I am new to the SW setup and i wanted to start smaller and when i get better i will move bigger. currently i have a 16g bowfront cycling (kindof) i have salt in the water and my heater and filter are running. as for a filter i have a bio-systems filter plus oxy surface skimmer and a submergable filter. will that be enough filtration and surface aggitation to remove surface build up? i will be picking up some live sand on thursday this week and then i will be getting some live rock within the next week or two. i will be letting it cycle like this for a few weeks. i have been reading about the CUC should i put those in wait a couple more weeks then add fish? i will only be putting in some damsels to start since they are cheaper and if they happen to die i am not out a lot of money. as for lighting i just have a sun glo 15w. i know i will probably need a new buld which is no problem. i am only going to be doing FOWLR tank. i eventually want to get some clowns. i was just wondering if i am doing this right? any input would be great. thanks in advance
Setting up SW tank
- Thread starter fsubulldogs
- Start date
you can use the stock bulb, switching it to another 15w t8 isn't going to really make any difference. start off with a pair clowns, they're damsels as well and very hardy. don't put in "some" damsels because if you mix sp. in a tank that small or have multiples of the wrong sp.(only one i'd try it with would be YTBD, talbot or chromis if there was a ton of rocks) then they will kill each other. a pair of perculas or false-percs would be ok for that tank or possibly a pink skunk clown, all the other sp. get too large.
i would go bigger right away. smaller tanks are harder to maintain. Not a best choice to start out with becuase if you happen to lose a lot of stock then you may also lose interest in the hobby. When you get some LR, i would let it dry out a bit, and then put in the tank. This will cause a little bit of die-off and help start the cycle of the tank. Its a method that ive used on all my reef tanks and has worked well for me.
I suggest clowns as well. as long as you buy them together you should be just fine. I would say there the hardiest fish due to some common disease they can get, but they work well as long as you cycle the tank well enough first.
as for the filtration on the tank, you should be good with that, just make sure to clean whatever these filters use for mechanical filtraton on a weekly basis to prevent any buildup of nitrate.
I did see any mention on water? I suggest using RODI water no mater what kind of tank your doing in SW, just because it limits the amount of nitrate, ammonia, phosphate, etc, that goes into the water. In doing this you will see a decrease of algae growth and an increase in over all health of the tank.
What are your plans for water changes now that the tank is setup?? I just want to make sure that your aware that new batches of saltwater should be circulated for 24 hours before being added to the tank. a 5 gallon pale with water, a small powerhead should work. just add the salt and bring it up to the proper SG and then 24 hours later take some water out and add the new.
I suggest clowns as well. as long as you buy them together you should be just fine. I would say there the hardiest fish due to some common disease they can get, but they work well as long as you cycle the tank well enough first.
as for the filtration on the tank, you should be good with that, just make sure to clean whatever these filters use for mechanical filtraton on a weekly basis to prevent any buildup of nitrate.
I did see any mention on water? I suggest using RODI water no mater what kind of tank your doing in SW, just because it limits the amount of nitrate, ammonia, phosphate, etc, that goes into the water. In doing this you will see a decrease of algae growth and an increase in over all health of the tank.
What are your plans for water changes now that the tank is setup?? I just want to make sure that your aware that new batches of saltwater should be circulated for 24 hours before being added to the tank. a 5 gallon pale with water, a small powerhead should work. just add the salt and bring it up to the proper SG and then 24 hours later take some water out and add the new.
i wasnt sure how often i would do the wc, but i did know about putting the water in buckets and letting the salt dissolve before adding to the tank. so what type of clowns does everyone suggest? i know there are a few types and i dont want to get ones that get extremely big. also could i have 4 clowns in there or should i go with less? i planned on cleaning the filter weekly or biweekly but if you suggest weekly then weekly it is. as for starting out small and having stock die off it wont deter me from the hobby. SW is new to me so i planned for some casualities its a trail and error system. i appreciate the help so far and please keep it comming
The "Golden rule" with starting Marines is to get the biggest, baddest, system that your resources will allow you to do. The main reason for doing so is the larger the volume of water, any mishaps with parameters will be buffered naturally. Giving you more breathing space to correct things.
And of course, larger systems are more aesthetically pleasing.
And of course, larger systems are more aesthetically pleasing.
4 clowns will not work, unless you've got a much larger system(100g+) you've got to stick with either one clown or a pair, any more and they will kill each other. i've already listed the sp. that would work in a tank your size: true percs, false percs or pink skunk clowns. in a tank that size WC should be done weekly just to keep parameters low, it could probably go for a couple of weeks without any problems but its a lot easier to do the WCs now than to do all the work involved in correcting issues that arise later from lack of frequent maintanence.
i appreciate all input, i will be setting up my 55g but not for a few months due to graduating college in may and moving to my permanate home. once i am established in my new home the 55g will be used for SW. i am doing the 16g to gain some experience in SW. and if it proves to be hard when i set up my 55g it should be a little easier and i will have some knowledge. if i really like it i may just turn my 90g into a SW tank sometime in the future. as for WC's i will be doing them every week just because thats my current schedule for my 90g. i am sure this is going to be tough but i am up for the challenge.
i'm not sure that setting up a SW tank would be a good thing to do right now. it'll only take a couple of weeks for it to cycle but then you have a longer time before the tank finally settles down and starts running smoothly. 2mo after setting up my tank i was still getting random diatom blooms, cyano blooms, hair algae, caulerpa, pod population bursts, worms etc by the time you have the tank stablized you're going to break it down and move it and if you're going to break down the 16g and upgrade to the 55g then your equipment isn't going to be enough for the 55g. if you aren't going to permanently break down the 16g then i'd say wait until after the move to add fish, get some good live rock(uncured preferably) and just the crazy amount of freaky, but harmless, inverts coming out of the rock will keep you occupied.
actually i've found that if you're patient, thoroughly research EVERYTHING and don't rush into things(basically everytime you think you're ready to do something go back and research it all agian) it's pretty easy.i am sure this is going to be tough but i am up for the challenge.
