Adventure into Saltwater

Similar, but the lava rock used in aquariums tends to be a bit cleaner and larger chunks than what's marketed for gas grills. Neither are actually lava, but are a by-product of (???--can't recall what it is!) processing.

For lights--with no photosynthetic critters, if the room has lighting, you can run the tank lights just when you are there to observe the fish. A mix of white (so called natural light) and actinic is good--you can experiment and see what you like. If the room is very dark, you'll want to run lighting to simulate daylight for the fish--I would go with 10 hours total, with about 1 hour of dusk/dawn as part of that.
 
Base Rock

The base rock from hirocks is really good. Sometimes I can't get on their website. But, ordering it from their ebay account is a little bit less expensive. It can be broken up fairly easily to fit any tank. My tank is a 50 gallon, so I needed to break it up into 'skinnier' peices. Just go to the fish section on ebay and search 'base rock'. Good luck!
 
The base rock i was looking at was at petsolutions.com 39.95 for 50 pounds worth... shipping was like $17.00.. It's petrified coral.. Seemed to be a pretty good deal, I don't know where to get or what the cost is of the "LAVA" rock you refer to..

My end goal is about 50 pounds of base rock and 40 of live.. or is that over kill in my 55? That just under the 2 pounds per gallon mark...
 
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Nope, that will be fine. You'll want to consider fish carefully--some need lots of open water for swimming, and will be cramped with lots of rock. But, many will be happier and healthier with lots of rock to dart in and out of.
 
I have a 50 gallon. Right now I have 60 lbs base rock and will add 30 lr at the end of the cycle. Keep me posted on hiw things are going. Seems like we are both starting saltwater at the same with the same size tank, so it would be helpful to see your progress for me. Makes me feel better to see someone else is going through the same process and some of the same stress. :)
 
My plan is for small fish, under 5" max size.. my wife wants a lion ... There big but require smaller tanks...

I will keep posting here and my web site so you can see how im doing..
 
I showed her a picture of a "fu manchu Lion" she doesnt like them ... but she likes the dwarf Lion , they are a max size of 7" and work in 25 gallons min so i should be safe with that guy..
 
Well i got a my chemical test kit today along with my hydrometer, I have decided to hold out on the addition of salt until I get my base rock in the tank... as some have said it will give my bacteria a "good bed to sleep in"... so im waiting till I get my base rock, as of right now this looks to be in about two weeks when there are more cash resources.

The one cool thing is my sand bed has formed to the currents in the water with my pumps running. looks kind of interesting.

Later,
Jason
 
Not much progress as of yet, Bought two new thermometers, fro the main tanl and the q-tank... My next purchase is base rock , then i will begin my cycle.
 
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