okiejaco's first saltwater tank

[vdituri]

Looking good.
I've read about the pvc rack so that water flows under your liverock and you don't have dead spots. I'm intrigued enough to try it, but I haven't had any issues with the rock going to the bottom and adding the sand 2nd in my current tank. For me it would be all about hiding the pvc rack.

I put the eggcrate grid on the bottom so the rocks didn't press directly onto the glass.

Baserock, then the livesand. A couple pieces of liverock to seed it sounds great. You will also get small pieces with corals as well.

 

[okiejaco]

I got my ro/di unit this afternoon. Of course, I had to hook it up and start making water. It looks like I can make about 5 gallons an hour. I have it set up in the house but could set it up outside using our well water. Just not sure which way would be the best. Our well water is not very good to drink. I have a tds meter coming and I will check both. I do have a lot more water pressure with the well and it only cost what the electricity cost to run the well. What do you guys think? I would take a picture buy my wife is in Florida with our camera. I have found some rock locally. Not sure if I am going to go that way or not. I am hoping to have water, sand and rock in the tank sometime next week.

 

[lcstorc]

You should be able to use any water and the RO/DI will clean it up for you.
It will effect the amount of waste water and how quickly you need to replace the filters.

 

[tbittner]

Depends on what they charge you for water. It might be cheaper then what the electric would cost to run the well pump. And like Lynn said, depending on the TDS in the well water, it might cause you to change the filters more often, which will be an expense either way, it's just that you might get a good bit more RO/DI water out of the filters with the city water before the filters need to be replaced.

 

[okiejaco]

Thanks guys. What about testing the water now? Just wondering if I should or if it was a waste of time. I have about 8 gallons in the tank right now. Our water is pretty high or at least my wife complains about it being high. I will wait until I get my tds meter before trying the well water. Our house water is running through a water softener. I don't guess that will hurt anything, will it?

 

[tbittner]

No, that won't hurt anything. If anything, it will help extend the life on the filters. Have you measured how much waste water you're generating in an hour to get that 5 gallons of clean water? That might help you decide on using the well water.

 

[okiejaco]

Sorry, Terry. I was referring to testing for ph or nitrite...etc. I don't have the tds meter yet. I should be in any day now. My lights will be here tomorrow. I am ready.

 

[tbittner]

Are you talking about testing the water that is in your tank? Or the well water? Or the city water?

It's a waste of time to test the water in your tank at this point. Wait until you have everything in it and the cycle has started. Then you'll want to test it at least once a day, preferrably twice a day so you can see the spikes.

You could test your city and well water for nitrates and that would give you a good indication as to which would use up your filters quicker.

 

[okiejaco]

I got the lights and other things in today. No tds meter. Maybe tomorrow. I stopped at Lowe's and got the egg crate and some more plumbing supplies. I have the tank almost half full. Going to put a little more in and then stop until I get some live rock. I was thinking about putting in one bag of sand. What do you guys think?

 

[Tru2nr]

cant wait to see pics but sounds like you doing good personally i hate the idea of having rock sit on glass but didn't think of the pvc bit so i put sand in first then added rock

 

[okiejaco]

I got some egg crate from Lowe's. Got the idea from jojo's thread, where he got it I don't have a clue. I made my pvc rack and I am going to zip tie the egg crate to the pvc rack that I made. It will be the middle of next week before I can take any pictures. One question and I think I know the answer but want to check to make sure. If I put my sand in the tank, does the water have to be saltwater or can I use the ro/di water? I got my light in. Does the fan have to run all the time or does it just help keep it cooler?

Terry---I think my ro/di unit is making about 3 to 1. A little better than I figured it would.

 

[vdituri]

If it's just regular dry sand, then yes you can add it to RO water. There is nothing for it to kill.

 

[tbittner]

I would get the water mixed with the salt first. The salt will settle into the sand and slowly leach your salinity higher, and higher. You'll battle your salinity for weeks.

 

[vdituri]

Good point. Ignore me and follow Terry. :idea:

 

[tbittner]

Don't follow me! You'll most likely end up WET!

 

[vdituri]

yeah, but it will be a good kind of wet.
In a 450g swimming pool! It's summer time. Time for the pool.

 

[okiejaco]

Thanks guys. The sand I have is agra-alive sand that I got a lfs. What about the light. It is a Current Usa Nova Extreme. Should I run the fan all the time that the lights are on?

 

[Tru2nr]

i would see what kind of light issues u have if any as far as how often to run the fan

 

[okiejaco]

I have been busy today. I got the water in the tank mixed with salt. I checked it with my refractometer and got it to 1.025. I have also made about 20 gallons of water in a brute trash can. When I get it almost full, I am going to get it mixed with salt. I may order some rocks today. Looking at some Walt Smith Fiji rock. Is this pretty decent rock. I am thinking about getting some of the better rock. It comes in at around $4.25 if I order 30 lbs. I am afraid that if I get too much with this tank being a taller tank, it will be too much rock and not look right. I can always add more later on. What do you guys think? I put 40 lbs of sand in and it is clearing up some. I may want to get some more sand. I looks like it is only going to be about 2" deep right now. Maybe another 20 lbs?

 

[okiejaco]

I got the rock ordered and it should be here Wednesday. I will probably put the rock in and then maybe this weekend get some more sand. One more question. I have almost 30 gallons of saltwater mixed up and I have a powerhead in to move it around. Is there anything else I need to do to it? In the future, I will put a heater in but right now I don't have any fish. I will post some pictures as soon as I get the rock in.