what you need it to.
Since your in the same region of the country as I am look at the local reef clubs on this forum under the "regional" threads. The Tampa Bay Reef Club as many members and knowledgeable people who are always will to help.

[gosteen]

Originally posted by ctenophors rule
i would do a sump, the sive of the tank matters not. if anyhting, with such a small tank you can have a much larger and more efficient sum than others. i would make it myself, but.....

you need a protien skimmer. which you can easily make yourself witha few water bottles. i have done this with 10 and 20 gallons, and they are more fficient than the store bought ones, i work at a store so i have seen a fair few running. if anyone is interested in will post instructions.

I am very intererested please post the instructions when you have time. Thank you very much.

Originally posted by ctenophors rule read marine chemistry by brightwell, this will help you to understand the water chemistry involved, this may seem like a huge hump to overpass, once you do, everything else seems easier, because you know the underling problems.[/B]

And I will certianly try to find the book