Converting 20g from Fresh W. to Salt W.

[Zdunmeister]

I will ask them about the saltwater.

Is it safe for me to buy the liverock today if I'm going to set it up Friday? I will do sand, I just don't know how many bags of it I would need. What kind of salt should I get and how much? I will have to purchase a hydrometer for now, I might look at the refractometer at a later point Thanks a ton.

 

[greech]

Better to wait until you have SW in the tank before you buy the rock. Although if you did buy it, keeping it in some damp (with saltwater) newspaper will help keep some bacteria alive. Will likely have a heck of a cycle once you get going. Salt is up to you. Instant Ocean is typically the cheapest and thousands of people use it. Reef Crystals (made by IO) is another popular mix. Oceanic, Red Sea, Red Sea Coral Pro, Tropic Marin, tons of them out there. Most say salt is salt but they certainly all mix up a bit different in terms of parameters. Some are a little higher or lower in alkalinity, magnesium while some are higher. Just need to find what works for you and is in your budget. I use Brightwell's. Its about $3 more per bag than RCs but it is the salt that my tank seems to respond to best. One 20lb bag of sand is all you need. I wouldn't run a bed any deeper than an 1" to 1.5" across most of the tank. A few mounds won't hurt but keep it shallow.

 

[XanAvaloni]

hey greech, from your Marine Depot link, howzabout this device? I've heard of RO without DI but never the reverse. First one I've seen that would be both within my price range AND logistically possible with my plumbing situation.

Sufficient? Better than nothing? Complete waste of time/money/storage space? My water is w. TN well with a TDS reading run just now just out of the tap at 55.

 

[greech]

It would be better than nothing and likely better than using RO only. RO by itself has difficultly removing some of the ions from the water, so typically that treatment is followed by DI to ensure the last lot are removed.

The difference between RO and DI water is the technique used to remove the impurities/ions. RO uses a semi-permeable membrane which is fine enough so that essentially only water molecules will pass through it. DI uses ion exchange resins, which exchange the ions in the water, such as iron, magnesium, copper for hydrogen and nitrate, sulphate, phosphate for hydroxide. Although I have never used DI alone my guess would be that DI alone would be a benefit over nothing at all and again is probably better quality than a straight RO system (without a DI on the end).

 

[Zdunmeister]

Well I went to the story yesterday and got a few things to get me started. I bought 2 bags of sand, reef crystals salt, and some RO/DI water. I'm going to get the sand and water in either today or tomorrow. Can I just mix the salt water in the tank since there's nothing in it yet? Saturday I'm going to pick up my live rock. The one thing I'm still not sure of is lighting. At the store they have a nice 24" 4 Bulb T5HO Coralife fixture listed for 210. It seems like a good deal for the price so should I go with it? As nice as LED's are, I can't afford a 500 dollar fixture right now. Maybe in the future when the price goes down a little bit. What do you think I should do? I saw that Coralife also sells a light hanger so it would be perfect with this light fixture. This would let me access the inside of my tank much easier without having to lift the lights up.

 

[greech]

Yes you can mix the water right in the tank but I would not add sand (or anything) until you get it mixed thoroughly.

Coralife doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to quality equipment for marine tanks. These are some examples of good (but reasonably priced) T5 fixtures...

This one is very good but the price does not include bulbs...
http://www.marinedepot.com/24_inch_...t_Supply_Inc-SL2111-FILTFIT54U-SL2111-vi.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/24_inch_...urrent_USA-CU01120-FILTFIT54U-CU01120-vi.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html

Only knock I have heard on these is no fans so it runs a little warm. Other than that people around here seem to like them...
http://www.marinedepot.com/Wave_Poi...vePoint_Technology-ZP01001-FILTFIT54U-vi.html

I have this fixture and it has done very well for me. Able to keep anything I want including SPS, clams and anemones. The great thing about these is that they have built in timers, moon lights that go on when the mains go off and only has one power cord. I don;t believe that Current makes this fixture anymore but you can still find them...

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi...campaign=mdcsegooglebase2&utm_content=CU01150

Completely understand on suspending the light above the tank and the Sundial isn't really designed to hang. I'm sure there are hanging kits out there I just haven't looked very hard.

 

[the wizard]

another option is to DIY an LED fixture. there are a couple of threads on AC on the subject.

 

[Zdunmeister]

Why exactly can I not add the sand first?

Is the Coralife a not-so-good fixture because it doesn't have individual reflectors? I have the exact same AquaticLife but the 48 inch version and planted tank bulbs. The light from it is great. I guess since you pointed that one out to me that would be a pretty good one to go with even though it is a few extra bucks. I especially love the digital timer built into it which is very easy to program. If I do decide on that one, do you think it is alright if I just run the stock bulb from my 20g for the time being until the fixture comes in? Thanks.

 

[greech]

Having sand, rocks, etc in the tank could cause the salt not to mix completely.

I have never owned a Coralife fixture but from what I understand the reflectors and ballasts are not very good.No problem on running stock bulbs to start. You may not like the color. Liverock does not require light.

 

[Zdunmeister]

Gotcha

As for the HOB filter I have, should I run it without the carbon as the tank is cycling? I don't think this filter has any cartridges for something other than carbon so it would be fine if it's just used for flow? I'm not sure what I have to do for that.