Marine Tank Setup Help

Ok, first, your heater and light are fine unless you want to do coral (than you need a better light.)

2. toss the gravel and buy live sand.

3. get yourself about 70 lbs of live rock and RO water mixed with salt for a salinity of 1.025.

4. I'm not a fan of side filters, it's best to have a sump with live rock, a skimmer and living oragnisms or a wet/dry filter.

5. add water and let it run for 4 - 6 weeks while it cycles.

Tangs Rule;2367754; said:

Ok, first, your heater and light are fine unless you want to do coral (than you need a better light.)

2. toss the gravel and buy live sand.

3. get yourself about 70 lbs of live rock and RO water mixed with salt for a salinity of 1.025.

4. I'm not a fan of side filters, it's best to have a sump with live rock, a skimmer and living oragnisms or a wet/dry filter.

5. add water and let it run for 4 - 6 weeks while it cycles.

Click to expand...

I have to agree and disagree with certain things the other people have posted. You may or may not need a new light for corals do you know the watts of the bulbs? I saw keep the substrate you are using, it all becomes live at some time lol and will save you a lot of money (live sand helps the tank cycle, but is not an essential part of a marine tank) Next yes live rock is nice to have because it seeds the tank with helpful bacteria but it does not need to be all live a few live rocks is all you need to seed the tank (some people have no live rock in their tank you can do this, but I have had great luck with live rock). I agree that you probably need a new filter look in to a classic canister filter done buy eheim. Yes a skimmer is nice, but again not essential.

Everyone has their own opinion some people will agree with me some will disagree. Its up to you to decide.
Best of luck!

its not only the wattage that determines if a light is good for coral or not. knowing the difference between types of lighting is going to help you decide which will be best for you application. Knowing the types of corals you want will also help you determine. In my mind, the lights he has are the basic bare bone lights that come with the tank..... these lights will not grow/keep corals for long.

gravel will do very little for any marine tank, but it can be used. IMO id get rid of it, get yourself sand and be a happy customer.

from here you going to get the initial cycle started. There is NO time frame for this, its done when its done. The easiest way to start is by using good old cocktail shrimp. lol, yes cocktail shrimp. By placing this in the water and allowing it to decay will strat your source of ammonia in the tank. There is no need for water changes at this stage, just let the tank do what it does. First and foremost test on occasion, just to see what the waters doing. Ammonia will spike, fall and cause nitrite to spike, once nitrite falls your nitrate will go up, and this is when you do a good sized water change. One the levels stay stable for a few days its safe to add some livestock. The addition of live stock will need to be dont very slowly, so take your time.

as long as you know the heater is saltwater safe, then your good.

HOB filters are fine for your basic saltwater tank. Fish and live rock are not nearly as demanding as coral is. Once you add coral, you'll really want to start paying attention to your water, what equiptment you use etc....... This is when good lighting comes into play. But for you application, no corals as of now, there is no need to go and get lights tomarrow lol.

Live rock is essential to your nitrites cycle and keeping your nitrates lower. Not sure of anyone that doesn't use live rock in their tanks except for pet stores. Live rock does make it hard to get a fish out of your tank using a net.

If you don't want to spend ALOT of $$$ on live sand you could get reef safe sand (not live) for some pet stores and ask the people for a good sized scoop of there sand from an established tank to "SEED" your tank!!!
If your gonna do a propper cycle it should be good after 1-2 months!!!
Just an idea to save money!!

I would lose the HOB filter and get yourself a good skimmer!!
They are kind or spendy (can find a "GOOD" one or around 120$-150$ if you shop around!
You'll be happier in the end!!

In saltwater, you get what you pay for!!!!!!!
I learned from my mistakes!
I had two different skimmers cheep and ended up buying a BAKPAK after all said and done!

id only suggest Live rock because of the several benefits you get from it, its to me out weights the cost of the rock. And besides, if you intend to keep up with salt for many years, then you'll never have to buy rock again lol.

Live Rock will cycle a tank inside 24 hours...not months lol!!!

Its not like a freshwater cycle were you have to grow bacteria..the bacterias already there and the ammonia from the die off on the Rock will settle down inside a few hours.

Live Sand is a rip off,its 99% dead by the time you buy it as it has been sat on warehouse shelves for months/years.

Unless you guys are talking about grabbing some from someone elses tank then yes that will be live,im talking about the bagged stuff..its just a gimmick...save your money,buy argonite/crush coral...add your live Rock..that will seed your sand inside 7 days anyway.

I had my tank fully stocked inside 2 weeks,first stocking on the friday,second on the following friday...only cos thats when i get paid,not because i was waiting for anything.

So remember you DO NOT cycle marine tanks like tropical freshwater tanks you do not need to grow bacteria,all you need is LR and a good powerhead for flow and 'job done'.

Skimmers are pointless on small tanks as they do not produce enough protein,10% weekly water changes removes anything you have that needs to be removed..or atleast dilutes it.

Remember also that if you leave your tank without stocking for weeks...your bacteria will start to DIE and you will be in a world of trouble,because it will starve.

All you need is...

Tank + stand

powerhead x 2 for good circulating flow (1 will do at first but you will want 2 after a while,1 on surface,1 at mid way face the rock on the opposite side of the tank)

salt (buy in bulk,its dramatically cheaper)

Live Rock...size depends on your tank,i use 10KG in a 20 imperial gallon tank (23.5 US gallon)/88 litre

Hydrometer ...not a refractometer,they are a money spinner and are NOT accurate unless you buy one of the mga ones that cost about £100 ($200)

Argonite sand

T5 lighting for corals...if no corals,dont worry.

RO water is only needed if you have high phosphate water,my tap water is great...no need for RO,no metals,no phosphate. (and i keep corals and fish and shrimp...6 months running,no algae no stock losses)

I use a bubble bar for more surface movement

Thermometer

Heater (set at 80f)