New To Marine, Help Would Be Great!

[adasca]

Hey everyone,

Just need basic help on Marine set up.

I currently have got a Aqua one 620T which has got tropical fish in....

I just recently baught a Orca Tl450 for Marine fish/Marine aquarium, I have got as far as buying Coral sand ( Not live ) Local aquarist said live sand is a waste of time...Also baught seachem Marine salt, a hydrometer, a digtial heater. Already got the skimmer comes standard with tank, and filter equpiment too.
Iv got as far as filling up my tank with the salt water, with the coral sand in too. I only done this about 1 day ago, i now have to wait....a week - week n a half .....too add live rock?

Live rock, what exactly is it and what does it do?? does the live rock have things grow of it like the weird looking flowers and mushroom type things naturally? Or am i thinking of something else???

I also have a hydor external filter currently not being used? Should i use this? Or would the standard Orca filteration be ok??

Anything else you can think to chuck at me, do so, need all info i can get!!

Would be good if you could reply to me via email [email protected] or just reply to this post. More likey to remember to look at emails though

Thanks everyone...

Adam

 

[aly_starh]

I'm no marine expert, so can only help on a few things,

Live rock is used as a filter, so no internal/external filter is needed if its Live. It will also have lots of life in it, like worms, starfish etc (some are good, some are bad)
All the reefkeepers on here will be able to help you on that!, no doubt about it

And the things that 'grow' on the live rock are diatoms which are algea, i think im right in saying they are good for the tank, is shows water quality etc is good.

quite alot of people here have that tank on this forum, SeffieUK, YoungFisher, Trod, Gallacher, etc)

I'm sure they will help you soon!

Anyways, hope that helps!

~betta_246

 

[Buddyboy67]

Live rock will become the heart and lungs of your system mate...It is used to filter and stabilise a marine tank...
You can buy it from any good lfs, online marine supplier or even second hand on here occasionally or on flea bay.
It is saturated with marine bacteria that will break down any nutrients and waste products in your tank and is effectively your biological filter..This supplied with a good water flow is all you need..

You can use your external for chemical filtration though...place a base layer of live rock in it and place a good phosphate absorber in there and optionally activated marine grade carbon...the phosphate absorber in essential to combat pest algae in your tank !!!

Aim to get a flow of at least 20x the volume per hour..eg if you have 50lts you want a turnover of 1000lts/hour..raise this flow rate by using powerheads in the tank

Set the tank up with salt water at an sg of 1.026, add your live rock and leave it to cycle...
Once ammonia, nitrite and nitrates have peeked and nitrates are down to about 10/15 ppm change at least 25% of your water and you're ready to add your cuc..ie, snails hermits,shrimp,etc....

Once they've settled the fun of fish and corals can begin

 

[seffieuk]

Ada,

Betta is right that several of us have the larger orca or had the larger orca should I say - you will find that this is a very addictive hobby, many of us upgrade within a year

Betta, is slightly off with one thing - diatoms are a natural part of a tank cycling, once the tank has cycled and you have your clean up crew in, then they get eaten up Diatoms will appear on the sand and rock.

As Bud says live rock really is your heart and lungs (love that idea Bud) for the tank.

So lets take stock of where you currently are:

Tank: orca 450 with stock heater, skimmer, lights
Hydrometer, seriously think about a refractometer
RO water?
Sand
Powerhead inside the display tank for flow?

Once your water is up to temp and SG leave for 24 hours and then the live rock can go in - you will need to move the sand aside, as the lr needs to be sitting on the glass at the bottom

do you have your test kits?

Seffie x

 

[adasca]

Ada,

Betta is right that several of us have the larger orca or had the larger orca should I say - you will find that this is a very addictive hobby, many of us upgrade within a year

Betta, is slightly off with one thing - diatoms are a natural part of a tank cycling, once the tank has cycled and you have your clean up crew in, then they get eaten up Diatoms will appear on the sand and rock.

As Bud says live rock really is your heart and lungs (love that idea Bud) for the tank.

So lets take stock of where you currently are:

Tank: orca 450 with stock heater, skimmer, lights
Hydrometer, seriously think about a refractometer
RO water?
Sand
Powerhead inside the display tank for flow?

Once your water is up to temp and SG leave for 24 hours and then the live rock can go in - you will need to move the sand aside, as the lr needs to be sitting on the glass at the bottom

do you have your test kits?

Seffie x

Hello Seffie,

Great help, and thanks to you too Bud,
One thing though seffie,
Ive got my tank set up yesterday, put the sand in and salt.....its all now cirulating....iv added an extra internal pump just to push the water around more..
Have i done anything wrong so far >>> ??? >>>

Whats an "Sg" ? and "Lr" ?? And no i dont have test kits yet, as they are like £40 plus are they not?

Also, whats a refractometer? And What do you do with Ro water??? How much does this roughly cost??

Need the info, haha.

Thanks, please anybody reply to this, been excellent so far

Adam

Thanks guys!

 

[seffieuk]

Hello Seffie,

Great help, and thanks to you too Bud,

you are welcome

One thing though seffie,
Ive got my tank set up yesterday, put the sand in and salt.....its all now cirulating....iv added an extra internal pump just to push the water around more..
Have i done anything wrong so far >>> ??? >>>

Nope, spot on what pump are you using and how much flow does it have?

Whats an "Sg" ? and "Lr" ?? And no i dont have test kits yet, as they are like £40 plus are they not?

SG = Specific Gravity, how much salt you have in your tank - if you are having corals should be around the 1.026 mark. LR = live rock. Test kits are vital, some times you can pick some up second hand if money is tight or take samples of your water to the local fish shop (lfs) to test for you when needed

Also, whats a refractometer?
Measures SG better/more accuratly than the cheap hydrometers

And What do you do with Ro water???

Water that has been through a reverse osmosis filter and has had all the heavy metals, contaminates etc removed. If you are planning on corals would be best to start out with this. You can buy it from your lfs or make your own if you have an RO unit

How much does this roughly cost??

Refractometer about £35
RO water from lfs approx, oh, someone else will have to help me out here, it's a long time since I bought any! Some lfs will also sell it salted
Basic RO unit + £85 ish

Need the info, haha.

Thanks, please anybody reply to this, been excellent so far

Adam

Thanks guys!

Seffie x

 

[adasca]

Some of this stuff can be quite expencive sadly, oh well. Life of marine i guess.

Take a look at some of these pics that iv done so far!!

 

[Buddyboy67]

See yer other thread mate

 

[adasca]

Whaaa?? lol, see my other thread, i know iv got two yes, does that mean go see your other thread as your commenting on my other one? Or....does it mean, you`ve seen these pics on my other thread lol? Making me all confuzzzllleddd .... ​

Adam