Reassuring Myself

[lou 123]

hi everyone, i have been into freshwater for a long time and thought it was time to try for saltwater. i did take a trip to my local fish store today to ask a few questions about set up and equipment, but i know a lot of times the lfs doesnt know much. this guy was the owner so i have a little more confidence in him instead of the 16 year old kid.

i am going to say what he told me today, and if you could let me know if it is all hunky-dorey. thanks, and i appreciate your time.

well two days ago i bought a 55 gallon tank thinking i was going to get 3 piranha. then as i was making sure i wanted piranha i started thinking about saltwater. i am definetly gonig to go slow because the stuff is expensive. i am looking to do corals so that means i will need speific lighting. so i was told to set up the tank with a biological wet/dry filter, lighting wont matter yet because i wont be putting my corals up until the tank is cycled and all my live rock is in. i do not want to use crushed coral i would rather use sand. i am looking for 1.5-2 pounds or rock per gallon. after my tank is set up and cycled (i was told i could cycle with damsels) that is when i attach my protein skimmer. i was told i am supposed to have rock added while the tank is cycling but i dont have to have it all in before the tank is cycled. then after i have my rock in, and my tank is cycled, get the proper lighting for the corals, after that i start adding corals, and fish. i understand corals require more live rock. water chemistry should be as follows: PH is at 8.2, salinity at 1.023, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, at 0PPM calcium 450PPM and phosphate as low as possible. temperatures at 72-75 degrees, they say warm tanks grow undesirable algae faster.

does this sound about right? any other info you might be able to add? thanks!


oh, one more question. if you arnt supposed to use tap water in the tank, what water do you use, you let it "age"? thanks.

 

[mike45]

I don't know all that much about saltwater tanks, but goodluck my friend!

 

[SkiFletch]

Some decent advice from the LFS owner, although its very out-dated so I'll offer a few minor adjustments with modern developments considering your ultimate goal is a reef tank with corals.

Wet/Dry filters are certainly effective, but they're VERY difficult to get to run just right. Most people nowadays employ sumps. These help increase water volume to make the tank more stable, provide an excellent place to waterchange, a good place to dose if needed, a place for refugiums for natural macroalgae growth to remove phosphate/nitrate, and they're a great place to hide unsightly equipment like skimmers and heaters. There is a catch (or two) with sumps though. They're really expensive to buy or have setup for you. If you have some decent DIY skills (can operate a drill and do basic plumbing) all of a sudden sumps become significantly more affordable.

Lighting won't really make a difference until you get corals ready, although it is a good idea to have some light (even if it's just a basic flourescent or two) when you have rock in the tank. Plain coral sand (aka aragonite sand) is definitely the way to go, agree there.

As for rock, in a 55g you'll struggle to get much more than 1.5lbs per gallon in there because the tank is so tall compared to its meager width of 14" try to go 1-1.5lbs. For that matter rock stacking will be a bit difficult with the thin width so do your best to select larger thinner pieces that you can construct your base out of. Further, because of the need for stacking the rock thin and tall you'll want to make sure you stack it on the bottom pane of glass first and then pour the sand around second. Will create a stronger base. Finally, when stacking rock, consider employing epoxy putty, or consider drilling rocks and using bits of carbon fiber or pvc rod to hold it together by skewering it.

Do not cycle with damsels. There is absoloutely no need, the rock and its dieoff will cycle the tank for you. You don't want to put the damsel through the stress, and you don't want the stress of trying to get the damsel out of the tank when it turns into a territorial bastage and starts harrassing all the rest of your fish...

Corals are all different in terms of their lighting requirements so it will make some sense when choosing your lighting to also get a handle on what kinds of corals you want. As a general rule of thumb (and there are always exceptions), soft corals require the "least" (but still a lot) of light, LPS (large polyped stony) require mid level lighting, and SPS (small polyped stony) require very high light. Also, in addition to lighting, these corals will require significant water motion usually achieved through powerheads. You'll want a minimum of 20 times the tank volume in flowrate per hour. So for your tank, no less than 1100GPH, but I'd personally suggest going for 2000+. Look into hydor koralia or tunze stream pumps to achieve this.

As for chemistry, those values are for the most part good. I'd go more towards 1.025-1.026 for specific gravity with corals. And if you keep hard corals of any type, carbonate hardness (aka kH aka alkalinity) needs to be measured along with magnesium. But chemistry is a discussion for a later date

For water, you'll want to use RO (reverse osmosis) water. With a tank as big as a 55g, you'll want to purchase your own unit (new or used) probably 75GPD or 100GPD capacity. You CAN buy it from most LFS' but it becomes cumbersome and costly over time to do this. RO water has as close to zero elements/ions in it other than water as possible. Usually any ions or other contaminants can be measured in the area of 0-5ppm (parts per million) with RO water. Whereas tapwater will have anywhere from 100-400ppm of contaminants. This often includes chlorine/chloramine, silicates, nitrates, phosphates, and possibly copper all of which are bad for a reef tank with lots of light. Because no municipality in the world has water that meets the demanding and exacting standards of corals we kind of have to use RO. Hope that makes sense.

Lastly I'd like to ask are you in the US or UK? will help us out a lot giving advice in the future. Consider updating your location under the "My Controls" link near the top right of the forum

 

[lou 123]

you were very helpful and detailed, i appreciate your time. the pvc rod with the rock was a good idea, i didnt even think of that. he also mentioned power heads, i just forgot to put that in there. this RO, how big is the unit? what does it look like? if i couldnt afford a sump, could i still use the wet/dry filter? the lights set up he had me looking at had four strip bulbs in it. he said it had like 250 watts. i made this account like a year ago, so i will update my account in a day or so. im US. thanks for the help.

 

[lou 123]

Another question for you guys, do you think it would be much more beneficial to have a 75 over a 55 gallon tank for width purposes? because my 55 gallon is brand new, and still had the stickers on it, i may be able to return it to the guy and just get a 75 and pay the difference between the two tanks. hes the owner and seems to like me. let me know what you think. thanks again.

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd totally go with the 75g. That along with the 40 breeder are my favorite sized starter tanks and you'll really appreciate having the extra width.

An RO unit is not very large, typically they're about the size of a pillow. They're designed actually to fit under a sink. Usually they're kept under a sink, or in a basement by the wash basin if you have one. Water is made there and then you do with it as you please.

Lighting is one of the slightly more complicated areas of the aquarium setup. There are 4 basic types we aquarists use:

PC (power compact) lighting is the weakest and cheapest. You get what you pay for here. Poor reflectors and poor engineering make them affordable but they put out very little light.

Metal Halide (MH) lighting is the old gold standard for sure. Brand new they're a little expensive, but they can be found used everywhere thanks to the wonder that is craigslist. MH put out a LOT of light and the newer electronic ballasts make them pretty electrically efficient. Bulb life is long which makes them a good option if you're planning on keeping them a while. You'd probably be looking for 2x175watt halides. Biggest con is heat, they make a lot of it. Also halides give that natural sun shimmer many people like.

T5 flourescent lights are still relatively new to the aquarium scene. With enough tubes spanning the length of the tank they can easily outperform halides (think 6-8). They're a little bit more efficient electrically than halides and as such put out significantly less heat. Drawbacks are short bulb life needing replacement every 12 months. Also they MUST have individual reflectors for each tube. Without individual reflectors, they're just really really expensive PC's. Their other bonus is the ability to more easily choose what level of lighting you want by choosing the number of tubes you use.

High-Power LEDs are certainly the future of aquarium lighting. The list of Pro's is long; LOTS of light output, provides shimmer effect, fantastic color, exceptionally electrically efficient, makes very little waste heat, and bulb life for close to a decade. The con however is a big one, price. Start thinking thousands here, not hundreds... Sadly the technology isn't quite mainstream enough to bring the price down... yet . If you posses a LOT of DIY skills in fabrication and electrical design, you can make your own LED fixture for a reasonable cost, but few people have those skills and the time.

If you can't afford a sump, you could certainly use a wet/dry filter. I don't know if it would be really worth it in the end... I'd almost rather see you spend your hard earned on a real good quality skimmer and an HOB refugium instead.

 

[bae1994]

75 gal bigger usually means th conditions are more stable

 

[lou 123]

i am allowed to return my 55 gallon and use the credit on a 75g. hes got a nice stand in stock and hes getting a tank tomorrow so im going to buy it tomorrow. im glad to hear the size of the RO unit isnt tremendous cause i wouldnt know where to put it. is there anyway you can explaine how a sump works, and how big it is. does it go in the stand under the tank? does ity hook up to other pipes in the wall? as far as lighting i cant spend thousands on lighting, its just to much lol. so power compacts are no good? what would it cost to get a decent light? thanks for the help.

 

[ben1987]

http/www.planimal.co.uk/the_sump.htm
http/www.####.co.uk/marine1.htm

 

[lou 123]

if i couldnt make that myself what do you think a sump will cost?

 

[SkiFletch]

It'd cost you a bundle for the setup for sure. Just throwing out a complete guess, but I'd say something like $300 at least. Employing a sump really isn't all that hard, just about anybody can do it with very limited tools and experience. If you ask me, the most difficult part is building the internal overflow box, everything else is a piece of cake.

Another good site on sumps would be melevsreef.com, some great diagrams and tutorials there.

If you do decide you're up to the challenge, I'm sure a few of us on here (myself included) would be happy to offer all the planning help we can Also consider looking up a local reef club as local reefkeepers might be able to offer assistance as well if you ask nicely. Whereabouts in the US do you live?

Great news on the trade in

 

[lou 123]

I am located in Pennsylvania. well $300 isnt that bad, the wet/dry biological filter i was looking at was $250. creating the over flow box, how hard is the labor? and thanks for the help!

 

[Crazy fishes]

Depends are you drilling the tank or a retrofit overflow? I have just built a retrofit and it wasn't that difficult you can get plans off the internet. I will say it is time consuming though. Drilling with a weir is dead simple the tricky bit is drilling the glass without it shattering the glass. If you go that way and manage to drill successfully then you have a better system. Less chance of floods as it is passive water movement.

Hope this helps

Regards

 

[lou 123]

im not gonna get involved with drilling the glass im afraid ill shatter it lol.

 

[rabbut]

Might be an idea to get a local reefer to drill it for you? It would be a fairly regular request