Patience! Talk to me about patience...

[jparamch]

So I finally picked up my tank and I got it in the house, all set up and ready to go. So I head to the LFS to get some salt, a RO setup, and some sand. Damn - only 24 gallons per day on the RO...so 3 days of constant waiting before I can even turn on the tank! Then I have to let the water run for a bit, get the salinity right before even adding my sand, let along LR!

Anyway a question I have is - What size heater should I get for a 60G tank? And should I keep it in the sump or in the main tank? Submersible or not? I tend to keep my house cold in the winter (63 when I'm at work, 69 at home, 60 at night) and I like a low 70s in the summer...

I'll be posting pics once I get some LR in there to keep you all interested. I'm retardedly excited about my first reef tank, but taking it slow. The last thing I want is dead pets

 

[lakwriter]

I would suggest 2 smaller heaters rather than one large one. You could have one in the tank and one in the sump, or both in the tank, depending on your preference. I have a 200w heater in my 29g.

BTW, if you have a LFS that sells RO set ups, they might also make and sell their own RO water. This would eliminate the initial waiting for your RO unit to catch up. Just go get some buckets for the water a Home Depot...theyll come in handy later anyway.

 

[jparamch]

Yes the LFS I bought the setup from does sell it for $1/gallon...but I couldn't imagine hauling that much water! I do have four 5 gallon water containers already - perhaps it's worth the splurge to get things moving

So for a 60G I should probably go with two 200w heaters based on your setup. Thanks for the tips! Keep 'em coming!

 

[Shagsbeard]

Patience is hard because it's counter to the survival of our species. We don't wait for food... we go out and get it. We don't wait for air to find us at the bottom of a lake... we go to the surface to get it.

Problem with this hobby is that patience is essential. You're going to want to let your tank "go" for months while you observe some change you made, or some coral that you introduced, or for some parasite to die off.

Three days is nothing. But it is time well spent if you are getting good quality water as a result. Water quality is our prime concern in this hobby. Don't skimp on it.

 

[jparamch]

I realize the three days is going to pale in comparison to my first cycle after I add my sand & rock. But I want to get that started soon so I can start that dreadful wait (and even just to see something other than a powerhead in my tank

 

[FZ1Rider]

The waiting isn't that bad in my opinion. You just have to forget about the tank in your house and spend all your time reading online and looking at other people's tanks. I know because this worked fine for me and (I'm really not kidding) when I have a UPS package on the way I click reload on the tracking page once every 5 minutes minimum.

The process of filling and all may be slow but once you get the live rock you'll start seeing all this cool stuff. My wife and I must have spent hours looking at the tank just because of all the strange stuff on the LR we got.

My recommendation for LR BTW is craigslist. Tops I've paid is $3.50 a pound, all fully cured, crawling with hitchhikers and I've met some really nice, helpful people in my area. Also no shipping.

Good luck!

 

[jparamch]

good point about craigslist for Lr. I'll look into that. thanks!