New to everything Salt Water! haha

[Cottonwood]

Hey everyone, I'm totally new to all this, so I've been doing some reading online for the last couple days about salt water setups but still have a lot to learn and a million questions I'm sure.

I have another forum for my truck that I get lots of great info from so I knew a great saltwater community forum would be priceless for me! You all may get sick of me here!

I have had many freshwater setups ever since I was a kid, and now am going to start my first saltwater/reef tank. I just bought a 120 gal set up from ebay and will be picking it up tomorrow morning down in Phoenix.

Here is the ebay link to what I bought, I would love any help on what I should add and how I should go about getting this tank rolling the best way possible. I'm trying to keep the spending down as much as possible, but also want quality. So hopefully you all will know the best brands/products to go with that wont break the bank. :twocents:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=390179735584&view=all&tid=99634222026

I'm so excited to get this going, I've wanted a reef tank for a while now, I just don't want to mess it up! Thanks for reading my long long long post! And thanks for all the help in advance as well! :Cheers:

 

[parrotchute]

Hi Cottonwood! Great to have ya.
first off, definitely want to encourage you to get a good reference book. That helped me when I was starting by giving me a good background to build off of and ask questions about - believe it or not, saltwater for dummies was really great for me.

Can't see that ebay item, it's been removed.
To start, I'd make sure you're getting a decent skimmer and some good lights (t-5 or metal halide) - spending money on these up front will pay off in the long run,. A lot of people end up spending a small amount, and then realize they need something better and lose money. I know I did.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site, glad to have you...in this hobby, one must exercise patience, and realize nothing happens quick, except mistakes. Like mentioned, the lights and skimmer and rocks will be the most expensive purchases, but you don't have to get them all at one time. Just take your time, and feel free to ask your questions, that's why we're here. :)

 

[Smitty]

Ps...do not use tap water to fill the tank...you will definitely want to use ro/di water...it'll save you the heartache and headache down the road...trust us!

 

[parrotchute]

Good call on the ro/di water! DEFINITELY something you want to buy first.

 

[dcantucson]

Hi Cottonwood. Welcome to the site. Glad to have yet another Arizonian. Looking forward to your tank build.

 

[Cottonwood]

Here is the description and the pictures from ebay.

120 Gallon Salt Water Tank with Stand and light.
Fluval 404 Filter, sand corrals and
protein skimmer Aqua Med, (needs a lid)
Nets, scrubbers, extra salt and quantity 5 - 5 gallon
water containers all included.
Measurements:
Tank 48" Length
Height: 31.5"
Width: 18"

Stand: Length 50"
Height 31.5"
Width: 20"

Tank and Stand together measure: 62" Tall

$350.00 or Best Offer (I got it for $200)

 

[Cottonwood]

I have a 2hr drive to pick it up, then 2hrs to come back home. Should I keep as much of the water as I can? Or should I dump it clean everything, and start fresh? I'll be transporting everything in the back of my truck.

 

[parrotchute]

I'd start over, make it your own. You don't know what the previous guy had done,what negative hitchhikers are there, etc.

 

[BL1]

Also, moving tanks with water in them can cause stress to the seams and weaken them causing a premature tank leak down the road

 

[reeffreak]

That is a deep tank.Your best bet is to go with Metal Halide lighting.The canister is best use on a part time basis,to polish the water a few days a month.Otherwise they become pollutant traps.

Welcome to the hobby and site!

 

[Cottonwood]

Ok thanks everyone. I'll start over, but can I use the rock that is already there with a fresh change of water? I'd like to save money by using everything I can that is already there. I'm hoping to get it going with the rock and skimmer and stuff that is there now and slowly build it up.

I would like to do a toad stool and not sure on what other corals. But as I slowly build it up is there a good order I should follow? Corals first, shrimp, fish, I know probably jumping the gun just curious as to the best way to build up.

Should I get some shrimp or small fish or corals to add to help the tank cycle with the new water? And I do plan on picking up the saltwater for dummies book, along with more reading online. Although I must admit, it does get a little confusing. There is much more involved with saltwater than freshwater.

 

[reeffreak]

Ok thanks everyone. I'll start over, but can I use the rock that is already there with a fresh change of water? I'd like to save money by using everything I can that is already there. I'm hoping to get it going with the rock and skimmer and stuff that is there now and slowly build it up.

Sure,no problem

I would like to do a toad stool and not sure on what other corals. But as I slowly build it up is there a good order I should follow? Corals first, shrimp, fish, I know probably jumping the gun just curious as to the best way to build up.

When the time comes a toadstool is fine if you have the lights to sustain it.After the cycle is complete,a hardy and clean-up crew(snails,crabs) is the best to start with.Shrimps and corals should wait until the stays stable for a couple of months.

Should I get some shrimp or small fish or corals to add to help the tank cycle with the new water? And I do plan on picking up the saltwater for dummies book, along with more reading online. Although I must admit, it does get a little confusing. There is much more involved with saltwater than freshwater.

No,don't get any fish or corals.A little bit of fish food will start a cycle,if there is one.

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello fellow 'Zonie!

The lights that you picked up with that tank are standard fluorescent strip lights for freshwater -- not strong enough to keep any corals. You should look into metal halides for that deep of a tank.

You can definitely re-use the rock. But only if it has never been treated with copper. Buy a copper test kit and test the water after you fill it up. If the previous owner ever used a copper based medication, you will need to throw out the rock and sand, as you will never be able to keep any sort of inverts with the rocks and sand again.

Start with one fish, AFTER the tank has cycled. Do not add any animals to "help" the tank cycle -- you'll only kill them! And it won't do anything to speed the cycle up. The initial cycle usually takes 3 to 8 weeks... During that time, there should be no animals in the tank whatsoever. Only add animals after the tank has cycled, and ammonia and nitrites are both at zero. And then add no more than one fish every 3 weeks or so. In a 120 gallon tank, you will max out around 12 to 15 fish, so you have plenty of time to add fish.

After you add your first fish, you can add your clean up crew -- snails and crabs. Wait a month or two more before adding more sensitive inverts like corals, shrimp and starfish.

Saltwater is a lot more SLOW than freshwater. You can't add stuff right away, and you can't add a lot of stuff at once.

 

[Cottonwood]

That is a deep tank.Your best bet is to go with Metal Halide lighting.The canister is best use on a part time basis,to polish the water a few days a month.Otherwise they become pollutant traps.

Hey, could you go into a bit more detail on this for me? I'm a bit confused about the canister and polishing the water? What do you mean about pollutant traps?

 

[yote]

Welcome aboard Cottonwood.
When you go to pick the tank up.Take some coolers along.Put the rock in the coolers then add water from the tank to the cooler.That will help keep the rock fresh.
Just put the sand in some clean buckets.You'll want to wash it out good with the water hose before putting it back in the tank any how.
Take the copper test kit with you.Test the water for copper before you even start breaking it down.Then you'll know if copper was ever used in it.

 

[yote]

Hey, could you go into a bit more detail on this for me? I'm a bit confused about the canister and polishing the water? What do you mean about pollutant traps?

What happens with canisters,is they trap the waste in the media.All that trapped waste is still breaking down in the water so its compromising the water quality.Something you DONT wont in a reef tank.

 

[reeffreak]

+1 Yote.

By polishing I mean to run carbon,floss or something else just long enough to clean the water but not long enough where it becomes a place for detritus to breakdown.

 

[Cottonwood]

Ahh! ok, thank you makes sense now to me! And thanks for the info on moving the rocks in the cooler, and also on testing the water when I go pick it up. Seems like obvious common sense to do so now that you've told me! :mrgreen:
All day I've just been thinking about this thing, I cant wait to actually get it and start in on it!

This seems like a dumb question to me because I dont think so...but I really want to know, so forgive a newbie please. Are there any type of shark's that I can put in my tank and build my "squad" around that? Would be cool to have a little shark swimming around in there! :sfish:

 

[BL1]

The tank you have is still too small for even the smaller sharks. Most of them grow over 3 feet long and require at least a 180 gallon tank. Also, they are not reef compatible so you couldn't add inverts or corals