I have the opportunity to pick up a free 50 gallon stocked with coral and such. Has been running for a few years. How hard would it be to keep it. I have never done salt before.
New to salt, maybe
- Thread starter pacu22
- Start date
I started up my first FOWLR tank about a month ago and I wouldn't say it was "hard" but you MUST be patient & do a LOT of research. FW is much more forgiving when it comes to lazy or irresponsible/uneducated people, but with SW you have to be consistently more responsible.
Don't buy cheap equipment as the cheap comes out expensive later. IMO starting with a FO or FOWLR and working up to coral/reef is a better bet as you will learn a lot more that way. A reef tank is much more sensitive to fluctuating params/salinity than a FO or FOWLR tank.
A few quick tips I've known/learned:
- live rock will be the most expensive part of starting up your tank, the better quality/quantity rock, the more stable your tank will be.
- wait for your tank to fully cycle before adding any livestock
- stock your tank slowllllly & research prior to purchasing, rushing will only cause your tank to crash or cause issues with inverts/fish compatibility
- test salinity often
- pre-mix your saltwater for at least 24hrs before a WC (using a powerhead & heater)
- get a Rubbermaid BRUTE container for mixing (grey/yellow/white only)
- top off your tank with FW not SW
- make sure your circulation is good, you want 10x gph flow based on your tank size.
- RO/DI water is a must if you're going to do corals/reefs, you can get away with dechlorinated tap water in a FO or FOWLR but may run into algea issues depending on your water quality
I have a 55g FOWLR with 60lbs of Aragonite sand, two Koralia #2 pumps for circulation, 70lbs of live rock for bio filtration & a Remora C skimmer to pull waste out. The set-up is fairly bare bones but it has been doing fine for a little over a month. The live rock is such a huge factor in keeping the tank stable, you can mix live rock with cheaper base rock, but make sure to get as much live rock as you can afford.
Hope some of my random info may help a bit as I'm still learning everyday.
Don't buy cheap equipment as the cheap comes out expensive later. IMO starting with a FO or FOWLR and working up to coral/reef is a better bet as you will learn a lot more that way. A reef tank is much more sensitive to fluctuating params/salinity than a FO or FOWLR tank.
A few quick tips I've known/learned:
- live rock will be the most expensive part of starting up your tank, the better quality/quantity rock, the more stable your tank will be.
- wait for your tank to fully cycle before adding any livestock
- stock your tank slowllllly & research prior to purchasing, rushing will only cause your tank to crash or cause issues with inverts/fish compatibility
- test salinity often
- pre-mix your saltwater for at least 24hrs before a WC (using a powerhead & heater)
- get a Rubbermaid BRUTE container for mixing (grey/yellow/white only)
- top off your tank with FW not SW
- make sure your circulation is good, you want 10x gph flow based on your tank size.
- RO/DI water is a must if you're going to do corals/reefs, you can get away with dechlorinated tap water in a FO or FOWLR but may run into algea issues depending on your water quality
I have a 55g FOWLR with 60lbs of Aragonite sand, two Koralia #2 pumps for circulation, 70lbs of live rock for bio filtration & a Remora C skimmer to pull waste out. The set-up is fairly bare bones but it has been doing fine for a little over a month. The live rock is such a huge factor in keeping the tank stable, you can mix live rock with cheaper base rock, but make sure to get as much live rock as you can afford.
Hope some of my random info may help a bit as I'm still learning everyday.
jus85411;3690570; said:
Thanks! This forum has been so helpful to me, maybe my random tips will help the OP a tad, even though I'm still a newb myself.
yeah im still new to salt. had my tank up for almost a year now, but was fresh at first with my GSP and now they are marine for probably a total of 7 out of 10 months i have had my tank up. its definitely a patience hobby and a long learning process. im on here all day trying to find something new to read that will be helpful with something i might work on or currently am working on
Make sure you have salt and water on hand...
Yes , because there are corals you will need an RO/DI for sure and please, one hint
Don't try to reuse the sand..
Either wash it REALLLY good or just buy new dead sand and the rock will seed it..
This will save you alot of headache if you get this..
Moving live sand usually stirs up problems.
Yes , because there are corals you will need an RO/DI for sure and please, one hint
Don't try to reuse the sand..
Either wash it REALLLY good or just buy new dead sand and the rock will seed it..
This will save you alot of headache if you get this..
Moving live sand usually stirs up problems.
The only thing I disagree with is the amount of flow!!JoeBel;3690360; said:
This all depends on what type of coral he has in the tank..
If you want SPS you need to aim more for 50x tank volume per hour or more..
I have more than 60x tank volume per hour turnover and I'm gonna jump it up to 85x after the first of the year..
Of course I'm SPS LPS dominated
And You forgot the importance of a SKIMMER..
And he is buying a running system so equipment is kind of moot at this point.
unless he wants to upgrade..
Myteemouse;3691070; said:
+1 yeah I was thinking more "flow" for a FO or FOWLR, haven't done much research on coral/reef keeping as I prob will stick to my FOWLR for now. Definitely on the skimmer, the amount of gunk my pulls out of the water is nuts, can't do without it.
I was more spouting little tidbits that helped me when I was just gathering info and equipment. Not 100% what is included in the system he is getting,
Yes your tips are great and good for you helping a fellow SW guy..JoeBel;3691289; said:
I was just adding my input
PLEASE don't take it the wrong way...