55g First Marine Tank Journal

[ocmsolidsnake]

Hi everyone. Today I set up my first marine tank. I have a 55gallon tank which was given to me by a friend to use. I have a 300 watt Top fin heater, The tank came with a Whisper 600 and another smaller whisper system as well as an undergravel filter. I took it out and cleaned it completely today and it now sits in my room. I went to my lfs and discussed my filtration options. He strongly suggested getting a sump system. Im really confused as to the concepts and purpose of sumps. How much would one cost for a cheap diy tank and system? Could I survive right now with the Filtration system I have, I will be adding 3 profile 600 powerheads (2 to run the undergravel system). I will eventualy replace the whisper 600 with a penguin 350 by marineland. Would it be possible to add the sump system later when i can get more money for it. I will be starting out by getting LR in slow increments because it so darn expensive. How long will it be unitl I will need a skimmer and will a low end skimmer make due for now? For substrate I plan to mix 20 lbs live argonite and 20 lbs of finely crushed coral for ph? Should this ammount cover my needs? Any equipment suggestions are greatly appreciated. Pics tomorrow when I start filling!

 

[SkiFletch]

melevsreef.com for all your sump instruction. Its possible to build your own sump for pennies compared to what it costs to purchse one but you will need significant DIY skills. You dont HAVE to build it the way melev does, but he illustrates the basic concepts for sump design. You can build sumps out of standard glass tanks and make other cost cutting measures to do so. I agree that building a sump will greatly increase your stability and the effectiveness and longevity of your system. Furthermore, I would STRONGLY reccomend setting up your sump BEFORE you add water and livestock into your tank. Having NOT done that myself, I can tell you that I wish I had my sump up and running before I even considered live rock the first time.

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Well I have filled my tank up. Im running with a whisper 600, 300 watt heater, and an undergravel filter run by and aqua gardens 600 and an aqua gardens 601. Water is verry cloudy right now so Ill take some pictures as it clears. At that point Ill also put up the parameters. I wound up using 40lbs crushed coral and 15lbs live argonite sand. I decided not to opt for a sump due to lack of the money, Ill probably DIY one eventualy

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Here we go. Tank is up and the sand is starting to clear up, still a bit cloudy from rearranging the sand. Temp is reading about 80F, Using a digital probe thermometer. Sg is 1.027, Havent tested other paramters, but I bought the master salwater test Kit.

Full Tank shot

Lights off with flash

Heater Powerhead and filter

Filter

 

[maidenfan]

B) B) B)

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Pics are up w00t!

 

[maidenfan]

looking good when and how much live rock you puttin in there?

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Well the water has been in for only a couple hours, Ill probably put some LR in soon, but its going to have to come slowly, as I dont have that much money right now. So it may wind up being Fo with some live rockn for a while. I hope to eventualy get close to 50-60lbs as its a 55gallon.

 

[maidenfan]

not sure about the under gravel filter i've had little experiance of them myself, think u'd have been better without it, using live rock and powerheads for good water movement instead but good luck and keep us posted on how it goes

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Did tests.
Temp: 80.4
Ph: 8.0
Sg: 1.027
Amonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate .25ppm

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

It appears that I did not rinse the subsrate well enough. Upon touching the sand in the least bit the water will become cloudy. If alot of sand is moved the entire tank will get cloudy and it can take hours to clear. What can I do to stop this? Im running the filter constantly and I am rinsing out the filter pads often. Now Im wondering what my next step is. Should I allow the tank to sit for a few days before adding live rock, or should I get LR as quickly as I can.? I have gotten my tank back to 78 degrees. Sg is now at 1.023 after some topping off.

 

[Mr.September15]

It's a little too late now, unless you want to take all the sand out and rinse it again. You can just keep running it with some filter media and it should help, that's what I did and it worked.

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Anyone know where I can get LR online for the cheapest price including shipping. Ive been looking for a while but I cant find any prices that would be a better option than just going to my lfs @ 6.99lb. Online I can find as low as 1.99 lb but they include $39 shipping. Any good links?

 

[Mr Miagi]

What country do you live in?

 

[ocmsolidsnake]

Im in America. New Jersey to be exact.