# This is the Week



## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

So i am going to Salt Water this week, and my plan is to start with a peacefull 80 gallon FOWLR. I'm thinking 20-40 lbs of Aragonite with 60-90 lbs of live rock.What i have is 1 80 gallon tank, 1 Rena xp3, 1 Marineland max jet 400 Power head 2 Eheim Jagr 100 watt heaters,and a full week off work. What i need are a bucket of salt and test kit, another power head, and an hob protein skimmer.I plan on picking up the salt,test kit and power head tomorrow, hoping to find a used skimmer soon. I would like to have the Aragonite and s/w mix in the tank as soon as tomorrow with the live rock following as early as Tuesday. At this point i think my only questions are am i forgetting anything and what sort livestock i can keep and in what order should i stock the tank. ... I'm so excited like giddy little schoolgirl:bigsmile: ... Thanks in advance for any suggestions. ... ... And a Happy and Prosperous New Year Everyone. Cheers ... ... David


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

You don't need that much rock 

I'd say, depending on the porosity, you could easily cut that number in half and save yourself a ton of money and trouble.

PM me if you want some examples of good aquascaping fundamentals


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

VERY VERY IMPORTANT TIPS !!!!! so if you do live rock have it in the tank for 2 to 3 months no fish just to cycle out any para sights.
then quarentien the fish for for at lest 30 days in a hospital tank then introduce to your system. gobies farywrass firefish and cardinals 
should be added first to the tank. dwarf angels 6 line wrass clowns damsals chromis halk fish should be added last to reduce aggression your going to need to quarentien inverts to ! i would add inverts wile your doing your anti para sight cycle . 

you can put it all in with out quarentien if you have a big enuf hospital tank just remember your fish get sick all he effective treatments will kill live rock and spike the amonya killing your fish 

i had it hapen to me and i lost my full stalk for my 125 reef it has now been converted to fish only haha good luck, welcome to the bright side and happy keeping


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

2-3 months is an awfully long time. You could do the same by just letting the rock dry out on the deck, haha.

I cycles tanks in <7 days. Usually 3. Though, admittedly, I've been at this for a long time


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## BaoBeiZhu (Apr 24, 2010)

scott tang said:


> VERY VERY IMPORTANT TIPS !!!!! so if you do live rock have it in the tank for 2 to 3 months no fish just to cycle out any para sights.
> then quarentien the fish for for at lest 30 days in a hospital tank then introduce to your system. gobies farywrass firefish and cardinals
> should be added first to the tank. dwarf angels 6 line wrass clowns damsals chromis halk fish should be added last to reduce aggression your going to need to quarentien inverts to ! i would add inverts wile your doing your anti para sight cycle .
> 
> ...


honestly, no one rarely ever cycles the tank THAT long, I just setup a 20 gal 2 days ago and took the water from another tank (10 gal) and 10 gal mixed sw. 
liverock + sand + half tank of cycled water and the first night I added a few hermits and a strawberry top hat to see if they live. so far so good and now my fishes are in. 
it works for me, but of course I may run into some problems down the road but it sure beats the temptation of 2-3 months staring at a empty live rock tank.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

I used a bottle of Colony when I started up my 90 g 4 weeks ago, this stuff is awesome, I was skeptical, but I'm a believer now. Sold at Puppies,fish & critters in Langley








Here's a picture of my tank a few days ago:








My levels are remaining good.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Really. I can use that little LR and not jeopardize my success, how much more work ie maintenance is involved?


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## BaoBeiZhu (Apr 24, 2010)

Honestly, when I shut down my 210 fowlr, I had one piece of liverock that was like 3 pounds in there.. lol 
you dont even need it.. 
but of course its better. 
back then old reefers didnt have liverocks to use.
so, liverock is just a PLUS thing.


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

my point of the cycle is to kill ic and velvit and other parasights 
honestly no coral no live rock if you still want the rock look there's fake live rock at j&l its cheaper than the real stuff 
with fake roch you can treet the tank with the right med with out wiping the tank out


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

Here, read this thread:

Tank aqua scaping help - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

TL : DR - Why don't you need a ton of rock?

A: Because you don't.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Thank You all for the help to date. I will definitely read that article, tank is now empty and i'm wondering just how clean it should be, does it need to be absolutely sterile or just good hot shower and scrub. Thanks again.


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

as long as theres no soap or bleach you should be fine but the cleaner it is the less you do later


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Okay all going good so far. I now have more questions though, I would imagine a 36 gallon rubbermaid tote will work well enough as a sump, but do really need to drill the tank for a sump of any type and if so how do i tell if its tempered glass.


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

wow cant answer thoes questions sory im not a huge sump fan i run 3 rena xp 4 basket canister filters on my 125 and it looks great i use boistars as my artificial filtration it works alot beter then the sump i had on it be for with i had many problems with it sump is to much truble for me but many people like them


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

Sumps are awesome... The equipment options are completely worth it, not to mention never having to worry about evaporation dropping the water level in your main.

If you were having problems with your sump, perhaps post pics or details. I can probably help you figure out what was wrong. Once you have a working sump, you'll wonder how you ever did without one.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

i love my sump!


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

if i was to set one up under my 125 wat size would i need ?
how would i set it up with out driling the tank ? im not willing to take the tank down to drill it lol
also the botom of my tank us a but u shaped any way to over come that so the botom wont crack ?


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

neven said:


> i love my sump!


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

scott tang said:


> if i was to set one up under my 125 wat size would i need ?
> how would i set it up with out driling the tank ? im not willing to take the tank down to drill it lol
> also the botom of my tank us a but u shaped any way to over come that so the botom wont crack ?


I wouldn't bother with a sump if your tank isn't drilled. THAT, my friend, is a pain, lol.

Since it seems that you wouldn't be doing this in the short term, I will go ahead and spend a bit more time on this and write an article


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Reason I was asking is a friend from work who has been keeping a reef tank for 10+ years, is going to give me an in sump skimmer to start with, as well as some sage advise and possibly more equipment. Think I might start looking for an HOB overflow box.


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

Just use a rubbermaid. Tanks look prettier, but they're just boxes of water.

Your friend is doing a good thing. Let's put it this way, no matter how good a HOB skimmer is, it will always pale in comparison with even the most modest of in-sump models (discounting complete writeoff crap like Coralife and that Marineland POS).

As far as tempered or whatnot, use polarized sunglasses. Shine a light through the bottom and view at an angle, you'll see lines in the glass.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Scratch the overflow box, will be building my own pvc overflow. How much turn over or flow should i be aiming for?


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

10-50% gph*tank volume.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Sorry is that 10-50% of the tank volume per hour?


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

Yes, that is correct.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Well I've finally picked my Skimmer a Coralife super skimmer 220g missing the pump that would have come with it. which has me asking yet another question, I have been online to coralife's site, read the pdf and nothing the only thing i've learned is that the original pump is rated 650 - 750 GPH. Will any strong enough powerhead do the job, or do i want something more, does any body make a powerhead that strong. Any ideas


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

:/

Umm, I hate to tell you this, but you totally got scammed. That skimmer is the biggest piece of junk in the industry. 

I'd just use the missing pump as an excuse to return it.


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## niteshift (Mar 10, 2011)

Sorry. I should have explained in the original post that this skimmer was given to me by a friend from work, are that really that bad?


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## albert_dao (May 28, 2012)

Oh, okay. 

Well.. .They're more or less the worst possible thing you could put in your sump. I'd go skimmerless for months before I go about investing $$$ into a pump for one of those things


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