new tanks questions

[ericbye]

Alrite so im jsut finishing up gettin together everything i need to start this.. while almost everything. Its a 50ish gallon long tank, workin on taking this slow.
As of right now cant do the sump, but when i get a pump and make sure that it will be fairly quiet i will add it.
Can i mix the saltwater in the tank with dead sand?
Will live rock that i add seed the sand, or should i still attempt to get a little live sand off someone?
If my lr has a little too much die off is a water change ok or will that mess with my cycle a lot?
During the cycle is it ok to run the protein skimmer and a couple aquaclears?(i will be cleaning the filters regularily)
When can/should i add invertebrates to help with clean up?
Oh, and as of right now rodi is not an option, unless i can somehow borrow a unit from somone, workin on that, but will this screw up my cycle at all?
haha ok i think thats it for now but ill post more questions if i have any, this place has been awsome for learning what i need to get this up and running.

 

[Blown 346]

Yes, you can add saltwater with base sand, the liverock you add will have the life on it that will seed the sand.

I wouldnt do a water change until the cycle is over, by doing so, you can prolong the cycle.

I would run the skimmer, all pumps powerheads etc, especially while cycling.
Only add inverts after the cycle is over, once ity is over Iwould wait a week to make sure you wont get any unsuspecting spikes.
Not having a RO/di unit wont screw the cycle up, but you canhave alot of algaeproblems without one. especially during the cycle time.

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

Can i mix the saltwater in the tank with dead sand?

yes, get it to around 1.025 and temp around 78 - 80 degrees

Will live rock that i add seed the sand, or should i still attempt to get a little live sand off someone?

should be enough to seed the sand. but if you know someone that will give you a cup of their sand that will also help.

If my lr has a little too much die off is a water change ok or will that mess with my cycle a lot?

doing water changes will not slow down your cycle but will help keep the ammonia lower and save alot of your LR critters

During the cycle is it ok to run the protein skimmer and a couple aquaclears?(i will be cleaning the filters regularily)

yes, doing that will help out alot.

When can/should i add invertebrates to help with clean up?

wait till after your cycles is complete and your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate all read 0 for a week or 2 then add them

Oh, and as of right now rodi is not an option, unless i can somehow borrow a unit from somone, workin on that, but will this screw up my cycle at all?

it won't screw up your cycle but will help your alage to grow, if possiable go to walmart and get some ro water in the 5 gal. jugs it is usually around 70 cents a gal. that will help out alot.

 

[scarter]

any sang you can get from an established tank is a good thing. it will only add to the diversity of your tank

 

[ericbye]

yea.. pretty worried about the algae, but right now unless i can get this other one, its not really an option, ive been running fw off tap water with zero algae problems if that counts for anything. do you know of many people who get away without the rodi? Oh and thanks for the answers

 

[ericbye]

oh one mroe Q. What would you guys suggest for powerheads, the tank is around 50" long and it will be fowlr, how many? what kinds? that sorta thing. I no longer trust my lfs, i asked one about switching to salt a little while ago, he tried to sell me to bags of live sand, the salt and stuff, come in get some live rock, and in a couple days i could get fish, he also said a blue tang and some clownfish would be ok in a 30g. i know the clownfish would but now with the help of tang police i know hes wrong, everything he told me would have made me buy twice that in the end.

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

try for around 10x - 20x turnover in the tank. i would say 2 seio 820's or a few maxijet 1200's with FLO rotating deflector's on them

 

[scarter]

I have a rodi but rarely use it. my water happens to be pretty good. The thing to do is buy all of the test kits you can ( I know they are expensive as crap) but you will nee them anyway. you should be able to find a combo test kit for the simple things, then you will need to test your tap water for nitrite, nitrates, phosphates, and ph. now, remember that these tests wont tell you if your tap water has ugly trace emements in it. like high levels of iodine or excessive flouride, or iron. if you do use tap, you wilkl need a good clean up crew to take care of the algaie blooms.
for powerheads, I like aquaclear and seio. but maxijet are cheap and reliable, thats a great combo for a new reefer.

 

[ericbye]

ok so i jsut called a couple of the lfs, the cheapest lr i could find si 6.99 a lb, its cured figi. What should the minumum i get at first to start to seed the sand and begin the cycle? And for the LR to work as a semi affective filter do i Have to have around a lb for gallon, anything less then that jsut for looks?

 

[scarter]

well, for a new tank best thing to get is uncured rock. 6.99 is not terrible but you could do better. sheck your local club, they probably have their own forum, just post a wanted to buy and see what you come up with, "used" rock typically runs about 2-4$ a lb. Check the online sites like foster and smith, marine depot, and maybe post a thread here on RC asking what the best online store for LR is. If you are itching to get goin buy one nice size piece from the LFS and get it goin that way, untill you can get some more rock at a cheaper price, if you are really patient you can DIY some rock, check out garf. lb for gallon is realitive. and a hot topic, the general opinion now is that less may be more. you will find that when you start buying corals you will need the rock to put them on something.
My suggestion is to allways buy larger pieces of rock, they cost more up front but are much easier to work with and reduce the risk of an 'avalanche'

 

[jwhitlow1031]

check out this place for lr, they sell it for 3.99 a pd and offer free shipping for that price, they guy that owns it is real cool, nice guy, i have been to the shop a few times, u may be able to post some bulletins etc, and get it for cheaper on rc but most people end up being expensive because of shipping, if you can find someone in your area that is getting out of the hobby-thats your best bet for cheap rock...anyway the guys site is "yourreef.com" and here is the link to the rock
http://www.yourreef.com/LiveRock.html buying online can be good if u can get free shipping bec. then u dont have to pay tax also... (as long as your not in the same state as the seller) anyway hope that helps a bit and good luck

 

[reefcapnnick]

vividaquariums.com sells uncured walt smith premium fiji LR for $2.50/lb.

 

[ericbye]

From what ive heard in diff posts the amount of dieoff from cured rock is enough to get a cycle going. Also if i cure the rock in tank during a cycle the parents would kill me.. if it smells as bad as its suposed to. Another problem is that im in Canada, so far i havent found a place that would make it worth the shipping, or located near me. I like the idea of buying one fairly large piece, im not goin to go reef, but i do want a lot of open water for the fish to be able to more around in as the tank is only 12" wide.