NEW Member from Washington st (Tacoma)

[PRaquarium]

Hi, my name is Benjamin i lived in Tacoma WA ST. I'm trying to start a new saltwater aquarium. I have watch a lots of videos on you tube read about everything that is on the net and i still confused.

1. can i used tap water for my tank? people say don't use the tap water. Some other say use distilled water. Other people say use ro/di water only.
i know that water from the tap must be dechlorine.
Could somebody explain cons and pros of tap water, distilled water and ro/di?

2. For how long the water needs to cycle? I have read 3 to 4 weeks or 4 to 6 weeks.
i'm running a top fin 20, aqueon 950 water pump and aqueon 100 watts heater in a 20 gallon tank that i want to build a reef on it. Heather is set to 76 degrees.

3. Can i used 1/2 of live rock and the other half of dead rock? what are the pros and cons of using half and half? Live rock in Tacoma WA ST is about $5.00

4.what type of lights do i need for a beginner aquarium for corals? LED, coralife or any other type. On the market at this moment they have about 2,000 lights for sale and the say reef safe. Please show a person with no knowledge with what type coral to begin with.

5. I know that saltwater aquariums are very popular. People normally stay away from this hobby, because the lack of knowledge. Please answer if you have knowledge to help somebody who wants to have a dream in their homes.

A little about me, I'm retired from the U.S.ARMY. I love fishing on freshwater and saltwater but i only do catch and release. I does not matter how big it is or how expensive the pound is, let somebody else get lucky with that fish. I spend about 3 months in a year picking up trash from people who don't know that if you put plastic in the water i wont go away, same way from fishing line.

I know the most experienced guys can shared some knowledge, so we don't make the same mistake as you did. Share the same knowledge that it was pass on to when you was a beginner. sorry about my english, i speak better than i type. My number is
253 227 5901 Thanks Ben (sorry for all the questions at one time).

If you guys can set an example by gallons, live sand, live rocks and what type of corals for us beginners that will be help full, and how much money it cost (average). I'm thinking a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon tank, I think most people start with that size.

 

[grozier]

Using tap water will cause a algae outbreak (done that) high in phosphates (bad) not to mention other things, also runs through copper pipes I'm sure (bad for corals).

Lights are tricky because there are so many types. Look around and see what others are using for there tanks. You want I believe is a 10k and a actinic bulb? The new thing is LED lights really make the corals pop with the right setup.

The bigger the tank you can do the easier it will be to keep water parameters in check if you are only wanting corals then a smaller tank is fine, your just limited on what fish you can have (research fish needs and what is reef safe)

You can mix live rock and base(dead) rock. The live rock will feed the base rock and sand if you use it. You want about 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, hinse why you mix live with base. If you go with a sand bed, don't bother with the live sand and don't but play sand. Look online or at your local fish and pet store they should have what you need.

You'll know when your tank cycles. Your ammonia and your nitrates will spike then zero out to .00 ppm, the nitrates might not zero out but should almost be gone. There must not be any ammonia! Get a tube test kit for checking water. If you want corals you might have to pick up a couple others that dont come in the kit.

Hope this helps some. I'm sure others will chime in

 

[grozier]

Forgot, money cost .01 to no limit. After awhile you quit keeping track because our would make tully sick.

 

[PRaquarium]

Thanks, since i used tap water with live sand for my first set up.Should dump all that water and get rid of the live sand and start again?

 

[grozier]

I don't think that would be necessary, I would just do regular water changes using ro/di water. That should help in the future.

 

[PRaquarium]

to: grozier having the must beautiful thing in the world will cost money. This hobby is an addiction, i don't have anything but i want more. Is like you said from .01 to limit. If senior members can share what is the average for a 20 gal or a 10 gal nano reef that would be nice. I can get caribbean fish or coral ship to me, but i don't want to kill a living creature. Even if i have the money to buy it. I see your point, money is a issued when building a reef tan.

 

[PRaquarium]

To : grozier i was thinking about buying ro/di water system. They sell locally for about $ 100.00.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site.

 

[grozier]

I think a ro/di would be a nice thing to have. I need to get one myself. I would have a hard time putting a price on a setup.

 

[wontonflip]

Hi, my name is Benjamin i lived in Tacoma WA ST. I'm trying to start a new saltwater aquarium. I have watch a lots of videos on you tube read about everything that is on the net and i still confused.

1. can i used tap water for my tank? people say don't use the tap water. Some other say use distilled water. Other people say use ro/di water only.
i know that water from the tap must be dechlorine.
Could somebody explain cons and pros of tap water, distilled water and ro/di?

2. For how long the water needs to cycle? I have read 3 to 4 weeks or 4 to 6 weeks.
i'm running a top fin 20, aqueon 950 water pump and aqueon 100 watts heater in a 20 gallon tank that i want to build a reef on it. Heather is set to 76 degrees.

3. Can i used 1/2 of live rock and the other half of dead rock? what are the pros and cons of using half and half? Live rock in Tacoma WA ST is about $5.00

4.what type of lights do i need for a beginner aquarium for corals? LED, coralife or any other type. On the market at this moment they have about 2,000 lights for sale and the say reef safe. Please show a person with no knowledge with what type coral to begin with.

5. I know that saltwater aquariums are very popular. People normally stay away from this hobby, because the lack of knowledge. Please answer if you have knowledge to help somebody who wants to have a dream in their homes.

A little about me, I'm retired from the U.S.ARMY. I love fishing on freshwater and saltwater but i only do catch and release. I does not matter how big it is or how expensive the pound is, let somebody else get lucky with that fish. I spend about 3 months in a year picking up trash from people who don't know that if you put plastic in the water i wont go away, same way from fishing line.

I know the most experienced guys can shared some knowledge, so we don't make the same mistake as you did. Share the same knowledge that it was pass on to when you was a beginner. sorry about my english, i speak better than i type. My number is
253 227 5901 Thanks Ben (sorry for all the questions at one time).

If you guys can set an example by gallons, live sand, live rocks and what type of corals for us beginners that will be help full, and how much money it cost (average). I'm thinking a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon tank, I think most people start with that size.

1. TAP: I started my 45g w/ tap when I first started. As soon as I found out it was bad, I drained it all out and started over w/ rodi from my lfs. I found that my tap had 15ppm of nitrates....and my nitrates went up to 120 or so ppm. Naturally water changes did nothing but add more nitrates. I've heard some people who did not change it all out and just kept doing water changes w/ rodi, and they had a hard time getting rid of algae. If you can't get an RO/DI unit or get good RO/DI from your lfs, distilled is the next best thing. Opinions differ, but from MY own personal experience, tap = bad.

2. CYCLING: Depends.....if you used a miix of live rock and dry base rock (which will become live anyway), then the cycling is faster (some are lucky and won't have a cycle at all). Theirs took maybe a week to cycle. I started from ALL dry base rock with my 125g. It took maybe 4 weeks. It all depends. I spent the time it took to cycle to get my additional equipment and do research. Just toss a piece of cleaned raw shrimp in there (or like me, toss in a cube of frozen mysis) and check your parameters until you see ammonia. It's goes fast once you see ammonia. When ammonia and nitrites are 0, and you have nitrates, then do a water change and you're ready to go!

3. LIVE ROCK VS BASE ROCK: Pros of using a mix: Your cycle will go faster (if your tank cycles at all); Also you get a lot of fun "free" creatures from the live rock! Con of using a mix: You could also inherit unwanted pests like aiptasia and bubble algae and mantis shrimp LOL.

Pro of using base rock (like I did): No nasties in there that add to your tank. Con of just base rock: Longer cycle, no fun new creatures LOL

4. My tank is FOWLR (fish only with live rock), so I am no light expert. Someone else will chime in with that.

5. You've come to the right place! Lots of excellent sources in this site! Don't be afraid to ask or take criticism....we are here to help, but don't bite because we will bite back ;)

And my first advice, "what's good for freshwater isn't necessarily good for saltwater" -- like canister filters. And some things you can buy cheaply if you buy it used or if you DIY it. But if money's no object, do the research and get the best pieces of equipiment you can find. Keep in mind though that just because it's the most expensive, doesn't mean it's the best ;)

WELCOME TO THE SITE!

 

[little_fish]

+1 wonton

Saltwater tends to be very expensive to properly set up and maintain. I would guess its going to be over $500 to set up and stock a 20 gal tank.

I would go with the biggest tank you can afford and fit in your place. Larger water volumes means the mistakes are diluted out and bad stuff happens slower.

For the lighting, you have 3 options: LED, metal halide and t5 lighting. This is a quick little primer on the three types
https://www.livingreefs.com/lighting-101-a-t41427.html

Be sure to check out the articles section, there is lots of really great info there!

 

[chichimom79]

Welcome aboard! The best way to get some ideas is to browse some of our tank build threads.
Most (not all) of us use RO/DI water. In the cases where people use tap, they live in an area where the tap water is a lot more pure than it is in most places. And then if something goes wrong, you will always wonder if it's because of the tap. I advise making your own RO/DI water.
Have fun setting up your tank!

 

[PRaquarium]

Thanks for all the info. I was about to give up.

 

[PRaquarium]

Well, I took a shortcut and I purchased and running system for $80.00 yesterday. The tank was pretty nasty so I purchased saltwater from a local pet store. I think that this tank have too many rocks. The fish still alive after 18 hours. I'm having a hard time with the temperature, It keep going to 80 with the light off. I'm using a strip thermometer, I had a glass thermometer, but the big blue fish keep hitting it until the thermometer broke. What is the green grass growing on the rocks?

Info on the tank
29 gal, two powerheads, aqueon filter, aquarium system skimmer (maxi jet 120), and zoo med ligth.

 

[ErinCahir]

That fish is in a 29 gallon tank? Please, please, please net him and bring him to the store. He cannot be in a tank that small.

 

[chichimom79]

+1 Erin. And that isn't too much rock. You want 1-2 lbs. per gallon. Looks like you could actually use more. Test your ammonia nitrite and nitrate daily for at least a few weeks. If you reused old sand, you are likely to have a tank crash. Watch closely and do water changes as needed. Get the blue tang out right away, like yesterday. Good luck with the tank.

 

[PRaquarium]

Thanks, ill take the fish to the local pet store and may be they will trade me for smaller fish.

 

[PRaquarium]

By the way all the fish were in the tank when I purchased the tank.

 

[ErinCahir]

I know they were. :)

 

[PRaquarium]

Fish is gone to a bigger. :)