Just A Few Questions.....ANNNDD

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Gprime

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 2, 2008
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Ottawa
hey guys im a newby saltwater guy and im just wondering a few things, i've had a freshwater tank for nearly a year now and its getting pretty boring, the only exiting thing is feeding time. i heard that saltwater tanks were harder to setup but easier to maintain. with my fresh water tank im doing 50%+ water changes every 2 weeks and its just really time consuming. my FW tank is a native tank and it gets pretty messy so im doing a full cleaning atleast once a month. oh did i mention its a 120g tank? yeah time consuming.

so im scraping the whole FW thing and going salt

whats the difference between a nano tank and a reef tank? im asuming nano is just a small salt water tank.

what is the purpose of a "sump pump"? im asuming its just better filtration then a canister/wet-dry filter and also has a protein skimmer. also less water changes?

what is the best way to go about set-up? i saw this video on youtube which looks pretty informative, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjP_td2qCE

im confused as to some of the terms in the video such as RO water, and SG (btw what's an aquatic hydrometer?)

i have a eheim professional II 2028 canister filter in my tank at the moment and i was wondering if that + live rocks + live sand + clean up crew + power heads would be enough to keep the tank in good health and have good circulation/current

I DO NOT HAVE A WATER HEATER: any suggestions on a good one? one sized for 120g

so far in my tank i want varius zoo's and polyps

2 perculas clowns, 2 ocellaris clowns, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 blue regal tangs, 1 yellow tang, 1 spotted puffer

as for the clean up crew goes, any suggestions please?

i have many more answers but must be going now so i shall ask later (: thanks guys
 
Gprime;3179954; said:
i heard that saltwater tanks were harder to setup but easier to maintain.
scratch that, reverse it... just as easy to set up (if not hella more expensive) but a little harder (if the same price) to maintain

so im scraping the whole FW thing and going salt

whats the difference between a nano tank and a reef tank? im asuming nano is just a small salt water tank.
possibly.. a nano tank IS just a small tank, but a reef tank is a tank with corals... you could have a nano reef, nano, FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock), FOWLR, or reef
there's also Fish Only, but i generally lump that together with FOWLR

what is the purpose of a "sump pump"? im asuming its just better filtration then a canister/wet-dry filter and also has a protein skimmer. also less water changes?
a sump pump is the return pump for a sump... a sump is a type of filter that houses a lot of bio media and adds to the total water volume
there's a couple different filter options for various SW tanks, Sumps/Wet-dry tend to be the best, if not most labor intensive

what is the best way to go about set-up? i saw this video on youtube which looks pretty informative, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmjP_td2qCE

im confused as to some of the terms in the video such as RO water, and SG (btw what's an aquatic hydrometer?)
RO water is reverse osmosis water, it's a type of filtered water that's pretty pure
SG is specific gravity, the density of the water, generally used as a measure of salinity.
a hydrometer is a device for reading SG
refractometer reads just salinity

i have a eheim professional II 2028 canister filter in my tank at the moment and i was wondering if that + live rocks + live sand + clean up crew + power heads would be enough to keep the tank in good health and have good circulation/current
yes, maybe add a skimmer if you plan a heavy bioload. watch the canisters, if they clog up they can become nitrate factories

I DO NOT HAVE A WATER HEATER: any suggestions on a good one? one sized for 120g
marineland stealth is a good line of heaters... a little on the pricey size but good, durable, and rather disambiguous

so far in my tank i want varius zoo's and polyps

2 perculas clowns, 2 ocellaris clowns, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 blue regal tangs, 1 yellow tang, 1 spotted puffer
i would say no on these.. the yellow would be fine but i wouldn't mix it with other tangs, and a 4 foot tank is too small for a regal tang IMHO
the others would be A-ok

as for the clean up crew goes, any suggestions please?
bout 30 astrea snails
maybe 50 blue legged hermits (they'll die off over time)
the cleaner shrimps, and pretty much whatever urchins, starfish, crabs, or other shrimp you wanted.. just research their needs and any warnings before you buy them

i have many more answers but must be going now so i shall ask later (: thanks guys
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keep asking that's why were here
 
ok thanks, and its a 5 and a half foot tank or maybe a bit smaller,

and would 1 regal tang be ok with that?

the tanks about 1 1/2 foot wide so im sticking the live rocks/corals in the middle of the tang so fish can swim all around it,

and i hear hermit crabs kill each other for bigger shells even with the wide arrangement of shells i would be putting in the tank.

what are some good cheap starter fish to get the the "nitrate cycle" or w/e started? i heard clowns.....

more answers to come
 
Gprime;3182965; said:
ok thanks, and its a 5 and a half foot tank or maybe a bit smaller,

and would 1 regal tang be ok with that?
Should be...
the tanks about 1 1/2 foot wide so im sticking the live rocks/corals in the middle of the tang so fish can swim all around it,
Good!
and i hear hermit crabs kill each other for bigger shells even with the wide arrangement of shells i would be putting in the tank.
I just let mine duke it out, survival of the fittest. But after awhile you need to restock with more crabs. your gonna want to use smaller shells, about .5-1" size.
what are some good cheap starter fish to get the the "nitrate cycle" or w/e started? i heard clowns.....
IMO never use fish to start the nitrogen cycle, if your gonna have live rocks that should be plenty to get it going.

more answers to come
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Questions buddy, You give us the Questions, we give you the answers. ;)

I have a small blue/regal tang in my 90 gallon, he loves it! When i bought him he turned out to have a nasty eye infection, coulden't be happier in my tank now. Had him with a yellow tang, but the yellow tang died suddenly, no cause of death was ever found. But as far as i know, the blue and the yellow got along fine. The tank is in my room and i spend alot of time in there, i never saw them fighting or anything.
 
my dad wants to put the tank in the living room so its where everyone can see it but we have a spair bedroom that's used about once a week and i want to turn that into a spair bedroom but he said no =P i think it would be awesome to have a whole tank room with a sink and everything but sadly that wont happen....ANYWAYS... back to some questions

what is the proper type of lighting for a tank/wattage with both corals/zoo's/polyps/anemone's AND fish?(is this considered a reef tank?) i heard T5's were the best, but would they make them big enough for a 120g tank? or is the 3-5 watts per gallon thing near what you wanna go for?

how long will the tank need to "mature" during the nitrate cycle with just live before i can put the corals etc.... and then fish in?

what is the proper temperature for a saltwater tank?, i've been seeing 75 degree's for the average tank.

are UV Sterilizers really needed? or do they just help with the longevity of the tank? i would say YES because they help kill parasites and sterilize the water, but im wondering, does it come before the canister filter or after? like does the water from the intake pass through the UVS then into the canister filter then pumped back into the take? or does it really matter because im just wondering if it will kill the active bacteria

once your tanks up and running say you need to add in some more chemicals after awhile, say medicine or something, do you add it into the filter or into the tank?

what are some of the best test kits? or should i just bring in water samples to my LFS and get it checked there ? i saw this one called "reef master test kit" worth the buy?

more to come (:
 
Gprime;3183525; said:
my dad wants to put the tank in the living room so its where everyone can see it but we have a spair bedroom that's used about once a week and i want to turn that into a spair bedroom but he said no =P i think it would be awesome to have a whole tank room with a sink and everything but sadly that wont happen....ANYWAYS... back to some questions

what is the proper type of lighting for a tank/wattage with both corals/zoo's/polyps/anemone's AND fish?(is this considered a reef tank?) i heard T5's were the best, but would they make them big enough for a 120g tank? or is the 3-5 watts per gallon thing near what you wanna go for?
I have T5, i would say T5 or metal halide both will cost you though, i have T5 on my 90 gallon.
how long will the tank need to "mature" during the nitrate cycle with just live before i can put the corals etc.... and then fish in?
As long as it takes, never rush it. Ammonia will spike, then NitRITE, then ammo will go down, nitRATE will go up, nitRITE will go down, nitRATE will go down. When it's all at zero for afew days your good to go.
what is the proper temperature for a saltwater tank?, i've been seeing 75 degree's for the average tank.
mine tends to stay around 75-82
are UV Sterilizers really needed? or do they just help with the longevity of the tank? i would say YES because they help kill parasites and sterilize the water, but im wondering, does it come before the canister filter or after? like does the water from the intake pass through the UVS then into the canister filter then pumped back into the take? or does it really matter because im just wondering if it will kill the active bacteria
No, to much sterilization can be bad, you always want some bacteria in the tank, you kill it all and the fish will eventually die and be unable to fight off illness.
once your tanks up and running say you need to add in some more chemicals after awhile, say medicine or something, do you add it into the filter or into the tank?
Add it were water circulation is best.
what are some of the best test kits? or should i just bring in water samples to my LFS and get it checked there ? i saw this one called "reef master test kit" worth the buy?
There's a lot to choose from, i have API master reef, but they tend to be overpriced, just get what they have at the store or online.
more to come (:
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Don't forget! add fish/corals/inverts slowly! one at a time until the tank matures.

Get a refractometer, they are much more accurate than hydrometers and accurate salinity is very important, best 100 bucks i've spent on my system.
 
what is a prophylactic bath?

how do you acclimate a fish/coral properly? if they come in a bag like im thinking can you just float the bag in the tank?

my tap water is unsoftened or "hard water" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water ) so what chemicals will i need to ready the water for fish/corals?

how often to you need to replenish the active bacteria?

if your salinity is too high, do you just take SW out of the tank and add in more water to reduce the salinity?

what sort of additives do i need?

FEEDING! i dont think i will have any predatorial fish in the tank, so what is the best thing to feed clowns and tangs? are the guys im going to start off with

calcium reactors? needed or can you just add in some stuff?

power heads? whats good and how many would i need for a 120g? im thinking 2?

air stones? are they needed? do they help? or are they really just for looks

when doing water changes whats the best way to go about it? how do you know how much chemicals you need to put back into the water etc.....
 
i was wondering can someone give me a step by step setup on what i should do when setting up my tank? or is that too much to ask? =P
 
Gprime;3185507; said:
what is a prophylactic bath?
Not sure...
how do you acclimate a fish/coral properly? if they come in a bag like im thinking can you just float the bag in the tank?
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2249&aid=2659
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2249&aid=3278
my tap water is unsoftened or "hard water" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water ) so what chemicals will i need to ready the water for fish/corals?
RO water would be best if possible.
how often to you need to replenish the active bacteria?
you shouldn't have to.
if your salinity is too high, do you just take SW out of the tank and add in more water to reduce the salinity?
take out water, add freshwater untill salinity reaches the right levels.
what sort of additives do i need?
You shouldn't have to ether, but if you do be careful and never overdose, always read labels to make sure it's safe for everything in the tank. Some stuff has copper that can kill any invertibrate in the tank.
FEEDING! i dont think i will have any predatorial fish in the tank, so what is the best thing to feed clowns and tangs? are the guys im going to start off with
I feed my clowns flake food daily, and feed them meaty food like shrimp or silversides every week or so. The tang generally just forages around on it's own but also eats the flakes. I would hold off on the tang for awhile until your tank grows some algae.
calcium reactors? needed or can you just add in some stuff?
no
power heads? whats good and how many would i need for a 120g? im thinking 2?
what your trying to with this is remove dead spots. you want every bit of water to be circulating. I like the Hydor Koralias the best: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4585+15955&pcatid=15955
air stones? are they needed? do they help? or are they really just for looks
air stones main job is to oxygenate the water, you shouldn't need one, and if you do you can put it in the sump so you don't have to have the unnatural bubbles in a natural reef environment.
when doing water changes whats the best way to go about it? how do you know how much chemicals you need to put back into the water etc.....Get a Python, will cut out so much time changing water in big tanks. Always mix the salt outside the tank, as large particles of salt floating through the water column undisolved is bad for fish/corals. This is where the guessing game comes it, because you want to match the salinity in the new water with the water in the tank without going over. Theres general equations to get a good SG: 1 cup of salt for every 2 gallons of water. that should land you around... 1.25-30 SG. after doing this for months you will eventually get good at it and just be able to get it right without mesuring, but always, always check to see if you've gone over.

No chemicals should need to be added. If your not using RO water then you will need to add StressCoat, or some other kind of dechlorinator to the water.

heres how to set it up.
Click to expand...
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2249&aid=2931

I suggest you poke around here before you start:
http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+2249
http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+2167
general info on invert species.
http://www.peteducation.com/category.cfm?c=16+2158

Drs.foster & smith are mucho reliable i learned pretty much everything i needed to start from them or MFK.

Good luck!
 
should i use my 10g tank as quaratine tank?

is a bare bottom tank just a tank with no sand/gravel etc. on the bottom?

what is a sand filter? does it filter the sand or is it like a filter that filters the water using sand or something?

phosban reactor? what is it, whats it for?

what sort of suppliments and buffers will i need?

dang i had a whole bunch more questions but firefox crashed because of that stupid AFP bug......this is all i can think of atm

and thanks for the link bacon, add me on msn johnny_piper@hotmail.com i might need your help with setup when im actually doing it =P lol
 
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