The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

[ReefCatcher]

Rafael,
Do i understand you correctly that you put water, sand, live rock and fragments in all at the same time? I think that is going to be my strategy also, but im just checking,

 

[Sean V]

Yep, it is a good size but actually smaller compare to what I wanted that was a 750 gal. But couple of friends with experience advise me to start a bit smaller

Nice! Bigger tanks are actually easier but it costs a lot more to set them up and operate them (never mind the water changes, and the wetsuit for equipment repair.) Looks good so far.

 

[Dylan Jackson]

New to salt water tanks have a quick question I have a 55 gallon tank I need too know how much live rock to add someone told me 1 pound for a gallon I just want to make sure I don't mess up lot of money but loving it all the way

 

[beaslbob]

New to salt water tanks have a quick question I have a 55 gallon tank I need too know how much live rock to add someone told me 1 pound for a gallon I just want to make sure I don't mess up lot of money but loving it all the way

actually, the dirty little secret is you don't absolutely need any live rock or live sand for that matter.

IMHO you should start the tank balanced out with macro algae (usually in a refugium) then do the rest. then you can just use the rock and sand you think looks nice.

But that's just my .02

 

[Rafael C]

Well here we go it has being 5 weeks since my first set up and now I have a tank full of life!
Some of the fish and coral so far are: Purple Tang, Yellow Tang, Blonde Naso Tang, Bristletooth Tomini Tang, Ocellaris Clownfish, Black Ice Ocellaris Clownfish, Niger Triggerfish, Coral Beauty Angelfish, Pyramid Butterflyfish, Maxima Clam-Blue, Blue Leg Reef Hermit Crab, Red Leg Reef Hermit Crab, Emerald Mithrax Crab, Fire Shrimp, Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp, Turbo Snails, Super Tongan Nassarius Snail, Lobophyllia Brain Coral-Multi Color, Hammer Coral-Wall, Torch Coral-Green, Candy Cane Coral, Trumpet Coral, Sanjay's Galaxy Astreopora Coral, Frogspawn Coral, Thick Branched and couple more

 

[Rafael C]

Real Reef" Eco Friendly Natural Rock

Very nice set up, was wondering on what live rock you went with?

purple and natural white

Rafael,
Do i understand you correctly that you put water, sand, live rock and fragments in all at the same time? I think that is going to be my strategy also, but im just checking,

Yes

 

[Rafael C]

New to salt water tanks have a quick question I have a 55 gallon tank I need too know how much live rock to add someone told me 1 pound for a gallon I just want to make sure I don't mess up lot of money but loving it all the way

I really don't know the exact answer but I can tell you that we put 250 lbs on my one hat is a bit more than 1 lbs per gallon

 

[Dylan Jackson]

I thinks what makes I'm going to do I'm going tomorrow morning to get it

 

[Dylan Jackson]

I think that's what I'm going to do I'm going tomorrow to get it

 

[Clownfiish]

hello, i just started my saltwater tank about 2/3 months ago and i made a video about tips i gained from getting a saltwater tank. if yall need any help and if yall find this video helpful please like and subscribe!!

 

[Heather w]

@JO626821, already switched over to Rodi water. Since then I've added salt and sand to the tank. Had a few bubbles from some very tiny leaks I guess but think I've got it handled now. Next is to add some rock. If you want to talk further and exchange ideas then send me a pm. Thanks for your advice as well as others who have offered it to me. Glad to be here on the dark side.

 

[Heather w]

Loose the canister. Use refugium or sump. If the cloudiness isn't due to detritus or dust add carbon in a high flow area and use a quality carbon. Cloudy water is usually a symptom. Assure your system is balanced. I use Seachem. Get your rocks off the back wall and arrange in the center of the tank. Piling them in the back not only makes cleaning difficult but they block any currents your power heads are putting out. Before you buy a coral Frag do your research on THAT one to determine if it has a place in your tank. Based on that determine where to place it. Where you put it also needs to be dictated by your power heads. Be patient and don't add too much at one time. This is my downfall. I get all excited when I see something I want that I don't do my research and get myself in trouble.

Just some thoughts and lessons I have learned the hard way.

 

[Heather w]

Hey guys, we are thinking of purchasing a salt water tank, the tank that we are looking at is not new the tank is already fully running, with 5 fishes. we have never had a salt water tank. what should we know before going through with a purchase? Please give me any tips on transferring the tank, then cleaning it, and then actually taking care of it. Please answer as simply as possible, as we don't have any experience with fish tanks Thank You

 

[Heather w]

Hey guys, we are thinking of purchasing a salt water tank, the tank that we are looking at is not new the tank is already fully running, with 5 fishes. we have never had a salt water tank. what should we know before going through with a purchase? Please give me any tips on transferring the tank, then cleaning it, and then actually taking care of it. Please answer as simply as possible, as we don't have any experience with fish tanks Thank You

 

[skybears]

ok so I read everything printed the important things and put them in a binder the question is still................................................
i know what components i need, i fully get that. i wanted help with what are good brands, type of qualities im striving for. and 2 questions regarding some equipment. this was not hard

 

[ChloGMac]

Ummm. I'm so new to saltwater aquariums.
I have a 10g
What are the basics of saltwater

 

[Xclusive Reef]

New to Forum. I did have a saltwater up 12-13 years ago but everything has changed. I still have all my equipment except for the tank which was leaking and like a dummy I dumped it. I have been researching and I want to make sure I don’t have the same mistake as I did in the past. A mio ball got stuck and half my water ended up in my living room.



I am looking to get a 65-75 gal talk, Hopefully reef ready. Here are some questions I have:


What is best to have a algae scrapper in a sump tank or get some macro algae?

Is a quarantine tank needed? I am limited on space.

Do I need a overflow? (seen some designs with PVC on yourtube)

Buying equipment and items better in store or online?

I am concerned about my sump or tank overflowing. How do I secure this will not happen (again) ?

Recommendations on water sensors? Maybe shut off everything if water leak detected?

 

[Budman93]

New to Forum. I did have a saltwater up 12-13 years ago but everything has changed. I still have all my equipment except for the tank which was leaking and like a dummy I dumped it. I have been researching and I want to make sure I don’t have the same mistake as I did in the past. A mio ball got stuck and half my water ended up in my living room.



I am looking to get a 65-75 gal talk, Hopefully reef ready. Here are some questions I have:


What is best to have a algae scrapper in a sump tank or get some macro algae?

Is a quarantine tank needed? I am limited on space.

Do I need a overflow? (seen some designs with PVC on yourtube)

Buying equipment and items better in store or online?

I am concerned about my sump or tank overflowing. How do I secure this will not happen (again) ?

Recommendations on water sensors? Maybe shut off everything if water leak detected?

(1) No. Recommended but you do not need one.
(2) A lot of people drill their tanks and thus do not need overflows. If you are uncomfortable doing that an overflow might be easier. Additionally a lot of All in one tanks come predrilled and setup like this look into those.
(3) For equipment it's probably cheaper online. Petco sometimes has the $1 per gallon tank sale which is great but otherwise online is the place to be. Check out bulkreefsupply, liveaquaria, and of course Amazon.

For livestock I usually prefer to buy it in person from a local fish store so you can see exactly what you are getting. The prices are usually a little higher but you are supporting a local business so I think it's worth it.

(4) Maybe someone else has a better way to figure this out but the last time I setup my 72g tank I filled the tank and sump up, unplugged the power, and measured how much additional water drained into the sump from the pipes and overflow. I then made a little line with sharpie on the sump to remind myself never to fill it above that line so it wouldn't overflow if we lost power.

 

[skybears]

Good information I might follow this also

 

[Geminigirl7620]

Hi all. I just joined today and i'm looking forward to picking your brains I'm a complete newbie. Got a biocube Father's Day weekend and have been hooked ever since (no pun attended). Upgraded to a 125 about two months ago and hubby and I are working on that tank, now. We want to have a mix of sps and lps as well as a few fish. I'd love suggestions as to what type of lighting we should invest in. Also, I had a beautiful blue clam that all of a sudden started looking not so great and then it just died. All of the meat is gone, though. I have a fire shrimp, clean up crew, strawberry conch, wrasse, anthias, and hawk fish in the tank. What's the most likely culprit? Thanks!