Thinking about first salt tank

[Rafini]

+1

Fishysweet youre answering so many of my questions just by answering this thread! Thanks so much.
So you mention base rocks, If you had say 80lbs of base rock, what type is this? Tufa? And then I don`t know 20 or more lbs of live rock, Would you wait until your Ammonia, Nitrates and nitrites are reading Zero before you add the live, so you don`t get as much die off?

 

[Fishysweet]

Your welcome base rock can be tufa or dry rock it's any rock that's not colored up yet. You can add the live rock as soon as your temp is up as long as the Rock is fully cured you shouldn't have any die off. When you transport it make sure it stays wet like a little bit of water in fish boxes then covered with plastic or ink free paper. You can do mostly base rock and pick a few show pieces to got on top make sure you get some with coralline algae on it and brush with a toothbrush every other day to help it spread just for a few weeks. You can also get snails and hermit crabs with it on their shells and they help spread it. also reef rock is already colored up purple so be sure what your getting. I spent 70 bucks on one rock that didn't even have real coralline on it. It's funny now but I was mad back then the store didn't tell me it wasn't real coralline after I said something about it. you can also add products like purple up to encourage growth. add lugol's solution and calcium and your well on your way to some pretty rock.

 

[Rafini]

Your welcome base rock can be tufa or dry rock it's any rock that's not colored up yet. You can add the live rock as soon as your temp is up as long as the Rock is fully cured you shouldn't have any die off. When you transport it make sure it stays wet like a little bit of water in fish boxes then covered with plastic or ink free paper. You can do mostly base rock and pick a few show pieces to got on top make sure you get some with coralline algae on it and brush with a toothbrush every other day to help it spread just for a few weeks. You can also get snails and hermit crabs with it on their shells and they help spread it. also reef rock is already colored up purple so be sure what your getting. I spent 70 bucks on one rock that didn't even have real coralline on it. It's funny now but I was mad back then the store didn't tell me it wasn't real coralline after I said something about it. you can also add products like purple up to encourage growth. add lugol's solution and calcium and your well on your way to some pretty rock.

Yeah I just checked out my LFS today and its 2.49 lb for Tufa, and slightly more for "base rock". x2 100g rated HOB filters (I assume running only chemical?) and 100lb of live rock would be good for a fish only 225?

I don`t want lots of rock because I honestly want to keep fish and not a reef type tank, I want more swimming room for the fish considering I have 3 feet of width to play with.

Also that toothbrush trick is invaluable, thanks a tonne. you just scrape it off so its in the surrounding water?

 

[mrdavenport]

How bad is salt creep and what can I do to eliminate the related mess?


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[Rafini]

How bad is salt creep and what can I do to eliminate the related mess?


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Do you mean when the salt content rises because water evaporates but the salt doesn`t? then you do a water change and add in water with a lower SG. its like a balancing act

 

[mrdavenport]

No I mean the white residue I see all over everyone's salt tanks. I have always heard it called salt creep


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[Rafini]

No I mean the white residue I see all over everyone's salt tanks. I have always heard it called salt creep


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

you mean the salt thats left after the water evaporates? like the crust? its easy to remove... I just used to scrape it off

 

[Fishysweet]

Yeah I just checked out my LFS today and its 2.49 lb for Tufa, and slightly more for "base rock". x2 100g rated HOB filters (I assume running only chemical?) and 100lb of live rock would be good for a fish only 225?

I don`t want lots of rock because I honestly want to keep fish and not a reef type tank, I want more swimming room for the fish considering I have 3 feet of width to play with.

Also that toothbrush trick is invaluable, thanks a tonne. you just scrape it off so its in the surrounding water?

Yeah you don't have to have a set amount of rock 100 pounds will be fine. When you brush the coralline you don't brush it off that would be really hard to do with a toothbrush lol by brushing it it helps it spread

 

[Fishysweet]

As for salt creep if you scrape it off just like Rafini said but if you have a lot that's really stuck on like on light just take a spray bottle with water and a wet rag spray and wipe off with a dry rag. I don't have any problems with salt on the walls and both my tanks are open top

 

[Rafini]

Yeah you don't have to have a set amount of rock 100 pounds will be fine. When you brush the coralline you don't brush it off that would be really hard to do with a toothbrush lol by brushing it it helps it spread

Exelent. Sorry if this is a dumb question but when surface area is mentioned as helping the biological filtration of live rock. Would it be more effective in a 3 foot wide aquarium, to put the live rock pile along the bottom to the halfway mark and then build it up towards the back? like it might sound dumb but wouldn`t that greatly increase the visible surface area of the rock? and you could then have the powerhead aimed over the rock surface.