New 55 Gal Saltwater tank of sweetness

WhoDey · 09-12-2006, 12:46 AM

I'm like about 10 other guys on here that i've read that are new at this saltwater thing. I've been into tropical tanks for 10 years or so. I want to set up a FOLR tank, with the future option of going into coral. I am thinking 4inches of sand with live rock right off the bat in plain saltwater(RO plus instant ocean). Then let that sit for a month or two before adding a fish. What else would you recomend with this set up?? I know I need a heater, which I can use from my last set-up. What about a filter? Can I use my old filter? Do I even need one if I have live rock, live sand, and a skimmer? How much live rock should I put in the tank?? Can I use half not live rock and half live rock? If so, what is the non-live rock called and where do I get it? I guess maybe a list of things I will need for a good set up would be helpful. Thanks guys!!

P.S. Does anyone have a good suggestion for a place online to buy live rock?? Also, how much live sand to non-live sand will I need?

jkilmer83 · 09-12-2006, 01:36 AM

I will leave the technical stuff to aaron

. I do know that you can seed your sand with 3/4 sand & 1/4 LS the only draw back is longer cycle.
On the rock non live rock is also called base rock and mixed with LR it will eventually become alive. Base rock should be availible at your local pet store ($1.99 per pound)

filters I am still a little fuzzy on

.
A portein skimmer is a must.
With a FOLR you could probibly get away with your old filter, but if want to add coral you might have to upgrade

ahill3780 · 09-12-2006, 11:44 AM

Welcome to FishTankForums!

It sounds like you have a good idea on how to proceed here. 4 inches of sand should be sufficient for natural biological filtration. I would suggest 1.5 - 2 lbs of LR per each gallon of water in the tank. With this amount of natural filtration and a skimmer you should have a good enough filter in place already with these alone, but if you want to supplement it with extra filters (old or new) it will only increase efficiency - I say go for it.

jkilmer is correct when he tells you that 3/4 to 1/4 ratio of base sand/rock to live sand/rock will be good enough to seed the rest of the system. It will take longer than it would if you used all live material, but the lesser cost is worth it. 2 months should be ample time to allow the N. Cycle to run its course but be sure to test for the presence of Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate in the tank before you add fish in.

You can find a great price on LR at LiveAquaria.com (averages out at a little over $2 per pound - all LFS's that I have ever seen sell base (dead) rock at $7 per pound and as much as $12 per pound for cured live rock.)

All rock that you get for the tank will need to be cycled regardless of whether or not it is purchased as Pre-Cured. Die-off is going to occur during transport and the rock is going to leach out the dead material into the water column once it is placed into the tank causing a cycle to occur. (and not a small one either)

Lighting is an important choice and accounts for nearly 1/3 of the total system cost - especially in reef tanks - so don't skimp on this purchase. If you plan to go reef later on down the line then it may be more worth it to buy the expensive lights up front for your FOWLR setup. That way you don't have to upgrade later on down the line and acclimate your current livestock when you upgrade. (Any fish in the tank when you change the lights may go into shock if you simply swap out the fixtures without first acclimating them to the more intense lighting needed for the corals.)

Also, when you decide to upgrade to a reef tank you might want to consider switching from the regular Instant Ocean salt mix to their reef ready mix called Reef Crystals. RCs is more ionically balanced for a reef environment whereas IO is more plain NSW water.

Other things to consider picking up:

Hydrometer/Refractometer to measure the salinity or specific gravity of the water in your tank. Necessary to know when you have added the right amount of salt to the water.
A good test kit. FOWLR Tests= Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Alkalinity. Reef Tests= All tests for FOWLR plus Calcium, Phosphate, Magnesium, and Strontium - maybe Iodine if you can find one, otherwise be very wary of dosing Iodine supplements into the tank.
Marine pH buffer.
Digital Thermometer.
A Powerhead to have on hand in case you need to boost circulation. (extra powerheads always come in handy at some point and I like to keep several around.)
A Quarantine Tank.
A drip-line acclimation kit.
2 35-60 gallon storage containers to hold fresh RO water for top-offs, and premixed saltwater for water changes. Both containers should ideally have their own heaters and powerheads (with air-nozzle attachments).
Buy salt in 5 gallon buckets and use the empty buckets for moving water, try not to use any household buckets for your tank maintanence unless they are brand new. Old salt buckets are best to use as there is no chance of contamination.

If I think of anything else I'll let you know.

HTH,
Aaron

Salty B · 09-12-2006, 10:36 PM

I would also get a canister filter... Like the powerheads, it will help the water circulating and start to build up beneficial bacteria in the filter media. I suggest this because when you put your fish into the tank, if your canister filter had not been running, it could alter levels a bit. (Of course other filters are fine as well, I am just a big enthusiast when it comes to canister filtration)

WhoDey · 09-12-2006, 11:57 PM

Hello again... thanks for the helpfull posts guys!! I have come up with some more questions:

I'm looking for Live Rock right now on the Internet and it seems that liveaquaria.com does have some of the best prices and nicest pictures of their rock. I really like the Select Lalo Live Rock $120 for 30 pounds... Does this seem a little high in price, considering I will pay $50 in shipping for a total of $170 for 30 lbs of nice Rock? Do you think it is worth paying for this stuff? It does look pretty sweet. I am also considering mixing it with another 25 lbs(I would do more but that's how it comes) of the Tonga Branch Live Rock $90. This stuff looks great too. Do you think it would look strange in the same tank? Also, I am wondering if it is going to be a bad idea to stack all of this together. You guys have experience with stacking rock... is it a bad idea to buy all this nice looking rock when most of it will be hidden when I stack it all together? Should I buy some base rock and then put some good stuff on top? I know only experience can answer these questions so please help. We are talking $400 in Live Rock for only 55 lbs!! I am wondering if I buy 30 lbs of the Lalo rock and then maybe a bunch of base rock under that, will the base rock turn into this Lalo Rock when it spreads? What would you start with to get a great looking tank brewing?? I'm also worried that I will kill most of it since my tank will not be established at all when I put this stuff all in my newly mixed saltwater. Again thanks for the help!

-Nate

WhoDey · 09-12-2006, 11:58 PM

Hello again... thanks for the helpfull posts guys!! I have come up with some more questions:

I'm looking for Live Rock right now on the Internet and it seems that liveaquaria.com does have some of the best prices and nicest pictures of their rock. I really like the Select Lalo Live Rock $120 for 30 pounds... Does this seem a little high in price, considering I will pay $50 in shipping for a total of $170 for 30 lbs of nice Rock? Do you think it is worth paying for this stuff? It does look pretty sweet. I am also considering mixing it with another 25 lbs(I would do more but that's how it comes) of the Tonga Branch Live Rock $90. This stuff looks great too. Do you think it would look strange in the same tank? Also, I am wondering if it is going to be a bad idea to stack all of this together. You guys have experience with stacking rock... is it a bad idea to buy all this nice looking rock when most of it will be hidden when I stack it all together? Should I buy some base rock and then put some good stuff on top? I know only experience can answer these questions so please help. We are talking $400 in Live Rock for only 55 lbs!! I am wondering if I buy 30 lbs of the Lalo rock and then maybe a bunch of base rock under that, will the base rock turn into this Lalo Rock when it spreads? What would you start with to get a great looking tank brewing?? I'm also worried that I will kill most of it since my tank will not be established at all when I put this stuff all in my newly mixed saltwater. Again thanks for the help!

-Nate

Salty B · 09-13-2006, 01:41 PM

Those prices don't seem all that bad. Live Rock (depending on type) can cost anywhere from $3-8 a pound. Anything over that is priced too high in my opinion. I normally find rocks that are around 4 dollars a pound and it allows me to buy "more for my buck." Like I said, prices differ in the types of rocks you are looking at, but I have found great finds at about $4.00 per pound.

ahill3780 · 09-13-2006, 07:00 PM

Even considering the added shipping costs you are getting it at around $5.50/lbs so thats still a good deal.

You can mix/match any type of rock you want in the tank, eventually they are all going to be encrusted with coralline algae and the only difference you will notice then is the shape of the rocks. I think its a great idea to mix Lalo and Tonga, and I say go for it!

Lalo, Fiji, Tonga, etc. are just names that indicate where the rock originates from. Other rocks cannot 'become' a different type, but they will acquire the same algae and microlife that the others have. So in essence, the answer to your question is "Yes".

MAdkins82 · 09-15-2006, 07:57 PM

I just started my tank too and got major sticker shock over the price of live rock so I decided I would be better off just going to my lfs that had it. Thought I got a great deal then began to add it up I have over $300 in about 35 lbs of rock and that is only like 5 pieces. So keep in mind when they say 30 lbs of rock that's really not that much.

Salty B · 09-17-2006, 09:24 PM

When I first got my tank, I "cured" one of my rocks. This rock was actually a fake rock and has become LR over the past two years. It actually looks better in the tank than the other live rocks. I only "cured" my rock for about two days before addiding it into the tank (so not exactly curing) with the Live Sand and other Live Rock. I did not have any inhabitants considering it was at the beginning of my tank cycle, so I just let the "fake rock" cycle with the tank. I added purple up and marine-snow and the rock slowly came to "life." It was much cheaper, and much more time-consuming, but it never caused me any problems!