Newbie gone wild

G

gburton

New member
:wildone: Allright, here goes! I have been surfin the site for the last few months and have gotten just enough info to be pretty confused by it all. I have got my paws on a used setup that consists of a 75gal tank, what I believe is a wet/dry system(sump with bio balls), 75gal protein skimmer, which I know is not big enough, 240W coralite lite system with 2 whites and 2 blue actinic lites, heater, etc. I would like to set up a FOWLR tank. MY plan is between 30-75lbs of LR, sand from home depot, a few fish, crabs, shrimp, etc. I've read some of the articles on the site and I just can't get a step-by-step how to set your tank up. A few other questions that I have are do I set up the wet/dry filter without the bioballs?, anyone ever heard of a 'won brothers' protein skimmer?, just checking to see how horrible and cheap the one that came with the set up is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
 
If you lose the bioballs before you start you don't have to withdraw them slowly---then you can use the tray for a temporary blue-back filter sheet that can just take out particulate stuff whenever you feel you must.
1. set up your plumbing. Your wet-dry can just function as a waterfall, plumbed down from the gravity feed of the overflow---if there is an overflow; if not, ask here again. Put your skimmer next, then the heater, then the return pump, plumbed up to the tank water entrance.
2. add sand, add salt water, add live rock in that order. It will be cloudy and messy for days.
3. drop in a little Formula One fishfood every day for a couple of weeks until you start to see algae.
4. test the water for nitrates/trites/ammonia.
5. when you test 0/0/0 you can add your snails and hermits.
6. when it still tests 0/0/0 you can add your fish.

You may decide to keep non-reef-safe fish, in which case your rock arrangement will be important for aesthetics.

You may decide ultimately to keep a combo of low-light softies with the fish, in which case you will need reef-safe fish. Now is the time to make a decision, once the tank has cycled. Neither is per se harder than the other choice: it's just a different set of tests and look-outs.

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks sk8r, that's a lot of good info. This being a used tank and all, I first want to set it up before it gets in our house to see if there are any leaks or whatnot. I'm excited but cautious.
 
Thanks Hop, I've been readin a lot but not much posting until now. I am sure I'll have a ton of questions along the way.
 
A few more things to add to what Sk8r said. If yor are stting up a FOWLR tank the bioballs are not such a bad think. bioballs are great and breaking down ammonia into nitrites and the to nitrates But they have a bad habit of hanging on to the nitrates and then leaching them into the water. In a FOWLR tank nitrates are not as high of a concern as they are with reef tanks. Go with at least 75bs of LR. If the tank was used in FW, make sure you clean it with citric acid/water to remove any copper meds that may have been used.
 
just as the original post stated I am a little confused on some of these things and the bioballs are one of them. At first I was thinking that they were good, then maybe not so good. I would like to add a few mushrooms, feather dusters down the road, would you still use a few or none at all? thanks, GB
 
I would try to do without the bioballs and just get a bit more rock for filtration. I am assuming moderate to light stocking though, so more filtration may be needed. Try getting a good skimmer (which will go a long way in keeping things cleaner and increasing carrying capacity) before keeping/adding the bioballs.
 
Another little off the subject question. In march when I registered at this site I was in such a hurry I didn't fill out any of the info on where I am from, my experience (pretty obvious), etc.
Can I go back in and add to this and how do I do it. I haven't been able to find a way. GB
 
A new skimmer in going to be my next purchase after I get the tank set up and water in it. I've been researching on the site and seem to have narrowed it down to the main two or three. I have never even heard of 'won brothers' has anyone else?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7212269#post7212269 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gburton
Another little off the subject question. In march when I registered at this site I was in such a hurry I didn't fill out any of the info on where I am from, my experience (pretty obvious), etc.
Can I go back in and add to this and how do I do it. I haven't been able to find a way. GB
Click to expand...
Go to HOME at the top of the page > Go to My RC Home in the left column > Edit your profile there.
 
I've read waterkeepers article, it's a good one, in fact I probably burned up the printer with all those pages. I also read the article by Henny. There's great info here, it's just my little feeble mind is trying to take it all in, get the right equipment, convince my wife I need to spend more even before we have any fish, etc. Thanks for the My RC info too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7212290#post7212290 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gburton
I have never even heard of 'won brothers' has anyone else?
Click to expand...
Won Brothers is a wholesaler. I've heard some not so good things about their heaters. But I can't comment as I personally don't own anything from them.
 
gburton, you are on the right track.

You are doing the research and asking questions ahead of time. Take your time. Don't feel bad that you feel confused. This is a complicated hobby. It is not difficult but there is much to learn which will take time. My advice is don't rush the corals. Get used to taking care of your FOWLR with water changes, testing the water etc. for a few months. Mushroom corals are pretty bullet proof and will do fine with the lighting you have.

Good luck! This is a wonderful hobby that is very rewarding of your time and efforts.
 
ya, definately small, baby steps. I will be getting the protein skimmer, water, sand, and LR going in the next week and we'll go from there. Thank you for all the great replies and helpful information, I really apprciate it all:)
 
i did my tank from the get go with NO BIO-BALLS and it's working great!! put live rock in the sump

ej
 
:confused: Here's a few more questions for you all. I set the tank up in the house and was able to piece it all together including the sump and over flow and such. This tank came with two pumps, one is a Rio 2500 which I assume the previous owner had in the sump. Is this enough or too much gph for my 75gal. tank? The other pump is much smaller and I don't have it with me to look up the name on it. Was this one in the tank maybe to move the water around, do I need more power to move water around? Also, what is a wave maker and what do they do? When we got the tank in the house, we realized that the stand did not match any of our furniture in our house. I am now looking of plans to build one. Thanks for the answers!
 
I bieleve that the 2500 was what I had on my 555 for the return and it did a good job. You are also going to want to add some power heads to the tank to keep the water flowing. I have a brother in law that is a fireman in central Oregon also. Good look with setting up your tank. It is a fun and exciting time.
 
What do the power heads do and what would be a couple of good brands? Where abouts in central Oregon does he live?
 
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