Saltwater newbie needs help

[Ryan45]

Ok I have a couple questios before stepping into a marine tanks.

What I have so far
55 gallon tank with stand
All Glass deluxe full hood. This FW right now but I want to go salt water. The fish I am going to be getting are Clownfish.

I am going to have a Fish only tank and want to know what I will need.

1. Filter? What kind of filter should I get? I was thinking about getting a 2026 canister filter and using that for saltwater. Or should I get a wet dry for a little more? What works better?

2. Skimmer? How big of one do I need? Do i need one at all in a FO tank? Also I want this to be a quiet setup so it needs to be kinda quiet.

3. Live Rock? Do I need it? Live Sand? It is cheaper is it like the same thing? If I have a canister or if I go wet/dry and skimmer will I need live rock? It is very expensive so I don't know how much I want to spend on it.

4. What do I use as a base rock with or without live rock. I was thinking this. http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=20691;category_id=1679;pcid 1=1695;pcid2=
Will it work If I just use it as the whole substate? Will it work if I use it with LR?

5. Last but not least, U.V. Steralization? Do I need it for a FO tank? With or without LR?

6. Edit: one more question, how do I setup the base rock? Do I need 3-4 inch layer of sand and then add the Dead Rock or Live rock?

If you could answer any of these questions this would be great.

[mogurnda]

1. Canister filters aren't great for marine tanks. To jump to question 3, I think live rock is the best way to get biological filtration, and you don't really need mechanical filtration. If you want mechanical filtration, HOB filters are probably better. Media will need to be cleaned very regularly, and I find it less hassle to pull the pads out of HOB filters.

2. Skimmers are very beneficial for exporting nutrients, as well as aeration. None are silent, though.

3. Live rock and a sandbed makes your life so much easier. You can certainly use the stuff from the Big Al's link, and then add some live rock to seed it. As far as live sand, I like to just hit the hardware store, get enough playsand to make a 3" sandbed, and then add some live sand on top to seed it.

5. No need for a UV. There shouldn't be any pathogens to kill in a properly maintained tank, so it's just an expensive heater.

6. I placed my dead rock, put down my sandbed, and the live rock went on top. Having the base rock resting on the bottom of the tank will help prevent avalanches when somebody starts digging.

[Ryan45]

Thanks for the great info. After reading a lot on this site I have learned so much in the past couple days. I think all I really need to know is what type of skimmer to get? I was thinking the prizm deluxe but if anyone could help that would be great.

[greeneyedlady]

http://www.hirocks.com/

a great place to get base rock that doesn't cost a fortune and then you can seed with a little live rock and off you go, it works great

You can do the same with sand get some southdown sand and then seed with a pound of live sand and it will colonize

:)

[Ryan45]

Thanks for the reply. Ok so here is what I am thinking. I am going to go buy the sand box sand and then buy about 45 pounds of live rock. So put the sand down and then when the tank cycles put the live rock in. I am not going to put the crushed coral down. Is that ok? So it will go sand on bottom and then live rock and maybe a little live sand on top of the playground sand. Another question, to add the salt can i just add the salt when I fill the tank with FW and play ground sand, then add the salt? Or do i stir it 3 gallons at a time in a bucket (which will take awhile) and then fill the tank with the mixed water?

[mogurnda]

Although I may be wrong, I think that it will take a long time for the saltwater to diffuse into the sandbed to replace the FW. Either put the sand down and fill the tank with SW, or mix the SW in the tank, get it to the right specific gravity, and then add the sand.
To make your life a little easier, I would get a nice runnermaid garbage can and a powerhead for mixing your SW. You can use a powerhead to pump it into the tank when it's mixed and given time to equilibrate with the air.

[Gealcath]

It depends on what type of live rock you have, uncured will cycle your tank while cured can make it cycle faster.

[Ryan45]

Although I may be wrong, I think that it will take a long time for the saltwater to diffuse into the sandbed to replace the FW. Either put the sand down and fill the tank with SW, or mix the SW in the tank, get it to the right specific gravity, and then add the sand.
To make your life a little easier, I would get a nice runnermaid garbage can and a powerhead for mixing your SW. You can use a powerhead to pump it into the tank when it's mixed and given time to equilibrate with the air.


Thanks could you point me in the right direction for a test kit to test the salt water and gravity and all that stuff?