new to the hobby need help picking equipment.

Drastic018 · Feb 3, 2012

hi every one. im new to the hobby and i have a 55 gallon tall tank with a cabinet i would like to set up as a reef tank but i only have $500 to start with and i need everything is this possible i know i cant do everything right away.and i would like to learn to breed fish to reinvest into the tank can any one help me pick out the right equipment to start with..if i have to i will wait on coral thats not a problem. but i would like live sand,live rock and save some money to buy a few fish when im ready for them

divewsharks · Feb 3, 2012

you don't need LR or LS, you can save money by buying dry and letting it become 'live' by seeding it.
Do you already have lights? or sump? is your tank reef ready?

fab1971 · Feb 3, 2012

used lights, dead rock and sand, used skimmer, freebies where you can find them. very easy to start up a tank with that amount.

Mr E Wrasse · Feb 3, 2012

get Pukani rock from Bulkreefsupply.com, around 40lbs (tell them you'd like a few smaller pieces and tell them it's going in a 55gal so you don't end up with all huge rocks)... it's light weight and beautiful and will make your dollar go far. Since your on a budget, for filtration i would just do an emperor 400 hang on back filter (i've seen some nice starter tanks do really well with these) then get a Koralia pump for water flow. Then you have to figure out what you want to do for lighting. Before lighting you'd be looking at around $250-300 for what i just mentioned. i would recommend looking on here for a used T5 light unit. good luck and welcome to R2R

Emoney · Feb 3, 2012

Join your local fish club and keep a eye out for people getting out of the hobby ..
craigslist another good option ..( I found my $800 slimmer brand new in box for $350)
And keep your eyes peeled on R2R forsale section

Drastic018 · Feb 4, 2012

thanks for all the help guys.i got a good place to start now thank you

lilqtpierikki · Feb 4, 2012

Can you make the pukani rock (or in my case the eco rock) live? I wanna get some of the eco rock because it looks awesome. But how do you make it live? I don't want to buy some of that and buy live rock from LFS and then it look totally different types of rock...

BRS

divewsharks · Feb 4, 2012

lilqtpierikki said:
Can you make the pukani rock (or in my case the eco rock) live? I wanna get some of the eco rock because it looks awesome. But how do you make it live? I don't want to buy some of that and buy live rock from LFS and then it look totally different types of rock...

BRS

Yes you can make it 'live'. just add a piece of live rock from a friends tank or lfs. it will seed the tank and slowly the organisms on the piece of 'live rock' with colonize all of the other dry rock. after a short while you won't be able to tell the origins of the rock.

AZDesertRat · Feb 4, 2012

Water is the single largest ingredient in a reef tank and everything depends on its quality so make sure you have a good source of RO/DI water, either your own RO/DI for around $120 or someone you trust and who will test the TDS in your presence.

Breeding fish is not an easy task and it will probably cost you more to attempt to do so than you could every possibly make. Clownfish breeders have whole rooms and shelves of tanks set aside for breeding and it is very time consuming. Most fish just don't breed in our systems and most that do eat their fry before you ever see them.

lilqtpierikki · Feb 4, 2012

divewsharks said:
Yes you can make it 'live'. just add a piece of live rock from a friends tank or lfs. it will seed the tank and slowly the organisms on the piece of 'live rock' with colonize all of the other dry rock. after a short while you won't be able to tell the origins of the rock.

can i do this after my tank has cycled?

so i can put say 3 lb of live rock in my fuge in my sump and then leave it alone. i wanna aquascape the dry rock b4 putting it in the tank since my tank has started cycling. will it mess with the cycle?
thanks!

divewsharks · Feb 4, 2012

lilqtpierikki said:
can i do this after my tank has cycled?

so i can put say 3 lb of live rock in my fuge in my sump and then leave it alone. i wanna aquascape the dry rock b4 putting it in the tank since my tank has started cycling. will it mess with the cycle?
thanks!

I would put the dry rock in now, lets it begin building bacteria colonies and it may need some time to cycle itself. T
You can add the live rock after the cycle is complete.

lilqtpierikki · Feb 5, 2012

divewsharks said:
I would put the dry rock in now, lets it begin building bacteria colonies and it may need some time to cycle itself. T
You can add the live rock after the cycle is complete.

Well i kinda have to wait for taxes to come in b4 i can buy the rock and i still have to build my sump (sigh)...

i have started cycling my tank already and as soon as i get the money was gonna get the rock and build the aquascape before putting it in.

divewsharks · Feb 5, 2012

thats fine. just whenever you put the rock in, watch the water parameters before adding creatures.
going slow in this hobby is a very good thing.

lilqtpierikki · Feb 5, 2012

yes ive learned that. i went with 4 damsels for cycling the tank and that's no bueno according to everyone. so i'm holding off on putting any rock in because i don't want to mess up my cycle. i don't think my fish are going to make it so i may end up starting all over again and start when i get the rock and sump made. but that's if my fish dont make it...

mdlnewman · Feb 5, 2012

What are you cycling? If you don't have rock or a sump you don't have anything for the bacteria grow on.

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lilqtpierikki · Feb 6, 2012

I am cycling with fish. I dont know. Im going off what the lfs said to do. I cant have corals in hawaii so i was going to do a fo tank and do the rock later but im down to 1 fish now so im gonna get rock as soon as taxes come in.

divewsharks · Feb 6, 2012

lilqtpierikki said:
I am cycling with fish. I dont know. Im going off what the lfs said to do. I cant have corals in hawaii so i was going to do a fo tank and do the rock later but im down to 1 fish now so im gonna get rock as soon as taxes come in.

So your tank is empty except for the sand and fish?
You need more surface for the bacteria to colonize, which is the surface of the rock, and within the core of the rock the anaerobic bacteria live to further/complete the process.
what other components do you have for your setup? some kind of filter and/or protein skimmer?

lilqtpierikki · Feb 7, 2012

no i don't have anything in there except puka shell substrate, 2 fake pieces of decorations and i have a coralife skimmer thats hanging on the back and a penguin biowheel 350. i am about to start building my sump, probably within the next few days and will hopefully post the progress. I am confused on the pumps though...

I am planning on buying the eco rock from brs, but i have to spend over 175 to get free shipping, or it's going to cost like 150+ to ship here in hawaii... So i was going to buy a pump and all the nessary stuff from there.

I'm not drilling my main tank so i'm going to do the hang on the back LimpitsReef's Channel - YouTube
i'm really worried due to power outages, i'll just have to make sure i pay attention.... but later down the road i'll invest in some kind of regulator or maybe drill a hole in my main tank, just not right now.

what advice can you give me further?

mdlnewman · Feb 8, 2012

Ok the biowheel is being cycled then. Basically we thought you meant you were cycling an empty tank and that does no good. Check your local clubs and craigslist for dead rock to save cash. Dead rock becomes live rock after time in your system.

You can put a hole in the return line below your water line to break siphon in case of power outage

lilqtpierikki · Feb 8, 2012

I am actually going to buy 50lbs of reefsaver eco rock from BRS. it's dead rock and once i'm finished with my sump, i'll go buy some live rock and put in the sump.

i just did a water test and from week 1 to week 2 PH- 8.1-8.2, ammonia .25-.25, nitrite .25-5, and nitrate 5.5-40.

i already lost 3 outta the 4 fish i had but i didnt have an ammonia spike. yes the nitrite spiked and the nitrate def went up, which leads me to ask, should i do a water change? i've only been cycling for 2 weeks... ugh this is so confusing, i really should have just went with friggin rock to begin with, i know i know.....

Should i just completely empty the tank and start all over with the dry rock/live rock in sump?

p.s. sorry for completely taking over this thread HEEEEEE

I just want to ensure that i get all the right equipment now that i have the money to do so!
which leads me to ask, what is a decent return pump? i was looking on BRS and i kinda want a in-water return pump so i can put it in my sump. those ehime's are expensive! Here's the 3 i'm considering... suggestions?
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/eheim-1260-universal-aquarium-pump-640gph.html

[URL="http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/ocean-runner-2500-625-gph.html"]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/ocean-runner-2500-625-gph.html

[URL="http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/danner-mag-drive-supreme-7-700-gph-water-pump.html"]http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/danner-mag-drive-supreme-7-700-gph-water-pump.html

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