Substrate question

B

bsthom01

New member
Hello all,

I am new to the forum and I was wondering if you all could help me with a couple of questions.


1) I am setting up a new tank - 55g with 90lbs LR and ~80lbs oolitic sand bed, with 2x175 HQI MHs, 2x90W PCS. I have a small excalibur protein skimmer and I am looking to upgrade that. Can you suggest a decent skimmer for a 55g tank in the $100-150 price range?

2) I am setting up a QT and I was wondering if I need a substrate. The tank is a 20L and I was planning to put roughly 1olbs of LR to keep the pH and buffering capacity somewhat stable. Is this a good idea, or should I add some sand?

3) Does anyone know where I can find a replacement powerhead for a Red Sea Prizm skimmer? My has stopped working and I can't seem to find just the replacement powerhead. It appears to be rather specific as it twists into the bottom the of the skimmer.

Thanks in advance and I have really enjoyed looking through the posts so far and I am looking forward getting involved here with the SW community.
 
[welcome]
bsthom01

No sand in the QT, and usually no rock either. Typically, you can colonize some sort of sponge filter in your display with beneficial bacteria and use that plus water changes to stabilize your QT. I just run a HOB filter, powerhead, heater, and some pieces of PVC in my 29 gal QT.
 
I usually keep new guys in there for at least a few weeks if they show no signs of disease and are eating well. I use QT as both a time to observe for disease in the fish and to get the fish acclimated to me, the room, the food I use, time of day for feeding, etc.

If the fish show signs of disease, and thus far I've only had to deal with ich in new fish, then I treat for the designated time for whatever it is you're treating for. Look at the stickied threads in the Fish Disease forum for tips on treating fish with various ailments.

As a sidenote, from time to time we have group orders to liveaquaria in here and it's a good time to pick up fish.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7863273#post7863273 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by levon15
Shooter is a faithful man to the QT tank and his setups have looked good everytime I have seen them.
Click to expand...


Well thank you Levi.... :D

Yes, I am faithful to my QT, however, it's dirty as hell right now and needs to be cleaned out. My fish I want came in stock at LA again, but no order going on right now and I'd have to scramble to get my QT in shape for it. :lol:

Most of the time, though, my QT is either dry or running clean. Storms and power outages and wife ailments and kids have been taking up my time. I finally got a water change done in my 10 gal last night and need to get one done in my big tank. It's getting some algae in it and I need to get some phosphate remover and carbon running to help things out.
 
I was thinking a couple of weeks, so that's good. I'm also thinking of putting a small 10g "hospital" tank in the basement for emergencies, but I'm guessing I could easily put one together in the event that I needed one. It's good to know that you all put together larger orders for live aquaria, I bought all of my LR there and it cost me a fortune to have it shipped here... Thanks for the info !!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7863317#post7863317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shooter7
Well thank you Levi.... :D

Yes, I am faithful to my QT, however, it's dirty as hell right now and needs to be cleaned out. My fish I want came in stock at LA again, but no order going on right now and I'd have to scramble to get my QT in shape for it. :lol:

Most of the time, though, my QT is either dry or running clean. Storms and power outages and wife ailments and kids have been taking up my time. I finally got a water change done in my 10 gal last night and need to get one done in my big tank. It's getting some algae in it and I need to get some phosphate remover and carbon running to help things out.
Click to expand...

Dave,
Why don't you get a LA order going. I would go in this time. They just got in some cool looking corals I would be interested in.
 
Nope, I haven't QT'd any corals because I don't have the lighting needed on the QT, particularly for SPS. What I've done is bought SPS corals from people who I've kind of researched the history of their tanks like some of the guys in the SPS forum, picked ones who haven't been reporting any problems, and prayed. :D I eyeball the corals when I get them and try my best to make sure there's nothing on them. On lower light corals, if I have any thoughts of there potentially being any problems, they go into my 10 gal first and after a time of looking ok and me not spotting any bad guys on them, then I'll move them to the big tank. I have not used any dips so far either, but I know I'm kind of playing russian roulette with these corals and a reason why the new corals I have I only got from 2 sources and I'm not looking to add more right now. At the moment, I have no evidence of any bad coral critters in either of my tanks. Perhaps one day I'll have something better set up to QT corals....could be quicker if anyone feels generous and wants to toss me a tank, pumps, heater, and MH lighting. :D ;)
 
I was thinking the same thing about the MHs :mixed: ;)

Thanks everyone for the help. I've already found several people who are offering very inexpensive "starter" corals. I am planning to start another tank in the near future, but I want to go acrylic with sump and refugium, so I'll call on you again soon for your collective wisdom. Anyway, thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
New 55g setup. Advice for fish appreciated
Replies
6
Views
202
Uncle99
Uncle99
D
New- skimmer question
Replies
3
Views
1K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
beckya
for a 40 gallon breeder
Replies
2
Views
148
griss
griss
T
I'm confused...
Replies
12
Views
342
wvned
wvned
Brian60077
Boyd Chemi-pure
Replies
5
Views
177
Brian60077
Brian60077
Back
Top