What do you think?
- Thread starter slowhemi
- Start date
Looks like a good start, welcome to the wallet siphoning but uber rewarding realm of SW keeping! How much rock/sand do you have in there? Is it live cured or are you curing it? Are you going to do a FOWLR or Reef?
Not sure how much sand I have but there is about 3 inches of white sand ( dry ) and I added a big bag of the black sand ( live ) the rock is live cured but some did dry out cause the guy I got it from had it just sitting in a bucket. He gave me 60 lbs for fixing his computer 
and I might have 10-20 lbs that I can still add.
What does FOWLR mean? sorry new guy here lol
I want to do coral and fish in the tank.
Thanks for the welcome. Far as the wallet siphoning. I got the tank off craigslist for 80 bucks with everything but rock and the rock I traded some computer work so cost nothing. I had to pay for the black sand 40 bucks and had to buy salt 15 bucks and a new air stone 3 bucks. So as of right now I don't have to much money in to it
and I might have 10-20 lbs that I can still add.What does FOWLR mean? sorry new guy here lol
I want to do coral and fish in the tank.
Thanks for the welcome. Far as the wallet siphoning. I got the tank off craigslist for 80 bucks with everything but rock and the rock I traded some computer work so cost nothing. I had to pay for the black sand 40 bucks and had to buy salt 15 bucks and a new air stone 3 bucks. So as of right now I don't have to much money in to it
It's def a + to not spend $ on the initial set-up, I didn't destroy my wallet but I do spend waaaay too much at my local SW fish store without thinking twice.
FOWLR means Fish Only With Live Rock & FO means Fish Only. I have a 55g FOWLR currently, love it to death, been up for only a few months but is my favorite thing (don't tell my gf)
Nice corals are more sensitive to salinity, lighting & water params but it's def a rewarding thing. Being fairly new to this, like you, I feel that if you start slow with easy corals, polyps, & mushroom, you can work your way up as you get more knowledgeable about everything. I am currently experimenting with low-light polyps and corals that my single fixture can support.
Here's some tips I picked up starting up maybe they'll help a bit:
- 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 (FOWLR/FO 1.022-1.025 & Coral/Reef 1.025)
- use 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water
- pre-mix your saltwater for at least 24hrs before a WC (using a powerhead & heater).
- test salinity & temp prior to WC to match as best you can to tank
- 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
best,
FOWLR means Fish Only With Live Rock & FO means Fish Only. I have a 55g FOWLR currently, love it to death, been up for only a few months but is my favorite thing (don't tell my gf
)Nice corals are more sensitive to salinity, lighting & water params but it's def a rewarding thing. Being fairly new to this, like you, I feel that if you start slow with easy corals, polyps, & mushroom, you can work your way up as you get more knowledgeable about everything. I am currently experimenting with low-light polyps and corals that my single fixture can support.
Here's some tips I picked up starting up maybe they'll help a bit:
- 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 (FOWLR/FO 1.022-1.025 & Coral/Reef 1.025)
- use 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water
- pre-mix your saltwater for at least 24hrs before a WC (using a powerhead & heater).
- test salinity & temp prior to WC to match as best you can to tank
- 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
best,
the blue you're thinking of is an actinic bulb. A 50/50 bulb is generally a 10,000k bulb paired with a blue actinic.
It really all depends on what type of corals/polyps/mushrooms you are trying to keep. In terms of fish & live rock, you're fine with any basic light, I feel a regular 50/50 looks great. There's a wattage rule with most corals though I think it's around 4 watts per gallon, the coral/reef guys can chime in on that one as I haven't quite started the coral stuff myself yet.
I have a coralife single aqualight fixture over my 55g, it has 2 65w 50/50 bulbs and my lower-light corals, like Cabbage Leather & Green Polyps are doing pretty good. They def would look better and would show better color if I doubled my light output but it works for now.
I have a coralife single aqualight fixture over my 55g, it has 2 65w 50/50 bulbs and my lower-light corals, like Cabbage Leather & Green Polyps are doing pretty good. They def would look better and would show better color if I doubled my light output but it works for now.