SW Noob needing help!

Make sure you carefully budget everything out. I'm planning my own setup right now and it is not cheap. Sumps are recommended and can be somewhat expensive on their own. I budgeted about 150-250 just for the sump, glass baffles, overflow box, pump, pvc, silicone, etc. Other things you may need: live rock, aragonite sand, a stand, lights, refractometer, powerheads, test kits, salt. Also I'm not sure if it is necessary for a FOWLR tank but you may also need an RO/DI unit.
 
RO/DI is a very good investment!! Costly yes but so is everything about SW. I'm not trying to shoo you away from SW, it's just very very pricey. I'm buying 40 more lbs of live rock and that will cost me around $150 if I can get a good deal


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I know it's expensive, it's just that I would like to save a hundred dollars. Live rock= 150 dollars. Filter= 50. Tank and stand 150 Chemicals and test kits= 50. Power heads and heater 30 dollars each Sand= 60 Salt an hydrometer (il start off with one and get a refractometer later)= 40 So it's going to be about 500 plus dollars, I might ask for a loan from my parents... Anyone know how to make a lot of money fast? (I can't get a job because I'm 12 years old!!!) Il look at Craigslist and I'l put some stuff on eBay. Last time on eBay I made 80 dollars but my dad screwed up shipping and I didn't get a SINGLE DOLAR, I can't put enough exclamation marks for that.


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+1 on dry rock and maybe 5lbs of live rock to seed, the only downside of going that way is you have to wait to get coraline growth and all that and less likely to get any hitchhikers, the upside cheaper and no hitchhikers.
 
Thanks for the suggestion, how do I seed the dry rock, how much longer will it make it take to cycle tank? My dad says he will give me a loan, I got a charger/USB for my Kodak easy share camera today! (it's the M590 and I got it refurbished from target for a lot less than it normal.


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You seed the dry rock by cycling the tank with a couple pounds of live rock, and if possible a bit of live sand from an established tank. It'll start to establish life pretty quickly will take some months before it starts to match the looks of established live rock though. Tough to say how long it will take to cycle really, could cycle in just a couple weeks or it may take upto 6-8 weeks.
 
Can I take some cycled sand from my mbuna cichlid aquarium? How will I know when the tank is cycled? I've heard adding some frozen shrimp helps, is that true?


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Ptrick125 said:
Can I take some cycled sand from my mbuna cichlid aquarium? How will I know when the tank is cycled? I've heard adding some frozen shrimp helps, is that true?


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No you cannot use that sand. 30 to 40 lbs of aragonite sand should be good. Read greechs sticky on sw tanks.


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FW and SW bacteria are different. You can use a shrimp, ghost feed, or just add a little bit of pure ammonia to begin your cycle. Your cycled when after your ammonia spike your test results get 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate.
 
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