questions about water additives

[dumpsta]

Hi

I don't have a saltwater tank but I wanted to know what more was involved. If I started out with 0 ppm water and used instant ocean or equivalent to get to required salinity, what else would i need to satisfy requirements for most corals and fish? Would i need ph or hardness adjusters, buffers?

I am planning on using dry/dead rock (caribsea base rock) with dry regular sand. The live stuff is too expensive, and i can wait for it to cycle. Is that a good idea? Does live rock affect the water chemistry differently than regular rock? I don't want to deal with unwanted critters either.

I have a 20g long and a 10g that I was planning on using as a sump. Petco has $1/gallon right now and was maybe thinking about getting a 29g and using the 20g as a sump. I would have better light penetration with the 20g.

 

[billdogg]

At least starting out, you won't have to dose anything. If you decide on a SPS (small polyp stony) or LPS (large polyp stony) coral reef, you will probably have to dose Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium, although depending the number/size of your corals and what type of salt (Reef Crystal vs regular Instant Ocean) and how often you do water changes, you might not have to dose even then.

As for Petco's $1/g sale - look at a 40 breeder - it isn't that much more to purchase and has a very nice footprint for aquascaping.

I have never wasted $$$ on Live Rock or Live Sand and I like to thing I'm doing fairly well with my systems. Yes, it takes longer to get through the initial cycle and a bit longer to become fully established, but if you use a proper quarantine tank for ALL purchases you can avoid most all of the nasty hitchhikers that have been known to show up unexpectedly.

hth

 

[gone fishin]

What Bill said and there is a great sticky at the top of the forum called setting up, look for the big red arrow.

 

[dumpsta]

I was thinking about a 40 gallon, but I also have a 55 gallon, and i rent. Thanks I will look at the faqs.