gigmeyer
Fish Fanatic
Hi, I'm a newcomer to the Reef crowd and wanted to say how much I've enjoyed reading this thread. After circling the issue for a year and reading 2 Amazon books on the topic, I've ordered the 24g Nano 150HQI (Sunpod) as a starter reef. I was considering converting an undrilled tank to salt that has the same basic footprint (20 x 18), but decided on the Nano as the cost of this package with lighting was less than the only filter/overflow I could find for my existing tank and stand combo.
In addition to the tank, I've ordered:
1 RO Unit (Ebay)
2 Maxi-Jet 1200 PowerHeads (plan to use one in the tank)
1 Protein Skimmer (will need later I think).
2 Additional books from Amazon (1 on Corals,1 on Fish).
I hope to move S-L-O-W-L-Y and would appreciate advice on:
Substrate - I was originally looking at the CaribSea Seaflor Super Reef Sand as I liked the look and it is supposed to be good if I add a Jawfish sometime in the future. I've read that any coarseness in the sand is not good though as it gives water polluting detritus a place to hide and was considering Aragamax instead (boring!). I think about 20# sounds about right, true?
Live Rock - My plan was to purchase ~25# at a local well regarded store as I was afraid ordering over the internet would force a messy curing process due to die off caused by shipping. I hope to cycle for 4-5 weeks and then start with some cleaners (hermits and snails).
Salt mix, Test-Kits, and additives - There are so many things to test for. I'm hoping regular water changes with RO based water and a reasonable salt mix will keep necessary trace elements at a reasonable level. Recommendations?
Any and all feedback is gratefully appreciated!
In addition to the tank, I've ordered:
1 RO Unit (Ebay)
2 Maxi-Jet 1200 PowerHeads (plan to use one in the tank)
1 Protein Skimmer (will need later I think).
2 Additional books from Amazon (1 on Corals,1 on Fish).
I hope to move S-L-O-W-L-Y and would appreciate advice on:
Substrate - I was originally looking at the CaribSea Seaflor Super Reef Sand as I liked the look and it is supposed to be good if I add a Jawfish sometime in the future. I've read that any coarseness in the sand is not good though as it gives water polluting detritus a place to hide and was considering Aragamax instead (boring!). I think about 20# sounds about right, true?
Live Rock - My plan was to purchase ~25# at a local well regarded store as I was afraid ordering over the internet would force a messy curing process due to die off caused by shipping. I hope to cycle for 4-5 weeks and then start with some cleaners (hermits and snails).
Salt mix, Test-Kits, and additives - There are so many things to test for. I'm hoping regular water changes with RO based water and a reasonable salt mix will keep necessary trace elements at a reasonable level. Recommendations?
Any and all feedback is gratefully appreciated!
, looks like your moving in the right direction. Great idea on doing research before jumping in. As far as substrate, I'm using a combination of puka shell and Natures Ocean@ Live bio-active aragite sand. This combo looks good and hasnt been a negative. Live rock, I would probably go with uncured, since you are in the process of starting your tank. Die off on live rock will actually be beneficial for the tank, assuming you do periodic water changes during the begining process.The die off from your live rock will actually start the life cycle needed to have a healthy tank. Test kit, I went through many test kits and found that you should go ahead and spend the money on a kit that will last awhile and be able to many water parameters...........good luck, dont forget to read up on Stealhlrs thread. its very informative.
