Need help

[yaisel]

Hi am starting a new 55 gallon reef tank,am planing to cycle it with live rock,now my question is after I cycle with live rock should I put the live sand?I think it would be more stable.Also am having a huge problem with lighting I been all over the net trying to find a light for soft and hard corals for my tank but am in a stump and don't know what to buyAm mostly looking to keep hardly corals sence this is my frist time and later add on.Also how much live rock and sand should I use?and do I trun light on while cycle or not I heard both ways on truning light on for a few hours and not.Has my frist time on reef tank any tips should be good for me on setting up tank and the water chemistry.

[Calawah]

That's a lot of questions!

I put my sand in right before I put my rocks in, I figured that since you're trying to establish what are essentially the same bacterial fauna on both surfaces, might as well put them in at the same time. Also the sand clouded my water for a couple of days, and having the rock in there helped slow the current down enough to let some of the finer particles settle.

From what I've read if you want to grow hard corals you probably want to have some sort of Metal Halide lighting or a lot of watts of T-5, but I don't actually have any direct experience with this, so you'll want to wait for the heavyweights to chime in there.

As for the live rock you want anywhere from 1-2 pounds per gallon, depending upon what type of rock you use and your taste in aquascaping, the denser the rock, the more weight you'll need. The live sand question is a bit more nuanced, I think the amount you put in is related to the type of setup you ultimately want to have. I wanted a deep sand bed, so theres about 65 pounds in my 58 gallon tank.

I am running my lights while my tank cycles, but that's because my live rock came with a lot of coralline algae that I want to keep alive. I think there are good reasons to cycle either way, it mostly depends on your individual situation.

[lunatik_69]

Welcome aboard mate.
1. You should already have sand in the tank while cycling. If you put it in later, you willgo through another cycle.
2. Lighting is a very important piece of equipment to buy, just like a skimmer. It really boils down to what your bank account says. I personaly would get MH, you never can go wrong with them. Or you can go with T-5's. Just keep in mind that if you start off cheap now, you'll spend more at the end after you have "up-graded". Get the good stuff from the getcho.
3. I like to use the ratio 1.25-1.50 lbs of LR per gal. LS is a personal perf. but I like to have 1"-2" off it. Try to use fine grain sand.
4. I wouldnt turn the lights on b/c you dont need it. The cycling process is to start the growth of bacteria to help filter the water. Bacteria doesnt need light to grow, but algae does and if you leave the lights on, thats what your gonna get. You dont want to start off a new tank with algae problems.

Read as much as you can and ask alot of Q's and no matter what happens, try to fight the urges to impulse buy. Try this site and it will give you a good start. Saltwater Aquarium Setup Guide Good luck and keep us posted. Luna

[omard]

To 3Reef!!!

Salutations! Glad to see you found way here!


Always great for us to see a new tank going up.

Keep us posted on progress.


Some "help" links posted below.


Good Luck!


Scott

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00

Knowing How to Set Up a Marine Aquarium, Adam Blundell M.S.

Your First Reef aquarium: How to Create a Miniature Coral Reef System at Home.
by J. Charles Delbeek B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Sc.

About.com - Saltwater Aquariums 101 "Getting Started" FREE Email Course

Thinking about setting up a saltwater aquarium? (melevsreef.com)

An Introduction to the Marine Aquarium Hobby (Part 1) - Associated Content (Parrothead)

An Introduction to the Marine Aquarium Hobby (Part 2) - Associated Content (Parrothead)

"Getting Started" - Mike Paletta

A List Of Good Beginner Fish

Fish To Be Avoided - I

Fish To Be Avoided - II

Your Aquarium Cleanup Crew

Corals

What They Are and How They Live

by J. Charles Delbeek

"They are mysterious guests from an exotic world. Unlike anything else we keep in an aquarium, they represent the essence of the coral reefs that we try to duplicate in our living rooms. Our success at this effort depends greatly on how well we understand these unusual life forms.

Unfortunately, for the average hobbyist, the increased availability of these animals is not matched by the information available concerning their biology and care. Too often, hobbyists know more about who manufactures their aquarium equipment than basic biological information, or proper identification of the animals they are striving to keep. And yet, without this information it is difficult to provide the optimum conditions that will allow them to grow and reproduce."

Answers to Everything!

Marine Aquarium Articles and FAQ's
WebMedia.com

Learn to Live With It

Adam Blundell M.S.

"...As surprising as it may seem your tank will look ugly at first. This happens to all new marine aquariums as they cycle through their initial filtration phase. Your tank may go brown, and then green, and then red, and then just look junky. It happens. Consequently the one coral you really want to keep may not live. You may struggle to raise the prize fish you originally intended to acquire. It's okay; just learn to love whatever is working for you. Remember, not only is this a hobby, but we are keeping living ecosystems. Special efforts should be put forth to enjoy and appreciate what we are keeping, whatever it may be. It takes time and patience to turn a glass box full of rock into a beautiful, thriving reef tank..."

[yaisel]

Thanks all for the welcome!Am still reading alot before starting and but am still stuck on lighting,I keep reading about the lights but my problem is that their is so many options for lighting I don't know what exact to chose would anybody recomand me a models that is good for 55 gallon reef tank?I know about mh and t-5 but Like I said so many options am stuck!Am looking for one that is cheap not too costly.
Also how many powerheads should I use?

[omard]

Originally Posted by yaisel

Thanks all for the welcome!Am still reading alot before starting and but am still stuck on lighting,I keep reading about the lights but my problem is that their is so many options for lighting I what exact to chose would anybody recomand me a models that is good for 55 gallon reef tank?I know about mh and t-5 but Like I said so many options am stuck!Am looking for one that is cheap not too costly.
Also how many powerheads should I use?

My recommendation for starter light. Or something like it. Ideal for a 55 when keeping softies (and maybe some frogspawn) - most hardy of corals.

I now run on a 125 gal with MH supplematation.

48 inch 4x65 Watt Current USA PowerCompact Orbit Fixture

Let us know what you come up with...

[Bogie]

^ +1 on the Orbit, Omard, that's what I have now, and it seems to work great. I'm not adding in any corals until the tank is at least 6 months old, but that 4 x 65w is good enough for soft corals or anemones. I like it b/c it has 2 dual actinic and 2 dual daylight pc bulbs, as well as 4 led "moon lights". Buy it from Fish.com, they have a 150% price guarantee, and ask them to match the price on marineandreef.com, or anywhere else you can find it cheaper - then they'll beat that price with an even lower price.

I'd get at least one powerhead... you can pick up a Rio pretty cheap and they seem to be reliable. Any other questions, feel free to ask and good luck to you.