55 gallon Cost
- Thread starter boisblancboy
- Start date
i spent over 340 dollars for just live rock and live sand alone for a 29 gallon. a protein skimmer is optional but i dont use it because i think it would be a waste of space. i think ive only done two 5% water changes for the last 6 monthhs when i started, and it was to acclimate some fish. now, i just float it and net them it. so far so good. im either too lazy or too busy with school or somethin else. it should be around 300+ dollars if u buy ''real'' live rock for a 55. basically what im saying is, the more live rock/sand u have, the less maintenance there will be. 
here is a cell pic of my 29 tank
here is a cell pic of my 29 tank
Does the more live rock and live sand that you have help reduce the number of water changes? Also with live sand do you have to stir it up occasionaly to prevent gas pockets?
rock and sand help. Wish sand you could run a DSB (deep sand bed) this will help reduce the amount of nitrate being produced as an end product. In any fish tank, this will accumulate and will have to be removed. Some tanks stabalize better and dont have much ammonia to begin with, but with the addition of fish and organic waste, IE food, there will be nitrate through the roof in no time. Water changes remove this unwanted nutrient and will reduce the amount of overall algae growth.
How much of a WC change has to be done a on typically stocked salt tank? I know with all fresh water its a good general rule to do a 10-20% a week.
well i think according to the book, its about 2x 10% wc per month. but if u ask anybody with lots of experience or a LFS, they will tell u differnt. maybe it's good for u to do water changes 2-3 times a month when you start new but as your tank age, you can do less and less wc depending on how much biological/live stuff u have.
That makes sense and of course I am sure its going to be different for each individual tank depending on all of the inhabitants and complete setup.
The more the better lol. Honestly i do about 15 gallons a week. I always feel that the cleaner the water the better. It has a lot to do with your equipment as well, and what your using. IMO for your tank I would do atleast 10% once a week.
i do about 10% a week...or try to...
sometime i forget, but i always have DSBs as i love burrowing fish anyway. my trates are never over 15, but i try to change it opten just to replace what minerals/metals/etc are removed over time.
sometime i forget, but i always have DSBs as i love burrowing fish anyway. my trates are never over 15, but i try to change it opten just to replace what minerals/metals/etc are removed over time.
