Need startup advice please

[Gusher]

Hello everyone. I just signed up to this forum today because it looks like where I will be spending my next year learning lol

 

So... I'm disabled and since I have all the time needed for a hobby I chose nano rief tank. I live in a studio so my space is very limited. To get me started and to use for learning, I picked up an Eclipse 12 gallon all in one tank with the stand made for the tank. I filled it with water and made sure the filter and light worked and then added 1.5 inches of white gravel to the tank so it didn't just look funny while it does what it needs to do lol.

 

I'm headed to my local pet store today to get the things needed to get it started. My question is, what do I need? Lol like I said I'm just starting out so I believe the wording is curing? I plan on reading threw all the beginner forums while the tank does its thing, I guess 4 weeks?

 

So what do I need to pick up today to add to the water for this curing time please, just the salt stuff?

 

I apologize for my ignorance in the terminology but all that will change very fast :-) I have a lot of time to learn while my tank turns into my mini ocean lol I'm very excited to grow coral.

 

Thank you in advance for your information,

 

Gusher

[Deleted User 3]

White gravel? Like normal aquarium rocks kind of thing? You cant use that.. 'What it needs to do' it needs to do with the real stuff in, like sand substrate.

 

Get like some aragonite alive/or dead sand do about 1-1.5 inches, get like 8-10 pounds of dry marine tank rock (like fiji or something), and 2-5 pounds live rock, all depends how much you want in there.

 

Does the tank come with a heater? A filter? What lights does it have? Does it have a power head? A thermometer?

 

Get a 5 gal bucket, a siphon, your preferred salt (not aquarium salt, it's sea salt, not like the table stuff, like instant ocean or kent, etc), a test kit for saltwater tanks, RODI unit buy online, or use distilled water from the store. That's all I can think of for right now, then you let it cycle until all the nitrates/ammonia/nitrite is gone. It depends if you keep the rock wet, you might have a 2 week cycle, but plan on a month+ just incase. After you stop seeing ammonia and nitrite, and minimal to no nitrate, and you get the diatom bloom, wait a bit and add a CUC from reefcleaners.org, thhen wait a couple weeks until your tank adjusts to the bio load, and slowly stock. You can do about 2 SMALL (that stay small) fish. Like 2 false clownfish is almost pushing it, but people do it.

[imadams]

+1 to tulipgirl.

 

Read up on cycling your tank and the required items. That will get the ball rolling. Once you have a firm understanding of the cycle, and it has begun, you can start reading up and preparing for the next parts(the fun ones )

[sfnt125]

+1

 

Take it slow. IMO most common mistake hobbyists make is to rush into things. Really get to know all of the subtle nuances of your tank while it is cycling. Read all of these articles Link they are from the Information section on this forum. It won't take you long and it's a good start.

 

Also in addition to equipment, make sure to purchase a notebook. I write everything in that about my tanks status. Then I keep about 50% of my journal in my tank thread on the forum. I CAN'T STRESS THIS ONE ENOUGH. Keep your entries very detailed. Times that your water parameters were checked, to include temperature, specific gravity, ammo, trite, etc. What was added or taken and when, like water or rock, etc.

 

My $.02 rant. And enjoy yourself!

[EyeCandyExtreame]

Don't impulse buy fish. Research research research and when you think you know enough read some more

[imadams]

Don't impulse buy fish. Research research research and when you think you know enough read some more

 

 

+1 agian to all the above

[Gusher]

Ok sand, live sand. I read that if I was to use gravel it would be called bare bottom tank. So sand is better so that's what I will get. The aquarium came with a light, Filter system and lid. It's the 12 gallon Eclipse. I read that a few people used the stock equipment until they chose to change the canopy of modify to stock one. It cycles at 150gph I believe. I will need to get a heater though. People say this tank holds heat very well so I believe a small heater will work.

 

I'm using this tank for all my learning :-) and after a year I plan to build my dream tank and let this one continue to grow.

 

Thanks for all the info, it's been very helpful. And yes I plan to read, read, read and o yeah read some more lol

 

Ok sand, live sand. I read that if I was to use gravel it would be called bare bottom tank. So sand is better so that's what I will get. The aquarium came with a light, Filter system and lid. It's the 12 gallon Eclipse. I read that a few people used the stock equipment until they chose to change the canopy of modify to stock one. It cycles at 150gph I believe. I will need to get a heater though. People say this tank holds heat very well so I believe a small heater will work.

 

I'm using this tank for all my learning :-) and after a year I plan to build my dream tank and let this one continue to grow.

 

Thanks for all the info, it's been very helpful. And yes I plan to read, read, read and o yeah read some more lol

[aquatect]

Using gravel for a saltwater system is never really an option. Barebottom would be literally having no substrate at all, which makes things easier to clean up (like excess food and detrius). It reduces your biological filter, though.

 

Sand is the best way to go. 1-2"

 

The only way to tell if the heater is enough is to try it out. You should be able to maintain a CONSISTENT temperature of 76-81 degrees without fluctuations of more than 2 degrees in a 24-hour period.

[uaiu]

You're doing great so far as you're here and researching which is great, tons of people show up after crap hits the fan. The one thing about this hobby is there are many places were there isn't exactly the "best" way to do it, people have varying opinions on whats better. Bare-bottom/sand is one of those places. I personally will always have sand because I feel it looks better and more natural. But as mentioned above bare-bottom tanks are easier to clean. Research every step of the tank, if you see something you want to buy research it first, some store will hold something for you if you ask so you wont miss out on it.

[Gusher]

Cool, so what sand is the best, live or dead and why? Also can a tank start out bare bottom and then add sand at a later date or will the cycle time start all over again?

 

Thanks

[aquatect]

Liver sand is a waste of money. Dry sand will become live very quickly and will save you money.

 

Just make sure you get aragonite sand. The size of the grains is up to you. I like the sugar sized ones, personally.

[MeepNand]

Live or dead sand doesn't really make a difference IMO. I have used both, and there wasn't a difference.

Did you use live rock or not live dry rock? For a 12 gallon, getting all live rock would be better, and it isn't expensive even if you use a lot.

I would not recommend starting out barebottom then adding sand. It can mess with your fish and corals and get sand on them.

Also, adding another pump to add flow would be a good idea, to reduce algae and widen up the number of corals you can kee.

[Gusher]

Ok my pet store only had one kind of sand so it was my only option. Here is a link http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?...7&lmdn=Fish.

 

I filled the tank up after adding the sand. The salt will be next after I get a little more money lol. I really hope this sand will be ok.

 

Jon

[godfathernikki]

Ok my pet store only had one kind of sand so it was my only option. Here is a link http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?...7&lmdn=Fish.

 

I filled the tank up after adding the sand. The salt will be next after I get a little more money lol. I really hope this sand will be ok.

 

Jon

 

It's not the best but it will work. From a quick look around the web I found that it is PH neutral, so don't expect any buffering capability from it- not too big of a deal though since people run barebottom tanks without ph problems, and it also has magnetic particles in the sand, so be mindful of that as well around pumps and magnetic glass cleaners.

[Gusher]

Ok i got sand but it was the only kind the pet store had, I really hope it will work. Here is a link to it http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?...7&lmdn=Fish I washed it out real good til there was no cloud based on the reviews of the sand. Put it in the tank and the tank is still cloudy after running the filter for 2 days now. I keep cleaning the filter also. Is this normal and will the sand I punched work?

 

I'm disabled and get paid on the 3rd so another pump will be my next purchase then. If this is the only sand I can find I wonder how hard its going to be to find the rock and other saltwater gear I'm going to need. I guess my postman is going to live me lol.

 

What do you mean magnetic cleaners and pumps, this sand will stick to them? It came with a solution for magnet cleaning something. Should I dump this crap??? It was sand and said safe for saltwater tanks. I wish they had more to choose from. I just wanted to get the tank cycling. So dump it and order something from the internet? I just want a good foundation to start with so once that's done I can add a little each month.

 

Can I add something to the sand to make it better or add better on top of it?

 

Thanks for the info.

[Gusher]

Did I loose everyone? Lol

[thegambler26]

Did u put fresh water in the tank without any sea salt mixed in? Probably not a big deal since you have no livestock but in the future it's best to pre mix your water, that way you can test it to make sure that it is mixed to the right salinity and specific gravity. I started years ago with an eclipse 12 and it was ok but the stock filtration didn't seem to be very efficient. I'd ditch the bio wheel and go with an aquaclear filter.

What people are saying about the sand is some black sand has metal grains in it that will stick to magnetic cleaners or pumps. If it gets in between your cleaner and acrylic it'll leave some nasty scratches.

[Gusher]

Ok i understand and I will get a better filtration system.

 

I have about an inch of the black sand in the tank, can I add another inch of good sand on top of the black or should I just start over with good sand?

 

Also should I get a glass aquarium since it won't scratch as easy as acrylic? I liked the thought of acrylic because it has no seams.

 

Thank you