New to salt water

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J

Jkohuts

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2008
30
0
0
New York
I have a 55 gallon custom aquarium that I built. there is a little diatom action going on in the pic. I want to do sw fish only. I have a fluval 305. Im gonna get the skimmer new t5 lighting hood, live rock, crushed coral, salt, 2 powerheads, mater test kit bla bla. Im going to plum the output of the canister filter so it comes out of 4 lockline hoses. But my question is what chemicals and additives do i need to keep the tank in check. and also are there products that speed up the cycling process.

Thanks Guys

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You will need a PH buffer additive (assuming your water isn't ~8.4, which I doubt it is) and I use products from the AquaVitro line for keeping chemicals in check. I can't say that I know of too many products to "speed up" the cycle, but the live rock and sand are definately going to make things go much better than without.

You might want to reconsider the canister filter as they tend to produce excess nitrates if not properly cleaned weekly. If you use enough live rock and a skimmer, You won't really need a mech filter at all.
 
ArcherintheBimmer;2715434; said:
You will need a PH buffer additive (assuming your water isn't ~8.4, which I doubt it is) and I use products from the AquaVitro line for keeping chemicals in check. I can't say that I know of too many products to "speed up" the cycle, but the live rock and sand are definately going to make things go much better than without.

You might want to reconsider the canister filter as they tend to produce excess nitrates if not properly cleaned weekly. If you use enough live rock and a skimmer, You won't really need a mech filter at all.
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+ 1...Also consider mangrooves...they are "extremely" good...And if you are buying them make sure that they are SALTWATER ACCLIMATIZED...since they can be for both fresh and salt water...
 
i do weekly changes anyway and ive been researching the de*nitrate by seachem which i use in my freshwater now and it works wonders.
 
Yeah i would ditch the canister but that is just my opinion. I'm a big fan of the natural system, lots of live rock and a DSB or Plenum!!!
Also, spring007 i'm wondering if you have more info on these mangroves as i would like to have them in my tank.
 
You don't need de nitrating stuff if you're willing to do weekly WC's...if you want to do a FOWLR you probably won't need any chemical supplements other than the salt mix.
 
Ricko;2715941; said:
Yeah i would ditch the canister but that is just my opinion. I'm a big fan of the natural system, lots of live rock and a DSB or Plenum!!!
Also, spring007 i'm wondering if you have more info on these mangroves as i would like to have them in my tank.
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Yes..infact, my buddy had two in his 55 for a long time...they died because there was VERY little light for them...You are pretty much set if you have a coupla mangroves and some macro algae...
here is an article about them:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitratecontrol/a/aa051398.htm
 
Ricko;2715997; said:
Excellent, thankyou very much!!
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no probs dude..:)
 
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