Overwhelmed!!!

[shanet1975]

Just checked out ebay for lighting. Them t5's ain't cheap.....Saw some nice coralife 48 inch hoods with lights for a little over 100 bucks...Not too bad.
Probably getting way ahead of myself. What would be a good bedding? Crushed coral?

 

[yote]

Be carefull of those 100 dollar PC lights on ebay.Ive heard of peoples houses buring down because of some of those light catching on fire.

If you'll post a link to the lights your looking at,we'll be more than happy to try and help you decide on em.

What ever you do,,dont use crushed coral for your substrate.In 6 months it'll look like crap,causes nitrate problems,and just looks bad.Trust me on this one,I just re-done my 30 not 2 months ago because of starting it with crushed coral.

 

[reeffreak]

I know I'm a little late to the party....welcome to the site shanet!

When you mentioned halogen bulb,did you mean incandescent bulbs?if yes,then stay away from those.They run hot and isn't really suited for saltwater tanks.Stick with normal output florescents for fish only and T5's for corals if you are thinking of going that route.Your decision should be on what your looking to keep now and possibly in the future.

here's a list....
NO florescents(Normal Output)-fish only
Power Compacts aka compact florescents-fish,soft coral,most LPS(large polyp stony corals)
VHO(Very High Output)florescents-fish,soft coral,LPS
T5-HO(high outputs)--fish,soft coral,LPS,SPS(small polyp stony corals),anemones,clams***note sps,clams may need to be closer to the lights***
MH(Medal Halides)-everything.

There are always exception to the rule,but this is a general list.
Good luck

 

[shanet1975]

CORALIFE 48" **Aquarium Light Fixture**EXTRA BULBS!! - (eBay item 220143266748 end time Aug-30-07 17:33:01 PDT)

48" Coralife Lunar Aqualights Compact Fluorescent Strip - (eBay item 250155891643 end time Aug-24-07 16:16:19 PDT)

What to use instead of crushed coral???

Thanks again....You are really quite helpful and I really appreciate all of the advice...

 

[reeffreak]

Aragonite base substrate is the best.Crush coral is to difficult to clean and tends to accumulate detris.

 

[shanet1975]

Thanks ReefFreak..Any other helpful hints you can throw my way? How much liverock, how much should I pay for liverock? etc...

 

[reeffreak]

You ask and we all will try to help!

How much live rock is up to you really.The general rule is 1-2lbs per gallon.Since your on a budget(like aren't we all) go with mostly dry rock and seed the system with a few pieces of live rock.The LFS has dry rocks for $1 a lb. and live ranges from $4-12 dollars a pound depending on type of live rock and if its cured or not cured.

 

[shanet1975]

So....I can mix dry rock and live rock together and the dry rock will become live rock? What would be the percentage of each? Would it be 50 50 dry and live?
What is the difference between cured and not cured?

 

[yote]

You could go with 90% dry lace rock and the other 10% live if you wanted to.
The difference is that when you buy un-cured,it cost a little less,mainly because all they done was harvest it from the ocean,put it in a box and send to buyer.You get ALL the hitch hikers that survive shipping.
Cure has been cleaned and stored in a tank some where and cost a little more.You dont have to worry as much about stuff like mantis shrimps.If you get your rock local,then it'll be cured 90% of the time.You'll pay a little more local,but you can hand pick the pieces you like.
Just my thoughts on it.

 

[reeffreak]

Go with mostly dry rock and maybe 10 pounds of live rock.

Cured is rock that has gone through a cycle.Uncured is straight out the ocean mostly.Here a fish store buys uncured liverock.They let it run in there system for several weeks so anything that doesn't survive the trip is allowed to decay then it becomes cured.You can use cure or uncured in a new system that doesn't have livestock.Use cure in an establish tank.BTW,cured usually smell fresh and uncured smells rotten.

 

[yote]

Rotten aint the word for un-cured rock.

 

[Bifferwine]

Don't forget a pH test kit! One of the most important tests you can have.

 

[SSalty]

When it comes to live rock, you don't need to go out and buying it all at once. I have been slowly adding cured live rock as I can afford it. For right now, my suggestions would be to get the "essentials" and get the tank up and running. Get your tank, filter, skimmer, heater, lights, sand, and and a few peices of cured live rock and let the tank cycle. Always remember, take it SLOWLY.

 

[Bifferwine]

SSalty has good advice. Things will turn out better if you take it slow. By all means, buy equipment, rock, and upgrade as the money becomes available.

 

[shanet1975]

Thanks again everyone....Looks like I'm well on my way.....

 

[shanet1975]

Sorry...
One more question....Well maybe 2.
I'm looking for light hoods with t5 bulbs. My tank is a 55 gallon standard 48 inches long. Do I look for a 48 inch fixture?
Any idea how to figure out how many lb's of aragonite substrate I would need to cover an inch or 2 of the bottom of the tank?
Thanks again everyone.

 

[Bifferwine]

For 2 inches of coverage, 1 lb of sand per gallon. So in a 55 gallon tank, around 55 lbs of sand.

As for the T5s, get the lights the same length as your tank.

 

[hibye]

look at aquatraders and ebay also whats the width of your tank

 

[shanet1975]

Thanks Bifferwine and Hibye. THe dimensions of the tank are Height: 28" Width: 48.5" Depth: 13". I'm pretty sure. I'll check out that company you sent and look for a 48 inch long fixture.....It's looking like the cheapest I can find the t5 fixtuire with bulbs for is around 200. Does that seem about right?
Thanks again

 

[hibye]

yep and about 51pounds of sand