# new salt water tank installed



## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

im new to the site and would like to get some input on what type of brand equipment i should get ie type of heater and so on
starting a new tank 37 gal
i am going to upgrade the lighthing on the kit to 10000k (T5 i believe)
using 40lbs of live sand
20 lbs of live rock
aquaclear filter the one for 40-70 gal
2 powerheads (which ones should i get)
heater (which on should i get)
protein skimmer (which one should i get)


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Sounds good so far. You can mod your Aquaclear into a fuge as well for extra "help."

Koralia Powerheads are great. They put out random flow (high, low, medium) and constantley switch. Very benificial to corals. I think you should get two number 1's. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4585+15955&pcatid=15955

You can do whatever you would liek on a heater. One that is shatter proof should be best.

There are a lot of varietys for skimmers. Maybe some one can reccomend one, as I dont have any experience with one.

I think adding a sump to this tank will help immensely (maybe 10 gallons) as well.

Good luck!


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

whenyou are talking about #1 you mean this guy
Koralia 1 400 gph 3.5 2-1/4" x 5"


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

bndrinkin said:


> whenyou are talking about #1 you mean this guy
> Koralia 1 400 gph 3.5 2-1/4" x 5"


Yes. One on either side of the tank for maximum flow.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

ok
so i am getting the tank on moday, with lighthing, filter, with live sand, and will get 37gal pre made saltwater from lfs to start so that way i know its perfect water to start. i will get a heater and protein skimmer too. maybe powerheads too. so i do the live rock on day one also? or just do sand and water and heater and protein skimmer on day one then live rock two or three days later. when do i get the cuc going? then when do i need to change 5% of water. i thing about replacing 5% each week. how do i know when it is safe to add fish?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Its good your asking all of these questions without jumping in. Good man.  

Everything sounds good so far. I would personally not add the rock the first day. This is where you install everything, water test-it, make sure it works, ect ect. I would add rock a day or so after.

Do not add any Livestock untill your cycle is complete. CUC should be at least a few days after the cycle.

5% each week is a bit low. I think the cycle will speed up if you even perform this 5% change each day. You could also do 15-20% every 3-5 days.

Fish should be at least 30-40 days after the cycle, if not more. SW fish need a tank with the proper paramaters; this will ensure no one bites the dust early on.

Good luck.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

so 
monday get water, sand, heater, skimmer, and powerheads installed. then wednesday add live rock. dont add cuc until tank cycles? or by friday of this week add cuc? how do i know when the tank cycles? sorry for all the n00b questions.


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## DJOstrichHead (Feb 29, 2008)

ammonia and nitrite will be at 0 and nitrate will be forming when the cycle is done


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

DJOstrichHead said:


> ammonia and nitrite will be at 0 and nitrate will be forming when the cycle is done


Nitrate will be under 10ppm for FOWLR. Under 2 should be reef.

Your stocking plan sounds good. CUC is after cycle, not on friday.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

so monday
just do live sand, heater, powerheads protein skimmer and filter. what about live rock? when can i put that in?

once tank cycles then add cuc? then how long after putting in cuc do i add 2 fish?


also i play to add coral 3-6 months later
whats FOWLR?

tank is 30x12x22. that should be good right?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

bndrinkin said:


> so monday
> just do live sand, heater, powerheads protein skimmer and filter. what about live rock? when can i put that in?
> 
> once tank cycles then add cuc? then how long after putting in cuc do i add 2 fish?
> ...


Monday sounds good. Fill yoru tank with your RO/DI water (no salt or sand) and place the eqipment in; make sure everything works. If it is ok, add the salt and sand (the specific gravity should be around 1.023; a hydrometer will help you determine this).

I would add the rock a few days after that (1-3).

CUC is right after cycle. A few corals should be at least 7 days after CUC, if not more so you will need the stable parameters. Fish is 30 days after CUC, or two weeks after a few corals. Of course, you can always add corals whenever your tank is up (It goes CUC, then corals, then fish).

FOWLR stands for Fish Only With Live Rock. This means you have no corals.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

everyhting i am getting is brand new

i am getting the salt water already mixed from the LFS. what i was going to do was put down live dead rock, then cover that with sand. i was going to put down live dead rock 1st so if things burry themselves in the sand the could not make holes under the live rock and cause it to shift. then after adding sand i was going to fill the tank with the pre-made water half way, then add my live rock and finish with the rest of the water. add live rock now to speed up cycle. then once cycle add cuc. is that not a good idea?

this is just what i am reading, i dont want to do the wrong thing

tomorrow i will get tank, light, heater, skimmer, if i can find thoes power heads u recommend then i will get them. if not i will need to get them online and install them when they get in.


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## DJOstrichHead (Feb 29, 2008)

the conscientious marine aquarist says to add the water + salt then add the live rock then add the dead/live sand

thats just what i've heard


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

DJOstrichHead said:


> the conscientious marine aquarist says to add the water + salt then add the live rock then add the dead/live sand
> 
> thats just what i've heard


True. You should mix everything in a bucket. 

You may want to water-test in regular water, you may not. I would try out everything in a seperate container of regular water, then mix the SW, and add to the tank.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

everything is in
37 gal 
20 lbs of live rock
40 lbs of live sand
200w heater
SEACLONE 100 protein skimmer
aqualear filter 40-80 gal
Koralia 4 1,200 gph 12 3-1/4" x 6-1/4" 
ordered my water test kits
so hopefully fish within 2-3 weeks
10000k t5 lighting


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

bndrinkin said:


> everything is in
> 37 gal
> 20 lbs of live rock
> 40 lbs of live sand
> ...


Sounds good.

Oh, and fish should be in 1.5-3 months, not weeks.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

its a koralia 2

just glad to have the major parts and most expensive done with

just need to add another powerhead, coral in about 6 months
and more live rock


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

i ordered the SALT MASTER LIQUID KIT and REEF MASTER KIT. it should be in tomorrow. What does each test kit test and what levels should they be at?


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## DJOstrichHead (Feb 29, 2008)

what brand are the kits. it should say what kind of kit they are where you bought them


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

api 

but what i asking is what should the nitrite and nitrate be at and so on. ph?

things like that. so brand should not matter


like i said they havent come in yet, just what to know what the reading shiooulkd be


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## seba (Dec 17, 2007)

Amonia -->0
Nitrite-->0
Nitrate -->0 is ideal, should be as low as possible 
Ph--8.2 to 8.4
Calcium 400 to 420


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

thanks seba

what about for the reff test?


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