Help need to know everything i need to start

dont worry about fuge's now, just worry about getting what rock and sand you want and getting a decent skimmer and lights. Keep it simple for now and you will do fine.

 

SO . in order to get my tank running and the process started i need

Pump?
skimmer?
liverock and base rock
live sand ? 3in deep ?4?
lighting what lighttin will i need if i want a tank with live rock and fish and coral.
also i need a temp controller ?right

anything im forgettin

 

yes for flow in the tank, koralia are popular choices

you don't need a skimmer right away but plan on it after the cycle is done.
also stay away from the seaclone, they are garbage skimmers.

yes

that is a mater of preference. some do 3 some do 4

well it depends on how much you can spend and what type of corals you want to keep.
MH are more expensive but you can keep any type of coral
t5's are less expensive and opinions are varied on what you can keep under them.I have seen people here at 3 reef keep just about anything under t5's.(not trying to start a debate with MH users)

yes you will need a heater and a thermometer.

also a way to measure your salt , either a hydrometer or a more accurate refractometer.
also to start out right don't use tap water to fill the tank ro or ro/di water would be best to start with and help stop some problems down the road.

 

Tank/ got
Sand/ need, doesnt have to be live (cause its pricey)
Rock/ base is cheap and a good starter, but it will come live with time. You need about 1lb / gallon to be good
Light/ The more you have the better, Meal halide and t-5 is best.
Skimmer is better with a sump, you can go with a good filter and skimmer
Temp controller? you mean heater? yes you will probaly need one in the north area if that is where you are.

 

u guys couldnt be anymore helpfull .thanks ima get finished buildin that stand and get to work with the rest soon

 

You've centainly been given some good advice. You must read about the hobby before considering starting a reef. Otherwise you will get discouraged and fail. It's not that hard if you know what your doing and the only way is to read, hang out in the good fish stores. Talk to other reef owners. Listen to how the salespeople do things. Ask a lot of questions. I read into a few books. My favorite is The Marine Reef Aquarium by Phillip Hunt. The website www.wetwebmedia.com is fantastic reading. Reef Keeping 101 This is good beginner info. I don't recommend a 3" sand bed. Sand is for looks and it keeps gobies happy. I have a 1" sand bed and I don't have sand under my rocks. I have eggcrate (drop ceiling light panel) under the rocks to protect the glass in case of an avalanche. Sand holds the good, bad and the ugly. I'm not a chemist so your going to have to read up on this. Sand catches the fish waste and unused food. Both of these are bad. They immediatly become ammonia and quickly become nitites and then nitrates. Fish can handle a small amount of nitrates. The more sand you have over 1" and under 4" just complicates things. Once you reach a 4" sand bed it is considered a DSB deep sand bed. The sand bed is deep enough that it can hold the nitrates in the lower layer but it's tricky and if it gets disturbed you can lose everything. I have a DSB in my refugium. If it runs into a problem I don't have to take my whole display tank down.
Lighting is important and being handy with a tape measure is necessary. Remember you have to get into your tank to clean, feed and pick up corals that might fall over. Try to allow yourself 6" to work with. If the light takes up the whole top how are you going to care for it? Canopies are good in that they open and take the lights out of your way. Canopy lights are called retofit kits. They aren't boxed in plastic and are wide open. For instance, if your tank is 36" wide a retrofit will be 35" or so long. A standand boxed in light fixture will be 36" long. This is why you can't put a standard fixture under a canopy. If you are going to have a canopy you need a fan to cool off the water. As you can see yada yada yada there are a lot of little issues you want to avoid. I hope I helped and i didn't discourage you. The important thing is if you are going to do anything worthwhile you want to do it right!

 

Read this one cover to cover. Good book. It was the first book I got.

This is one of the great truths IMO. For skimmers look at (in my order of preference)....

**Aqua Medic Turbo Flotor1000 Multi-SL
**AquaC Remora Pro
**Octopus BH-100F

For lighting, if you are going to do reefkeeping (and you probably are....it is just too tempting), here are my two standard options.

**ATI 6x39W T5 array http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...module_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI
**TEK 6x39W T5 array http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...t_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

The TEKs are probably your best bet. I like the quality of the ATI better, but TEKs are just great units. And they both come with high quality bulbs. Yes, it does matter what brand of bulb you buy.

Now, if you hop onto eBay, you will see a lot of cheap lighting fixtures. Don't be tempted by that which goes by Odyssea. Cheap fixtures. Cheap workmanship. Bad bulbs. Waste of money. I know. I own one.

Now, bare-bones start.....this is what I would do.

**Find a place in your house that is NOT in direct sunlight. Tank placement is important. Indirect is fine. Carpet is not OK. Wood floor is living on the edge but preferred over carpet. I have mine on wood. It does not look good now, with the three floods that I have had to deal with, but that is fine. The tank isn't going anywhere.

**Get a dedicated garbage can where you are going to mix your saltwater for the initial set up and water changes. You will need a small powerhead to aid in the mixing. Fill it up with about 45 gallons and mix in the salt. Brand of salt is important also. Mixed opinions as well. I use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. Don't mess around.....get the bucket 'o salt that will mix 160 gallons. Here is a link to the cheapest you will find Pet Supplies | Dog & Cat Supplies, Pet Meds | DrsFosterSmith.com Pet Products. Mix your batch up 24 hours ahead of time. I would purchase a refractometer right off the bat. NEW! Salinity Refractometer 4 Aquarium Pond Hydrometer - eBay (item 220371622230 end time Mar-05-09 21:13:23 PST)

**Once your tank is in place and you are ready to go, I would cut to fit a piece of eggcrate to fit the bottom of the tank. Make sure your cut is an inch from all sides. You do not want to nick the silicone. This will even out the weight of the LR on the bottom of the tank. You can get eggcrate at Home Depot in the lighting section

**Put the sand on the eggcrate

**Lay down a layer of glad wrap and slowly add the water on top of the glad wrap. This will prevent a sandstorm. The wrap will rise with the water level. You can perform this with a small pump, some hose, pvc and a ball valve. Here is a pic of my set up....


**Put the rock in. Some people put the rock in, then the sand. I didn't. More stable with the rock, then the sand.

**Power up your pumps and heater. If you are running a mechanical/chemical filtration unit, do so without the carbon until the tank is cycled. You do not need a skimmer until the tank is cycled. You only need actinic lighting until the tank is cycled. If you want to run the tank dark you can do that, but that's no fun. I would get a small yellow-tail damsel to help cycle the tank. Just one fish. They are hardy and tough to kill.

Well. I think that is about it for this marathon post.

Good luck.......and Peace.......John.

 

THANKS SO MUCH.one problem u gota get me a better price on the lights mayb ill get them layter cant afford them now though. i have some standars florescents for now can i just cange the bulbs on the for now ill work on better when i get the tank up and going.

 

always make sure you do it right the first time, because in this hobby fixing something you did wrong almost always end up costing more money and alot of cases headaches..

so basically im saying is read reviews before purchasing something, skimmers especially.

 

I would not put live rock in my tank if someone else paid for it and brought it to me and then put it in the tank .. Lots of money can be wasted setting up a marine system and Just paying more does not guarantee success .