Newb to Saltwater... but not aquariums

Pez68 · 08/16/2013, 04:19 PM

So, I've been doing a massive amount of research over the last couple months on starting and maintaining a reef tank. I've had freshwater tanks for years, so I'm not starting completely from scratch as far as knowledge, but realize what I'm getting myself into.

First, test kits. Gotta know the state of my water before anything, right?

I was going to go with an API saltwater master test kit for PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate.

I was then going to get a Red Sea Reef Foundation test kit for Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium.

I will also be purchasing a salinity refractometer.

I plan on buying RO/DI water from a local fish store or just getting premixed salt water. The other alternative is starting with distilled water from the local Walmart or something and mixing water up in buckets with my powerheads. A RO/DI unit for the house might be down the line, but I'm just starting with a 29 gallon tank, so it's really not a big deal grabbing water every couple weeks.

I got a bucket of instant ocean for a great price when I bought my tank and stand(also a great price), so I've got the salt covered for water changes.

There are a couple places where I can buy live rock nearby for between $2-3.50 a pound. I've asked all of the shops selling it, and most of the rock has been in tanks for anywhere between 1 and 6 months. I have no idea what it looks like, but if they are telling me it is well cured, and it has been in the tanks that long, there should be plenty of bacteria right? I can always grab other live rock if I'm looking for more life forms and it will spread to the existing rock, right? Bacteria is the most important part anyway in establishing a tank.

Some questions. How do I go about transporting the live rock? Should I just buy pre-mixed saltwater along with the 30 lbs. of live rock, and transport it all together in 5 gallon buckets? I have six brand new, clean 5 gallon buckets, with lids. I mean, that just seems like it would be the easiest thing to do, and the quickest way to get the tank going, even if it costs a little more? I'm basically just moving a 30 gallon tank over from the LFS to my house that way?

Should minimize the live rock dying off, and the cycling time, if any? I'll be buying probably 10 lbs. of aragonite sand as well. Not live sand in a bag, as that will just cause a cycle I don't need when starting with established live rock, right? I just like the look of the natural environment, even if it is a bit more work. Obviously I'm still going to watch the tank before adding livestock... but this should get me going quite well?

Heater...no different from freshwater tanks. Powerheads are pretty self explanatory, and the powerheads with the live rock does the job of your filter on your freshwater tank. Keep the water flowing and keep good current flowing through the tank so the live rock can filter and you should be good to go. I figure around 1200-1500 GPH for a 29 gallon? Too much?

I've got an Aquasun T5 HO with a 10k bulb and an actinic 420 in it ready to go.

Just looking for some opinions from the experts. Am I missing anything?

Biocubehqi · 08/16/2013, 04:50 PM

Welcome!

Live rock, cured dosnt mean cycled! You will need to cycle your tank regardless. I suggest putting a piece of raw shrimp in the tank to kick off the ammonia and so on, then remove the shrimp wheyh get a good ammonia spike.
When moving your live rock the store should put it Ina a box for you and wrap it with wet newspaper. Wet news paper will be plenty sufficient for transport.

Powerheads, you got the idea of it Ina a way. Our corals love water movement and flow. Some more than others, if yo want a sps system then 1200 is fine, if you want corals that don't like a lot of movement then you should go lower, but yo want to have good flow t keep Detris from collecting on rocks and the sandbed. Water movement is so very important I have just under 1000 gallons in my 29 gallon cube, but I have a mixed reef, wit softies, lps, and sps.

Biocubehqi · 08/16/2013, 04:53 PM

Do you plan on having a sump or a Refugium?

Pez68 · 08/16/2013, 05:26 PM

Nope. Just no room right now and I'm starting simple to get my feet wet.

According to the three stores I talked to, the rock is cured/cycled. Whatever you want to call it, they said it did NOT need to be cycled, as it has been in tanks for months and has healthy amounts of bacteria. One of them stated they have some coralline algae growing on most pieces, which would be impossible if it wasn't already cycled, from my understanding.

Griznock · 08/16/2013, 05:27 PM

move the tank and get it set up,be sure to check it with a level,whiskey stick.then go back for the water and rock.be sure to put some egg crate on the bottom of the tank for the rock to set on to avoid any pressure point cracks on the bottom glass.you can buy the egg crate,lighting screen from any hardware store.

the usual order is as follows.

egg crate
rock
sand
water

Pez68 · 08/16/2013, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griznock

move the tank and get it set up,be sure to check it with a level,whiskey stick.then go back for the water and rock.be sure to put some egg crate on the bottom of the tank for the rock to set on to avoid any pressure point cracks on the bottom glass.you can buy the egg crate,lighting screen from any hardware store.

the usual order is as follows.

egg crate
rock
sand
water

I've already got the egg crate sitting next to the tank, ready to be cut.

Griznock · 08/16/2013, 05:43 PM

then what you waiting for! you wasting valuable cycle time..

good luck!

Pez68 · 08/16/2013, 06:14 PM

Ordering and waiting for items to arrive, so I have everything I need on hand. Most of the good fish stores are a 20-30 minute drive, so I'm trying to minimize my trips. At least initially.

Pez68 · 08/17/2013, 09:53 PM

Water, sand, live rock, and powerhead is up and running. I will have the rest of my equipment in the next couple days. Wish me luck! I'm off!

08/16/2013, 04:19 PM	#1
Pez68 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: South Suburbs of Chicago Posts: 165	Newb to Saltwater... but not aquariums So, I've been doing a massive amount of research over the last couple months on starting and maintaining a reef tank. I've had freshwater tanks for years, so I'm not starting completely from scratch as far as knowledge, but realize what I'm getting myself into. First, test kits. Gotta know the state of my water before anything, right? I was going to go with an API saltwater master test kit for PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate. I was then going to get a Red Sea Reef Foundation test kit for Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. I will also be purchasing a salinity refractometer. I plan on buying RO/DI water from a local fish store or just getting premixed salt water. The other alternative is starting with distilled water from the local Walmart or something and mixing water up in buckets with my powerheads. A RO/DI unit for the house might be down the line, but I'm just starting with a 29 gallon tank, so it's really not a big deal grabbing water every couple weeks. I got a bucket of instant ocean for a great price when I bought my tank and stand(also a great price), so I've got the salt covered for water changes. There are a couple places where I can buy live rock nearby for between $2-3.50 a pound. I've asked all of the shops selling it, and most of the rock has been in tanks for anywhere between 1 and 6 months. I have no idea what it looks like, but if they are telling me it is well cured, and it has been in the tanks that long, there should be plenty of bacteria right? I can always grab other live rock if I'm looking for more life forms and it will spread to the existing rock, right? Bacteria is the most important part anyway in establishing a tank. Some questions. How do I go about transporting the live rock? Should I just buy pre-mixed saltwater along with the 30 lbs. of live rock, and transport it all together in 5 gallon buckets? I have six brand new, clean 5 gallon buckets, with lids. I mean, that just seems like it would be the easiest thing to do, and the quickest way to get the tank going, even if it costs a little more? I'm basically just moving a 30 gallon tank over from the LFS to my house that way? Should minimize the live rock dying off, and the cycling time, if any? I'll be buying probably 10 lbs. of aragonite sand as well. Not live sand in a bag, as that will just cause a cycle I don't need when starting with established live rock, right? I just like the look of the natural environment, even if it is a bit more work. Obviously I'm still going to watch the tank before adding livestock... but this should get me going quite well? Heater...no different from freshwater tanks. Powerheads are pretty self explanatory, and the powerheads with the live rock does the job of your filter on your freshwater tank. Keep the water flowing and keep good current flowing through the tank so the live rock can filter and you should be good to go. I figure around 1200-1500 GPH for a 29 gallon? Too much? I've got an Aquasun T5 HO with a 10k bulb and an actinic 420 in it ready to go. Just looking for some opinions from the experts. Am I missing anything?

08/16/2013, 04:50 PM	#2
Biocubehqi Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Illinois Posts: 777	Welcome! Live rock, cured dosnt mean cycled! You will need to cycle your tank regardless. I suggest putting a piece of raw shrimp in the tank to kick off the ammonia and so on, then remove the shrimp wheyh get a good ammonia spike. When moving your live rock the store should put it Ina a box for you and wrap it with wet newspaper. Wet news paper will be plenty sufficient for transport. Powerheads, you got the idea of it Ina a way. Our corals love water movement and flow. Some more than others, if yo want a sps system then 1200 is fine, if you want corals that don't like a lot of movement then you should go lower, but yo want to have good flow t keep Detris from collecting on rocks and the sandbed. Water movement is so very important I have just under 1000 gallons in my 29 gallon cube, but I have a mixed reef, wit softies, lps, and sps.

08/16/2013, 04:53 PM	#3
Biocubehqi Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Illinois Posts: 777	Do you plan on having a sump or a Refugium?

08/16/2013, 05:26 PM	#4
Pez68 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: South Suburbs of Chicago Posts: 165	Nope. Just no room right now and I'm starting simple to get my feet wet. According to the three stores I talked to, the rock is cured/cycled. Whatever you want to call it, they said it did NOT need to be cycled, as it has been in tanks for months and has healthy amounts of bacteria. One of them stated they have some coralline algae growing on most pieces, which would be impossible if it wasn't already cycled, from my understanding.

08/16/2013, 05:27 PM	#5
Griznock Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Tulsa,Oklahoma Posts: 121	move the tank and get it set up,be sure to check it with a level,whiskey stick.then go back for the water and rock.be sure to put some egg crate on the bottom of the tank for the rock to set on to avoid any pressure point cracks on the bottom glass.you can buy the egg crate,lighting screen from any hardware store. the usual order is as follows. egg crate rock sand water

08/16/2013, 05:43 PM	#7
Griznock Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Tulsa,Oklahoma Posts: 121	then what you waiting for! you wasting valuable cycle time.. good luck!

08/16/2013, 06:14 PM	#8
Pez68 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: South Suburbs of Chicago Posts: 165	Ordering and waiting for items to arrive, so I have everything I need on hand. Most of the good fish stores are a 20-30 minute drive, so I'm trying to minimize my trips. At least initially.

08/17/2013, 09:53 PM	#9
Pez68 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: South Suburbs of Chicago Posts: 165	Water, sand, live rock, and powerhead is up and running. I will have the rest of my equipment in the next couple days. Wish me luck! I'm off!