A bunch of questions for you veteran fish keepers!

[zimmertr]

I recently decided I want to start a FOWLR aquarium with maybe a few low light corals. I've researched a ton and actually already posted another thread here. But to avoid the hassle of replying in an already pretty much dead thread, I figured I'd start another. So basically, I found a ton of awesome deals on Craigslist for fundamental equipment. I'm getting a 60 gallon cube with a stand for 50 dollars. This is where my first question is.

1) What should I do about cleaning and preparing this tank for my project? Should I just scrub it and clean it with freshwater or should I use something like white vinegar?

In addition to that, I'm also getting 103lbs of live rock, 40lbs of live sand, and up to ~80 gallons of "œseasoned" saltwater for 100 dollars. The third thing I'm getting is a Reef Octopus RO-PS-1000int protein skimmer for 120 dollars.

2) My second question for you guys is what do you think about this skimmer? I can't find very many reviews online for it.

3) Also, how many GPH is it rated at?

This skimmer is an insump only model which kind of sucks.. So that means I have to have a sump also even though I'm on a budget. I have a 10 gallon leader aquarium just sitting around that I plan on turning into my sump. It would have to house my heater, the skimmer, and bubble walls, right? It would be cool if it could house a refugeem but it probably doesn't have enough space, right? I have a few questions about this:
Should I put a deep sand bed in it, shallow sand bed in it, or leave it bare bottomed?

4) If I put a deep sand bed in it will it require any maintenance?

5) Is there a good walkthrough on how to turn it into a sump? I'm really new at this and have never even seen a sump, so I only have a rough idea on what they look like.

Some other questions that I have revolving water:

6) Would it be wise to use the Craigslist person's water to help "œboost" the cycling of my tank?

7) Would it be okay to take enough of their water to completely fill my tank as long as the parameters check out and completely avoid buying and filling up my tank with fresh ro/di water?

8) Is there a way to check for diseases in their water they might not be telling me about?

9) If I don't get any of their water, how would I go about mixing my own? I've read varied opinions on this matter but they mostly say that I should fill up 5 gallon buckets, mix in salt mix, and let sit with a powerhead for 6 hours. This seems like it would take days to fill up a tank though?

Another question that I have revolves around power filters. I know they're pretty much a no no in the saltwater realm, but I have an old Cascade 100 filter that's just sitting around.

10) Would it be wise to fill this with bio balls or activated carbon or something to help with filtration?

11) I understand I'd have to clean it thoroughly at least once a week to avoid an ammonia disaster, right?

Here is a breakdown of my equipment, what do you guys think about it? What parts would you change out? Do you have any reviews on any of the equipment or any reason to look for something else? Does it seem right for my ideal tank?

• Lighting: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MH-ADV-24-M...451?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43b71539f3

12) My apartment is kept at about 65 degrees, and I plan on having my heater set at 79 degrees. How much do you think this light will heat my water up if I leave it on 12 hours a day?

13) I've read that these Odyssea brand lights are prone to fire? Most of the posts seem to be really old though, so I assume they've fixed the issue? How much of an issue is it really?

14) It comes with a 250W 15000K Metal Halide bulb and 4 24watt Actinic Blue T5's. Are these enough light for a few low light corals?

• 2x 1300gph Power Heads: http://www.amazon.com/1300-Coral-Aq...UTF8&qid=1356481614&sr=1-6&keywords=powerhead

15) Do you guys think that 2600gph is enough circulation for my tank? It is a cube, so it might have more dead spots, right?

• Heater: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YADYXG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
  
  
• 103lbs of Live Rock, 40lbs of Live Sand, and up to ~80 gallons of Salt Water.

16) Provided I conservatively avoid creating dead spots, eliminating swimming room, and overall clustering up the tank, would it be unwise to add all 103 lbs of rock to the tank? Is too much live rock a bad thing?

17) How much live rock should I put in my sump, ideally? I know it's small, so a bunch probably won't be able to fit.

18) Is 40lbs of live sand enough for a shallow sand bed?

• Salt Mix: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ils?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1356854533&seller=&sr=8-2

19) Is this a good salt mix? Will it have the necessary amounts of calcium and other supplements that my tank needs?

• Infrared Thermometer: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Non-Contact...682?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2576934042

20) Is an infrared thermometer worth looking into? I know that it won't be able to break the surface of the water or read past the glass, so will it give accurate temperature readings?

• Test Kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-A...491?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f20513c9b

21) Is this a good test kit for a beginner tank? I don't plan on getting corals for a while.

• Hydrometer: http://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Gardens-Aquarium-Hydrometer-Thermometer/dp/B00063410G/ref=lh_ni_t

22) The reviews seem mixed on this hydrometer, is there anything else in this price range that would be better?

• Overflow Box:

23) The previous owners of the tank I'm buying used it for freshwater fish. This makes me think that it was a model that wasn't drilled to be reef ready. If this is the case when I finally pick it up, I'll need and overflow box to use my sump. Which model should I look for? I have no idea about this part at all.. I just know I'd like to not spend a lot of money on it.

24) What do you guys think about the CPR CS90 600gph overflow box? Will this be too much or too little for my skimmer?

25) Is there any sort of DIY overflow box that I can make instead of buying one?

• Return Pump:

26) This goes hand in hand with the overflow box, and without being sure which box I'm going to get, I can't really pick out a pump. If I get the CS90, would the Mag3 (350gph) be enough? Would the RIO 1700 (642gph) be better? I don't want to overfill my tank or sump.. so I'm not really sure how to pick these components out..

• Piping:

27) Is buying the piping between the tank and the sump as simple as buying PVC pipe that fits? Do I have to worry about anything else?

28) Should I glue my pieces together to avoid leaks?

29) What do I do about the end of the pipe after coming from the return pump? Is there some sort of attachment I'm supposed to put at the end of it when it gets to my tank or do I just have a bare PVC pipe running into my tank, haha?

After all of this, I think the only questions I have left are regarding coral.


30) Would my light fixture be enough for a few corals? Which kinds? Just low light ones like mushrooms and bubble corals?

31) How long after having an established tank is it wise to wait before buying corals?

Thank you for reading all of this. I have a lot of questions, and hopefully you veterans can help me out a little. =] Any input, advice, or answers would be greatly appreciated!

EDIT: My old thread can be found here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21023324#post21023324

 

[thegrun]

If you break down your list into a series of one or two question per post you will get better and more complete answers. Not many of us are going to take the time to answer 31 questions.

 

[zimmertr]

Posting 15 different threads would be absurd. This seems like to most constructive way to go about it. And no one needs answer all of them at one time, anyway.

 

[gone fishin]

Clean with vinegar and water. Using the other persons water to "boost" your cycle will have zero effect on the cycle but may introduce unwanted parasites. I know nothing about that skimmer.

 

[JokersAce69]

Holy cow is this a school test? My EYES! :lolspin: Here I'll answer one 18) Is 40lbs of live sand enough for a shallow sand bed? maybe: 1 - 1.5 lbs of sand per gallon you may get away with 40 lbs but it would be pretty shallow.

 

[bjensen1253]

1) What should I do about cleaning and preparing this tank for my project? Should I just scrub it and clean it with freshwater or should I use something like white vinegar?

Give it a good scrub, i always just used a green scratchy pad designed not to scratch pots/pans works great, use it to get bugs of my camaro too.

4) If I put a deep sand bed in it will it require any maintenance?

No, i have a 4inch sand bed in my 220 and a 6inch sand bed in my sump, the whole point of a dsb is to promote anaerobic bacteria that help complete the nitrogen cycle. The sand bed may get green algae in it or discolor during your cycle, thats normal it will go away. When have a dsb it best to NEVER disturb the sand, it can release pockets of gas.

5) Is there a good walkthrough on how to turn it into a sump? I’m really new at this and have never even seen a sump, so I only have a rough idea on what they look like.

To save you the hassle, get something bigger. 10gallons isnt alot to work with, petco has $1 a gallon sales all through out the year. or find someone local who has a cheap used 20+ gallon tank. Make sure its wide enough to fit the footprint of your skimmer and allow enough bubble traps, a fuge, and return chambers. Also leave room so that you can add stuff on later one. Ato, reefkeeper, controllers dosing pumps ect.

6) Would it be wise to use the Craigslist person’s water to help “boost” the cycling of my tank?

Worthless, this will not help you achieve a cycle an faster. I personally used smartstart complete from my LFS. Added to my tank, never had to cycle stuff works great!

7) Would it be okay to take enough of their water to completely fill my tank as long as the parameters check out and completely avoid buying and filling up my tank with fresh ro/di water?

You WILL need an ro/di. no ifs ands or butts. Even if you have the cleanest water in the US you will still need one. ro/di removes chloramines and phosphates and all sorts of other nasty stuff from your tank the feeds algae growth.

8) Is there a way to check for diseases in their water they might not be telling me about?

Dont use other peoples water, if they are running proper maintenance routine on there tank they should be doing water changes every week.

9) If I don’t get any of their water, how would I go about mixing my own? I’ve read varied opinions on this matter but they mostly say that I should fill up 5 gallon buckets, mix in salt mix, and let sit with a powerhead for 6 hours. This seems like it would take days to fill up a tank though?

When i filled by 220, it took about 5 days to fill. If you think reefing/saltwater happens fast your mistaken. The only thing that moves fast in a sw tank is a crash. If you have sufficient flow in your tank, fill it with ro/di then add salt in. its a new tank your not going to kill anything.

10) Would it be wise to fill this with bio balls or activated carbon or something to help with filtration?

Ask anyone on here about bio balls and they will give you a different answer. In my opinion dont, they are a hassle. They must be removed and cleaned to keep them from becoming nitrate factory's. Activated carbon is great but it also has its limits. A GFO/Carbon reactor is what you will need later one. Before i got mine i placed carbon in panty hose in a low flow area. Its cashed out in about 3-4 days or less.

11) I understand I’d have to clean it thoroughly at least once a week to avoid an ammonia disaster, right?

The whole point of cycling a tank is to prevent a spike in ammonia and nitrites when you have live stock. once you have a good base of bacteria they should removes these for you.(the good guys in the DSB as described above) With that being said, without a startup additive you must add livestock slowly or risk the bacteria not being able to keep up with the waste.

13) I’ve read that these Odyssea brand lights are prone to fire? Most of the posts seem to be really old though, so I assume they’ve fixed the issue? How much of an issue is it really?

14) It comes with a 250W 15000K Metal Halide bulb and 4 24watt Actinic Blue T5’s. Are these enough light for a few low light corals?

See Equipment section of the forums for better suggestions on lighting. I used LED's but everyone will give you a different answer on those aswell. Mine are rather bright and have bleached a few corals i was told needed TONS of light, they are sitting lower in my tank now.

15) Do you guys think that 2600gph is enough circulation for my tank? It is a cube, so it might have more dead spots, right?

When you state this, do you mean in the tank or including return pumps? I have about ~3000gph on my tank, with 8 1050gph powerheads in the DT.

16) Provided I conservatively avoid creating dead spots, eliminating swimming room, and overall clustering up the tank, would it be unwise to add all 103 lbs of rock to the tank? Is too much live rock a bad thing?

its said that 1lb or LR per gallon or less. with the small of a tank, i would think some nice size pieces around 40lbs would suit your purpose. If you have to much rock, it will trap detritus and flow problems. Also, dont use live sand sold at the petstores. They sit on the shelf so long the bacteria are normally dead by the time you purchase it. if you buy any sand to "seed" your tank, get it from a friend or lfs. you wont need much. Get as much sand as you desire to create a sand bed depth you like. Remember some reef creatures need a certain amount of sand to dig/eat/move under.

17) How much live rock should I put in my sump, ideally? I know it’s small, so a bunch probably won’t be able to fit.

Get a bigger sump, simply put. you might want to consider rubble instead of whole rock, also chaeto and other macro algae are great nutrient transporters removing nitrates and phosphates from your tank.

19) Is this a good salt mix? Will it have the necessary amounts of calcium and other supplements that my tank needs?

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1287118 Use this for reference.

20) Is an infrared thermometer worth looking into? I know that it won’t be able to break the surface of the water or read past the glass, so will it give accurate temperature readings?

Why get so fancy, have you swam in the ocean before? There is always warm and cold pockets. A temp swing of a few degrees is no biggie depending on livestock. I use the 1.99 thermometers from petco that attach to your glass. Just buy 2, 1 for the sump and 1 for the DT and replace them yearly. Later on when you get a reefkeep/apex ect, they will have a temp probe for turning on/off your heater to insure it doesnt get stuck on(mostly older heaters)

21) Is this a good test kit for a beginner tank? I don’t plan on getting corals for a while.

After you cycle, there is really no need for ammonia/nitrite the main thing we test for in tanks is Carbon hardiness(DkH) / Phosphates / Salinity / Magnesium / Calcium. All can be purchased separately, iv never seen them bundled.

The reviews seem mixed on this hydrometer, is there anything else in this price range that would be better?

Thats almost as bad as the plastic swing arm hydrometers. Get yourself a refractometer, 0 it in with ro water and your set. http://www.ebay.com/itm/RHS-10ATC-S...953?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46077c1489 i purchased on similar to this for 14.99. Its important to be accurate with salinity later on during water changes.

23) The previous owners of the tank I’m buying used it for freshwater fish. This makes me think that it was a model that wasn’t drilled to be reef ready. If this is the case when I finally pick it up, I’ll need and overflow box to use my sump. Which model should I look for? I have no idea about this part at all.. I just know I’d like to not spend a lot of money on it.

Make sure the tank your buying isnt tempered, if it is you drill it, it go boom. yes boom.
There are Hang on the back overflows that would meet your need.

26) This goes hand in hand with the overflow box, and without being sure which box I’m going to get, I can’t really pick out a pump. If I get the CS90, would the Mag3 (350gph) be enough? Would the RIO 1700 (642gph) be better? I don’t want to overfill my tank or sump.. so I’m not really sure how to pick these components out..

As a rule of thumb, you want to circulate the entire volume of your tank 10x in 1 hour. do the math

28) Should I glue my pieces together to avoid leaks?

Yes, unless it needs to be removable, then use a union.

29) What do I do about the end of the pipe after coming from the return pump? Is there some sort of attachment I’m supposed to put at the end of it when it gets to my tank or do I just have a bare PVC pipe running into my tank, haha?

I used vinyl hose and attached it to a pvc elbow i made and attached loc-line. and yes you will have bar pvc running into your tank.

Be warned, im sure i speak for many people. If your not sure what your doing stop and ask and take is slow. It took me a whole year to piece together my 220. Do it right the first time and learn as you go. Also, if you think this is a cheap hobby your sadly mistaken. I do not mean to discourage you at all, have fun but expect to spend some money. Dont cut corners get what fits your needs even if its a big $. If you have any other question feel free to pm me or anyone else on the boards.

Enjoy,

Bob

 

[bjensen1253]

Double post