Hello there. Newbie advice

[Hangar18]

Hi there. Just reading through the threads and this is an awesome resource and you guys are awesome. I am an experienced tropical and cichlid owner now moving to saltwater.

My father is law is giving me his decommissioned 92 gallon bow front tank. He tells me it has a sump. Going to pick it up today and see what he has to give me. Tells me he can fill my entire minivan with the tank and all the stuff he has to maintain it!

Basically I want to start it up and have a few fish and corals. Nothing over the top or extreme high maintenance.

So I have a few questions:
Substrate: do I buy 100 lbs of live sand?
Planning on buying live rock as well.

After a few weeks and cycling, what types of fish and corals would you suggest eventually adding (slowly not all at once, of course)?

I feel very vulnerable here as I am only used to fresh water fish and I don't want to spend money I don't have to. Does anyone have any recommendations of things to buy (hardware and livestock) and things that are a waste of money?

For reference I live in the greater Toronto area.

I can't wait to see your replies. Couldn't sleep last night thinking of all the things I need to do!

 

[RobZilla04]

Welcome! First off you've got what sounds to be a great size tank and set up. Best piece of advice: GO SLOW! Nothing that happens quickly is good in reefing. Second, be prepared for costs. You've got a good start but more equipment is needed. Best advice is to buy the right stuff instead of trying to skimp or get a "cheaper/smaller" whatever.

Lots of sticky's and good threads to read through here as you go.

As for a sand bed, 2" is a good depth. Deeper sand beds can create nutrient traps and problems if not maintained well. Some of the top choices for substrate are aragonite and CaribSea Special grade.

Best of luck.

 

[humphreyhh]

Hi! Congrats on your new tank!

Before you start, you need to figure out what type of tank you want. Look them up. Fish only with live rock, reef tank, etc.

Sand is not a must have if you have plenty of live rock. Unless you will get sand dweller animals then you need nice sand bed. 2 -4 inches of sandbed would satisfy most of the common sand dwellers in your tank.

Usually one pound live rock per gallon of water is the way to go. You can put slightly more than that if you won't have sandbed.

For animals, I suggest not to rush. I cycled my tank for two months before adding my first clownfish just to make sure the water is fine for my animals.

Popular low maintenance fish are all types of clownfish, some dawlf angels such as coral beauty, damsel, gobby, chromis, some butterfly,, it really depends on what you like though. Look up what you like to find some names first and then make a list. You can also list the fish you want here, people will help you decide what's the best for your tank.

I'm newbie too, but we will get there! Good luck and have fun!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[billdogg]

Welcome from Columbus, Ohio!

To help you get things sorted out, make us a list of everything you get today. Include brand name/model if at all possible. Pictures of it all would be a great help too. FWIW - I could fill your minivan with boxes full of fish stuff too, but a good portion of it would be junk that I just never got around to throwing out. (the old "I might need that someday" syndrome).

The lighting you have will dictate to a large extent what your options are for livestock, so be sure to include as much info on them as possible. Fish don't care - a single incandescent bulb so you can see them would work. (but be far from ideal) From a coral standpoint, soft corals require the least amount of light, LPS more, and SPS for the most part requiring very strong lighting.

Water movement is also extremely important. Once again, fish generally require the least, and SPS corals the most. As an example, my mostly SPS 120g reef has ~80x turnover/hour, mainly from powerheads in the tank.

As for sand - some prefer shallow (less than 2") some prefer deep (greater than 4") I prefer shallow in the DT (display tank). I would strongly suggest that you DO NOT waste your money on "Live " sand. Although it might have some beneficial bacteria in it, it is incredibly over priced. Dry sand is much less expensive and can easily be seeded with a cup or two of sand from a fellow reefer or a trusted LFS (local fish store). Ditto for using live rock, although there are some benefits using it if it is truly live, and not just some otherwise barren rocks that the LFS has sitting in a tub. All will become live soon enough

Plan on your initial cycle to take a minimum of 30 days. During that time, you will be staring at a tank full of saltwater, sand, and rocks. That will give you ample time to decide in just what direction you want to go.

HTH!

 

[JUNBUG361]

Agree ^^^

 

[thirsty saltine]

I personally went with dry rock from reef cleaners, it is great quality and I love the rock as said before it will become live eventually anyways. I got live sand off of amazon at a good deal and my tank cycled fairly fast. I did a 4 inch sand bed on the display and a 6 in the sump. I have ran DSB before and they agree with my tanks, just be sure to put the rocks on the bottom of the tank and then put sand in around it, helps to secure the rocks in place.

I do agree with making sure you have everything you need before hand, nothing worse than trying to get it all going and realizing that you are missing some T connector or valve. It is a hobby that will take tons of time and lots of learning on your part but in the end it is totally worth it.

 

[gltoland]

There's a million answers to your questions. My advise would be to find what you like and want in a tank and then narrow your questions down to just that topic. Everybody has different likes and dislikes. What works for some doesn't for others. More importantly, you can have two exact tanks side by side and they will require different things. Bottom line, there's no one answer. Just find what you like and go from there. Bulk reef supply has good start up videos on youtube. I get a lot of my info (both good and bad) from youtube. One thing I would strongly recommend is to buy good quality equipment from the start. There's no telling how much money I've wasted on cheap crap only to go ahead and buy something good later on.

 

[Hangar18]

OK guys! Home safe and sound. Thing was so heavy and awkward. I was scared at one point we were going to crack the tank.

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpcameron/33467432806/in/album-72157681551307845/" title="IMG_3485"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3948/33467432806_7931840b1c_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_3485"></a>


This is the back part of the bow tank. I was thinking of putting a 300W Jager heater in here instead of having it in the sump. Thoughts?

https://www.bigalspets.com/ca/eheim-jager-trutemp-submersible-heaters.html?sku=8580

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpcameron/33124864490/in/album-72157681551307845/" title="IMG_3486"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3926/33124864490_ba0f09b1ef_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="IMG_3486"></a>



OK this light seems insane to me. It's 96W for each tube and has a cooling fan (which is dead) built in that must run when the lights are on. I also need two new tubes one white and the other blue. Instead of spending more money on this beast can I replace this unit with the following? Will this LED unit be enough for fish and corals? I hope so!

https://www.bigalspets.com/ca/aquatic-life-edge-reef-aquarium-led-light-36.html

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mpcameron/33467432936/in/album-72157681551307845/" title="IMG_3490"><img src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3872/33467432936_40307a1fd3_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="IMG_3490"></a>

OK next question is powerheads. All of the ones he gave me were dead. He said he had 5 in the tank. Do I really need 5? Anyone have and brand recommendations and GPH ratings? I was looking at these?

https://www.bigalspets.com/ca/marineland-maxi-jet-pro-water-pumps.html?sku=41583


All the links are from my local supplier. Don't have a heart attack as a lot of stuff is more expensive in Canada. Us Canadian hosers always get hosed with prices!

 

[Hangar18]

One more. Here is the sump.

 

[ZenGuitarGuy]

There is a ton of information here. Keep using "search" to narrow your topics. Also, the stickies at the top of this category (New To The Hobby) are great. Congrats on the tank and for getting into this hobby! Also, hello from London, ON!

 

[WiDataTech]

There's alot of solid advice so far. A few things I would add: Get a decent RODI filter asap. Invest in quality test kits. Don't rely on your LFS for this, and double check their advice here. You will quickly get a better feel for them. And research / set up an auto top off right away. It will go a long way to providing stabilty, but keep mind it is a fail point with risks.

 

[gone fishin]

I agree with billdogg, I would suggest browsing the live aquaria website. The site could help you decide what you would like to keep. Once you have an idea of what you would like to keep then that will help dictate what equipment you will need. good luck just my 2 cents worth.