New to the hobby

[x101xARES]

Hi reef central, My name is Fred and I have 110 short that was givin to me from my father in law and it is just sitting in my spare room. I am currently researching everything to get me going. I have an ro/di unit that produces 50 gallons a day, two skimmers(red c-skim 1800, and another one can not remember the name but know it can handle the tank but not like the red sea.) The sump that came with it is a diy sump, I think it is a 30-40 gal plastic storage bin with a raised(6-8 in. from the bottem) netted platform with another smaller plastic storage binon top of the platform with rectangular holes in the sides and bottom filled with bio-balls and shotgun shell plastic wads. Not sure of the name of the light, but it has 2-250 watt halogens and 4-54 watt blue bulbs, and the light is hanging above the tank approximently 10 inches from the tank. I have one 300 watt heater. two wave makers(not sure what their actually called) one is bigger then the other. the bigger one is setup in the front left opposite of my incoming water flow into the tank and the smaller one is setup back right(same side of water flow into the tank). The back left corner has a black drain box filled with bio-balls about 1/4 the way up. The water is pumped from the sump through a pump to a 3/4 hose to 1/2 inch pvc through the drain box to the top of the tank, then the pvc 90s and runs along the back top side of the tank and the 90s again to run along the top right side of the tank, the pvc at the top right has holes drilled for the water flow. The tank is around 30 yrs old and has alot of surface scratches on the front and right side of the glass, the back and left side is painted. I did some research on how to get rid or minimize the scratches and order a cerium oxide scratch removal kit and awaiting its arrival and plan to go to work on the scratches when it arrives. I also plan on building a canopy for the tank and retro fitting the lights in it, but need some suggestions on keeping the lights and components from getting the salt creep( I think that is what its called lol) and maybe someone has some plans or ideas on how to put all the lighting and components in the canopy. And i was also thinking of going without a substrate, suggestion from father in law who said he was always having problems with having sand bed. But was wondering how would the live rock sit in a tank without a substrate to hold the weight? Ok I am gonna quit rambling on and sorry if this is alot at one time, I am just really excited about getting this thing up and running and have nice reef tank. oh and also need some suggestions on some other equipment I may need i.e. a trusted tds meter, test kits, or do they make a meter that will test everything(tds,ph, alk, calc, salinity, etc.) and what is difference between a sump and refugium?

[tkeracer619]

if this is to be setup as a reef take out all of the bioballs and shotgun wadding. You don't need or want them. The live rock is the biological filtration. As far as substrate goes I like sand. Don't put too much in but enough to give you about an inch. Get some reef grade sand.

As far as test kits go I would grab a dKh, calcium, magnesium, and nitrate kit from salifert. You don't need to get them all at once but anything else can be tested at the lfs (local fish store). I try to recommend not buying those "master test kits" because you are paying for ones that you will rarely use. They go bad with time so your better off taking in a sample to the fish store.

As far as a canopy goes there are two general types. One that has cabinet doors on the front (usually used for halides that need extra room) or ones that have a flip open top (usually t5). You will want to do one with cabinet doors.

Prepair for a workout. cerium oxide takes a LONG time to work. wax on wax on wax on... (repeated 500 times)

You need a tds meter, a refractometer, and a media reactor or two.

GFO should be used in one reactor to keep phosphates at bay. Phosphates grow algae and inhibit coral growth. Carbon should be used in another reactor. It reduces pollutants and keeps that oh so fresh fish smell at bay. Check bulkreefsupply.com they have good prices and some videos to learn from.

While at BRS check out two part. If you plan on keeping corals which I assume you are since your going to run halides you will need to decide on a dosing regime. Read this
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

The salt creeps are impossible to keep at bay. You wipe them out and they come back every time!

Proper husbandry is critical. No matter how much equipment you have a lack of husbandry will cause your experience to be much less pleasant. Water changes, manual removal of algae, stocking, quarantining fish, research, proper feeding, water chemistry, and many more things are very important on getting it right.
I could go on and on. Welcome to the world of salt water. You have a lot to learn


Oh and two more things. NO IMPULSE BUYS NO MATTER WHAT and ask us instead of someone who is going to make money off the sale. They ARE biased


Edit: 1 more thing. If it says rio throw it out.

[x101xARES]

Thank you tkeracer, I will take a look at all things mentioned and do my research. I plan on taking it slow and doing everything one step at a time and will definitly be back with more questions.

[tkeracer619]

Your welcome. If you can't find a satisfactory answer through the search feature always post the question. There is no dumb question.