i am starting on my first ever

[granuccibar]

16 gallon sw tank.

is this everything i need?
- hydrometer
- live sand (how much)
- live rock (how much)
- salt water (what does it need to be)
- lighting (what's best for a 16 gallon)
- heter (what should the temp. be)
- underwater filter?
- nano protein skimmer (what is this)

can someone give me step by step.
i really want to do this right.

 

[Gene0514]

16 gallon sw tank.

is this everything i need?
- hydrometer
- live sand (how much)
- live rock (how much)
- salt water (what does it need to be)
- lighting (what's best for a 16 gallon)
- heter (what should the temp. be)
- underwater filter?
- nano protein skimmer (what is this)

can someone give me step by step.
i really want to do this right.

You would need at least 16 lb of LS and 16 lb of LR.
RO or DI water is best
Get Instant Ocean Salt Mix as it seems to be the best
Lighting depends on what corals you would want to get
Temp should be around 79 F
You will need a powerhead or two
Skimmer is not required if you perform weekly water changes

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Refractometers are better and way more accurate than hydrometers IMO, but they can cost a pretty penny(compared to hydrometers).

1. Clean tank (duh)
2. Add rock to tank (after curing)
3. Pour sand in around the rock, you want the rock to rest on the bottom so any burrowers don't cause a collapse.
4. fill tank with preferably RO/DI water. a good rule of thumb for salt is 1 cup per 2 gallons, but ALWAYS check the salinity before adding it, i like to keep mine a bit lower than SG (specific gravity-the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure) 1.025, anything higher is probably to much.
5. get your filter, heater etc. running.
6. let it sit, check the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels daily, once they all zero out preform a 25-50% water change,be aware this may take weeks to months depending on the amount of Live rock you have, and size of the tank.
7. slowly add fish, starting with the hardier of species and waiting awhile for the more advanced and complicated species.

As lights go, Metal Halides and T5 HO fluorescents are the best for the more advanced corals, you can settle for a compact fluorescent if you don't plan on keeping that many corals. But you should probably wait for someone with more experience with lights to help you with the more advanced aspects of reef lighting.

Hope this helps. Any veterans please correct me if i left anything out, misinformed or any of the such.

Happy fishkeeping!

 

[skiptomyzoo]

Refractometers are better and way more accurate than hydrometers IMO, but they can cost a pretty penny(compared to hydrometers).

1. Clean tank (duh)
2. Add rock to tank (after curing)
3. Pour sand in around the rock, you want the rock to rest on the bottom so any burrowers don't cause a collapse.
4. fill tank with preferably RO/DI water. a good rule of thumb for salt is 1 cup per 2 gallons, but ALWAYS check the salinity before adding it, i like to keep mine a bit lower than SG (specific gravity-the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure) 1.025, anything higher is probably to much.
5. get your filter, heater etc. running.
6. let it sit, check the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels daily, once they all zero out preform a 25-50% water change,be aware this may take weeks to months depending on the amount of Live rock you have, and size of the tank.
7. slowly add fish, starting with the hardier of species and waiting awhile for the more advanced and complicated species.

As lights go, Metal Halides and T5 HO fluorescents are the best for the more advanced corals, you can settle for a compact fluorescent if you don't plan on keeping that many corals. But you should probably wait for someone with more experience with lights to help you with the more advanced aspects of reef lighting.

Hope this helps. Any veterans please correct me if i left anything out, misinformed or any of the such.

Happy fishkeeping!

I'm not a veteran, but the problem I could see is if he goes with metal halide on a small tank, most likely he would have to get a chiller too, as with such small water volume, it would heat up more quickly. Also, depending on the cycling method you use, there needs to be a source that creates ammonia, so that the tank can cycle.
Other than that, your post looked good to me.
Plus you can go other routes, depending on if you want bare bottom or whatever. The stickys will help you get an idea, but if you have any more questions after reading, I'm here to help.

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

I'm not a veteran, but the problem I could see is if he goes with metal halide on a small tank, most likely he would have to get a chiller too, as with such small water volume, it would heat up more quickly. Also, depending on the cycling method you use, there needs to be a source that creates ammonia, so that the tank can cycle.
Other than that, your post looked good to me.
Plus you can go other routes, depending on if you want bare bottom or whatever. The stickys will help you get an idea, but if you have any more questions after reading, I'm here to help.

didn't see the 16 gallon ya, halides would boil that thing.

Live rock should be enough to get ammonia going, or he could use the dead shrimp method.

Never use fish method.

 

[granuccibar]

didn't see the 16 gallon ya, halides would boil that thing.

Live rock should be enough to get ammonia going, or he could use the dead shrimp method.

Never use fish method.

ha ima girl.
dead shrimp method?

 

[skiptomyzoo]

ha ima girl.
dead shrimp method?

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132494

 

[granuccibar]

Refractometers are better and way more accurate than hydrometers IMO, but they can cost a pretty penny(compared to hydrometers).

1. Clean tank (duh)
2. Add rock to tank (after curing)
3. Pour sand in around the rock, you want the rock to rest on the bottom so any burrowers don't cause a collapse.
4. fill tank with preferably RO/DI water. a good rule of thumb for salt is 1 cup per 2 gallons, but ALWAYS check the salinity before adding it, i like to keep mine a bit lower than SG (specific gravity-the ratio of the density of a given solid or liquid substance to the density of water at a specific temperature and pressure) 1.025, anything higher is probably to much.
5. get your filter, heater etc. running.
6. let it sit, check the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels daily, once they all zero out preform a 25-50% water change,be aware this may take weeks to months depending on the amount of Live rock you have, and size of the tank.
7. slowly add fish, starting with the hardier of species and waiting awhile for the more advanced and complicated species.

As lights go, Metal Halides and T5 HO fluorescents are the best for the more advanced corals, you can settle for a compact fluorescent if you don't plan on keeping that many corals. But you should probably wait for someone with more experience with lights to help you with the more advanced aspects of reef lighting.

Hope this helps. Any veterans please correct me if i left anything out, misinformed or any of the such.

Happy fishkeeping!

what's RO/DI?
thank you
& thank all you guys

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Reverse Osmosis / Deionizer.

or just a normal RO filter: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4395+4453&pcatid=4453

These guys make some good RO and RO/DI systems too: http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm

It's not really mandatory but it gets the water free of anything, pretty much just pure H2O, with tap water you have alot of foreign contaminates you have to worry about, but depending on the water quality were you live, you may or may not need an RO system.

I admit, i don't use onebut i've wanted one forever. it's a great investment if you have the money, and something you should plan on getting in the future if you want the best water quality for your fish.

 

[spring007]

I agree with the comments above! welcome to the saltwater hobby!