Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 12:33 PM

Hey everyone. I just got a 75g tank and am wanting to set it up saltwater. I have heard a lot of different things about getting started and read online a lot of different stuff, one site seems to contradict another. I am hoping that joining here may help me out.

BEELZEBOB · 09-12-2008, 12:39 PM

Welcome!

BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING ask ask ask ask!!!!

we're all here to help you and the critters you choose to keep!!!

seriously, we will hold your hand start to finish!

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 12:40 PM

I have heard that once you ut up the tank, put the water in it and whatever else is needed to get the water right (chemicals, salt...etc) that you have to wait 6 months before you can put fish in...or that it takes the water that long to sit before it is ready for fish? Is that true?

BEELZEBOB · 09-12-2008, 12:45 PM

that depends on how long it takes the tank to cycle.

and that is relative to tank size, LR die off, etc.

i waited 2 months for my 18gallon

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 12:45 PM

I have heard that once you ut up the tank, put the water in it and whatever else is needed to get the water right (chemicals, salt...etc) that you have to wait 6 months before you can put fish in...or that it takes the water that long to sit before it is ready for fish? Is that true?

BEELZEBOB · 09-12-2008, 12:46 PM

whoa, yer leapfroggin me girl!!!

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 12:49 PM

Wow, I have a feeling this is going to take a while. Can you put the live rocks and coral in before the fish, while the tank is still on its first cycle?

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 12:51 PM

Sorry, i am not really too sure how to use these posts, the first time it kept saying there was a error and so i tried to re-post it. Didn't mean to "leapfrog" ya

BEELZEBOB · 09-12-2008, 12:57 PM

soo you add LR and sand first.

let your tank cycle, then add fish and inverts SLOWLY

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 01:03 PM

Thx

BigAl07 · 09-12-2008, 01:05 PM

Hello

and welcome!

Kudos to you for asking for help. I could have saved a LOT of $$ by doing that early on.

Some advice....

A) go to LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ and read all about the "Nitrogen Cycle" and how it affects a Salt Water tank. It's going to be with you every step of the way so the more you understand it now the less you'll be FIGHTING it later on. It either works FOR you or AGAINST you (and it will win).

B) Think long and hard about what you want your tank to be like in 6month to a year. Then research and work your way towards that goal. By doing this you waste less money on lights, filters and junk you can't use later on. Save yourself some money and heart ache and think long-term.

C) Go slow and research every aspect of your purhcases. Our sponsors do a GREAT job of supporting us and many provide additional discounts and support to RS members.

D) Be very careful about advice you get from your Local Fish Store (LFS). They are in the business to SELL SELL SELL and this may mean they don't have you or your tank's best interest at heart. Research is your new best friend.

E) Go slow and be deliberate about your purchases. "Impulse" buying can hurt more than just your wallet. Buy everything after researching it and for a reason not "just because it looked so cute in the tank at the store". I'm as guilty as they come of this.. or I WAS

F) Sit back and enjoy the whole process. It's all about learning and growing WITH the tank not just the looking at the tank once a day and going WOW! The whole process can be FUN!!

Good luck and WELCOME to the REEF! You can log out but you can never really LEAVE

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 01:28 PM

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 01:37 PM

ok, so i fill the tank with water, then add whatever chemicals and salt needs added...i havent done that research yet...and then i can add the live sand and live rocks at the same time? or do i have to wait a while for the chemicals to level out before I add the live sand/rocks? (stupid questions i know, but this is a diffucult thing to get started when you research 4 different sites and get 3 or 4 different answers about the same thing) Do you have to wait for your chemicals/water to level out before you add these to the tank, or do you just have to wait to add the fish? Also, once my tank has cycled and i have it all up and going, do i have to cycle any new rocks in a seperate tank before adding them to my big tank?

I have also read that you should use a mixture of 50/50 live sand and dead sand to start with since the live sand c0onverts the dead sand to live sand over time, and that if you use straight live sand it can become too think/condensed and trap bacterias. Is this correct? Would you use the 50/50 mixture or just use all live sand?

BigAl07 · 09-12-2008, 01:48 PM

You add water (preferrably RO/DI filtered water) and mix in the chemicals (all you need is a quality salt mix). This ONE time you can mix IN the tank but from this point on you want to mix in another container and NEVER EVER add any chemicals or anything into the tank straight.

You'll want to add live rock and sand in the process here too.

Here is how I would do it...

A) Get a container other than tank and mix your water and salt mix and get those parameters correct.

B) add sand & rock to the tank and when the water is right then add to tank carefully as to create as little of a sand storm as possible.

This will be the Beginning and you'll want to test to "See" the cycle happening.

Once it's cycled you can add a small clean up crew (CUC) and start to slowly add a fish. Go slow and take your time.

DawnMarie81 · 09-12-2008, 01:56 PM

Thanks a lot, this site sure makes it a lot easier to get things started. It is much easier to trust someone who already has a tank set up and running compared to just some sites that could tell you anything they want to. I am hoping to get my tank set up as much as i can this weekend and get things started

09-12-2008, 12:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums Hey everyone. I just got a 75g tank and am wanting to set it up saltwater. I have heard a lot of different things about getting started and read online a lot of different stuff, one site seems to contradict another. I am hoping that joining here may help me out.

09-12-2008, 12:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
BEELZEBOB -CHAUVINIST PIG- Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 4,851 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums Welcome! BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING ask ask ask ask!!!! we're all here to help you and the critters you choose to keep!!! seriously, we will hold your hand start to finish! __________________ 18Gal Mantis Tank 28lbs LR 22lbs Black Sand D&D Typhoone Skimmer96W CL PC (10K + AC) 2 Rio 90 P.H., 1 Nano Korilla Bane the Mantis Shrimp (G.Smithii) LIFE LESSON 8/8/08: Dont Poke Squirrells... LIFE LESSON 8/12/08: Chicks dont dig comic books... LIFE LESSON 8/26/2008: Pain is relative... LIFE LESSON 9/13/2008: Sometimes you just gotta pee in the sink... LIFE LESSON 10/1/2008: Her eyes say more than her mouth... LIFE LESSON 10/1 B: In retrospect, the shooting range was a bad first date idea... LIFE LESSON 10/19/2008: Bleach doesn't work well with out DETERGENT... But with it, WOW! LIFE LESSON 10/25/2008: "You're Such a Man," isnt necessarily a compliment... LIFE LESSON 10/28/2008: RC Helicopters are not Bob Proof... LIFE LESSON 10/29/2008: Dont ** where you eat, UNLESS, you are the company pooper scooper... BARB FREGGIN RULES**

09-12-2008, 12:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ I have heard that once you ut up the tank, put the water in it and whatever else is needed to get the water right (chemicals, salt...etc) that you have to wait 6 months before you can put fish in...or that it takes the water that long to sit before it is ready for fish? Is that true?

09-12-2008, 12:45 PM	#4 (permalink)
BEELZEBOB -CHAUVINIST PIG- Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 4,851 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ that depends on how long it takes the tank to cycle. and that is relative to tank size, LR die off, etc. i waited 2 months for my 18gallon __________________ 18Gal Mantis Tank 28lbs LR 22lbs Black Sand D&D Typhoone Skimmer96W CL PC (10K + AC) 2 Rio 90 P.H., 1 Nano Korilla Bane the Mantis Shrimp (G.Smithii) LIFE LESSON 8/8/08: Dont Poke Squirrells... LIFE LESSON 8/12/08: Chicks dont dig comic books... LIFE LESSON 8/26/2008: Pain is relative... LIFE LESSON 9/13/2008: Sometimes you just gotta pee in the sink... LIFE LESSON 10/1/2008: Her eyes say more than her mouth... LIFE LESSON 10/1 B: In retrospect, the shooting range was a bad first date idea... LIFE LESSON 10/19/2008: Bleach doesn't work well with out DETERGENT... But with it, WOW! LIFE LESSON 10/25/2008: "You're Such a Man," isnt necessarily a compliment... LIFE LESSON 10/28/2008: RC Helicopters are not Bob Proof... LIFE LESSON 10/29/2008: Dont ** where you eat, UNLESS, you are the company pooper scooper... BARB FREGGIN RULES**

09-12-2008, 12:45 PM	#5 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ I have heard that once you ut up the tank, put the water in it and whatever else is needed to get the water right (chemicals, salt...etc) that you have to wait 6 months before you can put fish in...or that it takes the water that long to sit before it is ready for fish? Is that true?

09-12-2008, 12:46 PM	#6 (permalink)
BEELZEBOB -CHAUVINIST PIG- Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 4,851 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ whoa, yer leapfroggin me girl!!! __________________ 18Gal Mantis Tank 28lbs LR 22lbs Black Sand D&D Typhoone Skimmer96W CL PC (10K + AC) 2 Rio 90 P.H., 1 Nano Korilla Bane the Mantis Shrimp (G.Smithii) LIFE LESSON 8/8/08: Dont Poke Squirrells... LIFE LESSON 8/12/08: Chicks dont dig comic books... LIFE LESSON 8/26/2008: Pain is relative... LIFE LESSON 9/13/2008: Sometimes you just gotta pee in the sink... LIFE LESSON 10/1/2008: Her eyes say more than her mouth... LIFE LESSON 10/1 B: In retrospect, the shooting range was a bad first date idea... LIFE LESSON 10/19/2008: Bleach doesn't work well with out DETERGENT... But with it, WOW! LIFE LESSON 10/25/2008: "You're Such a Man," isnt necessarily a compliment... LIFE LESSON 10/28/2008: RC Helicopters are not Bob Proof... LIFE LESSON 10/29/2008: Dont ** where you eat, UNLESS, you are the company pooper scooper... BARB FREGGIN RULES**

09-12-2008, 12:49 PM	#7 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ Wow, I have a feeling this is going to take a while. Can you put the live rocks and coral in before the fish, while the tank is still on its first cycle?

09-12-2008, 12:51 PM	#8 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ Sorry, i am not really too sure how to use these posts, the first time it kept saying there was a error and so i tried to re-post it. Didn't mean to "leapfrog" ya

09-12-2008, 12:57 PM	#9 (permalink)
BEELZEBOB -CHAUVINIST PIG- Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 4,851 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ soo you add LR and sand first. let your tank cycle, then add fish and inverts SLOWLY __________________ 18Gal Mantis Tank 28lbs LR 22lbs Black Sand D&D Typhoone Skimmer96W CL PC (10K + AC) 2 Rio 90 P.H., 1 Nano Korilla Bane the Mantis Shrimp (G.Smithii) LIFE LESSON 8/8/08: Dont Poke Squirrells... LIFE LESSON 8/12/08: Chicks dont dig comic books... LIFE LESSON 8/26/2008: Pain is relative... LIFE LESSON 9/13/2008: Sometimes you just gotta pee in the sink... LIFE LESSON 10/1/2008: Her eyes say more than her mouth... LIFE LESSON 10/1 B: In retrospect, the shooting range was a bad first date idea... LIFE LESSON 10/19/2008: Bleach doesn't work well with out DETERGENT... But with it, WOW! LIFE LESSON 10/25/2008: "You're Such a Man," isnt necessarily a compliment... LIFE LESSON 10/28/2008: RC Helicopters are not Bob Proof... LIFE LESSON 10/29/2008: Dont ** where you eat, UNLESS, you are the company pooper scooper... BARB FREGGIN RULES**

09-12-2008, 01:03 PM	#10 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ Thx

09-12-2008, 01:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums Hello and welcome! Kudos to you for asking for help. I could have saved a LOT of $$ by doing that early on. Some advice.... A) go to LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ and read all about the "Nitrogen Cycle" and how it affects a Salt Water tank. It's going to be with you every step of the way so the more you understand it now the less you'll be FIGHTING it later on. It either works FOR you or AGAINST you (and it will win). B) Think long and hard about what you want your tank to be like in 6month to a year. Then research and work your way towards that goal. By doing this you waste less money on lights, filters and junk you can't use later on. Save yourself some money and heart ache and think long-term. C) Go slow and research every aspect of your purhcases. Our sponsors do a GREAT job of supporting us and many provide additional discounts and support to RS members. D) Be very careful about advice you get from your Local Fish Store (LFS). They are in the business to SELL SELL SELL and this may mean they don't have you or your tank's best interest at heart. Research is your new best friend. E) Go slow and be deliberate about your purchases. "Impulse" buying can hurt more than just your wallet. Buy everything after researching it and for a reason not "just because it looked so cute in the tank at the store". I'm as guilty as they come of this.. or I WAS F) Sit back and enjoy the whole process. It's all about learning and growing WITH the tank not just the looking at the tank once a day and going WOW! The whole process can be FUN!! Good luck and WELCOME to the REEF! You can log out but you can never really LEAVE __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

09-12-2008, 01:28 PM	#12 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ .

09-12-2008, 01:37 PM	#13 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: LOOK! Frequently Asked Questions~ ok, so i fill the tank with water, then add whatever chemicals and salt needs added...i havent done that research yet...and then i can add the live sand and live rocks at the same time? or do i have to wait a while for the chemicals to level out before I add the live sand/rocks? (stupid questions i know, but this is a diffucult thing to get started when you research 4 different sites and get 3 or 4 different answers about the same thing) Do you have to wait for your chemicals/water to level out before you add these to the tank, or do you just have to wait to add the fish? Also, once my tank has cycled and i have it all up and going, do i have to cycle any new rocks in a seperate tank before adding them to my big tank? I have also read that you should use a mixture of 50/50 live sand and dead sand to start with since the live sand c0onverts the dead sand to live sand over time, and that if you use straight live sand it can become too think/condensed and trap bacterias. Is this correct? Would you use the 50/50 mixture or just use all live sand?

09-12-2008, 01:48 PM	#14 (permalink)
BigAl07 Do I look as lost as I am Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Waynesville, North Carolina Posts: 21,549 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums You add water (preferrably RO/DI filtered water) and mix in the chemicals (all you need is a quality salt mix). This ONE time you can mix IN the tank but from this point on you want to mix in another container and NEVER EVER add any chemicals or anything into the tank straight. You'll want to add live rock and sand in the process here too. Here is how I would do it... A) Get a container other than tank and mix your water and salt mix and get those parameters correct. B) add sand & rock to the tank and when the water is right then add to tank carefully as to create as little of a sand storm as possible. This will be the Beginning and you'll want to test to "See" the cycle happening. Once it's cycled you can add a small clean up crew (CUC) and start to slowly add a fish. Go slow and take your time. __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Live Rock Rubble will do the SAME thing as Bio-Balls and is NOT a suitable replacement for BIO-BALLS in a Reef System! It's ALL gotta go!!* Nitrate (NO3) reduction is directly proportional to percentage of Water Change. Allen's home-made formula...currentNO3-((%WC.01)currentNO3)=finalNO3 (thanks Luukosian) This means if you change 50% of your total water volume (That's EVERYTHING) you'll get a net reduction of (NO3) somewhere around 50%. Ask me about how to increase your REEF budget without going without FOOD!!* Big Al's 10g Julie's (BigAl's Gal) 6g NanoCube Gone but not forgotten BigAl's Slow 90g Tank Chronicle Allens OFFICE 12g Nano-Reef

09-12-2008, 01:56 PM	#15 (permalink)
DawnMarie81 Tunicate Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 11 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Newbie to Saltwater Aquariums Thanks a lot, this site sure makes it a lot easier to get things started. It is much easier to trust someone who already has a tank set up and running compared to just some sites that could tell you anything they want to. I am hoping to get my tank set up as much as i can this weekend and get things started

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