Help! Another new guy starting a tank

Butthorn

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2012
311
3
33
Philly
I have been looking into crossing over to salt and have a pretty good idea of what I want. I could use all the help & advice I can get since I'm new to this.

This is what I have and plan on using-
-125 gallon tank
-wet/dry filter w/ bio balls
-overflow box
-led or t5 lights
(I also have a few fluval 306,406 along with a few smaller tanks that I could use as sumps if I NEED to)

I want to have a tank with a nice flame or koran angel and a niger triger, maybe a small grouper. Can i get away w/ about 100 lbs of live rock and 80-100 lbs of sand? I was going to start with all new dry rock & dry aragonite sand, use instant ocean for my water, and get a few green chromis for starters and expect it to take a few month(2) to cycle before I add more fish. So I guess my questions for now are 1. can I do this with my set up list above? 2. should I try and cycle my tank differently? 3.What or how would be a better way to go about this?
thanks for any help
 

ckcdrummer

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 21, 2012
1,062
0
0
CA
Glad to see more people switching! First off, your set up will work fine but I would add a protein skimmer. Also I wouldn't just start off with dry rock only, you'll need live rock to seed it in order for it to turn into live rock. I'd start with 80 lbs of dry rock and 20 lbs live rock. For cycling, many feel prefer fish less cycling then cycling a tank with a fish. Just leave your tank full maybe add a piece of raw shrimp and wait for the ammonia spike, constantly check your parameters and eventually slowly add fish. And one more thing that is the most important of all, research research research.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Otherone

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2009
2,683
4
0
Lancaster,PA USA
If your not going inverts just fish you don't need an intense light source like T5 or LED - will save you some coin on the electric bill.
 

Butthorn

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2012
311
3
33
Philly
If your not going inverts just fish you don't need an intense light source like T5 or LED - will save you some coin on the electric bill.
I already have a bunch of different lights I could use. I'm Just not sure about wet/dry filter or if I Need to get a skimmer to make it work.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Nighthawk

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 1, 2007
259
1
0
In the woods
You do not NEED a skimmer. That being said, it will make your life easier. If you have a lightly stocked tank and are religious about water changes you can leave the skimmer out. However, they really are a valuable piece of equipment. Not much good though until the tank has matured somewhat.
 

Butthorn

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2012
311
3
33
Philly
You do not NEED a skimmer. That being said, it will make your life easier. If you have a lightly stocked tank and are religious about water changes you can leave the skimmer out. However, they really are a valuable piece of equipment. Not much good though until the tank has matured somewhat.
Cool. So if I start off slow, like I plan on doing, I could get away without a skimmer for a few months.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Nighthawk

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 1, 2007
259
1
0
In the woods
You want to stick with rocks that are somewhat porous otherwise there's nowhere for the anaerobic bacteria to grow. Limestone will work and will help keep hardness and pH in check. I'd stick with dry liverock, it's usually called baserock. Check with Bulk Reef Supply for some good deals.
 

EastBay

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2010
346
1
16
SF East Bay
Trust me, you'll want a skimmer. I didn't have one for a few months and then my whole tanked crashed! Got one after that.

As for the live/dead rock debate, it's 6 on one hand, 1/2 dozen on the other: You don't need live rock if you have enough bio filtration. The live rock essentially serves as a bio filter in the tank, plus, it grows the pretty purple and red coralline algae, but if you don't care about that, you can just increase your bio filtration and use dead rock - would be a lot cheaper - but the saving would probably be eaten up having to clean/change the bio filtration. Remember, you have to be a lot more strict with your tank maintenance with a SW tank compared to FW. Lag on water changes/maintenance with a SW tank and thing can go south in a hurry!
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store