first saltwater aquarium

[gumbyri]

I was given a 26 gal kit from my wife for father's day and had somewhat decided to take a stab at starting a saltwater aquarium. I realize it's not the ideal setup for saltwater, however returning it for a bigger tank is not an option (married folk out there will understand.) I also considered freshwater, but I've had guppies and neons for years and am ready to try something new.

I've greatly enjoyed reading the logs submitted from Spandair and Leanne among others, and thought I might do the same. All comments are welcome.

6/18/04
Initial purchase from Petco in Appleton, WI (by my wife)
26 gallon bowed "All-Glass" Aquarium, 24L x 18W x 20H (inches)
Tetratec PF150 filter with heater
Hood with 15W fluorescent light
stand
$315.00 (includes tax)
still borderline at this point whether to go salt or freshwater

6/21/04
Petco, Oshkosh, WI
I stopped by this store to get an idea of the costs of skimmers, live rock, and other startup necessities and also to take a look around. The kid that helped me said my aquarium could work for saltwater, and directed me to a nearby fish store for live rock.

6/21/04
The Fish Bowl, Oshkosh, WI
The nice owner here, and older woman, also said I should not have a problem starting a 26 gallon salt water tank. So I've made the jump.

14 lbs Marine Mix sea salt $23
20 lbs crushed shells $22
pH tester $6
AmQuel nitrate, ammonia remover $6
Instant ocean hydrometer $15
$75 (counting tax) no bargains here
I passed for now on her recommendation of a 50/50 bulb (I'm not sure what that is) for $33.

I've followed the instructions given, however was a little surprised by a few things. When I got home I noticed the labels on the crushed shell bag said this was a 4 lb bag of "Shaws Premium Brocolli Spears". I realize I'm a newbie, but I'm pretty sure these are shells. Furthermore, I was told to only put down 1/4" of the shells as my bottom substrate since I don't have an underground filter. So I've put down the shells, filled the tank with water, and added the sea salt to reach a specific gravity of 1.020.

I've just installed the Tetratec filter and heater. This is one noisy bugger. The water is quite cloudy as I'm guessing the shells must have been covered in some type of brocolli dust.

More to follow. I'm happy because I haven't killed anything yet, and I'm hoping to add some live rock by the weekend. I'll add a riveting photograph once I figure out how to create attachments. Once again, I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Max]

did you wash the shells?

 

[gumbyri]

I rinsed the shells in a colander, but obviously not well enough. Most of the pieces were smaller than a penny. I've been running the filter for a few hours and the water is now pretty clear.

 

[Max]

I rinsed the shells in a colander, but obviously not well enough. Most of the pieces were smaller than a penny. I've been running the filter for a few hours and the water is now pretty clear.

ok... good... what kind of filter again? i have a penn-plax cascade 100, 100 gal. per hour on a 10G works great...

 

[Navarre]

Good luck with the setup, just be patient and take things slowly and the rewards will be paid back to you many times over in the months ahead.

 

[gumbyri]

the filter is a Tetratec PF150

it is a mechanical fileter that hangs on the back of the aquarium and makes quite a racket.

I tried to look for feedback on this filter in the website but didn't find any, it's probably at the bottom end of the spectrum for most members here

 

[hyrookin]

hey gumbyri, just by getting on this site will help you out a lot. if you are
unhappy with your filter then you should decide on a new one
before you start cycling your tank. I would recommend an
aqua clear filter. they go for short money(59-69 $ for the largest model)
are very quiet, reliable and easy to dismantle when doing maintenance.
if you do get one, get the 500 model.it may be rated higher than your tank,
but youll want the extra turnover rate.I have 2 500's on my 55 gal., and
have been trouble free for over 4 years. as far as the 50/50 bulb, that is
a half sunlight, half actinic(actinic is a blue spectrum light). are you going
to be fish only? if so the lights the hood came with will be fine, but a 50/50
would enhance the fishes colors greatly.
hope this helps.

 

[Max]

why is the blue acinic in the 50/50 good, never understood that. i just knew it had to do wih photosenthesis (sp)

 

[gumbyri]

what is a reasonable price for a 50/50 18" bulb?
it was $33 at the LFS, which seemed kind of steep?


OK
I've stared at my empty tank of saltwater for 24 hours. The specific gravity is 1.20, the pH is 8.4. What do I do next? anyone?

 

[impur]

Test the water. Is this going to be a FOWLR(fish only with live rock) or a reef tank? Also, you should try to bring your SG up to 1.023-1.025. The actinic bulb will be necessary for corals. If you plan on a reef, go pickup some nice live rock at your LFS, not petco. Or order it off the net. The best is tampa bay saltwater, http/www.tampabaysaltwater.com/ The LR is gonna be spendy. You will need 30-35 lbs of rock for that tank. Also, if you plan for a reef, you might consider changing the substrate to something finer, such as argonite sand.

So let us know what you have planned to go in this tank and we can more accurately help you along your way.

BTW, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that filter you have sucks. I suggest the aquaclear 500 for your tank and a couple powerheads. Cheapest place to get aquaclear filters = http/www.bigalsonline.com

 

[Navarre]

Actinic gives off a blue light. Blue light is the last light to be filtered out in the ocean so its also the colour that penetrates deepest into a tank. This will give deeper corals a light that they can utilise for energy.
Actinics also show up the colours of fish and corals very nicely. Alot of corals will floress (glow) under actinic lights. These light are usuelly in the 22k or higher spectrum, whereas natural sunlight is in the low 5500k If you look at a tank which is lit with Metal halides powered by 5500k bulbs then it looks aweful (like cats wee) but the corals love it and will thrive! as we move up the spectrum we move further away from the light that can be utilised but its far more pleasing to the eye. 20K lights for example really show the coral and fishes colours off (enhances them a great deal) but the actual spectrum of this light that can be utilised by the algea within the corals is very limited. Most people use Actinics as a support light, its enhances colour, penetrates deeper but its the main lights (usually 10K -14K ) that do most of the work for coral growth.

Hope this helps explain a few things.

Navarre

 

[gumbyri]

Navarre and impur:

thanks for the advice, and don't hold back on the bad news...I'm sure it won't be the last time

While I'm not planning anything overly ambitious, I would like a reef aquarium. 2 or 3 fish, some corals and a few shrimp.

should I add live sand to the bottom of the aquarium? can I dump this on top of the crushed coral? The LFS said I didn't need an undergravel filter as long as my substrate depth was only 1/4" so I'm a little lost here

I'm guessing I need some way to measure the ammonia in the water. Any suggestions?

thanks to all

 

[Navarre]

Live sand is great for giving the tank a kick start with bacteria populations. Dont let the sand get any deeper than 2" though as you will get pockets of toxins if the sand goes deeper. You can place live sand on top of normal sand and this will eventually help seed the dead sand thats already in the tank.
If you are heading for FOWLR then try not to put the live rock directly on the sand as this will creat deadspots also. If possible i would sugget you place the live rock on a bare tank or even use some supports like eggcrate. then put the sand in front to hide this. this will give beter circulation to the live rock and improve its capacity for filtration

 

[hyrookin]

hey gumbyri did you end up getting the aquaclear 500? to answer your
question about testing the ammonia, you need to get a test kit.
you should get one that also has nitrate and nitrite testers, because you
will need to test these as well.

 

[gumbyri]

hello hyrookin

can you recommend a test kit for ammonia and nitrate/nitrite?

I'll try to exchange my tetratec for the aquaclear , but I doubt petco will let me

thanks