My First Marine Tank.....

I acquired a 55g with some equipment and am ready to set up as a marine tank. This is my first salt water tank. I have been looking for information towards a successful setup. Equipment wise, here's what i know and am prepared to tackle:

1) I am ready to start setting up a sump w/ a 20gal long tank and few acrylic dividers and some filter media. In it I will place an Emperor 400 power filter I already have and my heater. I will also be investing in a skinner that will go in this sump as well.

2) Main tank will have an overflow leading to the sump, and 2 powerheads on either side. I have a UGF but I doubt I will be using it unless already having the equipment makes it a must use? Live sand on the bottom and liverock in the tank. No fish for a couple of months.

3) Lighting, i think, is my current weakness. If im wrong or im missing something else let me know right away. I have single floresent bulbs now. What are my true options? I was looking at the LFS at the Hagen Glo T5 HO Lighting System - Double - 48. This is what im leaning towards as my low cost solution. Is there a DIY solution i should look at?

4) Water source is an issue for me. For the set up, im getting R/O water from the LFS. What about after the setup, like water changes. WHat is my best solution for this?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Ok, sounds pretty good. here are a few tips:
-dont use the under gravel filter.
-use RO water for now, but in the end a RO/DI unit will pay for itself. Dont use tap water for ANYTHING!
-Dont skimp on the lights. You will end up buying better lights anyway, so dont spend the money twice. I would look for a used T5 setup. Or you could retro fit something. Look for something with at least a 4 bulb T5.

 

Looks like you've done your homework! Since I'm in a 29 gallon, I buy my water from my LFS. They kick butt and come to your house to help you out for free. I use 5gal jugs to measure my water. The only reason why I still buy my water is because I'm one of those "support the locals" kinda guys.

You could use the time that your tank is cycling to save up for some lights. Depending on your light housing, you might consider buying a retro kit to fit some t5's or PC's in there.

 

what type of animals are you planning on keeping? Corals or no corals? No corals you could go with the cheaper lights, most softies and LPS will require at least T5HO or PC lights, and SPS requires MH lights. MH will generally require a chiller also to keep temps down

If you buy used fixtures most of the time you would have to replace the bulbs as bulbs change spectrum when they age and can cause things like algea or poor coral growth. So take that into consideration!

Like said above do not use an undergravel EVER in saltwater tank. If you have live rock, sand and a sump you are set for filtration!

It is your choice whether or not to get a RO/DI filter. You need to weigh the pros and cons wiht it. With a 55g tank rough estimates you will need at least 5 gallons of RO/DI topoff (that might be low estimate) and anywhere from 10-20g of saltwater for water changes maybe more depending on how frequent you do waterchages. Lugging water gets very old very fast. But RO/DI filters are not always feasible when it comes to money While they are not outrageously expensive it is an expense. Look at how much your LFS charges for their water...then consider how much it would cost you to replace the water in a month. Then look at RO/DI filters. Also consider salt purchase...LFS will sell saltwater premade. Take into consideration how much salt will cost you. Then look at different sites to see if it is worth it or not.

Ask your LFS where they pull their water out from. Do they remove it from their tank supply or do they have a seperate holding container JUST for the water they sell. If they pull it out of their systems, then you might have problems.

I got my unit at Air, Water and Ice. I found it a necessary item in my house as I have many tanks and the water that was being sold at the LFS was very poor quality. They were not changing their filters and ahd a lot of TDS.

Good luck to you and have fun! You are already off to a good start by researching and asking question!!

 

check out TheFilterGuys.Biz for a good ro/di unit, you wont be sorry you bought one.

 

Excellent point. Just to set a standard, I get my water at $1 a gallon. They use Reef Crystals and have the water heated to 79 degrees. The water comes from a large, constantly mixing tank. As an added bonus, they loan out 5gal containers free of charge.

If they didn't put that amount of effort, I doubt I'd be buying my water.

 

Welcome to the world of salt water! Are you planing on having corals? If so and you should start with the simple soft corals like Mushrooms, Colt coral, Frogspawn, Hammer and Star polups. These are easier to care for and nice looking in the tank. These require minimum lighting like T5's. I recommend a 4 x 54W 48" bulb fixture. If you have a canopy you can get a retofit kit that is usually 47" wide and needs to be simply screwed into the top of the canopy. If you want to get creative with moonlights I highly recommend the moons so you can see the reef at night. There are systems that also have dawn/dusk options where 2 of the bulbs can come on for an hour or two before the rest of the bulbs. This keeps the temperature in check and it makes for a true to life light pattern. Example: 10 am to noon & 7 PM to 9 PM dawn/dusk
noon to 7 PM daylights (all T5's)
9 PM to 10 AM Moonlights and refugium light if applicable.
Go to buildyouraquarium.com and they have some nice retofit kits at resonable prices. You really should immediately upgrade your bulbs to soften the starkness of the 10K daylights and the 420mn Blue actinics. Figure the 4 bulb upgrade to be around $22 a bulb plus shipping. Use reefgeek.com for bulbs. I recommend 2 ATI Blue Plus and a UVL 75/25 14000K and a UVL Aquasun 10000K pink or for more blue an ATI Aquablue 12000K. Use an ATI Blue Plus and the UVL 75/25 for your dawn/dusk. Final costs are $220 for the fixture plus shipping w/moons lights and dawn/dusk setup or 3 cords for use on a coralife dual timer. 4 bulbs are approx. $22 each plus shipping. Maybe $330 total. Here we're talking killer looking tank! If you want to go with a 6x54W T5 retrofit that would be $270 plus 6 x $22 for bulbs. That's really more than you need to be honest but it's feasible. You don't want the generic bulbs that come with the fixtures. To stark, algae blooms, hot etc. Good luck!

 

Maybe I haven't done ENOUGH research.

Thank you for all you responses. Talk about heading in the right direction. Glad i found this forum.

Like I expected lighting was going to be my biggest struggle. I currently have a set of 24" lights, single bulb florescent, the cheap kind that comes with the starter tanks. I work at a furniture plant and the factory is going to make me a canopy for the tank. YEAH! So i think a retrofit will work great. I will follow the links you guys have given to me and see what Im looking at and ask questions once i get there. marlinman kinda lost me there for a sec, but ill find my way back, or ask questions along they way.

Fish/Coral: I haven't decided on what fish/coral i would want. I just want to get a feel for the hobby first. Thinking i would like some live rock, clown fish, and tang. you know, Nemo and Dory! I would like an anemone but i know they need good light. Some cleaners like starfish and snails and hermit crabs. Haven't looked into compatibility yet. My son, 20 months, loves this movie and so do I. But you cant believe everything you see in the movies. I don't think the movies fish combination's are "SUCCESSFUL" in a tank.

RO/DI unit: I live in an apartment. Can i still install something like this? This makes storing water and drums kinda difficult! Someone told me that i could use distilled water, is this true? Is this the same as purified drinking water? I can get this from my local supermarket at 36cents a gal if I could use this and mix in the salt that would be great?

 

Water Changes! The more, the better.. During my first marine tank set up, i overlooked the idea of water changes. These are key, trust me.

Good Luck!


Ben
200 gal. 200 lbs. fiji live. 2 perc. 4 green chrom. 3 peppermint shrimp, 1 ch. chip star. 2 cardinal, 2 damsels(1 neon). White sabae anemone, bubbletip corals, shoestring anemone.

 

An RO unit just hooks up to your faucet. I live in an apartment, too, and it's not a problem. You just need an adapter to screw the RO unit's intake tube to your sink. You can get that at any Home Depot. I currently have my RO unit going right into my sump so I just top off that way, but you can get those 5 gallon water jugs from like WalMart or something and store water that way. They're small and easy to store away. I did it for years.

I would NEVER use distilled water. Distilleries are known for using copper pipes, and copper, even in TRACE amounts, can be lethal to many many saltwater organisms. Especially invertebrates.

Wow, really? A newbie who actually listens to advice. I'm shocked! Good job! Karma for that!! Welcome to 3reef - you're certainly poised for success. grinthumbs: