My First Saltwater Tank

Hey guys ,

I am new to being a member here, but I have been reading on the site for a few months. I have been in charge (doing all the dirty work) for a 2.5 gal, 15 gal, 29 gal (my own tank) and 40 something gallon FW tanks over the last couple years. I am starting a SW aquarium now, it took lots of work convincing the parents but they are giving me a shot. I cleaned my 29 gal with a product called Aussan Natural (100% natural), it worked really well and my tanks smelled absolutely new and their were no harmful products. I went and bought DRY live sand (which to me makes no sense, did I get ripped off there?) and I bought/made SW using synthetic marine salts. On the tank at the moment I have a penguin hang on filter, heater, and air stone pad just under the sand. I put the water in and after everything cleared I checked salinity, it was at 1.029, in the morning I checked again it was at 1.025 and temp was at 78, that morning I also left for vacation with the system running .

It seems now that because my friend offered to give me his 40 something gallon tank (I think its 45 or 46 gal.) I may use that as my main tank. I talked to my dad, and he said that we will move things around downstairs, (my tank is in my room), and put his tank downstairs. This is also great because it means that my dad will be helping with the finances My plan is to make the 29 gal setup my quarantine tank, should I get a protein skimmer for it? Also what kind of scenery should it have? Could I use PVC pipe just for hiding places? I have read that is a satisfactory setup for the tank, what I don't understand however, is that when you bring in new fish for the quarantine process will they be O.K. with just that PVC pipe? Wouldn't live rock be needed for the bacteria colonies that live on it? Would the problem with the LR in the QT be because of medications? Also should the QT have hermit crabs, snails and the like?

I won't talk about the show tank any more for the moment because I don't have many details on it right now.

I can't think of anything else right now, thank you very much,
I am looking forward to learning a lot.

Oh one more question, can someone briefly explain the pros, cons, and differences between a refuge and sumpp. I can't find good info on this and I don't really understand the option they give, and the necessity.
Thanks

Welcome! A sump is a space to hide all of your equipment heaters, skimmers etc. A refugium is a place to grow macro algae such as chaeto or ulva to help filter your water. It can also house a deep sand bed (4"+) to help remove nitrates, and it is a place to grow things like copepods, amphipods, worms, and other beneficial stuff that would get eaten without time to breed in a display tank. People who keep fish such as mandarins love refuges, because they supply the mandarins with pods to eat. The macro such as ulva can be fed to tangs. Plus it can be used as an excuse to have a second tank filled with cool macros, under the disguise of "its a filter". Welome to the Geek!

Welcome to reef geeks kimon! We'll help you through, but step one is take it very slow and be patient or you'll have to redo it anyway. PVC is fine for a quarantine tank, the bacteria can be housed on a biofilter. I wouldn't put crabs or anything in there though, if you have to treat the fish for disease, the crabs will likely die. I would move away from the penguin filter and get a protein skimmer combined with a canister filter filled with biomedia, much more saltwater appropriate that way.

What are you checking salinity with?

PVC in your quarantine tank is fine. Though, make sure you have proper sizes for the fish. Don't worry about not having live rock in it. One of the reasons we use live rock is for the increased surface area of the rock and because of this increased surface area it increases the area that bacteria can grow. However, it is not necessary since you won't have much of a bioload in your quarantine tank at any given time anyways. The reason you do not want live rock in your quarantine tank and the same reason you do not want any invertebrates in there as well, is if you ever have to treat your fish with copper, you will kill them and contaminate your rock. With that said, you could put LR in your quarantine but it would be wasteful since you could never use it outside of the QT. It would be contaminated with everything you used to treat your fish.

Thank you very much for the welcome

I am currently checking salinity with a dip hydrometer that has a dial that points to the specific gravity.

I will also definitely look into a canister filter, thanks.

I bought live sand in a dry bag at pet smart, I assume that it wasn't actually alive like it claimed, am I wrong about that?

Also is it necessary to keep a sump? Can you just keep your equipment in the main show tank?

And is it necessary to keep a refuge? Is it placed inside the sump?

Thanks a lot for the help so far!

Welcome to the site!!!! Sorry I'm late to the party. Can you show us some pics of what you have now?

Just a heads up. The cannister filters tend to trap the gunk in them and cause issues with your parameters. I ran one for a while and now have a sump. It's much better. I would recommend you stay away from the canisters.

Also check into a refractometer. Here's a link to google shopping. I have a cheap $25 one and have never had an issue over the years. Just make sure it's calibrated.

refractometer - Google Search

If I go with the option of using a sump, what is the suggested mechanical filter system in use there opposed to the canister?

I don't have any mechanical except the skimmer now. It's really not needed with the sump. I have in the past ran a HOB filter with some carbon to sparkle it up, but just for a day or two.

Then if there is no mechanical filtration what do you put in there besides a heater and protein skimmer?

I only recommend the canister because there is no live rock, the bacteria need somewhere to grow. In the DT, definitely go with live rock and no canister.

That's what i would do too. In fact some ppl put the live rock in the sump too.

OK great, thanks a lot for the help

So my dad had me make a presentation on my plan for the aquarium today, I made a powerpoint and made if I do say so myself, a pretty good presentation. Anyway, he thought I did a great job, he decided that instead of borrow my friends tank, he wants to buy a bigger tank tank than 46, and as long as I keep my grades up, I have his complete support on the tank. I get back home in a couple weeks and at that time we are going tank shopping, anyone want to give me any recommendations that I should look for including equipment?

Also is it easy to buy/install a pump that will put water from the DT into the sump and back again?
Thanks!

Many options here.

1. You can purchase a tank with hole drilled into, known as "reef ready".

2. You can order a tank pre-drilled and put the drains wherever you want.

3. You can buy a tank and drill it yourself or have your dad drill it.

4. You can buy a hang on the back overflow box and have no holes in your
tank.

I ordered a 120gallon with 2 1" drains placed 4 inches down and 14 inches from the sides on the back wall. I ordered the tank in May and still dont have it

Go to Melevsreef.com. He has a ton of info on sumps,refugiums,return pumps etc. Everything you need to know about a sump or fuge.

Kimon

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I will throw in my opinions anyway.

I would recommend a reef ready tank. I like them drilled on the bottom, because then they can be pushed up against the baseboard of the wall.

The sump should be as large a tank as you can fit in your stand, with room to work on it as needed, it gives you extra room to hide stuff.

Also find and join a local reef club. Local reefers are an invaluable resource for.... well everything, from emergency assistance to new frags.

Originally Posted by Pat B

....

I would recommend a reef ready tank. I like them drilled on the bottom, because then they can be pushed up against the baseboard of the wall.

The sump should be as large a tank as you can fit in your stand, with room to work on it as needed, it gives you extra room to hide stuff.

Also find and join a local reef club. Local reefers are an invaluable resource for.... well everything, from emergency assistance to new frags.

I absolutely agree with pat here............If you have a big enough sump, it will be easy to house a refugium in it too! also, keeping some liverock in it will help the whole system! ........do not add anything to the QT tank other than maybe some pvc and filtration - the whole idea is to put new fish in there so you can destress them before adding them to your display tank and also to help them feed on their own for a bit to make sure they're healthy, and most importantly, if they are sick then you keep them away from your main tank environment....so less is best in the QT ........definitely pick up a refractometer for measuring your salinity.........what test kit are you going to use for measuring ammonia/nitrates?
this is VERY exciting for us - we LOVE new tank builds and will help you with every step of this process - - as long as you ask the questions of course!
oh yeah..............................welcome to reef-geeks!

Haha I have the whole house excited, I keep telling them not to get too excited for a few months where the tank will be empty. I used the API FW kit on my other tanks, so I figured I would use it for the SW as well.
I know I need tests for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, pH, do you guys recommend any other tests?
Thanks!