Newbie questions about 75 gallon setup

Hi Guys and Gals,


I am new to saltwater but have read enough to know patience is the key to getting started and want a little advice on what will be my first saltwater aquarium. I want to use the K.I.S.S (Keep it simple stupid)method when doing this tank. My tank is a tempered glass 75 gallon tank (48LX18Wx20H) and I do not want a sump tank because of the overflow stories I have read when the power goes out and also the K.I.S.S method I would like to stick with on my first tank. I do not plan on overstocking tank and have really only decided on getting two clownfish and an anenome to begin with and will add a few more and be careful not to overload the tank. I will add skimmer later on with lights that can support corals but for now want to get info on live or dry sand.

I have decided to go with dry rock (Marcorock Key Largo) and will have 110 lbs or so of rock and want a 4 inch dsb but wanted to know if I should just get dry sand to keep unwanted hitchhikers out or are they only a problem in the live rock? I would like to get mostly dry sand with some live sand but wanted to know if unwanted pest would be an issue with sand or just live rock? If I get all dry rock and sand would I simply add a dead shrimp to cycle tank and how long on average would it take to turn dry rock and sand to live rock and sand? I have read that agronite sand will make a good sand base but wanted any suggestions on other types. I am looking for white sand that is not easily blown around by powerheads so a size would also be helpful.

I have decided to go with Koralia powerheads (2 powerheads)and wanted to know what size or gph I would need for tank with keeping corals in mind?

How long after the tank has cycled do you think I could go before I needed a skimmer with only having 2 clowns ( I have read in some post of people that do not use sumps or skimmers and would like to be able to do same thing)?

What type ro/di unit would work for me and I would like to spend no more than around $200 on a unit?

Last but not least sorry for this long first post.;D

 

Welcome to 3reef.

 

Thanks for the info and funny you should be first to answer because I lurk over on other forum and saw your post there and that is why I came over to have a look see and think this site is great. One more question about cycle, I should just add dead shrimp to start cycle with dry sand and rock?

 

A shrimp will help the cycle have a jump start, as something will be decomposing. But it will still happen without the shrimp. If you do choose to go the shrimp route be sure it is a raw shrimp & not cooked.

I didn't see you mention anything about live rock? Do you have any? A small piece of live rock is needed to get coraline to grow on other rocks. This is known as "seeding". You could even put in a shell that has coraline on it or get scrapings from another matured, cycled tank. Though a small piece of LR will be best mainly because there will be more of it, it will be the the quickest to spread.

With sand in there, there should be enough the nutrients/bacteria for the cycle to happen.

 

I do not have any live rock and was going to try and stay away from it because of the unwanted problems that can come with live rock. I could add some live rock if it is needed and just cross my fingers I guess. I also have read how coralline will become more of a nuisance with having to clean it off glass and equipment so it is not that important to me but if I get it i get it. I mainly want a few fish and some softies. I have made up my mind not to rush this and just want as few problems as I can have and am trying to start with a clean tank and only add what I want and not have to worry about mantis shrimp and the other problems that can be introduced by accident.

 

Bulk reef supplies has good deals on RO/DI units. get at least a 100gpd with tds meter.

 

To be sure you don't have unwanted hitchhikers you can quarantine your LR while curing. This will prevent die off from happening in your tank. You can also put it in a SW bucket at a higher/lower temp(I forget which one. try "Googling" it) & critters should come right out.

Coraline algae can become nuisance if you get too much. Though it does take quite a while to spread. But if coraline is not in interest to you that is fine too.

 

If you are worried about getting a hitch-hiker with the live rock there are ways to chase them out. I use a baster and squirt fresh RO water into the cracks. This will chase out mantis shrimps and other critters. I know where your coming from as I had a snow crab in my first 65g setup but it was easy to catch him because I moved up to a 120g and I caught the little sucker. When I moved up to my current 210g I added more rock and then I found a mantis shrimp. Yikes! I could never catch him unless I took all the rock out and squirted RO water into every crack. He is now about 2" long and scary. It was after this that I heard about the squirting so I want to share this with you so you do it right. Good luck

 

Thanks for the tip marlinman, I will go that route and get some live rock to go with the dry rock so it will help speed up the process of turning it all into live rock. I want to spend my money mostly on the ro/di unit and lights so going to go slow and try and cut down on as many problems as I can since this will be my first saltwater tank. I think if I go slow I will be fine without a sump tank as long as I do not overload the tank. I will finish my stand soon and already have the tank just trying to get info on basics because I will be ordering items soon and want to be ready to get started within the next 2-3 weeks.

 

I say go for the sump so you can expand later...we all know the addiction that follows. As for the overflow, those horror stories are more rare than common. If you design the sump and overflow correctly you shouldn't have any issues, even in the event of a failure of equipment.

Good luck!