Hello, new to Marine Aquariums

[pbenner]

Hello,

I was pointed this direction by someone at INDMAS. I live around an hour from Ft. Wayne to the west, between Warsaw and Plymouth. I am interested in setting up a small tank for my wife and I's bedroom. I have a 10 gallon tank that I was considering using and I'm getting ready to start purchasing hardware. As soon as all my hardware is in, I'm looking at buying a small amount of live rock and some sand to seed my tank with. I can't wait to get started, and anyone willing to give any advice, I'm more than happy to listen.

Best regards,

Paul

 

[Fireworm]

Welcome Pual. Its always great to hear someone new starting the hobby. Feel free to check out our web site and feel free to come to any of our meetings. Our meetings are free, and anyone can come to them. We do have paid memberships as well. All explained on the web site.

There is also one of our members that lives in Warsaw. Chad has a huge amount of experience in the hobby and I am sure will be willing to help out how ever he can, along with the rest of us.

The 10g is a great tank to start with, just beware that if you like the hobby like the rest of us, that will not be big enough before long. LOL .... you will want bigger and better in time, we all do.

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions at all.. we were all newbes once and can help alot.

Later
Phil

 

[pbenner]

Phil,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I've been interested in Reef tanks for around 8 years now, but I've never really had one up. I've kept a few fresh water tanks, but this will be the first saltwater tank that I personally decide to keep.

So far, my shopping list includes a PC fixture with two 40w bulbs, specs as follows; Dual Daylight 6,700k/10,000k plus Dual Actinic 420nm/460nm. I'm also looking at a Aqua Clear 70 Hang-On-Back Power Filter and a pair of Hydor Koralia Circulation Pump nano sized.

The plan is to put the AC70 up as a refugium on the back of the tank with some sand and a few small pieces of live rock and some Cheato (Per what I've read) and then to get around 15 pounds of LR and a 1.5" sand bed built up.

Can you recommend a test kit for proper water quality monitoring?

Best,

Paul

 

[LornaS]

Welcome Paul......sounds like you are well on your way. As stated by Phil you will soon outgrow your 10g as you will only be able to keep one or two small fish in a tank this size. Saltwater fish require more room than freshwater and the old 1" per gallon is not accurate here. I would suggest small gobies or firefish for your tank when it is cycled. Don't be fooled into getting damsels to cycle your tank with or as starter fish, you will no doubt regret putting these little beggars into your tank if you do. They are very mean and aggressive.

I would suggest that you get a starter saltwater test kits which usually include, ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate....you should also test for alkalinity once you are cycled along with a good hydrometer or refractometer to measure your salinity.

Your plan sounds good though.......keep us posted.

 

[Fireworm]

I have almost the same set up for my daughters 10g. Don't worry about putting the sand in your HOB fuge. The pods will do just fine with the cheato in there. Also don't worry about buying cheato, lord knows there is enough in the club that we all just harvest and throw away.

And to be honest, you would be better off IMO with just putting a bag of chemi pure in you HOB filter compared to the fuge. Chemi pure is a great filter media, and you are not going to get much out of the little fuge, or at least I didn't on my 29g.
On your lights, i would suggest the 50/50 bulb over the daylight. On my 10g, most of my corals do better under the 50/ 50 and the dual actinic. Infact most of the time, I don't even turn on my 50/50, and my corals do fine. I don't have any sps in there yet, but I do have some LPS, shrooms, zoos, and leathers. Along with a few types of macro.

 

[tazman71]

Welcome
I am in warsaw, and could help lead you in the right direction.
I actually have a 7 gallon minibow that I used to have set up as a nano. I used a single 32watt PC retro with a small pc fan in the stock hood. Worked well with softies and LPS. Also grew some orange monti cap in it as well. I even have the aquaclear converted into a fuge. I agree I didn't get much from the fuge. Better to just have some good filtration to keep out the gunk.
PM me if you are in the area and want a look.
Chad

 

[pbenner]

Chad,

I'd love to swing by and see your setups. At the moment I'm still in the process of acquiring all the hardware I need to make sure I get my tank up.

Do any of the LFS sell crushed or very fine live rock? I need to get a little bit for my refugium, and I want to have a bit scattered around the bottom of my reef tank for a little more variety. Also, what is generally available, and where, in the way of small peices of LR, between 1-3 pound pieces is what I'm thinking. Also, does anyone locally have some base rock at a good price? I may do start dead and just add one or two small pieces of LR and a pound of Live sand to the dead stuff to keep my costs down. Takes a little longer to grow, yes, but I think it'd be much more fun that way.

Also, Coral Reef Aquarium lists is LR at $9 a pound. Is it worth the extra cost? I can probably get some cheaper else where if I looked, but if they have some amazing rock, I might bite the bullet.

Here's to hoping that I can start buying hardware this week ^_^.

Regards,

Paul

 

[hoaglanddiver]

New to marine aquariums

New to marine aquariums

Hi,

I, too, am new to marine aquarium (actually don't have yet -- but looking). Would be interested in attending a meeting as well as chatting on this forum for more info (such as acrylic vs glass, upkeep, time required, water, etc etc).

Regards,

Lee

 

[Fireworm]

Welcome Lee. We are a good group of people in the hobby with lots of range on experience. Ask anything you want and at least one of us will be able to steer you in the right direction.

 

[Gondore]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14479247#post14479247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pbenner
Chad,

I'd love to swing by and see your setups. At the moment I'm still in the process of acquiring all the hardware I need to make sure I get my tank up.

Do any of the LFS sell crushed or very fine live rock? I need to get a little bit for my refugium, and I want to have a bit scattered around the bottom of my reef tank for a little more variety. Also, what is generally available, and where, in the way of small peices of LR, between 1-3 pound pieces is what I'm thinking. Also, does anyone locally have some base rock at a good price? I may do start dead and just add one or two small pieces of LR and a pound of Live sand to the dead stuff to keep my costs down. Takes a little longer to grow, yes, but I think it'd be much more fun that way.

Also, Coral Reef Aquarium lists is LR at $9 a pound. Is it worth the extra cost? I can probably get some cheaper else where if I looked, but if they have some amazing rock, I might bite the bullet.

Here's to hoping that I can start buying hardware this week ^_^.

Regards,

Paul

One thing that should be mentioned and that you may already know is that the smaller the tank the harder it is to keep things when it comes to saltwater. This is mainly due to the fact that parameters (i.e. temperature, salinity, alka, etc.) can swing very quickly in such a small body of water. I personally wouldn't go with anything smaller than a 30 gallon, but that is just me.

I am sure if you look around you can purchase some LR off of someone in the club a lot cheaper than $9/pound. I personally purchased my rock from an individual in Indy for $1/pound and I would consider it high quality. It sort of comes down to the convenience factor though. If you don't want to screw around with finding another hobbyist close by who is selling some LR then just pick some up from one of the local shops (i.e. Coral Reef, Petware House, Uncle Bills).

 

[LornaS]

all great advice......Lee welcome, check out our club site for more info on meetings etc. We are having a get together at the pizza hut on coliseum after the zoo trip on saturday....unfortunately the zoo is booked up.....