New setup advice needed

T

TWhittington

I would like a little advice from those who have a bit of time to help.

Although I did do quite a bit of research before starting my tank, I want to make sure I am on the right track. I received a second hand 55 gallon tank for my birthday a while back, but waited a while to set it up (debating fresh or salt). After deciding on salt and doing some more research I started the process. I added sand and laced it with some live sand then water and about 15lbs of live rock. I let this set for aprox. 1 month while checking chemicals and temp regularly. Recently I added about 7 more pounds of live rock and my first fish (Clown). All seems to be going well but as time goes on some decisions will need to be made. Currently besides the tank itself I am using a standard Emperor 400 Filter, a heater and everything is sitting on your standard wire tank stand. My question is where should I go from here? Initially this was going to be a fish only/live rock tank but naturally the more I get into it the more I want. That being said I can be extremely patient and do not mind things taking a while to develop. This week I hope to build a stand that can I can hide the equipment in as well as provide room for a sump.

Yes.. this was mistake #1, Although I am concerned about transferring the tank from one stand to another hopefully careful planning and a team of people will accomplish this without having to make a call to the insurance company.

Mistake #2, I am quite sure I put the wrong sand in my tank from the start. Although I do not see any negative side affects at the moment I am concerned about the repercussions of using "play sand" in my tank.

So on to the questions:

Is a stand / sump the direction I need to be heading in to ensure a happy community in the future?

If the sand is a problem how might I go about correcting it?

Thank you,
 
a sump have many benefit such as hiding a skimmer,heater and fans. You, can also make a refugium in your sump for macro algea, but you are heading in the right direction

I don't know much about play sand but you can spend about $30 on aquarium sand and have ease of mind.

For stand, if you are handy, you can built one and make it look super nice with a canapy or put a skin around your metal stand.

I'm no expert but i justing giving my opinion
 
I'd say build the stand, then empty the tank of water/rock/sand to move it (a team of people are not going to be able to move a full tank). At this time, replace the play sand with proper sand, put your rocks and cycled water (which you have saved in big trash cans) back into the tank on the new stand.

You'll want a sump/fuge. And I'd say the next piece of equipment to buy is a skimmer. You'll definitely want a skimmer.

Is your tank reef-ready, or will you have to plumb it externally to incorporate the sump/fuge?

If you want to eventually keep corals, then you'll eventually need to invest in stronger lighting than what I'm assuming you currently have. That's another thread entirely!

Good luck, and welcome to the board :)

PS the meeting this week is about building things like sumps out of acrylic.
 
Follow the advice on the previous thread on moving.. just buy yourself a nice large heavy duty garbage can, drain the tank, move the rock and your fish into it with an airstone and heater while you move things. You don't want to move a tank full or even half full of water, too many things could go wrong and draining is a simple task.

For your sand... take a bit out in a cup and use some white vinegar, pour some on it and if it bubbles up, your sand is okay for any use within the tank if you like the color. If it doesn't, then you have a silica sand.

Silica sand isn't bad (though some people do have that opinion) and you can use virtually any sand you can find.

The issue with sand is mult-varied... if you are using a shallow bed, say 1 or 2 inches, then your primary concern should be the cosmetic appeal of the sand. I happen to prefer white sand, not beige, brown or anything other than pure white. If you are happy with the color and you're not doing a DSB (Deep Sand bed 5+ inches) then don't worry about the sand itself provided it isn't crushed coral which are large/sharp grains.

Since you are a patience sort, your LR will seed your sand with any bacteria and worms etc it needs to become "Live" over time, say a couple of months.

The other option is to replace it with real active live sand of the color of your choice and you can get this at any Salt Water shop, if you are near FW, I would recommend Franks Tanks.

Sumps add a bio filter, a place to grow macro algae (for nutrient export), a place to but equipment like a skimmer, heater, pumps etc and they also expand your water volume. This last bit is important as the more water volume you have, the more stable your system will be and less likely to experience problems. The smaller the tank, the quicker things can go wrong.

So your first task... find a stand big enough to hold your tank and consider upsizing it to allow a bigger sump below.

Next... look for a sump to put under the stand. You can make one out of a tank, a rubber maid container or acrylic. Marc here on the board makes them custom, so if you want to go that route (albeit more expensive route), shoot him a PM or look at his site for ideas.

Next task... shop for a skimmer, either new or in the For Sale forums for a tank your size. I would recommend an in-sump model give the limited amount of space you will have. You won't need one right away until you start putting corals and such in, but you will want to get one for sure.

Next... look at your existing equipment. Your heater for example... plenty of people use glass heaters. I personally recommend a titanium model as they don't break. Its a small investment but a good one.

Get a grounding probe for the sump or your tank and utilize it as soon as possible. This grounds the tank and pulls stray voltage out of the water and into the house, making you and your fish safer. You might also consider having a GFI outlet for your tanks plugs to go into. This will trip if there is any surge or anything and add another layer of protection.

Figure out how much rock you want to end up with in the tank, consider the number and type of corals you want to add, adjust accordingly allowing for growth then get that in as soon as possible. Adding rock isn't usually a problem if its cured, but if you order rock online, you could end up with a cycle again and if you have anything in the tank, that could pose a problem for them (like your clown).

Next... figure out what kind of coral you want. This will dictate your lighting. If you want LPS you want Halides. If you go SPS or Softies, you can do T-5 or PC depending on the species, or Halides and cover all your bases. This might be your biggest single purchase $ wise, so make sure you get the right kind. You can check for used lighting in the For Sale forum as they go up for sale all the time, you just need to determine what kind to get.

Lastly.. develop a list of the fish you want to keep and post it here for some ideas on compatibility and in which order you should place them into the tank. General rule of thumb is to add them from least aggressive to most aggressive due to the fact the aggressive species once established will not welcome new additions, but if they are the new addition, it helps considerably if they are last to go in. Place the new fish in over time, allowing them to adjust and find their spots before adding new ones in.

I'm sure there is plenty I forgot, but this will get you started.

Good luck and enjoy your new obsession....
 
One thing that was left off of the fantastic post above...


Setup a quarantine tank (QT). Introduce fish here first, allow them to prove they're not infected with anything, and then you can bring them into your tank. This can't be stressed enough.

Also, if you have overly aggressive fish, you can put them in "Time Out" in a QT :)
 
Thank all of you for your responses.. I am sure there will be many more questions as time progresses. One I have off the top of my head is, what is "healthy" live rock supposed to look like, and how long should it take to get to that point?

~Trav
 
Many places will sell you "Cured" live rock. I know Dallas North Aquarium does. However, I usually take the time to smell it. If it smells like something that makes you nearly vomit, its not totally cured. Many local members will sell off cured rock for about 50% of what a LFS will sell you.

As far as curing time, I'm not 100% on that, so I'll defer.
 
@Siberwulf wrote:
As far as curing time said:
You cure the LR until the ammonia and nitrites get to zero and nitrates are reasonable. If it's a new setup this can be done in tank during the initial tank cycle.

Cheers!
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