# Several supplies, no idea where to start!



## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

So very recently my partner and I have decided to start a saltwater fish aquarium. We have purchased what we think are the essenstials, but arent quite sure if we have everything. So far we have: 

a 65 gallon tank and stand, a external canister filter easy 80, a super skimmer by coralife( which i think is the protein skimmer everyones talking about?), a submersible 200 watt heater, a salinity refractometer, a digital thermomter to stick on the side of the tank, a movement and circulation pump, saltwater master test kit, "prime" a chlorine remover, bactervital, highoutput T5 fluorescent 4lamp lighting system, ocean direct caribbean live sand (60lbs) and coralife scientific grade marine salt.

Needless to say, we dont even know where to start. Would love some advice please an thanks!

If anyone can give us a step in the right direction it would be greatley appreciated. We still have to buy the live rock and the fish. We know that we want the clownfish for sure )nemo), but since we have a good size tank we would like to have other fish as well, which brings me to my next question, which fish can live well with the clownfish.

Would greatly appreciate any advice, very new to this, and know very little!


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Well what kind of water are you going to use? Water out of your tap or Bottled water or RO water?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

What would you suggest?.. We know very litte but really really want to do this.


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

If you could use an RO unit that would be best if your going with Corals. But if your going with FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock) then your tap water should be fine. 
What all do you have? get a list on here and we could help you better. 
Do you have live rock?
Are there bio balls in your sump?
You will want at least 1 inch of sand no more then that or
4 to 6 inch of sand No less then 4 an no more then 6.
You will want you salinity inbetwen 1.023 th 1.026,


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

kevNnic said:


> a 65 gallon tank and stand, a external canister filter easy 80, a super skimmer by coralife( which i think is the protein skimmer everyones talking about?), a submersible 200 watt heater, a salinity refractometer, a digital thermomter to stick on the side of the tank, a movement and circulation pump, saltwater master test kit, "prime" a chlorine remover, bactervital, highoutput T5 fluorescent 4lamp lighting system, ocean direct caribbean live sand (60lbs) and coralife scientific grade marine salt.


What size is the Super Skimmer? Is it Venturi or Needle Wheel? 

I say return the canister if you can. They are great at trapping debris and detritus which break down into Nitrates and Phosphates. Those can be a nuisance in a Marine tank. Do you have Live ROck? I do not see it on this list. That is one of the most vital parts of your filtration. The Live Rock and Live Sand harbor aerobic and anaerobic bacteria that complete the Nitrogen cycle in a Saltwater Aquarium. You can buy 3/4 of your rock as Dry Rock, and the last 25% will seed the rest. This is also why you should return the bactervital. Correct me if I am wrong, but this is "beneficial bacteria" that you add to the water? That already exists in the Live Sand you own. With the live sand, you will want a depth of <1" or 4-6". No in between. Depths of 1" to 4" act as detritus traps and can cause Nitrate and Phosphate spikes, and is not deep enough to be hypoxic to have the correct bacteria flourishing for denitrification. 

So it this a FOWLR or Reef?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

We havn't boughten any live rock or fish yet because we dont know what to do first. We havn't even set the tank up... still very new. We know that we want to house clownfish and a few others that are compatible with eachother as well as the live rock. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

As for our super skimmmer, it is a Needle-wheel system, dimensions :4.25 x 5.5 x20.75 umm, it says : patented need-wheel system combined with Aspirating Venturi. Is this one going to work? PLease god!! hehe

Why should we return the canister? And sorry a little confused with the sand, it cant be greater than one inch in depth?

thank you for all your help!!


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Ok and the Bacter-vital, it says it is a water conditoning catalyst, whos goal is to reestablish a targeted "hydro-diverse normality" with and aquariums ecosystem, it synchronizes cyle parameters, allows rapid adaptation of aquatic life to new aquariums, neutralizes ammonia, nitrites and heavy metals, naturally breaks down solid and soluble wastes.

should we return it still?


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Ok the sand needs to be 1 inch no more
Or 4-6 inch.. If you have 1-4 inch the denitrifaction is out of wac.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Oh okay. Gotcha. Thanks!! Should we clean the tank out first at all?


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## mollies (Mar 27, 2009)

Did you buy everything new?
If i were you i would wait for Pasfur and Wake to help with setup they helped me alot just by reading other post.
But You should Buy your live rock before you set up your tank. I would go thro Macro rock Pasfur will Be able to give you there web site info.
I will post more in a few


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Please do


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

This is the way I would set up a brand new tank:

First, purchase tank and stand, salt, a refractometer, apowerhead or two and a heater. While I was at the store I would buy a Test Kit for Alkalinity, Calcium, pH, Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia. I would also pick up some live sand and (water conditioner if FOLWLR) some RO/Di water (app 60 gallons).

Second, I would go home and set up said tank and stand, and fill it with (RO/Di water if I were planning on a reef, or conditioned tap water if FOWLR) water and salt mix. I would hook up the powerheads and get the water moving so the salt did not settle (you could also premix the saltwater in 5 gallon buckets). I would add whatever Live Sand I bought and turn on the heater.

Third, I would have ordered some Dry Rock and Dry Sand off marcorocks.com a few weeks ago. I will add these to the tank now so that my tank had a 4-6" sand bed and looked to be about 1/2 - 2/3 full (volume-wise) with Rock. 

Next, I would go to the LFS and pick up about 15-20 lbs of Live Rock to "seed" the Dry Rock I had put into the aquarium. I would get this home as fast as possible to minimize die-off. 

Now I wait. First Nitrites and Ammonia will test zero, and I will have a Nitrate Reading. Next I will wait for the Diatom Bloom (a rusty looking algae that covers the rocks and sand) to come and pass. Next I will wait for the presence of copepods and amphipods and other microfauna to populate my tank. Finally test for Alkalinity and Calcium to make sure they are in the correct range: Alk ~ 8-12 dKH and Calcium ~ 400-450 ppm.

After the tank is stable and has shown all the signs of maturity, I will buy a fish to quarantine. At the same time I would hook up the protein skimmer I had purchased and start running it. If I hadn't picked up lights yet, I will make sure to have them on a timer by the time I add my first fish. It is vital that you quarantine fish for a period of three to four weeks to make sure they do not have any illnesses or parasites that they can infest the display tank with. 

Finally add fish and enjoy. Any questions?


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

I forgot to mention that you will need to pick up supplements like Alkalinity and Calcium. Those are the only two things that I add to my tank. No algaefix or "beneficial" bacteria or anything else. I was dosig iodine for a while, but stopped after I read an article about naturally occuring iodine and how we cannot emulate it. Anyway, the only things I add to my tank besides food and livestock are Alkalinty and Calcium supplements, and I use B-Ionic (something like that) two part.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Yes I did, i asked for some help. Hopefullly we can get this started soon...right now we are mixing our salt and starting to set it up so any info would be nice


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

So far the water salt and sand are in the tank. with the power heads and heater going...how long untill the water isnt merky anymore? we still have to purchase our rock.. will probably go out and do that tomorrow. Would you say 50lbs of the dry stuff would be sufficent?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

How long does it take for the macro rock to arrive?


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

The water might take up to a week to clear without any rock in there. I think 50 lbs is probably sufficient.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

kevNnic said:


> How long does it take for the macro rock to arrive?


Not sure. A few members here use them. Hopefully someone who has used them will post soon...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Another question, the quarentine tank, what will this need to consist of and when will i need to haveit ready by?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

So tomorrow we are going to go shop around in the stores surrounding our area, and if It doesnt look as promising as the website we are going to purchase 50lbs of the key largo rock .... what would you suggest for live rock?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

whats the major difference between a reef tank and fowlr tank?


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

a reef has corals, a fowlr is a Fish Only With Live Rock tank. depending on which your keeping, i cant better help with your stocking list. a good idea would be to look at fish online and see what you like then post here for a few of us to confirm your list and when to add everything. 

as of right now your still a good ways from any fish, coral, invert and any kind so nows the time to ask questions and read as much as possible. it may also be a wise move to search your area for a local reefing club.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Thank you  We know for sure that we want the clown fish, so i guess its going to be based on the other fish and organisms that are compatible with them. Suggestions? I think a goby or something and yellow tang or box fish? Ive looked at a million websites about what is compatible and what isnt but there are lots that are conflicting. As welll, we have already filled the tank with tap water and I heard if we wanted to go wtih corals it would have been better to use RO units or something?


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Wondering if anyone could tell me how to use the salinity refractometer. For some reason our user manule is MIA. And maybe take a look at an previous questions?


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## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

I think that your tank is too small for a Yellow Tang. If you do want a Tang, check out the Ctenochaetus genus, they can be kept in a minimum of 4' of tank. That genus includes the Two-spot Bristletooth Tang, the Tomini Tang and the Yellow-Eye Kole Tang to name a few. As for the Box-fish, I do not think they are reef-safe if you are thinking of going with corals or inverts. 

Tap water isn't a problem right now, do you have city or well water? I would personally switch to RO/Di water with water changes and top-offs, but that's me.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Oye. Okay. Well we want clown fish and reef. Tell me what to do! please.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

Still havn't boughten any dry or live rock.. shopping around still.


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## kevNnic (Apr 10, 2010)

just an update everyone, we purchased 30lbs of dry rock from and 10lbs of live rock for now, have it sitting in the tank with only the powerhead, canaster and heater running, i was told not to run the skimmer because it will remove some bacteria which is benefical to the cycle. 

So far so good. on day 8 of our cycle. the dry rock is looking a little darker but no real change yet. i have noticed that our specific gravity keeps creeping up. is this a common occurance? 

also having a little trouble reading our tester kit as some of the dye colors dont really match what the cards have.

whats the easiest and best kit to use when testing our levels?


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