so can i still use my Fluval 405 right full of ceramic rings and just start adding salt to new water ,throw in some cured live rock in the tank add 2 nice sized powerheads to blow over the Live rock in the tank and add a HOB skimmer????? is this right?? and some strong lights?? thanks for the help, im getting sick of looking at my 55 fresh wanna do salt with fish and LR for now!! but its not drilled and my 405 is full of ceramic with this speed cycling??? and from what i have read so far is that the BB is different from salt to fresh??? is this correct im not afraid of reading and researching but geez some much info contradicts itself here so i just want a straight answer i wanna get a start on this system MFKers and if doing what i listed how long till i can add fish?? is it longer than 4weeks?? i know ill have to check my water Parms ongoing to determine but looking for an est!!! thanks to everyone!!
non-drilled 55Gal???
- Thread starter slednex11
- Start date
no, you cannot use your freshwater ceramic rings to help cycle a saltwater aquarium. in fact, i would ditch the ceramic rings all together because they can become nitrate factories over time. add some live rock rubble and make sure to clean the filter out every week or two.
this is how you would want to start a new SW aquarium.
-fill with ro/di water (not tap water, save yourself the headache later)
-mix salt in empty aquarium (very important that the tank is empty)
~before mixing make sure your temp is up to at least 78 degrees and throw in 1- 2 powerheads for circulation.
-add your sand and live rock
-turn on your fluval 405 with live rock rubble when the tank has somewhat cleared
-add market shrimp in a pantyhose (for easy clean up)
-test param's to know when cycle is complete.
~first, ammonia will rise and then fall to 0
~second, nitrite will rise and fall
~third, nitrate will rise and fall to 0
~ CYCLE IS DONE!!
now, keep in mind, everyones cycle is somewhat different but this is the jest of it.
let me tell you a secret, the trick with having a successful saltwater aquarium is being slow and steady. add 1 fish per week to help the BB in the live rock to adjust to the higher bio load.
lighting will depend on what you want to keep. if you plan to do a fowlr tank (fish only with live rock) then you can get away with using a 48" 2x54w T5 light fixture. if you plan on getting easy to keep corals like LPS and soft corals a 48" 4x54w T5 light fixture would work great. but if you intend to keep SPS or other high light corals you will need a 6-8x54w T5 light fixture. i love T5!! but you have a lot of options for lighting such as metal halides, T5, PC, and now LED's. read up on the different options to see which light is best for your application (lighting can be its own thread, lol)
good luck with your new adventure!!
P.S. water changes are very important, usually small water changes per week are better then larger water changes biweekly or monthly. i do 10% per week.
this is how you would want to start a new SW aquarium.
-fill with ro/di water (not tap water, save yourself the headache later)
-mix salt in empty aquarium (very important that the tank is empty)
~before mixing make sure your temp is up to at least 78 degrees and throw in 1- 2 powerheads for circulation.
-add your sand and live rock
-turn on your fluval 405 with live rock rubble when the tank has somewhat cleared
-add market shrimp in a pantyhose (for easy clean up)
-test param's to know when cycle is complete.
~first, ammonia will rise and then fall to 0
~second, nitrite will rise and fall
~third, nitrate will rise and fall to 0
~ CYCLE IS DONE!!
now, keep in mind, everyones cycle is somewhat different but this is the jest of it.
let me tell you a secret, the trick with having a successful saltwater aquarium is being slow and steady. add 1 fish per week to help the BB in the live rock to adjust to the higher bio load.
lighting will depend on what you want to keep. if you plan to do a fowlr tank (fish only with live rock) then you can get away with using a 48" 2x54w T5 light fixture. if you plan on getting easy to keep corals like LPS and soft corals a 48" 4x54w T5 light fixture would work great. but if you intend to keep SPS or other high light corals you will need a 6-8x54w T5 light fixture. i love T5!! but you have a lot of options for lighting such as metal halides, T5, PC, and now LED's. read up on the different options to see which light is best for your application (lighting can be its own thread, lol)
good luck with your new adventure!!
P.S. water changes are very important, usually small water changes per week are better then larger water changes biweekly or monthly. i do 10% per week.
ok thanks so much as i have read into this quite a bit but getting sick of reading one thing then another but i enjoyed your piece! with the KISS method..... as for the weekly canister cleaning not a problem do it anyways with it being freshwater the 405 is very simple to do!!!! ya im just gonna use my retrofitted 2x18" T5 but im gonna put 10,000k bulbs in for now, and i have a 800gph pond pump i was gonna stick in a empty 33gal tank to seperately mix the salt how many pounds of salt will i need for 55gal????
If the live rock is cured your cycling will be shorter however the bacteria on the rocks can die everytime it is relocated esp. when it's out of the water. Partialy cured rock is an easier cycle IMO - most if not all inhabitants on the rock will die creating the ammonia spike while also creating a constant supply - nitrites will be present for 2-3 weeks by the end nitrates should be high like 40ppm within a week this will drop to 10-20 ppm add your 1st fish. If all parameters ZERO out you'll get a mini cycle from BB die back - the sources need to be constant. After the 1st fish wait til' Nitrates drop back down to 10 ppm add another and so on.
Also I'd add the sand 1st before the water and line it with cardboard. This will stop the sand storm within the tank and your filters and pumps will be safe. Ad a heater get the water to 78 degrees - then add salt 2 cups per 5 gal. Use a hydrometer to test. Top off water should be fresh - salt does not evaporate. Use the second tank as a W/C tank - 10% weekly.
Also I'd add the sand 1st before the water and line it with cardboard. This will stop the sand storm within the tank and your filters and pumps will be safe. Ad a heater get the water to 78 degrees - then add salt 2 cups per 5 gal. Use a hydrometer to test. Top off water should be fresh - salt does not evaporate. Use the second tank as a W/C tank - 10% weekly.
Otherone;5113711; said:
please don't listen to this guy.
first off, you really want to keep your nitrates as low as possible, maybe not zero, but certainly not at 10ppm. now of course this can be debated over and over, but if you have enough live rock (1lb/1gallon), don't overstock your tank and do weekly water changes. i see no reason why you can't keep nitrates at .5ppm over lower.
second, if you plan on mixing the salt in your tank for the first time (and only time) DO NOT PUT IN YOUR SAND FIRST. the salt will creep into the sand and won't fully dissolve.
this is how you should do it:
-add ro/di water
-add heater to 78 degrees
-mix in salt per the box instructions (usually 1/2 cup per gallon of water)
-add powerhead near the bottom to stir up the salt and add circulation
-wait 24-48 hours and test for salinity (~1.025)
-add sand, if you rinse it and add it in slowly it should settle pretty quickly. i think mine took less then 5 hours.
-add live rock and begin your cycle.
P.S. disregard anything i said if you plan on buying premixed saltwater from your LFS.