New to the hobby! Have a few concerns...

gimpless · 10/06/2008, 04:51 PM

My wife and I recently wanted to get into this awesome hobby! We bought a used setup from craigslist for $200 that included a 45 gal tank, stand, wet/dry filter rated for a 75 gal tank, protein filter and pumps. We visited the local fish store to find out what our next step was.

We came home from the store with 40 gal of natural salt water (We live in Palm Beach FL) about 30 lbs of live rock and 2 20 lbs bags of live sand. We filled 2/3 of the tank up with water then unloaded the sand and put in the rocks. Now here is where the trouble started.

I started up the pumps and filters. It was then I noticed that the return pump was not running at full speed. It also had air in the line. It ran for about 9 hours before I had to turn it off. There was not enough water in the tank.

The tank sit without water movement or light today for about 12 hours. I went to the store and bought more water and a new pump. The system is now up and running. Here are my concerns...

-Will the live rock and sand still work?
-Will the cloudiness in the water eventually go away? It seems to be getting clearer after 3 hours.

Thank you to all!

Bonneville08 · 10/06/2008, 04:59 PM

Your LR and LS are probably fine, you will need to test and watch your nitrogen cycle start up anyway.
Put a filter sock on your pump discharge and the aquarium will clear up faster or be patient and it will settle in a few days to a week.
This last one is a freebie: If you want to keep corals, take a look at other nutrient control methods (Berlin, Jaubert, Eco-System) and get rid of the wet/dry filter. If you want any help with this, please PM me.
Hope this helps, and good luck.

plateboy3293 · 10/06/2008, 06:21 PM

You should have added the live rock, then the sand, and finally th ewater this would have reduced cloudiness. Iwould also shut off all the pumps immediatly if the water still cloudy so the filter don't get warn down by the sand.

plateboy3293 · 10/06/2008, 06:25 PM

You need to buy a protein skimmer, refractometer, and powerheads try bigalsonline.com. Don't add anything until the ammonia hits 0 followed by the nitrites followed by the nitrates. If you wait now it will save you time and money in the long run.

10/06/2008, 04:51 PM	#1
gimpless Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1	New to the hobby! Have a few concerns... My wife and I recently wanted to get into this awesome hobby! We bought a used setup from craigslist for $200 that included a 45 gal tank, stand, wet/dry filter rated for a 75 gal tank, protein filter and pumps. We visited the local fish store to find out what our next step was. We came home from the store with 40 gal of natural salt water (We live in Palm Beach FL) about 30 lbs of live rock and 2 20 lbs bags of live sand. We filled 2/3 of the tank up with water then unloaded the sand and put in the rocks. Now here is where the trouble started. I started up the pumps and filters. It was then I noticed that the return pump was not running at full speed. It also had air in the line. It ran for about 9 hours before I had to turn it off. There was not enough water in the tank. The tank sit without water movement or light today for about 12 hours. I went to the store and bought more water and a new pump. The system is now up and running. Here are my concerns... -Will the live rock and sand still work? -Will the cloudiness in the water eventually go away? It seems to be getting clearer after 3 hours. Thank you to all!

10/06/2008, 04:59 PM	#2
Bonneville08 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Goodyear, AZ Posts: 513	Your LR and LS are probably fine, you will need to test and watch your nitrogen cycle start up anyway. Put a filter sock on your pump discharge and the aquarium will clear up faster or be patient and it will settle in a few days to a week. This last one is a freebie: If you want to keep corals, take a look at other nutrient control methods (Berlin, Jaubert, Eco-System) and get rid of the wet/dry filter. If you want any help with this, please PM me. Hope this helps, and good luck. __________________ Edge you mah cating myself Check out my gallery if you desire. Current Tank Info: 50 gallon mix of soft, LPS and SPS, two croceas, two maximas, a few fish, turf filter with skimmer, MH and PC lighting, chiller, Calcium Reactor and wave2k.

10/06/2008, 06:21 PM	#3
plateboy3293 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hillsborough, New Jersey Posts: 1,038	You should have added the live rock, then the sand, and finally th ewater this would have reduced cloudiness. Iwould also shut off all the pumps immediatly if the water still cloudy so the filter don't get warn down by the sand. __________________ Wars come and go but my soldiers stay eternal Current Tank Info: 155 gallon bow

10/06/2008, 06:25 PM	#4
plateboy3293 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hillsborough, New Jersey Posts: 1,038	You need to buy a protein skimmer, refractometer, and powerheads try bigalsonline.com. Don't add anything until the ammonia hits 0 followed by the nitrites followed by the nitrates. If you wait now it will save you time and money in the long run. __________________ Wars come and go but my soldiers stay eternal Current Tank Info: 155 gallon bow