new tank - crash course

RowingMunkeyCU · 08/03/2006, 07:19 AM

after watchin the forum for some time, envious of everyone's setups, i decided to take the plunge.

so i found a pretty good deal online for a 55G saltwater tank with stand, filters, lighting and fish for $65 yesterday. i grew up with freshwater tanks, so i figured that it wouldnt be all that difficult to pick up the saltwater side of things.

well, i picked the tank and fish up yesterday, and it was in pretty rough shape. it's a fish only tank, not well maintained, but the fish looked pretty healthy. a huge amount of salt creep was covering pretty much everything, outside of the tank. the stand was iron, and also pretty rusted, but nothing that couldnt be cleaned up with a little work.

the fish that came with it werea Yellow Tang, a Tomato Clown and a Three-Striped Damsel.

all the cat litter buckets my parents have accumulated turned out to be really helpful, i managed to drain almost all the water from the tank into the buckets, and put the fish in one too. brought it all home, poured the water back into the tank, let the debris settle a bit and put the fish back in.

it has an undergravel filter, and what looks to be a tetra pf-60 hob filter, along with a air bubbler. is it a good idea to try and get rid of the ugf and replace the gravel with sand? do i need to get a skimmer?

any advice for a total saltwater noob? my plan is to try and clean off as much of the salt as i can, will it hurt the fish much if some falls in the tank?

any advice is appreciated, lookin for my crash course in saltwater fish keeping :-)

2fishy · 08/03/2006, 08:28 AM

I would try not to get any salt creep into the aquarium. I believe that is bad for the fish, mostly if they eat it, but not sure. I would recommend a vinegar and water. I, too, bought a used 55 gallon w/ a lot of parts that needed cleaning. The vinegar and water worked wonders and my husband could not believe it was the same tank.

nickterp · 08/03/2006, 08:52 AM

There's a few things you can add that I have in my 55gallon that can help alot to your set up. (I'm assuming you already told us all the equipment you have)

-Skimmer : this will make a huge difference, I like the AquaC Remora (with the optional skimming box) for your setup because its a hang on back and I don't think you have a sump
-MaxiJet 1200 powerheads: I'd add 2 or 3, put them on each side of the aquarium about midway down and point them upwards at about a 45% angle, or less if its shooting too much water out of the tank
-Of course get all the testing kits you need, at least PH, thermometer, salinity and ammonia

With the added flow and a skimmer, this will keep all your wastes in suspsension and force them into the skimmer. With the skimmer and powerheads you can get rid of the air bubbler.

Besides that, I'd start reading up on different types of filtration, like live rock and just the saltwater fishkeeping hobby in general. If you get a good book, like "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", by Robert Fenner, you could learn all your basic info very quickly. Then come back here for the tricky questions

. Good luck.

Zackb911 · 08/03/2006, 08:58 AM

I second what Nick said ditch the UGF and get some sand and live rock (1-1.5 lbs per gallon), also the AquaC Remora's are great i have one on my 29 and several Maxi Jet 1200's in it the flow helps keep things clean and healthy. I just setup a 90 so if you want my used Remora w/MJ1200 let me know $100+shipping.

Zack
Greensho93@aol.com

mtfish · 08/03/2006, 09:09 AM

First off, RowingMunkeyCU

To Reef Central

Second, I also highly recommend "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", by Robert Fenner.

And like everyone else so far I would ditch the under gravel filter and get some live rock and live sand. Be aware that adding the live rock will cause the tank to cycle which will be hard on any fish. Do a search here for cycling.

Most importantly don't be afraid to ask questions! Good Luck

Sk8r · 08/03/2006, 09:22 AM

You can create a quarantine tank with the functioning 'live' water, bare-bottom, no rocks, and do this when you have ordered live rock and it arrives. Separate the fish into another tank, with filtration, and keep the heating stable at 78 degrees [smaller container: this gives you safe leeway in both directions].

Then set up the main tank: clean its outside with white vinegar, install live rock [a grid of eggcrate can protect the bottom and stabilize the rock] then new aragonite sand, or live sand, or a combination thereof. Add 1/2 cup per gallon salt to ro/di water, set up [ideally] a sump, with a HangonBack downflow, [always called a HOB] and a return pump. A skimmer down there, with a heater. You start this off biologically by feeding 1 imaginary fish a pinch a day of Formula One fishfood, until your tests [you need test strips to start!] first read high ammonia, then no ammonia, no nitrate. This means your tank is ready for invertebrates like snails and hermits. It also means you'll get an algae bloom, and you stop feeding. There'll be a mini-spike while the snails clean things up.
Couple of weeks later, you can reintroduce the fish, and you'll have a stable, viable tank.

Generally trust used equipment from other reefers. You can get a better deal. Never dose meds in your display tank no matter what it says on the label. Always remove fish to qt. You don't need any filter in the display or the sump, just the 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon and your sand, which by then will be live. Don't use undergravels, wet-dry, bioballs, or any such things. THe live sand will do it all, and release little bubbles of nitrogen gas back to the air, which is the way it works.
HTH.

RowingMunkeyCU · 08/03/2006, 11:42 AM

well, sounds like ive got a bit of work to do :-P thanks for all your responses!

so i think im down to picking up "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and looking for a couple of smaller tanks, one for a temp/quarantine tank, and another for a sump. some more questions for you since i have to wait for the book to ship since i dont think barnes and noble regularly stocks that one...

1. is there a particular size that would work well with my 55G for a sump?

2. is the RO/DI unit on melev's reef any good, or would you recommend a different one?

3. is there a decent skimmer that i can use in a sump, since the AquaC Remora is a HOB?

08/03/2006, 07:19 AM	#1
RowingMunkeyCU Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 66	new tank - crash course after watchin the forum for some time, envious of everyone's setups, i decided to take the plunge. so i found a pretty good deal online for a 55G saltwater tank with stand, filters, lighting and fish for $65 yesterday. i grew up with freshwater tanks, so i figured that it wouldnt be all that difficult to pick up the saltwater side of things. well, i picked the tank and fish up yesterday, and it was in pretty rough shape. it's a fish only tank, not well maintained, but the fish looked pretty healthy. a huge amount of salt creep was covering pretty much everything, outside of the tank. the stand was iron, and also pretty rusted, but nothing that couldnt be cleaned up with a little work. the fish that came with it werea Yellow Tang, a Tomato Clown and a Three-Striped Damsel. all the cat litter buckets my parents have accumulated turned out to be really helpful, i managed to drain almost all the water from the tank into the buckets, and put the fish in one too. brought it all home, poured the water back into the tank, let the debris settle a bit and put the fish back in. it has an undergravel filter, and what looks to be a tetra pf-60 hob filter, along with a air bubbler. is it a good idea to try and get rid of the ugf and replace the gravel with sand? do i need to get a skimmer? any advice for a total saltwater noob? my plan is to try and clean off as much of the salt as i can, will it hurt the fish much if some falls in the tank? any advice is appreciated, lookin for my crash course in saltwater fish keeping :-)

08/03/2006, 08:28 AM	#2
2fishy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Rhinelander, WI Posts: 918	I would try not to get any salt creep into the aquarium. I believe that is bad for the fish, mostly if they eat it, but not sure. I would recommend a vinegar and water. I, too, bought a used 55 gallon w/ a lot of parts that needed cleaning. The vinegar and water worked wonders and my husband could not believe it was the same tank. __________________ Carole Current Tank Info: 55 gal

08/03/2006, 09:09 AM	#5
mtfish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 75	First off, RowingMunkeyCU *To Reef Central* Second, I also highly recommend "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", by Robert Fenner. And like everyone else so far I would ditch the under gravel filter and get some live rock and live sand. Be aware that adding the live rock will cause the tank to cycle which will be hard on any fish. Do a search here for cycling. Most importantly don't be afraid to ask questions! Good Luck __________________ "Oh, I wish, I wish, I hadn't killed that fish." ~ Homer J. Simpson Current Tank Info: 5 FW(10, 20L, 29, 44, 90), 10g Nano Reef... for now.

08/03/2006, 09:22 AM	#6
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	You can create a quarantine tank with the functioning 'live' water, bare-bottom, no rocks, and do this when you have ordered live rock and it arrives. Separate the fish into another tank, with filtration, and keep the heating stable at 78 degrees [smaller container: this gives you safe leeway in both directions]. Then set up the main tank: clean its outside with white vinegar, install live rock [a grid of eggcrate can protect the bottom and stabilize the rock] then new aragonite sand, or live sand, or a combination thereof. Add 1/2 cup per gallon salt to ro/di water, set up [ideally] a sump, with a HangonBack downflow, [always called a HOB] and a return pump. A skimmer down there, with a heater. You start this off biologically by feeding 1 imaginary fish a pinch a day of Formula One fishfood, until your tests [you need test strips to start!] first read high ammonia, then no ammonia, no nitrate. This means your tank is ready for invertebrates like snails and hermits. It also means you'll get an algae bloom, and you stop feeding. There'll be a mini-spike while the snails clean things up. Couple of weeks later, you can reintroduce the fish, and you'll have a stable, viable tank. Generally trust used equipment from other reefers. You can get a better deal. Never dose meds in your display tank no matter what it says on the label. Always remove fish to qt. You don't need any filter in the display or the sump, just the 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon and your sand, which by then will be live. Don't use undergravels, wet-dry, bioballs, or any such things. THe live sand will do it all, and release little bubbles of nitrogen gas back to the air, which is the way it works. HTH. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

08/03/2006, 08:52 AM	#3
nickterp Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 263	There's a few things you can add that I have in my 55gallon that can help alot to your set up. (I'm assuming you already told us all the equipment you have) -Skimmer : this will make a huge difference, I like the AquaC Remora (with the optional skimming box) for your setup because its a hang on back and I don't think you have a sump -MaxiJet 1200 powerheads: I'd add 2 or 3, put them on each side of the aquarium about midway down and point them upwards at about a 45% angle, or less if its shooting too much water out of the tank -Of course get all the testing kits you need, at least PH, thermometer, salinity and ammonia With the added flow and a skimmer, this will keep all your wastes in suspsension and force them into the skimmer. With the skimmer and powerheads you can get rid of the air bubbler. Besides that, I'd start reading up on different types of filtration, like live rock and just the saltwater fishkeeping hobby in general. If you get a good book, like "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist", by Robert Fenner, you could learn all your basic info very quickly. Then come back here for the tricky questions . Good luck.

08/03/2006, 08:58 AM	#4
Zackb911 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Weymouth, MA Posts: 138	I second what Nick said ditch the UGF and get some sand and live rock (1-1.5 lbs per gallon), also the AquaC Remora's are great i have one on my 29 and several Maxi Jet 1200's in it the flow helps keep things clean and healthy. I just setup a 90 so if you want my used Remora w/MJ1200 let me know $100+shipping. Zack Greensho93@aol.com

08/03/2006, 11:42 AM	#7
RowingMunkeyCU Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 66	well, sounds like ive got a bit of work to do :-P thanks for all your responses! so i think im down to picking up "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and looking for a couple of smaller tanks, one for a temp/quarantine tank, and another for a sump. some more questions for you since i have to wait for the book to ship since i dont think barnes and noble regularly stocks that one... 1. is there a particular size that would work well with my 55G for a sump? 2. is the RO/DI unit on melev's reef any good, or would you recommend a different one? 3. is there a decent skimmer that i can use in a sump, since the AquaC Remora is a HOB?