Reggae Fish
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7772194#post7772194 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sirreal63
Dude!!!! Which walMart?
Sorry...I went around and bought them all up so my setup would be more rare!
Newbie needs advice
- Thread starter jcjstl
- Start date
Sorry...I went around and bought them all up so my setup would be more rare!
Joe,
Welcome to the SEASL board!!! You have lots of options and you will get lots of opinions. It's a good idea to keep an open mind and read everyone's suggestions but make your own decision.
Most of my tanks were also in my basement. My 75g was in my wall with a sump in another room so it sounds like a slightly similar setup. My 200g prop tank was also in my fish room. Two of my 3 nano's were spread around the house.
I'm looking forward to meeting your family on Saturday.
C
Welcome to the SEASL board!!! You have lots of options and you will get lots of opinions. It's a good idea to keep an open mind and read everyone's suggestions but make your own decision.
Most of my tanks were also in my basement. My 75g was in my wall with a sump in another room so it sounds like a slightly similar setup. My 200g prop tank was also in my fish room. Two of my 3 nano's were spread around the house.
I'm looking forward to meeting your family on Saturday.
C
jcjstl
New member
Ok change of plans .. Just found out that my company is getting bought out so im ot going to invest in a full system yet but I still want to get my feet wet so to speak, I have a 10 gallon tank a couple of unknown brand or rated power heads ands the same emporer 400 hob filter. I was thinking of starting small so I wouldnt have to buy 50pds of live rock and a bunch of live sand right off the bat. I was thinking if i start smaller it will let me get started on a smaller system and only buy a few pounds of live sand to seed regular sand bed and 10 pounds of live rock or so ... So a with that said.. i have a couple questions... 1 is this a stupid plan of action, and 2 where can i buy sand buy the pound instead of 20 pound bags
stevecards
New member
The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide
by Michael S. Paletta is an absolutely wonderful book to read before starting out in saltwater. It is entirely geared towards individuals new to the hobby. Can get it off amazon for about $12 I think.
by Michael S. Paletta is an absolutely wonderful book to read before starting out in saltwater. It is entirely geared towards individuals new to the hobby. Can get it off amazon for about $12 I think.
jcjstl
New member
Thank you i will look into that book i guess part of my question is will it really be any cheaper to start out a 10 gallon versus a 55 gallon i have both and really the main price difference that i see in start up is the amount of live rock which at 5-7 bucks a pound and needing 50-70 pounds i cant see dropping the 500+ bucks on rock with me not knowing if i will have a job in the next few months.....
Shooter7
New member
Actually, the 55 will cost you more in live rock, salt, lighting for corals, more or stronger pumps for flow, and a protein skimmer would be a good idea.
On a 10g, you obviously don't need as much rock, lighting can be scaled back, don't need as much flow, and you can go completely without a protein skimmer by doing weekly water changes. Biggest things with these, though, is resisting overstocking with fish and paying close attention to what you're doing. That's not much volume to play with so bad things can happen quickly. Would definitely invest in a refractometer to measure salinity if you go that small.
On a 10g, you obviously don't need as much rock, lighting can be scaled back, don't need as much flow, and you can go completely without a protein skimmer by doing weekly water changes. Biggest things with these, though, is resisting overstocking with fish and paying close attention to what you're doing. That's not much volume to play with so bad things can happen quickly. Would definitely invest in a refractometer to measure salinity if you go that small.
MayoBoy
Movin' on Up
A larger tank is more forgiving of mistakes. It's easier to keep everything in check and more difficult for things to go south in a hurry (not that it can't happen...)
A good way around the initial cost is to use a base rock and then seed it with live rock. You can get some nice holey limestone at a nursery/stoneyard to fill the majority of your tank and then put 5 or 10 lbs of live rock on top of it. All of the "goodies" in the live rock will make their way into the base rock over a span of weeks and months.
Another good seed is the bottom crud from Premium Aquatics - www.premiumaquatics.com They scrape it out of the bottom of their rock curing tubs and sell it. It's full of snails, worms, and all manner of fauna. They're in Indianapolis so ground shipping will get it here the next day. However, unless you're at home, you don't want to let it sit outside in 100 degree temps so wait for a decent span of weather to order it.
Nursery rock should run you 20 or 30 bucks. Seeding rock, another 40 or 50. Get a couple of bags of play sand from Home Depot or Lowes - 5 or 10 bucks. Bottom grunge from Premium, 20 bucks. A bucket of salt, 30 bucks. You'll need to either buy RO water or have yours tested to see what it's like. Or buy a RO filter for 100 bucks (it pays for itself in the long run).
The main thing is to start with good water - if you don't things can go downhill quickly. You'll also eventually need some decent lights. Watch the board as you can usually pick something up for dimes on the dollar.
Let me know when you're set up and I'll break off some frags to get you started (as will any other number of people here).
A good way around the initial cost is to use a base rock and then seed it with live rock. You can get some nice holey limestone at a nursery/stoneyard to fill the majority of your tank and then put 5 or 10 lbs of live rock on top of it. All of the "goodies" in the live rock will make their way into the base rock over a span of weeks and months.
Another good seed is the bottom crud from Premium Aquatics - www.premiumaquatics.com They scrape it out of the bottom of their rock curing tubs and sell it. It's full of snails, worms, and all manner of fauna. They're in Indianapolis so ground shipping will get it here the next day. However, unless you're at home, you don't want to let it sit outside in 100 degree temps so wait for a decent span of weather to order it.
Nursery rock should run you 20 or 30 bucks. Seeding rock, another 40 or 50. Get a couple of bags of play sand from Home Depot or Lowes - 5 or 10 bucks. Bottom grunge from Premium, 20 bucks. A bucket of salt, 30 bucks. You'll need to either buy RO water or have yours tested to see what it's like. Or buy a RO filter for 100 bucks (it pays for itself in the long run).
The main thing is to start with good water - if you don't things can go downhill quickly. You'll also eventually need some decent lights. Watch the board as you can usually pick something up for dimes on the dollar.
Let me know when you're set up and I'll break off some frags to get you started (as will any other number of people here).
jcjstl
New member
MayoBoy and shooter ... thank you both ... after the input from MayoBoy and talking with my wife .. shes telling me to do the 55 instead of the ten i think i am going to stick with the 55 what do you guys think of a red sea prizm 90 gal skimmer. craig813 has one for 20 bucks. also from what i read i really like marshal island lr ... what do you guys think of it...
Reggae Fish
Premium Member
Regarding your rock...Get what YOU like...I personally like Kaelini...It is pretty dense so you get a lot of space filled for less and Marshall Island is typically quite a bit more expensive...(I've seen it as high as $9.50/lb.)
The kaelini also colors up very quickly and nice. I actually decided to take rock out of my tank and put it in my sump and I have Kaelini, Marshall Island, and Univa and I chose to put my M.I. in my sump but that doesn't matter because it's all about what you like...Good luck! Keep us posted
