First Marine Tank - Questions And Advice!

[CezzaXV]

I was told to use milliput to fix my live rock together, plus to drill holes for acrylic rods (look for generic acrylic rods on eBay, don't fall for the greatly inflated "reef rods") for extra stability. Having said that, my tank is much bigger and taller than yours, so you may be able to get away without doing so with yours. I would still be inclined to milliput your live rock together though, just for peace of mind. You don't want your live rock falling.

 

[plectastic]

Thanks very much. Been so busy for what seems like forever that I haven't even had time to get the water and rock yet! Live sand and all equipment ready to go.

 

[Donya]

You can give epoxy putty by itself a try, but IME it doesn't hold rocks together very well, especially rocks that are already live. Maybe some types of putty are better than others? I don't know. The putty I've used works like a charm on porous dry rocks, but you need to wrap it around edges or something else clever to make it hold for sure on live rock. The problem is that applying putty to nicely live rock will kill off stuff on the exterior under the putty, and it can then come free while taking a layer of dead stuff with it. 
 
Most people do not glue the rocks together, but, as CezzaXV mentioned, it can cause a rock slide unless you are quite lucky with the shapes and and can arrange them in a locking sort of way. Non-anchored stacks are obviously safest when there is nothing really capable of shifting the rocks in the tank. In other words, no big sand-diggers (aside from something small like Nassarius or Cerith snails), only small hermits, and no big bulldozers (urchins, sea hares, big Turbo species, etc.). A lot of reef tanks fit that description and are fine, but you do have to be careful with the 'scape still.

 

[CezzaXV]

Thanks for clarifying Donya. I'm in the process of converting to marine so have lots of knowledge but no real experience to back it up at present. One of the advantages of acrylic rods is that they work by fixing together and there isn't really anything to come off. I intend to drill small holes in my live rock (being careful not to break it) then using short lengths of acrylic rod to fix the pieces together, as well as using milliput to hold the rods in place. Even if the milliput doesn't adhere properly, the rods should still hold the whole thing in place.

In a marine tank, it's important to hold it all together as the whole thing could topple, especially in the face of high water currents. It's up to you whether you want to go to the effort in such a small tank and aquascape. I would, given that it's so cheap and easy to do and gives you peace of mind that you're not going to come home one day to find your expensive fish/CUC crushed under a fallen rock, but I wouldn't have thought it would be a big deal if not. It's more for insurance really.

 

[Donya]

One of the advantages of acrylic rods is that they work by fixing together and there isn't really anything to come off.

 
Rods are indeed the best way to do it. Not the easiest, but certainly the safest!
 
Water currents aren't really the big factor in instability though. You can blast a powerful pump right at a rock pile, and unless the rocks are really quite small they won't be phased. Strong pumps pointed at specific places on the rocks is actually a common tactic for dislodging cyano and GHA even in tanks where nothing is anchored. Instability with normal-sized rocks is all down meddling critters really. 

 

[bullit]

Zip ties would help too.

 

[plectastic]

Cheers all. Well today I got up and running after driving an hour to get some good cured live rock from a guy at half the price you would pay in a shop!
 
Some questions then!
 
I've got the V2 Skim 120 up and running. In the manual it says to open the water outlet fully and adjust it until you see micro bubbles in the collar. It's been running all day like that and there is some skim on the inside of the collection cup spout. I don't know if I have it set right. If I close the water outlet some then I can get plenty more bubbles rising up and into the collection cup. Is that how it's supposed to be or do I barely want it entering the cup? very confused here.
 
There is plenty of foamy white skum gathering already all round the surface, edges of tank, on the powerhead, heater etc. Normal die off etc from the LR and LS I presume? Do I need to sort it out or leave it for the skimmer to get around to it?
 
When should I start testing the water and how often? I'm not doing it today as it only got setup this morning and I've got my sisters wedding tomorrow + hangover to overcome first!
 
I've got the lights on, skimmer and powerhead running, heater on, and some cheato algae in there with some lead around it holding it down so far. All good?

 

[plectastic]

So this is what the tank looks like today having been setup since Tuesday.
 

 
The water has cleared up loads and the white foam has reduced a lot too probably due to the protein skimmer doing its just and being established.
 
I'm still waiting on my little clear/see through HOB filter which I'm going to stuff the cheato in so it's not in the bloomin tank looking a mess, with some phosphate remover in mesh bag.
 
Had to send 2 brand new superfish 75w heaters back now as they are faulty and the company in question were being idiots about it. There's a little 25w in there for now which is all I have spare until my new one arrives which I've already ordered.
 
Anyway, what is this?
 

 
It was on the LR as a small hard brown round thing but has opened out now? There was plenty of purple coraline(?) on the LR when I got it and it's all coming up purple again now. Is this good?
 
I'm just leaving it to run for a while for now until I get the heater changed etc.I read the salinity on the refractometer yesterday as 1.026. Having researched that seems to be an OK level? My LFS sorted it out for me pre mixed. I haven't started testing the water yet but I do have both api sea/reef master kits here.
 
There was a stowaway little 1cm crab with the LR! he's popped out a few times but I haven't seen him for a while. I've also topped up to the line I made when I initially filled the tank with fresh RO I've got in a small 10L container.
 
What should I be doing now? testing? waiting? Also, how about my powerhead? moved it a few times but like it up there as I get a nice flow around the LR which heads off after towards the skimmer.

 

[Donya]

That would be a mushroom coral! They are usually quite hardy and adaptable. 
 
 

What should I be doing now? testing? waiting?

 
Give ammonia and nitrite a test and see what those are doing. If they're zero, then have a look at nitrate to know whether you can go for some CUC yet.
 
 

Also, how about my powerhead? moved it a few times but like it up there as I get a nice flow around the LR which heads off after towards the skimmer.

 
If the flr around the rock is good, the only other thing to look at is the surface. Unless the skimmer is somehow surface skimming (can't tell from the pics) then you can get gunk buildup if there's not enough movement. However, when you stick the HOB on, that would probably be solved for you immediately so I wouldn't worry about fine-tuning the flow too much until you have all of the equipment in.
 
 
EDIT: Missed a couple things, sorry!
 

There was plenty of purple coraline(?) on the LR when I got it and it's all coming up purple again now. Is this good?

 
Not sure what you mean? Purple is the most common coralline color, but there are others. 
 

I'm just leaving it to run for a while for now until I get the heater changed etc.I read the salinity on the refractometer yesterday as 1.026. Having researched that seems to be an OK level?

 
Yep.

 

[plectastic]

Donya to the rescue once again with the answers! thankyou Donya! Appreciated massively. I've just ordered a marine aquarium book to help me out.
 
Ok cool a coral! Does it need food?
 
Sorry about the LR confusion. What I meant was there was a lot of the purple coraline all over the rocks when I picked them up which is a good sign?
 
The heater arrived earlier so that's in and working
 
As far as the skimmer goes it seems to be producing more froth and foam now. I'm not quite sure where to set the output though really. It's mostly fully open in order to not get bubbles and water rushing up the neck into the pot. I see some people say they have their outputs above the water surface or on it for agitation which I can understand, however the manual specifically says it should be 1cm below Anyway I think the HOB filter with agitate it all nicely anyway.
 
I'll test some parameters tomorrow. Thanks again. 

 

[techen]

Corals do need food and good water stats I would say.
 
There always tends to be purple coralline on new, good live rock but it can fade and will only come back when tank stats are good good.
 
How come there's no sump? Am heading over to my LFS with my tank to get drilled, It's getting sumped and it's only a 60L tank

 

[plectastic]

Because it's not in a suitable position or stand for a sump mate plus I won't get one until I upgrade to a bigger tank anyway. Good for you lol, hope that goes well mate.
 
Going to test the water now.

 

[plectastic]

Ammonia and Nitrite are 0 and Nitrate's are between 10-20ppm.
 
I'll have the HOB filter with the cheato and purigen in it on soon. Shall I wait to test after that's been established?

 

[techen]

Nitrate is too high, you might have to waterchange it too lower it.
 
If there's nothing in it, You can wait but the coral might have a hard time.

 

[plectastic]

I know but I'm gonna wait till I get the filter and nitrate reducing stuff in before I do a WC. It's not that high for a fresh setup. Arguably tolerable up to 20?