Just a few beginner questions

[farhaan786xx]

Good afternoon everyone.

I am new to the hobby and just recently got myself a Redsea 425.

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Currently I have a Bubble magnus curve 7 protein skimmer, Jeboa 3000 return pump and a Zetlight Zt6800 Qmaven 2 light.
I have also added some matrix rocks in the sump for the bacteria to start growing on.

A few questions that I have:

1. When it comes to the light should I leave the settings the way it is or do I need to adjust it before I start putting in some fish?
2. What do you think of my Aquascaping and is it suitable for coral?
3. When mixing the salt initially should I add it into the sump or in the tank?
4. How long should I wait before adding my first fish?
5. What other pieces of equipment do you think I'm missing out on and where else do you see room for improvement?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Salt & Peper]

thats a heck of a first tank! for your lighting if your just starting with fish your lighting intensity dose not matter when you start adding coral that's when youll have to play with your light settings and flow to fit what corals you want ( do lots of research and ask lots of questions). your aquascape is fine for corals its more depending on what you think looks good. now for mixing salt you should never mix salt directly into your tank it just causes a lot of headaces you should mix it in a bucket with rodi water I use an extra power head I have laying around to move the water and slowly add the salt 1/4 cup per gallon comes pretty close for me. you should wait till your ammonia levels are at 0 about a month there is a lot of factors that go into the cycle there are alot of great videos on you tube or advise on here. i cant give advise on equipment im a less is more kind guy. im sure people with lots more exsperence will chime in to help you. good luck and rember to always keep learning, take it slow (thats a big one) and have fun and enjoy your tank. good luck cant wait to see more pictures of your set up!

 

[Qasimja]

Just wanted to say Ive mixed salt directly in my tank every time I started with dry Rock and I never had an issue I guess it comes down to personal preference

 

[ScottR]

Good afternoon everyone.

I am new to the hobby and just recently got myself a Redsea 425.

u

Currently I have a Bubble magnus curve 7 protein skimmer, Jeboa 3000 return pump and a Zetlight Zt6800 Qmaven 2 light.
I have also added some matrix rocks in the sump for the bacteria to start growing on.

A few questions that I have:

1. When it comes to the light should I leave the settings the way it is or do I need to adjust it before I start putting in some fish?
2. What do you think of my Aquascaping and is it suitable for coral?
3. When mixing the salt initially should I add it into the sump or in the tank?
4. How long should I wait before adding my first fish?
5. What other pieces of equipment do you think I'm missing out on and where else do you see room for improvement?

Thanks for all the help!

Welcome! I could write a book for you with all those questions. Perhaps I can help you down the avenues.

- look into cycling a tank.
- your scaping is nice. Perfect for corals
- salt should be mixed separately from the tank in buckets, but for your initial set up, you can. Add to sump. But after adjusting and setting you ATO (auto top off), mix in buckets for water changes.
- for missing equipment, I didn’t see you mention an auto top off. It’s an important piece because it adds freshwater to your salt water as water evaporates and leaves salt behind. Salinity stability is important for all livestock in a SW tank. Hope this helps and good luck. Looking good so far!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Firstly, welcome to the group !!
Nice choice for tank as redSea systems are very supportive for marine life making them successful systems.

1. When it comes to the light should I leave the settings the way it is or do I need to adjust it before I start putting in some fish? Always start low white and high blue and gradually increase the white until you reach about 25-30%
2. What do you think of my Aquascaping and is it suitable for coral? Aquascape is satisfactory
3. When mixing the salt initially should I add it into the sump or in the tank? Tank is acceptable and typical
4. How long should I wait before adding my first fish? Approximately 3-4 weeks as long as periodic tests show tank is capable of controlling Ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate
5. What other pieces of equipment do you think I'm missing out on and where else do you see room for improvement?
You have the essentials to get started. Maybe a reactor or dual reactor down the road and again down the road - doser unit and controller such as Apex EL

 

[Joe BBC]

Hi and welcome. Great tank and rock formation. The big guns answered your questions but I have a comment. I noticed the tank is next to a large window and a door. This may not be the best placement for your tank due to the amount of exposure to sunlight. I may be wrong but I read to put the tank where there is as little amount of sunlight as possible. Think about before you fill that sucker up...

 

[farhaan786xx]

Hi and welcome. Great tank and rock formation. The big guns answered your questions but I have a comment. I noticed the tank is next to a large window and a door. This may not be the best placement for your tank due to the amount of exposure to sunlight. I may be wrong but I read to put the tank where there is as little amount of sunlight as possible. Think about before you fill that sucker up...

Thanks for that, I actually left the tank there for a few days without water to see if the sun comes into the tank. fortunately its just perfectly placed to be out of direct sunlight

 

[farhaan786xx]

thats a heck of a first tank! for your lighting if your just starting with fish your lighting intensity dose not matter when you start adding coral that's when youll have to play with your light settings and flow to fit what corals you want ( do lots of research and ask lots of questions). your aquascape is fine for corals its more depending on what you think looks good. now for mixing salt you should never mix salt directly into your tank it just causes a lot of headaces you should mix it in a bucket with rodi water I use an extra power head I have laying around to move the water and slowly add the salt 1/4 cup per gallon comes pretty close for me. you should wait till your ammonia levels are at 0 about a month there is a lot of factors that go into the cycle there are alot of great videos on you tube or advise on here. i cant give advise on equipment im a less is more kind guy. im sure people with lots more exsperence will chime in to help you. good luck and rember to always keep learning, take it slow (thats a big one) and have fun and enjoy your tank. good luck cant wait to see more pictures of your set up!

Great, thanks for all the advise! will definitely post up more pictures as I go along

 

[farhaan786xx]

Welcome! I could write a book for you with all those questions. Perhaps I can help you down the avenues.

- look into cycling a tank.
- your scaping is nice. Perfect for corals
- salt should be mixed separately from the tank in buckets, but for your initial set up, you can. Add to sump. But after adjusting and setting you ATO (auto top off), mix in buckets for water changes.
- for missing equipment, I didn’t see you mention an auto top off. It’s an important piece because it adds freshwater to your salt water as water evaporates and leaves salt behind. Salinity stability is important for all livestock in a SW tank. Hope this helps and good luck. Looking good so far!

Haha, will definitely have a look at the cycling forum.
thanks for all the advice. As for the ATO there is one just missed it out on the pictures, definitely going to be a huge help!

 

[Peace River]

If you haven’t read it already I encourage you to read the R2R article: The Ultimate Guide to Setting Up a Saltwater Reef Aquarium

 

[farhaan786xx]

Firstly, welcome to the group !!
Nice choice for tank as redSea systems are very supportive for marine life making them successful systems.

1. When it comes to the light should I leave the settings the way it is or do I need to adjust it before I start putting in some fish? Always start low white and high blue and gradually increase the white until you reach about 25-30%
2. What do you think of my Aquascaping and is it suitable for coral? Aquascape is satisfactory
3. When mixing the salt initially should I add it into the sump or in the tank? Tank is acceptable and typical
4. How long should I wait before adding my first fish? Approximately 3-4 weeks as long as periodic tests show tank is capable of controlling Ammonia, nitrite and Nitrate
5. What other pieces of equipment do you think I'm missing out on and where else do you see room for improvement?
You have the essentials to get started. Maybe a reactor or dual reactor down the road and again down the road - doser unit and controller such as Apex EL

Thanks for the advice, will get myself an ammonia test kit and start keeping a record of all the results.

Would really love an Apex but think that will come a bit later once the tank has been cycled and things are running smoothly

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for that, I actually left the tank there for a few days without water to see if the sun comes into the tank. fortunately its just perfectly placed to be out of direct sunlight

Indirect sunlight will cause issues as well as thermal heat and cold via the window panes. Algae will by your worse enemy if enough uv gets to that tank