Hello All...

[Rep. Day]

Hello All, my name is David and I am new to the world of saltwater. Matter of fact, I am going to pick up my live rock this week now that the temp. and salt are stabalized. I am sure I will be asking tons of questions as I venture into this. I have messed with freshwater for years and finally got the nerve to go salt!

A little about me, I live in central Missouri. I am a farmer/rancher and also serve as the State Rep. in the Capitol for the 148th Dist. That pretty much takes up all of my time and fish are how I relax I guess.

Anyway, it is great to be here. I have read quite a bit and decided to join in.

Look forward to getting to know you and hope to learn from the advice of others.

Dave

[boozeman]

tell us a lil about your tank...and if you have some time...post a few pics

[DrHank]

Welcome Dave! Sounds like a plan. Let us know about your tank equipment and plans when you get a chance. Just remember, the slower you go, generally, the safer you'll be. Let us know how we can help.

[Rep. Day]

Right now it is pretty much nothing. I have a 55 gal that was freshwater. I have a Sea Clone 100 Skimmer (just hooked it up), Aqua-Tech filter that hangs off of the back and is supposed to take care of up to 60 gal., 200 w. heater with a extra 50 w backup heater, and a Maxi-Jet 1200 to move the water around some.

The salt has been added and tests at 1.022 and I have the temp. stabalized at 78. I am going to pick up my live rocks this week (getting 50lbs) and will add the live sand at the same time.

My goal is a community, fish only tank. It was suggested to me that might be a good starting place.

One question, I have 2 24inch floresent bulbs that came with the tank some time back, what kind of bulbs do I need to get to replace them with? I think they are just each 10w bulbs.

Thanks, great to be here!

Dave

[Dentoid]

Welcome to the Sanctuary! Happy to have you aboard! 10W x 2 doesn't even seem like enough to even see the fish. In a FO tank lighting is not that critical. However, I would upgrade to a higher wattage to at least show off the fish better. Looking forward to following your progress!

[lcstorc]

Sounds like a plan for a fo tank. If you are looking for a reef then there is lots more to think about but for FOWLR you seem to be in decent shape. Do not add any livestock until your tank has cycled completely. The best way to do this is to add a piece of shrimp from the grocery when yoiu add your LR. Then test, test, and test again. Your amonia will rise then your nitrite and finally your nitrate. Then you are ready to start doing water changes to reduce the nitrates and get ready for your first fish.
As far as the lights go if you can see the tank well enough then they are fine for a FOWLR. If you think you want to go reef at some point then there is a lot to think about on lights. It is much smarter to think about them now than to waste money buying a new fixture only to have to buy yet another if/when you want to go reef.

[goldenmean]

Howdy Hooooooooo!
Welcome to RS!

There ios a lot of great info and wisdom here.

btw my Mom lives in Rolla MO and my brother and his family live in Jeff City.

[Rep. Day]

Thank you so much. I am going for a fish only tank, at least for some time. I didn't know about the shrimp idea, will do that. I have a trip out of state for about a week planned at the first of Aug. I hope to have the tank somewhat stabalized and cycled by then but either way I won't even think about fish until after that anyway.

Everyone keeps telling me....SLOW. I am trying to listen.

Goldenmean, small world. I live in Jeff about half of the year at least during the week.

Thanks again all!

Dave

[Frankie]

Welcome! I would go with 40w bulbs just for a crisper look. If your up to it you could switch to t5's. Some actinic would make the fish colors pop better also.
Have you read any about sumps? Adding water volume and an area to keep thing like heaters, carbon bags, etc.. is much nicer then in the tank itself. Your limited on space as it is with a 55.
Good luck! Looking forward to seeing the tank come to life.

[sasquatch]

Hi Dave! Welcome to RS! right out of the box Im going to suggest to you one thing, set up a quarantine tank now! if you dont introduce a problem at the start you wont have it later, theres lots of threads here for qt set up or just ask, all the best Steve

[Craig Manoukian]

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Lot's of great advice for you to follow. You've already gotten the "Go slow and let it grow" mantra, atta boy!

[Rep. Day]

You folks are great, thanks for the help. I will read about a sump and am looking for a place in the house to set up a quarantine tank. Question about that though, does it add extra stress, the fish being handled extra and moved from one tank to another an extra time? Also, what is a good amount of time for them to be in the extra tank?

Dave

[Melanie]

Welcome Dave! I'm new too and I have to say these are the nicest, most well-informed group of people I've ever "met".

It's great you are starting here with questions before you even put the first thing in your tank.

You are going to do GREAT!

[Woodstock]

Welcome to RS

[lcstorc]

Originally Posted by Rep. Day

You folks are great, thanks for the help. I will read about a sump and am looking for a place in the house to set up a quarantine tank. Question about that though, does it add extra stress, the fish being handled extra and moved from one tank to another an extra time? Also, what is a good amount of time for them to be in the extra tank?

Dave

As far as the QT tank goes if it is properly cycled it should not overly stress the fish. All fish should spend a minimum of 6 weeks in qt and longer if you have to medicate them.
HTH