Hello everyone

[Pat02026]

I am setting up my first saltwater tank in the next few weeks, so i have just been sifting through all of the good info this site has to offer. I have experience with freshwater, but I am ready to take the dive and go salt. I purchased a 65 with stand/sump/skimmer from a member here and that will be my tank that I am starting with. I have some equipment already, but I need to get a few marine specific test kits, and some type of pump to get the water back up to the tank. I will probaby run a canister filter after the sump box rather than just a powerhead. still in the research phase as far as how my filtration is exactly going to be set up, I am open to suggestions/ideas. I would like to attempt keeping this as simple as possible, that way theres less for me to mess up /Pat

 

[The Ng Thing]

Welcome! Where are you located?

 

[Pat02026]

I am in Dedham. I have a 55 gallon fresh tank I am trying to sell before I set up the 65. I need to come up with an RO system, some sand and live rock in the next few weeks before I can get started cycling. I am going to hopefully go to the meeting next weekend. I would like to meet some people, and pick some brains before I start the system.

 

[Royalty]

welcome to the club bro i hope you enjoy your visit

 

[Turbosnail]

Welcome to the BRS. I grew up in Dedham there are other members that live in Dedham too. You should def come to the meeting next weekend it is a great way to meet other members in your area and we all love to talk about our tanks so you can get a ton of info + this is a diy meeting so you can learn how to make your own equipment. The most important thing in this hobby is patience.

 

[Pat02026]

Thanks everyone, My boss has a 90 display/55sump and I seen it in person and I had to have one. I have been told over and over again patience!! Well im awfully impatient, but I think I am going to control myself here. It seems it very easy to jump the gun, and/or spend quite a bit of dough in a hurry. I think my 65 was a good choice, large enough to have a reasonable safety margin, but small enough that I wont have to go crazy big or expensive as far as equipment is concerned. We will see how it goes, I will be absorbing as much info as possible over the next few weeks so I can make the right choices. I am sure I have not even come close to finding all the info here regarding initial tank startup, but cant seem to find anything regarding quantity of sand/rock for the tank. Correct me if i'm wrong but I figure 60- lb rock and enough sand to have a 2" bed. Would that be adequate or should I wait to figure out how my sump filtration is going to be setup? my sump came empty, so I will need to fill it with whatever media/substrate will be used (its an aqueon model 3 that almost fills up inside my cabinet) and figure out a method of return. I will probably run through a decent canister after sump to go back to tank. I have a fluval 204, but I am thinking a 305 or even 405 would be a better choice; doesnt necessarily have to be a fluval either, just something equivalent. The red sea berlin x2 skimmer that came with the tank also doesnt seem to agree with the space constraint inside my cabinet. it will work if i run it in the center chamber in the sump, but the discharge is going to end up dumping directly into the return chamber and unless this thing is good about not spitting out bubbles I will be missing any baffles before going to the discharge pump. I am also concerned about the volume I might loose in the sump with the space the skimmer will take up. Thanks, Pat

 

[nichols]

Welcome to the club. When in doubt ask here. A lot of knowledgeable people on the boards that are always willing to help.

 

[yukyuklee]

welcome to the club! just ask questions... better to ask questions then not ask at all!

 

[Pat02026]

So I purchased a few goodies from the classifieds. I got a seachem RO/DI unit, and the TDI is reading 0 on the out so theres some life left in the cartridges. I also picked up a Coralvue 4x T5/LED light w/ few week old bulbs as well. I got about 70 lb of live rock from two different people, and about 30 lb live sand. I went and bought another 40 lb of aragonite sand for the base, and I will put the live sand as the top layer after the tank finishes filling and I get some salt mixed in. Ive been filling for 3 hrs now and its going slowwwww! I made a 5 gal. bucket last night and it took exactly 1 hr. Too bad I have to go out tonight at about 8:00 and will have to call it quits until tomorrow.

Question; I am running a megasump3, I have the floss filter in the top tray for any particles. I am not running the bioballs (I did not get any with the sump) and it seems like they arent the way to go anyhow. should I just use some of my sand in the sump, or get some coarse gravel? also should I put any leftover liverock in the sump now as well? I am tight for space being such a large sump and my new stand is a bit more confined underneath so space is a concern. I need to figure out how I am going to run my skimmer since it is now not going to fit in the sump with this stand.

 

[Pat02026]

Well after running the RODI through the night the tank is finally just about to the top of the overflow. I added salt, heater, and powerhead to let it mix and settle for a few hours before I start adding the rock. Hopefully I won't have to add too much more water after the rock and the rest of the sand go in. I have a 5 gal. Bucket of sand from a seasoned tank that got taken down less than 48 hours ago; should I put that whole bucket of sand right in my sump and just leave the new sand in the display, or would I be better off splitting it up and putting some of the live sand in the display as well? The majority of my rock come from the same tank on Friday night, both have been in heated containers with a circ. pump.

 

[Moe_K]

Bucket of sand from a seasoned tank that got taken down less than 48 hours ago; should I put that whole bucket of sand right in my sump and just leave the new sand in the display, or would I be better off splitting it up and putting some of the live sand in the display as well?

Howdy, welcome to the BRS. :w

Yeah, I'd add some seasoned sand to the display. Half? Why not? I'd add at least a couple of hands full to inoculate the new sand.

 

[Pat02026]

Thanks Moe. I am guessing there was another 30lb of sand in the bucket, so I put about two inches deep in the sump with the rest of the live rock I had (approx 15lb of small pieces) and layered about an inch of seasoned sand on the front half of my sand bed, in front of the liverock in the display. The tank is super cloudy now from adding the rock and sand, and the sump is still filling before I can plug in the pump and start cycling. I have a pair of korilia 2's in there now with a 300w stealth running to keep some flow in the tank until its done filling. I have been periodically checking salinity and i should be able to make final adjustments in about an hour; Everything should be up and running by then.

 

[Moe_K]

Sweet, that's an exciting time.

 

[Pat02026]

The water has cleared up, ammonia is at .50 nitrite and nitrate are still 0 and my salinity is at 29 ppt. I will get that up to 30 and sit back and wait for the cycle to finish. I am pumped this thing is finally running. I need to get a new skimmer though, that Berlin X2 is junk. It was kinda beat up anyhow so I am not all that unhappy that it doesnt work anyhow. I need to figure out what will be the best route for me to go, I am very tight for space. I would love to be able put it behind my tank, but I dont see that happening. I am tight for space under the stand so it needs to be a rather small footprint.

 

[Pat02026]

Heres a few pics, they are terrible quality from my phone.

 

[The Ng Thing]

Looking good! What kind of inhabitants are you thinking of getting?

 

[Pat02026]

Not too sure yet. I plan on only a few fish for now to see how it goes then I will slowly add some corals. I have two clowns in my fluval that are going into the 65 when it's done cycling. I am probably going to sell the fluval, one tank is enough. I need to see what fish can be happily housed in here, I know this tank is pretty small. I have plenty of time to decide what will go in there I can tell you I won't be doing anything to expensive or sensitive any time soon anyway!

 

[Pat02026]

 

[gweston]

Looking great! I like the open space in the upper part of the tank. Gives the fish some wiggle room, and they'll appreciate that.

I started with a 29gal+15sump. My current tank. Moving to a 125+55sump + 40breeder (frag tank?) soon. A 65 is a decent sized tank. I have 4 fish in my 29 (pretty much maxed out). African Midas Blenny (awesome fish), 2x Clowns, and a Six Line Wrasse (don't get one without reading up on them a lot LOL).

Once the tank is cycled and ready, you are good to add your first corals. I started with frogspawn, hammer, and paly's. Mostly photosynthetic and they don't kick up the bioload really. As you got your liverock and sand live, you'd probably be in the clear (I'd think) to put in two fish to start. Yes, definitely get a decent skimmer. Go for one rated for a tank size notably larger than your system. I use a hang on back Remora (not the pro model) on my system. Though it is rated for a larger water volume, I find it just keeps up. But it could do better. My 125gal upgrade includes an ETSS skimmer rated for up to 400 gallons. I can't wait to see that sucker in action.

About your sump. Liverock is always good. The more the better I say. I skipped putting sand in my sump however. Some people do it. Some don't. I found sand unnecessary. My key parameters are on the mark. Nitrates and phosphates at 0, etc. But... I am rock heavy. I probably have 80lbs+ in my little system. Consider adding chaeto to the sump and putting a light over it (assuming there is enough water volume in there). If you put it on a reverse night/day schedule it'll help steady your PH, and help remove nitrates. Agreed on the bioballs. No need for them. The filter material is fine. Some use that. Some put a sock on the overflow outlet. Others don't filter it. At the moment I don't have a filter on my sump.

If you go with a hang on back skimmer for the display, make sure it has a surface skimmer. If the skimmer goes in the sump then not required. You could consider putting a skimmer outside of the stand if you are tight on space. Feed the skimmer with a pump in the sump. It runs outside the stand to a skimmer, which then feeds back into the sump return. The potential problem with that is noise and/or not wanting to see a skimmer in the living room. For safety, the skimmer should have something below it to catch a potential skimmer overflow.

Lots of possibilities and options. Its what keeps us on our toes, and our wallets empty.

 

[Pat02026]

Well I've got some good news. The tank ran for two weeks and ammonia never exceeded .50 dropped to 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate is at ~.15. I added my two perc clowns, and my zoo from the 6.5 gal. I've got a powder brown tang in my 20l to keep an eye on him hopefully he won't come down with ich and need any treatment. I will watch him for a week or two before he goes into the display. What else should I get for fish, I definatly want a wrasse, and a couple lower level little guys; any recommendations for me?

FWIW I made a screen top that fits tight so anything with potential to jump is safe! Also I got a nice bunch of chaeto from a member that is in a compartment with 5" of sand and rock rubble in my sump, added another 20lb of rock from my other tank, and installed a bubble magus NAC6 skimmer. Also purchased an AC2, but I think I am going to hold off on this for a while and get something a little more modern.