Hi all!

General Basic Marine and Reef Keeping Discussion, Learning, Teaching and Advice. Just getting your feet wet? Let us know about your endeavors, questions, problems and successes.

Hi all!

Postby Tim on Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:32 am

Hi everyone,
Just jumped over here from the Oscar Spot as I am interested in moving into the salty side.
questions: :)
I have an aqua one AR850 all in one setup available for marine use. Do I have many options with a tank this size?
I'm living on a uni budget. Will I be able to cope with the costs?
what sort of extra gear will I need for saltwater besides the Filters/heaters I already have?
Thanks for any advice, Im a total noob when it comes to marine setups.
Cheers!
Tim

PS.If you like I can find a link with more information on the tank.
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Re: Hi all!

Postby Tim on Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:03 am

Oops I forgot to add, It's approximately 45 gallons US.
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Re: Hi all!

Postby ralphie on Thu Apr 08, 2010 12:07 pm

Welcome to the Salty Side :up:

Some additionals things you will need
Salt for when you do water changes
test kits first ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and then maybe pH, calcium and alkalinty depending upon what you keep
salinity testing I usually recommend a refractometer since a hydrometer can be very inaccurate
make up water since salt does not evaporate, most of the time you will be topping off with fresh water. Since you want to start with pure water and since the contents of tap water can vary, it is usually recommended to get RO/DI water
live rock since that can provide the majority of filtration in the tank and looks natural. You will need around 1 lb per gallon depending upon your stocking plans
substrate I like the look of a sand bed and prefer a deep sand bed for the ability of it to process nitrate into nitrogen gas. I also like the critters I have to keep the sand bed clean. Some people go with a bare bottom thus increasing the flow. A crushed coral substrate, IMHO, is to be avoided since it increases the work load since it needs to be kept clean to avoid it becoming a nitrate factory
power heads - several power heads placed around the tank to increase circulation and to eliminate dead spots. For example in a reef tank you want to aim over 10x the water volume so if you are going reef, you need a turnover rate of over 450 gallons per hour
protein skimmer not required but I usually recommend one

What are your stocking plans? Fish only? Fish and some other critters such as snails, crabs, etc? Reef tank that has corals in it? It would help to narrow down the list of what you will if you kind of knew what you wanted to stock in there. But beaware, a lot of us, myself included ONLY wanted a fish only tank but ended up going reef. Since I went that route, I ended up throwing out some stuff I bought that was not good for a reef tank. :goofy:
I wish my fish and critters would read the same posts I do
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Re: Hi all!

Postby Tim on Fri Apr 09, 2010 12:53 am

Thanks for the reply!
I would love to have a reef if possible.
I have an ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and pH test kit for freshwater. Will this still work for salt?
I will go with the sand bed idea as i like the natural look of sand and use it in my freshwater tanks.
I already have maximum flow of approx 530gal from my filters, will i still need multiple powerheads for extra flow?

Also what are the benefits of a protein skimmer?
and will i need different lights?
Thanks again,
Tim
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Re: Hi all!

Postby ralphie on Fri Apr 09, 2010 12:30 pm

I have an ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and pH test kit for freshwater. Will this still work for salt?
Depending upon the brand, some can and some can not. For example I use the API calcium test kit and that does both. You will need to check the directions.

I will go with the sand bed idea as i like the natural look of sand and use it in my freshwater tanks
FYI, I got my sand from Home Depot. It is not worth the money to buy the "live sand" from LFS since it is not really alive.

already have maximum flow of approx 530gal from my filters, will i still need multiple powerheads for extra flow
The idea of multiple powerheads is to allow you to place them at different spots to eliminate dead spots that could occur behind the live rock for example. I like having several smaller sized power heads placed at different spots in my tank. For example in my 75G besides my return pump, I have an additional 4 powerheads in that tank pointing at different spots.

and will i need different lights?
Remember with a reef, you have to monitor calcium, alkalinity more often. Depending upon what kind of corals and critters you get, water changes may not keep up with the calcium and alkalinity demands. For my tank, I put Mrs. Wages Pickling lime in my auto top off water which pretty much takes care of my alk and calcium needs. What type of lights and what wattage are they?
I wish my fish and critters would read the same posts I do
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Re: Hi all!

Postby Tim on Sat Apr 10, 2010 5:29 am

Thanks again for the reply,
I see what you mean with the powerheads, I'll get on to that.
I'll check out my lights and get back to you, all I know is that there are 3 built into the hood. One is pink and the other two are white/yellow.
How are water changes organised with reef tanks? would i be doing weekly ones like i do with my tropicals or is a marine setup more self sustainable?
thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. :boogy:
cheers,
Tim
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Re: Hi all!

Postby ralphie on Sun Apr 11, 2010 4:43 pm

How are water changes organised with reef tanks? would i be doing weekly ones like i do with my tropicals or is a marine setup more self sustainable?
Water changes are kind of a debated issue, some totally believe in them while others do not. I always recommend them since it follows the idea of "Solution through Dilution". I usually do 5 gallons on around ~80 gallon tank weekly, around %6 a week due to the fact I use 5 gallon great bear jugs. By doing water changes, you are removing pollutants in the water and also replenishing trace elements in the tank. We are trying to duplicate a large environment in a micro one so IMHO, water changes are a must. Also by doing regular water changes and depending upon what you keep you may not have to add any other supplements for calcium and alkalinity.

Also, you should never add anything you can not test for, so therefore you do not need to add any of the so called trace elements out there. When I first started out my tank was a chemical experiment as I was adding basically any "trace element" that was suggested which lead to algae growth and wasting money. Now, I do regular water changes, use Mrs. Wages in my auto top off, and that is it. And with this routine, I have fragged and sold a significant number of corals from my tank.

thanks for taking the time to answer my questions
No problem and I am still learning and still asking questions. Hopefully, I can help you to save some money and avoid the mistakes that I made.
I wish my fish and critters would read the same posts I do
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Re: Hi all!

Postby Tim on Sun Apr 11, 2010 9:37 pm

Thanks again,
I have wondered before how (logically) an environment could work with out the water being refreshed and replenished but i do know a lot of people that seem to do well just topping up their water.
I think I'll stick with what i know and keep doing water changes.
So to cap off,
I need to check out my lights ( I'm still trying to find the book that came with my tank that said what they were. Can't seem to find it anywhere! )
Need a few power heads,
and a protein skimmer? (still not really sure what thats for but I'll check it out)
Salt
Test kit for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, calcium and alkalinity
refractometer.
Live rock.
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Tim
 
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Re: Hi all!

Postby ralphie on Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:11 am

Are you going with a bare bottom tank, if not, then you will need a substrate and I recommend sand since it looks more natural and you can buy critters, such as worms and snails to keep it clean for you.

protein skimmer?
It removes excess nutrients inthe water thus helping to reduce nuisance algae blooms. But, the tank ratings on protein skimmers are very overrated, so usually you can half the tank size that it says it can do.
I wish my fish and critters would read the same posts I do
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Re: Hi all!

Postby Tim on Wed Apr 14, 2010 3:19 am

Oh yeah i forgot to add i was going with sand as the substrate.
I'll start looking in to protein skimmers.
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