Overload

J

jswinberlin

Reefing newb
My wife and I just started our saltwater hobby about a month and a half ago. Things seem to be going fairly well and of course we're learning a lot. However, it's a little bit of overload and frankly a little intimidating.

I'm sure we'll figure things out as we go and make our own conclusions. In the end, I'm sure experience is the only true teacher.

Here are a couple of quick thoughts:

1. Do I really need a quarantine tank? And how soon? I'm sure it's better to start out with the best practices than learn the hard way. I just didn't plan on having to maintain two tanks.

2. I know all tap water is different, but should I be using RO water? We don't have well water and I think our water is pretty good. Maybe a little over chlorinated, but I used de-cholorinater.

3. For lighting, I just used 1 standard 4 foot florescent that is kind of on a moonlight cycle and an Ultra Sun for daylight simulation. Both set with timers. I might want to upgrade at some point and even get a reef light. But, I don't want to get ahead of myself. Any suggestions for keeping it simple but improving? I used a cheap shop light fixture from home depot and 1 that came with the tank when it was set up as freshwater.
 
1. You don't need to set up a qt....but you do run the risk of introducing parasites and diseases into your tank. A lot of us do not qt. If I were to start over, I would totally qt everything. Ich is pretty common....those who qt religiously will not have ich problems, even if their fish get stressed out. Those who us who don't qt and get ich, we just hope the fish fights it off themselves, or treat all the fish for ich while leaving the tank fishless for a couple of months. That's just one example of what might happen if you don't qt and treat new fish.

2. Would you really want to risk having algae problems or other problems by using tap? We've seen many people crying about algae problems and it's cuz they used tap. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

3. Unless you plan on having corals, you can use any lighting. I didn't have lights for the longest time cuz i only had fish :)
 
please keep in mind that some fish are more prone to ich than others.

I would use RODI water, its not worth the risk.

Welcome to the site!!
 
Hello ,welcome to the site...
Your getting some good input so far,but i do differ from them on certain things...
I DO use tap water .always have(5 years now).....i only keep very easy,very hardy corals...,mushrooms,frogpawn,hammer coral..
I DO QT !!(many uses,not just ich prevention)...I had one mishap almost 2 years ago now....a fish was put in without my knowledge ,and boom(long story)but,....i lost my favorite tang ...
IMHO,its much riskier to not QT ,than it is to use tapwater....
Good luck and have fun....
 
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Qting fish and other animals you put in your tank will ensure a pristine living environment for all inhabitants of your tank. I don't QT now but have in the past when i had a smaller tank to dedicate to it, however with little more than a light a heater and a powerfilter or powerhead for water movement much else isnt really needed for a qt, you will probably have no sand and only a couple pieces of PVC in there for fish to hide in. I would say it is well worth the investment to do it when you feel comfortable doing it. Also, I switched from tap to RO/DI not to long ago, it has been one of the best investments of this hobby that i have made thus far. It IS possible to keep a pristine tank using tap water but it is much more difficult. When I made the change and upgraded tanks I could see a difference in how fast and how much algae was able to grow, using tap the algae could cover my rock and tank in a matter of days, with RO/DI water it has only made a subtle appearance in my tank after a few weeks now.
 
You don't need a quarantine tank, but it is adviseable to have one. I know it can be hard, especially if you are keeping big fish, but the quarantine tank doesn't need to be set up all the time, only when you are using it. Also, it doesn't even have to be a tank. One of those rubbermade storage bins from the hardware store will do.

I don't have a quarantine tank, and I've never used one, but I have had good luck with fish -- if you have good quality water, compatible tankmates and feed a healthy diet, their chances of getting sick are low.

There is stuff in your tap water that can cause problems -- namely nitrates, phosphates, silicates, and metals. Nitrates, phosphates and silicates can lead to neverending algae problems. And if you have copper plumbing, even small amounts of copper are fatal to inverts and can make it very difficult for you to keep a clean up crew or corals. A decent RODI unit will cost you about $150 -- a drop in the bucket in this hobby!

Upgrading lights will be a must if you want to keep corals.
 
To chime in more on the lighting, there's different options you may have when it comes to light.

One popular choice is T5/HO lighting (HO stands for High Output and I put a slash between T5 and HO because you can have T5 alone or have T5HO which is more intense as far as lighting goes). A lot of people love using T5/HO. It's quite bright and doesn't produce as much heat as Metal Halide...which brings me to the next choice

Metal Halide lighting is the brightest light you can use for your tank but it produces the most heat and I believe consumes the most power. On the flip side, Metal Halide produces a shimmering effect which gives you the image that rays of sunlight are shimmering in your tank. It is the most natural looking ways to light your tank. You can either find a fixture that would mount onto your tank or find a fixture to suspend. Suspending a fixture will rid overheating issues for your tank and or at least make it less likely it would.

Another choice that isn't as popular is CF lighting which stands for Compact Flourescent. CF lighting isn't as bright as T5/HO and Metal Halide lighting. But on the other hand, it should be good enough to house some lower light corals such as Zoanthids and Mushrooms.

As technology keeps going, LED lighting is brand new to the hobby. Supposedly, some companies boast they have a high PAR rating to be able to grow corals effectively. Par stands for photosynthetically active radiation....I don't want to get technical though.

Basically, LED lighting is very energy efficient and lowers electricity costs by a lot compared to the other lighting options. The only thing that's bad about it is that it's a new tech for aquariums so they are pretty expensive to buy. And to add onto that, models they have now are most likely to become obsolete within a year or 2 as they tweak their models or come out with new ones.

I'd say your best bet is T5/HO and or Metal Halide for great results! But if you want to take things slow and start off with some hardy, easy to keep, lower light corals, Compact Flourescent wouldn't be such a bad choice either.
 
DEFINITELY RO/DI WATER!

It's cheap enough to buy a ro/di unit and make your own.
This one is a no brainer.
 
OhNoNemo said:
your guys tap water must be pretty bad:shock:
Click to expand...

It's bad in most areas of the country. You are definitely in the minority if you haven't had algae problems yet. The TDS of my tap water is 400 to 500 out of the faucet. That's a LOT of crap to be putting in my tank! Your TDS is probably much lower.
 
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Corals if they live (hard ones won't) in tap water will thrive and grow much better with the use of RODI water. I agree with Dennis. RODI water is a no brainer! The phosphates alone in tap water will kill your SPS within a week.
 
OK, I guess for all of you who keep those pretty reefs with boring fish:mrgreen:,then yes, its needed...
If you want only Awesome shrooms and rics ,with the best fish ever,i say TW "may" work for you:D
We get printouts of our water quality every 6 months,last one, if i remember, had a TDS reading of 40......should get one in a few months ,i'll put a copy up..
I will now stop defending everyone elses TW,but stand strong by mine and QTing:Cheers:
 
As for the lights, check out my "New Endevour" post linked in my Sig below . I Started off with shop lights and a lot of this trial and error experience that you speak of ^_^ The thread is not kept up to date but it shows you my start ;)
(You can see the diff when I upgraded the lights!)

I spent tons of time researching BEFORE I went ahead with anything. My only regrets that I moved ahead of myself on was the scratched up glass tank I used and the crushed coral substrate on the bottom :( Which the crushed coral ended up not being TOO bad ;P But I despise those damn scratches! hehe
 
OhNoNemo said:
We get printouts of our water quality every 6 months,last one, if i remember, had a TDS reading of 40......
Click to expand...

Luuuuckkyyyy, my TDS is 400 and my water is full of calcium/rust silicates(which drove my diatoms for MONTHS lol) and all kinds of crap XP
 

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