First Salt Tank!

Amber, thanks for the welcome

and little fish, yea after some research i read how unsafe it is to put the rock on the sand, it can cause a rock slide.

Went to home depot and bought some egg crate to cut to size to put on the bottom of the tank so i don't crack the glass with the rock, some PVC pipe to use as a spine for some cool rock formations i have in mind, and some aquarium safe epoxy. hopefully taking these safety measures will let me build some cool aquascapes and keep the tank safe!!
 
Welcome to the site!

Putting an eggcrate at the bottom is unnecessary, however, it's good to put it at the top to prevent fish from jumping (clownfish aren't typical jumpers, but it's been known to happen). You can definitely epoxy the rocks together. I just hope you can commit to your final rock formation LOL A lot of us have bad habits of constantly moving rocks around. Sometimes, it's necessary, in case something dies between the rocks that we have to fish it out, or if we want to confuse an aggressive fish.

Don't forget pics! Did you start a build thread? :)
 
So my rock is going to be here monday so i put a little water in the tank and tested everything to make sure it all works... unfortunatly i have a problem hope someone can help!!! my protein skimmer isnt doing anything! i dont know what is wrong with it. the pump seems to be blowing tons and tons of little bubbles, and its got some pretty good force, but no bubbles are going above the surface of the water. perhaps i set up the skimmer wrong? the return tube is on the bottom of the skim, and the pump is connected about half way up, on the top of return tube there is a rotate-able 45 deg. cut pipe to adjust the water level from the out flow. i have an air tube running to the pump. seems pretty straight forward. any help/advice?!?
2zrl2kp.jpg
 
Sounds like you are off to a good start Kully! Do you have your saltwater mixed and aged? You'll want to do that today if you haven't done already. GOod Luck and welcome to the site. They'll keep you pointed in the right direction here!
 
Oh, and as for lighting, have you made a decision? There are many choices of 2 and 4 bulb fixtures, some with moonlights and timers. They are priced from $120 to 300 for all the bells and whistles! And get good bulbs! ATI or Geismann, when the coral comes. Whether you need a 2 or 4 bulb fixture would depend on the types of coral you want. You are gonna have fun! I, like you, had always had freshwater tanks, and my wife got me excited about doing a reef tank. I started with a 29g cube and have moved up to a 65g, and ..... ?
Have fun!
 
coolhandgoose said:
Is it just plain water or salt water? Cuz if it isn't salt water the skimmer won't work.
Click to expand...

Goose thanks for help but it is a salt mix, the ratio is way off because i forgot about water displacement :grumble: so i will be lowering the ppt from 40 to 36 sometime after work.

DAvis said:
Sounds like you are off to a good start Kully! Do you have your saltwater mixed and aged? You'll want to do that today if you haven't done already. GOod Luck and welcome to the site. They'll keep you pointed in the right direction here!
Click to expand...

davis the water is mixed and aged but like i said i think that maybe the SG is to high maybe playing a huge roll with the skimmer. Thanks for the welcome!!

DAvis said:
Oh, and as for lighting, have you made a decision? There are many choices of 2 and 4 bulb fixtures, some with moonlights and timers. They are priced from $120 to 300 for all the bells and whistles! And get good bulbs! ATI or Geismann, when the coral comes. Whether you need a 2 or 4 bulb fixture would depend on the types of coral you want. You are gonna have fun! I, like you, had always had freshwater tanks, and my wife got me excited about doing a reef tank. I started with a 29g cube and have moved up to a 65g, and ..... ?
Have fun!
Click to expand...
and no i haven't decided on a lighting fixture yet... any good suggestions? I def want to grow corals so i will need a good light, and i really want something with a nice shimmering moon light to look at the corals and fish at night time and not disturb anything! I'm super pumped for this tank to all come together:^:!
 
Oh, I missed that on the high salinity! Great, your on your way! As for the light, research the corals you might want as well as the different fixtures. You do get what you pay for sometimes! Check this and other forums for peoples lighting questions and fixture reviews! This is the fun time! I have a twin bulb Nova extreme that I will be replacing with a 4 or 6 bulb Tek light. Don't get a fixture just because it has the moonlights. You can add these rather cheaply. Folks can advise you there.
 
Do you have a refractometer or hydrometer to tell what the salinity of the water is? Don't just go by a formula for mixing salt water.
Also is there an adjustment for the outflow water from your skimmer, you should be able to adjust that to get the water going the level of the tank.
 
yes the hydrometer reads 40 ppt or 1.30-33 somewhere in there. way too high for salinity levels either way. my hydrometer is pretty much maxed out at the top.

yea the outflow has a adjuster to adjust the level, but the bubbles are still so nearly non existent that doesn't do much. i found a video on youtube of a kid with the same exact skimmer and he had some pretty good bubbles forming...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK57lIq9lF8]‪Reef Octopus NS80 Nano Skimmer‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

mine looks nothing like that.

and what is +1 cool?
 
That just means they agree.
I can't remember are you using this the same way as it is in the video ie. in sump. Some things you can try, obviously adjusting the outflow, but also changing how deep it is in the water if it's in sump.
 
23kfeck.jpg


So i got the salinity down now between work. it's higher and lower in dif. parts of the tank as it is still settling. but it's alot closer to 1.025 now. and i also watched a video of a guy setting up his skimmer and apparently they dont foam for a little while so i guess i'm in the clear!

and goose thanks for your interest and all your help with me on this project! Appreciate it!!
 
Hey guys! My rocks came! :) along with 1 or two tag alongs that i've found so far! :)

Here's some pictures, do the rocks look good?

4tmsk0.jpg


30lcdo1.jpg
 

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