New and interested, please help with a few questions

[StartinginUtah]

I am new to this site and hoping to be new to this hobby soon. I am posting this looking for help on deciding where to start with my aquarium. I have always wanted a nice saltwater aquarium but now that I am seriously looking into it I am feeling very overwhelmed with everything I am reading and all the decisions to make. I am having a hard time just sitting down and reading a huge amount of posts and also having a hard time trying to read through long guides on how to start things up. I am hoping to get some advice on everything from where I am (not even owning an aquarium but potentially buying one tomorrow) to how to set it up, etc. Please be patient with me as I know next to nothing to start with.

So here is my first question. I know someone that has had a saltwater aquarium set up in his house for years. He was given the aquarium originally and has now been given a larger aquarium, which he has transferred his sand, rocks and fish to, so he is willing to sell me everything he has without any sand or rocks or fish in it (75 gallon tall aquarium, cabinet, filters, power heads, light fixture with a burnt out bulb, heater, etc.) for $100. He has had a successful aquarium set up for years and this is everything he used. He did tell me he does not have a sump on this tank and I am not sure about an overflow so my first question is if this is worth it and are the overflow and sump necessary? If so what exactly do they do and can I install them later? What all should I be looking for to make sure I am getting what he is saying I am getting and that I have everything I need?

My second question is that I am trying to figure out what type of aquarium I want and am told that for the fish we are interested in to just do a fish only with live rock tank and add coral in the future if I am interested in it later. They will be fine with coral but I am told that it is more work so to start with this. Apparently the light fixture that comes with this tank will support coral from what I am told although he only used live rock and never did the coral (again I have no idea about any of this so all of this is just hearsay for now). So I hear that the first thing I have to do after placing the tank is to cycle it. This is another thing that really confuses me. I see that dry rock is much cheaper than live rock and it looks like it does not have any parasites, etc. that can be damaging to the tank in it. Will the dry rock become live rock over time and what do I do with the dry rock before putting it in the tank? Is there any advice on what to do with this and how to cycle the tank as well as how to turn dry rock into live rock if it is more than just waiting for it to happen? Maybe a very short, step-by-step guide to cycling a saltwater tank for dummies, maybe including a timeline for each step? I can be patient to get the tank how I want it and am happy to put in the work if I know what to do. Also, along with the previous question about the rock, do I need live sand or dry sand, what type and how much? I guess some of the fish that we are interested in burrow in the sand.

Anyway, please help answer the above questions if you have any advice. Like I said, I know next to nothing about this. Thank you in advance for your help and I am sure that after I have done this I will be coming back for more help as well.

 

[JBRReef]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001U3YQQU/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

When I started in this hobby 8 years ago, this is where I started, somebody i knew had a tank and gave me this book and a 55 gal. with a hang on filter not knowing the first thing about what i was getting into. But this book has everything you would need to know as a novice is in this hobby. Its easy to read and understand for someone like me who doesn't have a biology or chemistry degree, but The other thing you can do that would help you would be to find a local reef club and attend the meetings and meet other people intrested in the hobby and stay connected and don't be afraid to ask questions. We all started knowing nothing, it comes with time and a true dedication to the hobby, hope to see you in the future with a new tank.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Welcome!!

What type of fish are you interested in keeping? Depending on the fish, the 75 might not be a good tank for you.

As far as an overflow and sump goes, the sump is a tank under the display tank. It adds water volume and provides a space to hide unsightly equipment such as heaters and skimmers. It can also house a refugium, which is a place where macroalgae can be grown. This is beneficial in keeping the water parameters in check. The overflow would be how the water would get to the tank from the sump, since the tank is not drilled. You can add a sump later in the build, but it can a pain.

I would closely look at everything that he is selling to you. Look for wear and tear. Check the silicone on all the seams. If it looks like it is breaking down, I would pass.

As far as the type of aquarium, I would look at some of the tanks in the member tanks section or reef spotlight section of the forum. Look for what peaks your interest and go from there. I would strongly recommend having a vision and working towards that goal. This way you do not make the mistake I did and buy equipment unnecessarily. I ended up having to replace most of my equipment multiple times because I rushed into the hobby.

 

[StartinginUtah]

Thank you for your replies.

I think it is funny tat they have a Dummies book for saltwater aquariums. I guess it makes sense, though. They have them for everything don't they?

I am not really jumping into this hobby knowing nothing. I have researched out the fish I want in this tank and have talked to a couple store owners in this area and I know that what I want (to start with) are good in a 75 gallon aquarium. I have not decided on the exact types or how many to get yet but I know that all of them will do fine in a 75 gallon tank and they are all compatible with each other so I can decide the fish after the tank is set up and ready for them. I figure that if this is a hobby I want to get into (which I don't see any reason I will not want to) I will want a bigger tank anyway so this seems to be a good size tank that I can start with and then get something bigger if I decide I want something bigger in the future.

I went to the friend's house last night and looked everything over and it all looks like it is in very good condition (which does not surprise me because he takes very good care of everything he owns). He eve plugged in a few things to show me that they were working. If I don't buy it today he is going to list it and try to sell it for a considerable amount more than he selling it to me, so I think this will be my first purchase toward my new hobby. Thank you on the advice of checking everything out. It helps to put my mind at ease.

As for deciding on the type of tank my biggest thing is this. Is it hard to convert a fish only with live rock aquarium into a coral aquarium if I should decide to do that in the future because I think it will be something that I will be very interested in in the future but I would like to establish a tank and learn one thing at a time unless that is a problem and unless there is a reason that I should not do that.

So now that I am getting a tank today what do I do next? I know I will need live rock and sand in the near future. Any advice on that?

Thank you again for your help.

 

[JBRReef]

I am at work right now so I can't get into the details at the moment but no, converting a tank from fish only to a reef aquarium is not as difficult and no major changes required as far as rock and sand are considered. Unless you want hey dev sandbed shallow send bed or bare bottom.

 

[JBRReef]

Suposed to say deep sand bed, shallow sand bed or bare bottom sand bed.

 

[JBRReef]

The key to this hobby is slow and steady, take things slow and keep your water parameters as steady as possible. As for the live rock in a reef tank I think most would agree that it is a necessity. A major portion of your biological filtration happens through your rocks. They also add great aesthetic value. After you have your research done, you know what kinds of fish your getting and what type of rock you like and look for pieces that help create what you have envisioned your tank to look like and know which direction you are going with your tank then you can start aquascaping your rock work and that gets really exciting cause you can start to see what it will look like and not just in you head. Here is some more light reading for you.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/startinganaquarium/

 

[StartinginUtah]

Thank you again for that link and for your comments above. I got my tank today and it actually came with all the rock I need, except it has been dried out so I know that it is no longer live rock. They are very nice pieces of rock and I am excited to figure out a design that will look great in my tank. I have read enough to know that if I add a little live rock to it it will become live again (given time for the bacteria and everything else needed to make it live rock to spread to it) and was also told to get live sand and it will help a lot as well and will speed up the process significantly. I know slow and steady is the way to go but does any of this help or is it needed? So here are my next couple questions. First, since this rock used to be live rock I know I have to clean it before putting it in my aquarium in order to get all the dried leftovers off of it from before. Do I just scrub it with a wire brush and water, spray it with a power sprayer or do I need to do something else to get it cleaned well enough to put in my tank? Also, does anyone know the amount of live sand (in pounds) to get for my aquarium and is this something that I can just add some to other sand and it will spread too? My tank is about 15" deep and about 35" wide and it is tall and 75 gallons and my wife thinks she will want some fish that will bury themselves in the sand when we are ready to add those kind of fish.

 

[JBRReef]

Ok, what I do with rock that I am cleaning I will put it in a bucket with RODI 2ater if available and a decent flow rate powerhead and let it sit for about a month and take a dedicated brush set and clean it 4 times in that month (wkly) until I am satisfied that I got what I can off. Then pull rock out of the water for a few days to dry and place in tank with live rock purchased from you LFS.

Sand, if fish that use the sand are housed in the tank I would go with at least 100lbs and go up you want it to come up maybe 2" to 6" about the bottom of the tank lip research the deep sand bed method and why the pros and cons because there are some.

And yes, slow is absolutely needed the more you rush this the more money you're going to lose. Take your time with your tank enjoy it, watch it grow don't be in a hurry to get it done. There's always something to do to keep you involved in your tank so just make sure you take it slow.

 

[StartinginUtah]

Since I don't have any fish or anything in my aquarium would it do the same thing to just scrub it the best I can then put all this rock in with live rock and sand and let it cycle?

 

[JBRReef]

Refresh my memory is it already dry or is it still wet. If dry how long

 

[StartinginUtah]

It is already dry. Supposedly it came out of a tank within the past 3-4 months.

 

[JBRReef]

Then yeh, do you have access to RODI water or just tap. Either way give it a really good scrubbing and rinse and you should be good. Suplament with live sand and a few more pieces of live rock and you should have a good biological base.

 

[StartinginUtah]

I am trying to figure out exactly what RODI water is and how I get it. I saw a filter but I am trying to figure out exactly what the benefit is before I spend more money on that. There are so many posts out there and everyone always contradicts everyone else. How do I sort that out? The only thing I can see is that tap water can cause more algae growth than RODI water. Is there another way to get rid of the algae that to use special water or it this the best way to do it?

 

[JBRReef]

RODI water is basicly water that has been filtered down to have NO sediments in it, irons, bleaches, chemicals to make it "safe" for human consumption. The way to get RO water is either purchase it from a Local Fish Store or purchase a RODI filter and make it at your house. With a 75 gal tank I would think a 50gpd(gal per day) RODI filter would be fine. You can pick one up depending on how many filter you choose ( min 4 ) carbon 1micron, carbon 5 micron, sediment and RODI resin. Between 50 and 150 bucks I use a 6 stage RODI unit.

Recomended but nott as necessary with a fish only tank but highly recomended with coral. You can use algea removal products and or GFO reactors but all that is more difficult and costly than just making cleanest water for your investment. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd.html

 

[StartinginUtah]

I think I will just use tap water for now and will get that in the future when I am getting ready to do coral then.

 

[StartinginUtah]

Alright so I got my aquarium set up and here is what it looks like.

Come to find out the rocks I was given have actually already been scrubbed off so I am just putting them in the aquarium tonight with some live black sand that I got and a couple live rocks (which I am getting today) and of course water. Attached is a picture of how they will look when I am done (I think). I used a small wood board to hold one up but that will be replaced by a piece of live rock. Is there anything else I need to be made aware of or anything else that I should do while cycling the tank. Does the light need to be turned on? Does the heater? Etc.

Also, when selecting the live rock is there anything I should be looking for and how should I transport it home? Should anything be noticeably growing on it?

Lastly, is there a type of salt mixture that I should use over another and how hot should the water be when I put it in the tank or does it even matter when it is first put in?

Thank you again for your help. I am very excited to get this going.

 

[Small triggers]

You will want to pre-mix the water before putting it in the tank...for about 24 hours...
I like reef crystals for salt but really it ends up being personal preference...
Also heat...yes if you are adding live sand and a few pieces of live rock it should be between 76 and 78 and kept constant...
Also...it seems this tank is not drilled for a sump, which is another tank, usually held In The stand that holds all of your mechanical filtration and a pump that goes up to your display tank for flow...
So my personal opinion would be to do a glass holes overflow, you may not be comfortable with this..drilling the tank and such ...
so you will need a few powerheads for flow in the tank...
Also, depending on what you are thinking of keeping you will need a protein skimmer..or be able to do alot of water changes for removal of organics...
Your tank will need to "cycle" so for a few weeks you can't put anything in the tank...

 

[StartinginUtah]

Thank you for the feedback. If the salt water needs to be premixed for 24 hours I will add all of this tomorrow and just mix the water today. I want to get the cycling process started as soon as possible, so I am trying to get everything else set up. I know I cannot put any fish or anything in until it is done. This tank is not drilled for a sump. I am not going to drill it for now either. Honestly, this is a starter tank for me and in the future (after I have learned more and know exactly what I want) I will get a bigger one with a sump and everything else I would like. This picture was taken before anything was put in the tank but I do have a filter and a heater, a halide light, etc. I was given everything that was used in the tank and kept it going for years so I should be pretty much good. I have a couple powerheads for flow in the tank but I am not sure how to put them in or where to put them and do they need to be running while the tank is cycling? How often would I need to change the water without a protein skimmer? Does that need to be done during the cycling process or just at the end? I am planning on getting a protein skimmer but was hoping to hold off for a month or so on that. Any advice on picking live rock and what I am looking for?

Thank you again.

 

[Small triggers]

You don't need to skim during cycling..and your cycle cold be anywhere from 2 weeks to3 months....just depends on your bacteria load...I used a bacterial additive on my last tank as I started with mostly dry rock and sand....just a though..it helps speed up the process...
Other than that your good to start cycling...get your water mixing and get all the rock and sand placed in the tank (in that order) and gently pour in or use a siphon to put in the water to keep from stirring the sand up too much...