Re started tank

[cheeseburger]

ok so i went to look in a lfs that i had never been to before and my mum started asking questions about cycling, live rock etc.

the guy there was really very helpful and made me change the tank completely and re start it again

here is what i have done

taken out water
taken out normal sand
put in coral sand
put a little bit of natural sea water in tank
put my little bit of live rock back in

i have also ordered a box of live rock for $200

im going to get a reef octopus bh300 hang on back protein skimmer $315 not including postage
http://www.thereefshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1195

and im going to get this light
http://www.guppysaquariumproducts.c...4w-t5-1250-long-fish-tank-light/prod_307.html

i will fill the rest of the tank with natural seawater
and i will also do my water changes with natural seawater

the guy also said for calcium don't buy the expensive bottles just get builders lime from bunnings and he will show me how to mix and add to the tank

he is awesome

 

[BIGgourami]

don't know why he said to use natural water
RODI is cleaner and synthetic salt is clinically better

 

[cheeseburger]

he asked me where i lived and i told him sandringham (which is right next to the ocean)
and he was like, just use the seawater and ro water to get the salinity right

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

seawater

I was told never to use sea water, i would stick with the RO/DI

 

[BIGgourami]

sea water is ok if well cleaned and taken from a good source.. but is more expensive than getting premixed saltwater, mixing your own, or even buying an RO filter and mixing your VERY own...

 

[Otto_VonBacon]

Nice to see your getting your problems straightened out and doing something about it instead of just quitting.
You scared me when you said "i'm going to get a reef octopus bh300 hang..." my first reaction told me you thought you were going to buy an octopus for a 90 gallon tank

Keep going.

 

[cheeseburger]

i ordered the protein skimmer and hopefully will get it in a few days, also hope ill get the live rock in a few days,
ive changed on the light, decided to go 4-54Wt5 plus one 30Wt5
hopefully getting it same time as rock and skimmer

hopefully add a halide later when i get more coral

 

[Gene0514]

did you take out the fish? If not,

TAKE IT OUT!!!

 

[sweeTang21]

seawater is plenty fine to use, BUT you should be going several miles off the coast to get the clean stuff. Also filtering the seawater with carbon is a good way to assist in removing any impurities and things like that, usually a bucket with a small canister filterfilled with carbon will do the trick.

id save yourself the trouble however and get an RO system, or find a place to purchase your water.

 

[Gene0514]

I don't think he has a boat to go off coast so seawater isn't a good option.