For the time being yes. I may be moving out in a year or two, do not really know yet. But once I move out, then I might start with some corals. I may get a couple of mushrooms or zoas before I move out, I heard that they will close up when there is something wrong with the water before your fish do, so I may get them for that reason
New to all of this
- Thread starter Zswift
- Start date
*reefermadness*
New member
Sounds like you've been doing your research, which is great! Air Water & Ice is a website that sells RODI units for purifying water. Clean, constant water is key in this hobby. They may seem a little expensive up front, but more than pay for themselves in time. Kenya tree coral is also a great "canary" coral, meaning its habits can tell you a lot about your water. Keep up the reading and dont hesitate to ask questions. We all are more than happy to help newcomers to the hobby.
Ryan
Ryan
lauremf2002
New member
Well, Im not sure how much you have researched so Im just going to say this. Do NOT use tap water ever. And dont use copper based medications in a tank if you ever plan on having a reef tank. Non vertibrate organisms will die from copper and your tank holds trace amounts of it forever if you ever use it so plan ahead! If you cant afford an RODI unit yet you can purchase the water at the fish store. I would also get in the habit of mixing your own saltwater from now on. Its more affordable and this way you always know what is going into it. Just buy a salinity meter (you need one anyway) and let the freshly mixed saltwater sit with a power head in it for 24 hours. Never pour freshly mixed water into your tank. It takes 24 hours to oxygenate and for the ph to balance out. 1.024 - 1.026 salinity is good. Always top off with fresh water and this will keep your salinity consistant. I recommend buying a test kit. Nitrite, Nitrate and Ph are good to have. You can always take a water sample to the store and they will test it but its convenient to have these in the beginning when you are cycling your tank. The number one rule in the beginning is patience. Your tank will probably take at least a month to cycle (build up good nitrifying bacteria), most likely around 6 weeks. Do not add any fish before your tank finishes cycling (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and less than 25 nitrate). Contrary to popular belief, you do not need any fish to cycle a tank. It will just stress or kill any you put in. Most tanks will cycle on live rock alone and if you want to make extra sure you get a good cycle going you can add a raw peeled shrimp or just sprinkle in some fish food every couple of days. I did the fish food because then your tank is getting used to some extra nutrients your future fish might not always eat. Dont do any water changes while your tank is cycling, you are only taking away nutrients that your blossoming bacteria colony need to grow big and strong! When you no longer see any trace of nitrite you can do a water change to lower your nitrates. From that point on you should do 10-20% water changes every 2 weeks to maintain a healthy tank. These are my 2 cents for the beginner aquarist. Good luck and keep asking questions! We were all beginners once
lauremf2002
New member
PS you dont need to buy any additives for your tank as long as you do regular water changes so dont waste your money. They are expensive and you dont need them i.m.h.o.
Colin
New member
+1 on this. Heaters are notorious for sticking on and cooking everything. I wouldn't run a tank without one.
--Colin
I got all the water from the wet pets, have to go again today to get more, but last night exchanged some of the limestone and this is what I have:
40lbs Fiji LR
22lbs of Limestone as base rock
Roughly 40 gallons of water (Going to fill up the rest of the tank today)
And I am also going to buy a Marineland heater form WP they ahve one for 55 gallons, but I was told to go up just in case.
I am getting money to spend on my tank for Christmas, and after that is when I will probably by the RO unit and Reefkeeper lite thing
**I do not have a sump just fyi. I know everyone says you have to have one, but I have a friend with a 75 gallon tank and he doesnt have a sump and his tank is fine.Idk if he has corals, but last i checked just a FOWLR.**
40lbs Fiji LR
22lbs of Limestone as base rock
Roughly 40 gallons of water (Going to fill up the rest of the tank today)
And I am also going to buy a Marineland heater form WP they ahve one for 55 gallons, but I was told to go up just in case.
I am getting money to spend on my tank for Christmas, and after that is when I will probably by the RO unit and Reefkeeper lite thing
**I do not have a sump just fyi. I know everyone says you have to have one, but I have a friend with a 75 gallon tank and he doesnt have a sump and his tank is fine.Idk if he has corals, but last i checked just a FOWLR.**
lauremf2002
New member
you can add a sump later if you like. You dont have to have one, its just good filtration and extra water volume which allows you to keep more fish. I wouldnt get a marineland heater, they keep getting recalled because they explode. Go with ehiem if you want a plastic one
Well I just now saw your post, and I already went and got the marineland heater. I thought they were a good brand, and I havent opened it yet, is it best to just switch it out? And I also bought a coralife digital thermometer because I do not trust the stick on the glass ones.
Don't trust that one entirely either. Thermometers are almost always wrong to some degree, unless they've been calibrated. The lab grade mercury thermometers we used in my chem class even needed to be calibrated. Each one was different. I used one for awhile and checked it against a known temp before somewhat trusting it. I used an ice bath and checked to see how close to 32 it showed. The water will be w/in a few degrees of freezing, so you should be able to check it w/in a degree or 3.
cjilge
New member
If you are thinking of buying a controler Here is one local and jrod is good people. This can be used to back up your heater in case of one sticking on. I run this one to and have had flawless use for several years. here is the link and this is a steal at the price. IMHO
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2104505
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2104505
Sweet I will look in to those things. And not trying to be impatient, but when should I purchase my first fish. I know I have to let the tank cycle (I'm on Day 3), but I also know you are supposed to quarantine your fish for a couple of weeks. I am guessing around the 17th of January would be the earliest that I could even add fish (assuming that the first cycle will be done in 30 days). And when I do quarantine fish, does anyone have any opinions on freshwater dips?
madkat
New member
I have no input on the freshwater dips for fish. I would make sure your tank in cycled at 30 days. nitrite/ammonia should be at 0. Some tanks take less if they use live rock and are seeded from another tank. my first tank to 8 weeks to cycle.
it very much depends on the cycle.
if the tank has cycled you should be fine with those dates. You dont need to quarantine the first fish... since there is nothing else in the tank. Thereafter I would recommend QT.
Did you get live rock? if so- how much. This makes a big difference in the cycle time of the tank. If you got a good amount it is likely you will not have a cycle and can add fish much sooner.
Paul.
if the tank has cycled you should be fine with those dates. You dont need to quarantine the first fish... since there is nothing else in the tank. Thereafter I would recommend QT.
Did you get live rock? if so- how much. This makes a big difference in the cycle time of the tank. If you got a good amount it is likely you will not have a cycle and can add fish much sooner.
Paul.
Got money for WP! Probably going to upgrade on filter or shoulf I get some power heads? Thoughts ideas? I think I may go ahead and set up my qt tank, and depending how my water is I may go ahead and get some fish in the next couple of weeks. Probably going with a couple of chromis to start out with
cjilge
New member
definately will need flow. How much do you have now? Korallia's are a decent "cheap" means to power heads but have a gentler flow than conventional power heads. Most of us with a reef are shooting somewhere between 30-50x's the water volume in flow. The more random you can have it the better. I run aprox 6400gph and am getting another mp40 this next week which will put me in the 8500gph range on my 150.Which is currently 42x's the wv and will be over 56x's when I get the new pump. You just dont want a sand storm! lol If you are going fish only less is ok but I know my fish love the flow/curents in the tank. You should go by one of the other members tanks and check out a couple different systems, we all do it alittle different. Not sure where you live but we have members all across the state.
lauremf2002
New member
definately get a power head. Fish love them and they keep crap from settling in your tank, that way your hob can pull the detritus out of the water column
