i believe the tank is 30-35 gallons and i am going to have 1-1/4 lb rock per gallon? Like i said earlier i am picking up all the equipment tomorrow. When i use to visit my uncles house i never saw the filter so i am figuring its a cannister filter that he had under the tank
how to start a reef tank
- Thread starter cfasulo
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Well, usually, if you about 1 to 1.5lbs of live rock per gallon, you do not need the cannister filter as the live rock and sand bed provide all the filtration that is needed..I have a cannister filter on my current setup, as advised when i first started out, but, after seeing the nitrate levels higher than i wanted them, i took more advise from the people on here and i removed all the guts out of the filter and just use it now for extra circulation..If i had known this form the start, i would not of brought it to be honest..But, that is what its all about, learning, and rectifying the mistakes and passing on the advice to others..
Niko
Niko
copepods will get up to the main tank via the plumbing..
The new tank system i am building will not have a filter on no, i shall just be using the live rock in the main tank and the sump for filtration
Niko
The new tank system i am building will not have a filter on no, i shall just be using the live rock in the main tank and the sump for filtration
Niko
When i refer to sump, i am on about the extra tank that houses all the equipment hidden from view, the place where the macro algae is kept. Unless you have a hang on the back ( HOB ) refugium...
Water changes on a 35...i would do about 10% per week..Tap water is notorious for creating bad algae in the tank..You will find that prob 90% of marine aquarist's use a Reverse Osmosis unit ( RO ) or RO/DI unit ( reverse osmosis and Distiled water ) to generate the water used to mix new saltwater for changes and for top off's..The only time i ever used tap water is when i did the first initial fill of my tank when i first started it..I dont use dechlorinator anymore since using using RO water as my RO unit removes all the nasties from the water..
Niko
Water changes on a 35...i would do about 10% per week..Tap water is notorious for creating bad algae in the tank..You will find that prob 90% of marine aquarist's use a Reverse Osmosis unit ( RO ) or RO/DI unit ( reverse osmosis and Distiled water ) to generate the water used to mix new saltwater for changes and for top off's..The only time i ever used tap water is when i did the first initial fill of my tank when i first started it..I dont use dechlorinator anymore since using using RO water as my RO unit removes all the nasties from the water..
Niko
But if you plan to use tap water with salt mixed in with dechlorinator can you just top off with regular dechlorinated tap water? Also, for water changes can you just have a big bucket, or trashcan/whatever and mix salt in, make sure it is right salinity, and temp then just pour in?
Hey Just|n...Welcome..
The reason we use an RO/DI unit is remove all the elements that are present in your tap water, this differs from place to place..
Although tapwater is safe to drink, it still contains a range of impurities. The most obvious are chlorine and chloramines, but is also likely to contain nitrate, phosphates and other organic components, heavy metals and toxic elements.
Acid rain can further aggravate the situation by lowering pH, often to below 6.0. At such low levels, metallic compounds like aluminium, copper and zinc ( all of which are extremely toxic in the coral reef aquarium ) can easily become dissolved in the supply. To counter this, marine keepers rely on the high filtering efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) units to prepare tapwater for use in their aquariums.
I hope that explains a little more why we use an RO Unit to purify the tap water..All dechlorinator does is remove chlorine and chloramines..We need to remove other impurities...
Yes, you can use a trash can or rubber maid to premake your saltwater mix or store RO Water..I plumbed my RO Unit direct in to two trash cans, one for salt mixing ( i leave a powerhead and a heater running for 48 hours before i used the saltwater ) and another for just top off water ( just have a heater in this bin )..
I would expect any reef keeper or marine aquarist use RO water because of the problems that can arise from using normal tap..
Hope this all helps
Niko
The reason we use an RO/DI unit is remove all the elements that are present in your tap water, this differs from place to place..
Although tapwater is safe to drink, it still contains a range of impurities. The most obvious are chlorine and chloramines, but is also likely to contain nitrate, phosphates and other organic components, heavy metals and toxic elements.
Acid rain can further aggravate the situation by lowering pH, often to below 6.0. At such low levels, metallic compounds like aluminium, copper and zinc ( all of which are extremely toxic in the coral reef aquarium ) can easily become dissolved in the supply. To counter this, marine keepers rely on the high filtering efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) units to prepare tapwater for use in their aquariums.
I hope that explains a little more why we use an RO Unit to purify the tap water..All dechlorinator does is remove chlorine and chloramines..We need to remove other impurities...
Yes, you can use a trash can or rubber maid to premake your saltwater mix or store RO Water..I plumbed my RO Unit direct in to two trash cans, one for salt mixing ( i leave a powerhead and a heater running for 48 hours before i used the saltwater ) and another for just top off water ( just have a heater in this bin )..
I would expect any reef keeper or marine aquarist use RO water because of the problems that can arise from using normal tap..
Hope this all helps
Niko
