First Aquarium Project

hachadwick

hachadwick

Pilot
I have a 50 gallon tank that I wanting to start a salt water tank in. I have decided at first I am going NOT have coral as I am still a novice in this hobbie. What I have done so far is:
  • I added 1-2 in of sand after rinsing repeatedly (this was my first time cleaning sand). The sand is play ground sand that does not contain silicon.
  • I then added the 50 gallons of water useing my water hose.
  • I have a Pengiun 200 filter running on it.
  • After the tank was full, I have added the chlorine netralizer to the water.
  • I then added the salt to the tank per the instructions on the salt I purchased from the local pet store.
I have a Green Spotted Puffer I purchased from Walmartwho my 3 year old son called Simon, in a smaller tank that I also mixed with nuelraizer and salt per the instructions on the package. He seems to be doing fine in the tank for now, after about a week. I have been feeding him regular tropical fish flakes. I have read snails and shrimp type things are required, so it is on my list.

So, after 2 days of water running through the filter and nothing disturbing the sand on the bottom, the water is clear but has this haze look to it. I am sure it is from the sand and water splashing all around while filling the tank, but I thought it would settle after a day or two with the filter running non-stop. Is there any thing I can do to get the water clear?

I know things don't happen quickly in fish tanks. I just want to make sure I am not doing something wrong with the sand instead of rocks in the tank. I like the look of sand. My Simon is about to leap from his current tank into the big one:question:.

I am still waiting to buy some equipment as I am on a limit aquarium budget, but I'll get there. Any tips and pointers would be awesome!
 
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I am hooked on researching aquariums!!..lol
Anyways, it's 1:30 AM and I am sitting here reading about lighting. I was wondering if anyone has ever used LED light strips on their aquarium? You know, the kind you use around the house of on a car. I am looking at the pre-build kits for aquariums and they are just too expensive for me. I can get 16 foot of extra-bright white light LED strips and dimmer module for cheap off Amazon.com. And it's water proof. What do y'all think?
 
I hate to tell you this but you are moving too fast. If the 50 gallon has only been set up for a week it hasn't cycled yet. You need to add rock to the tank which in time will become your biological filter. For rock you want 1 to 2 pounds per gallon. You can use dry rock from someplace like Marcorocks.com and seed it with a small live rock from the fish store. It also doesn't sound like your small tank has been cycled either. With the waste from the fish and food added to the tank it will cause an amonia spike which will likely end up killing the puffer you have in there. You need to read up on "Cycling a Saltwater Tank" before adding any living creatures. It would be best if you can move the puffer to an "established" tank to hold it till your tanks have cycled. Take it slow and research, nothing good happens fast in this hobby.
 
thank you for the reply and solid advice. I am not goi g to add any fish to the tank until it cycles. Everywhere I read I see cycle, cycle, cycle! LOL the small tank with the puffer gets a full water change every 3 days because I am not prepared and didn't know when I bought him. I don't have anything on the bottom of it so I clean the food and dropping out after each meal.

My next buy will be rocks, live and dead.

Do you have any comments on the hazy water from the sand?
 
The fine sand could still be stirred up from adding the water. Do you have any powerheads pointed down at the sand? I have never used that type of sand for an aquarium so I don't know if it has anything to do with it. I recently set up a small tank with sand I got at the LFS and didn't experience that problem.
 
You can always try reefrocks.net too. Steve the owner has great quality rocks and will shipp to you for free.
Tell hi Justin sent you and he will give u a discount.
 
I totally have to admire you for realizing your current setup wasnt going to cut it for the puffer and taking action!

And if you arent going to have any corals, the LED strips you mention would work fine. The fish dont need light, you just have to be able to see them.

Im also really worried about you using play sand, it might have other nasties that will feed other types of algae growth. Also using tap water also encourages algae to grow.

I think the most important purchases for your tank are enough rock and powerheads for water movement. The mechanical filter is freshwater technology and dont work as well in saltwater tanks.
 
I totally have to admire you for realizing your current setup wasnt going to cut it for the puffer and taking action!

And if you arent going to have any corals, the LED strips you mention would work fine. The fish dont need light, you just have to be able to see them.

Im also really worried about you using play sand, it might have other nasties that will feed other types of algae growth. Also using tap water also encourages algae to grow.

I think the most important purchases for your tank are enough rock and powerheads for water movement. The mechanical filter is freshwater technology and dont work as well in saltwater tanks.
 
+1 fish Glad you're willing to take advice and roll with it. The play sand has silica that algae love...so I would definitely ditch it. Plus who knows what chemicals companies put in it to make them 'safer' for kids to play in :)
 
Wow! Ok, I am currently draining the fish tank of water. I am going to buy aqurium sand like you all suggest. The play sand I purchased is supposed to be silica free, but I don't know for sure, so like you said, I'm ditching it. I'll throw it in my sons sand box:).
If I did want to do a reef tank in the future, what is the limitations on lighting? Brightness, color, etc?

Also, the pump I have says it's for salt water. Do I not need one? I plan on getting some blowers for water movement, but everything I have read says I need a filter also. Is this true? Thank you for all the help everyone:)
 
No you do not need a filter. The live rock will be your bio filter and that along with a regular water change of 10 or 20 % either weekly or every two weeks will cover you. You do want powerheads for water movement, 2 would be good, enough to turn the water over around 25-40 times an hour. Hydor Koralia is a good, reasonably priced brand, you could get maybe 2 of their 1050's would be plenty. That would give you pretty good flow for corals later. For lights that all depends on how much money you want to spend. T5's or LED's would be good for corals. For T5's you would want a 4 or 6 bulb unit for corals. For LED's well the top end is AI Sol LED's or Radion LED's. Marineland Reef Capable are less expensive and should work fairly well for many corals on a 50 gallon. I have a Marineland RC on my 36 gallon and my corals are doing fine.
 
Ok, so, starting from scratch here. I am going to fill the tank with water, add the aquarium sand, and then add some live rocks. is this good to start the cycle with? While the cycle is running I will get together the resources to purchase the pumps. I feel like I have jumped in over my head here. Its something I really would like to do, but I seem to keep doing all the wrong things. Good thing I
 
I noticed you said you got you got the puffer from walmart. Iv'e never heard of walmart selling marine fish. Are you shure that isn't a brackish/freshwater puffer. Also a protein skimmer isn't a bad idea. A good one like a reef octopus or tunze.
 
An ro/di unit is also pretty much a must have. Tap water is full of nutrients & nitrates that cause all sorts of water problems. I learned that the hard way when I first started.
 
Yes, the Puffer came from walmart and is a Green Spotted Puffer. I contacted the web reefrocks.com about his rocks and sand. There, if you order a certian amount of rocks, the shipping is free and 40lbs of sand is included. I thought it was a pretty good deal. All I would have to do is add some live rock and he said it would seed the rock I buy from him. What do y'all think?

Like I have mentioned before I am doing this on a strict budget. With that said, can tap water be made to work? My plan is to build a aquarium with just live rocks and fish, no coral, but I want to take as many steps as I can to maybe be able to add coral later.

This forum is great buy the way. There is nothing like learning from people who are experienced and want to help people. Thanks to everyone. It's making this process alot easier and more fun.
 
Once you get the sand and rock in the tank and the saltwater mixed and in the tank then add a table shrimp (raw. the kind you eat) and that will start your cycle. You'll need a test kit to check the water for amonia, nitrites and nitrates. An RO/DI unit is very beneifical to taking out the impurities in your water that can cause algae problem in the tank. It isn't 100% necessary but it is a great investment to make when you can afford it. Get a water conditioner to remove the chlorine from your tap water.
 
When you put everything back in, you will probably get the foggy/hazy water again. It's nothing to worry about -- it will happen every time you set a new tank up, and it normally lasts for several days to a week. It just takes a while for the sand to settle down to the bottom when it has been disturbed. :)

It sounds like you are doing a lot of research and planning things out, so good job! You are on the right track.
 

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