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Coral Vue Hydros

First ever saltwater tank!


CurtBoswell

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CurtBoswell

Haha! It's okay!

 

Is it okay if I don't test ammonia nitrites and nitrates for a month after setting up the tank? I feel like it would be a waste to test those even though I know what it'll look like.

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Thanks MrReefer! I will definitely check out your build thread! I'm going with a 10g display and a 5.5 sump. I found a mini skimmer on amazon for about $60 that I will be getting. It should help me with keeping the parameters in check. Also I'll be using chaeto to help with nitrates.

 

 

I was confused with the "a" on the end! Haha! :D

Nice. Are you thinking about a quarantine tank? may be a cheap $15 10G from walmart or petsmart, I thought I could get away with one but since my pair of clowns got an ich outbreak I had to treat them for 2 month in hypo salinity and I would never put anything in my tank without QT first from now on. For the skimmer, I found the Aquatic Life mini 115 runs very well and very compact size: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticLife_Internal_Mini_Protein_Skimmer_115_Aquarium_Protein_Skimmers_Venturi_for_less_than_50_gallons-AquaticLife-AK01114-FIPSISVSLF-vi.html, it's a bit loud but if you're willing to do the simple air tube extension mod it will be nearly silent. Good luck! can't wait to see what you do with your tank.

 

Haha! It's okay!

 

Is it okay if I don't test ammonia nitrites and nitrates for a month after setting up the tank? I feel like it would be a waste to test those even though I know what it'll look like.

I would test it at least once a week, I tested mine everyday just for fun but I also wanted to see what changes. Are you going to cycle with live rocks or dry rocks? I wouldn't go with live rocks because you'll be introducing all kind of nasty stuff into your tank and have a huge frustration later getting rid of them.

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Hey Curt. Came across your thread and just wanted to drop my two cents in on what has personally worked for me. A few disclaimers/notices first. You will quickly discover that this is a very opinionated hobby populated with very passionate people. Some people swear by one thing while others will say the exact opposite.

 

When trying to understand what is going on in your tank I recommend researching the biology behind everything. Advanced Aquarist has a number of good articles but some can be a little overwhelming. Another good reference is other members tank threads. Looking at what others have had success with over time can help give you a better idea of what you will want to do.

 

I currently run a 9g and a 10g both with identical filtration setups. One runs a dual bulb high output t5 fluorescent fixture while the other runs a 20"current led fixture. To give you an idea of the type of livestock and corals I run in there I will list them below.

 

10g - 2 False Perc ocellaris clowns, 1 cleaner goby, 1 clown goby, 1 yasha goby, 1 candy cane shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 porcelain crab, 1 midas blenny, probably 15 assorted crabs and snails, 1 sand sifting star,

9g - 2 True Perc Ocellaris clowns, 1 midas blenny, 1 banded high fin goby, 1 candy cane shrimp, 1 sand sifting star, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 emerald crab, 1 arrow crab, 1 six line wrasse, 1 ruby red dragonet

 

 

As I said this hobby is very opinionated. In my mind here are some must do's.

-Consistency (Be consistent in everything that you do. That goes for lighting schedule, feeding, water changes, any necessary dosing, etc)

-Run Chemi Pure elite (Carbon on crack, lasts 4 to six months and wont leach phosphates or any other harmful contaminates back into the tank)

-Don't over complicate things (the biggest problem I see people run into is they see something strange or different in the tank, go to their LFS , come home with a bunch of different chemicals and end up throwing the tank all out of whack. My number one go to solution for problems is water changes.)

-Try to get livestock that has a reason (It makes the tank a little more interesting and functional as well. Examples are things like an emerald crab to eat bubble algae, a peppermint shrimp to eat aptasia, an arrow crab or six line wrasse to eat bristle worms, or a pistol/goby combo. I run a yasha goby and a candy cane shrimp combo.)

-Feed the best food possible. I personally alternate food each day between pe mysis and pe cyclopeeze (I get them in a combo pack) both mixed with Roti and Oyster feast. Four times a week I soak the food in Selcon for extra vitamins and fatty acids and once a week I soak with Metronidazole for disease prevention. Careful with Metro because I have been told it can hurt some of your corals over time but I personally haven't had any problems.

-Have Fun, Don't yourself get frustrated. You are inevitably going to lose both fish and corals. Sometimes it may be your fault, other times it may be something else. Understand that we are trying to recreate all of mother nature on an astronomically smaller scale.

 

I wish you the best of luck with everything!

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CurtBoswell

Yes. I'll be using one of my extra 10 gallons. My dad breeds snakes so there are a lot of empty aquariums everywhere. That's the exact skimmer I was planning on using! Haha! I'm really excited about getting my tank up and running! :D

 

To cycle my tank I'm going to get 10lbs dry rock and 1lb or less of live rock to seed the rest of the tank. I'll be making sure there is nothing on that piece of live rock!

 

My dad sells snakes to some of the local pet stores so he gets stuff for wholesale price there so I may be able to cut down on the price of a few items!

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I would recommend using as much live rock as you can initially and buy them directly from a local fish store if you can. All that "live" stuff on that rocks acts as your filtration and will help get the tanks cycled and healthy much faster than when you went with live rock. Dry rock takes months to become "live". I would say 10-15pds of live rock for a 10g setup, 1"-2" of live substrate in the tank, 2" of reef mud in the refugium with some macro algae and pieces of live rubble rock (to weigh down the algae and give something for it to stick to).

 

I haven't seen anything about your substrate but I would also recommend purchasing live substrate. Some fish stores will also give you a piece of their filter pad from their reef systems to help introduce more beneficial bacteria as well.

 

I saw someone on here saying that adding live rock to your tank can add unwanted hitchikers. This is true but the benefits far outweigh the cost in my experience. Inevitably you will end up with a couple aptasia, some bristle worms, and a few other harmless tagalongs. Just make sure to thoroughly inspect the rock when purchasing it for any obvious signs of unwanted things before you buy. Some fish stores also sell "premium" rock which is often times already covered in coraline algae and has a beautiful purple color to it which can take years to develop on some rocks.

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CurtBoswell

Thanks tfish I really enjoyed your post! I will keep all of that in mind!

 

I see you have quite a lot of fish in those tanks! How are they doing? I'm scared of adding to many fish and totally overloading my tank. I plan on going very very slow with this being a small tank.

 

I'll definitely be checking out the six line wrasse to eat bristle worms!

 

Thanks so much!

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CurtBoswell

What temp should my aquarium be at? My house temp is normally around 73-74F if I used a 25 watt adjustable heater would that heat a 10 gallon with a 5.5 gallon sump?

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I try to keep mine around 77. I ran into a heat issue with mine and ended up having to throw a small desk fan next to one it in order to keep the temperature down. I am also running a quad high output fluorescent fixture over that tank as well which puts off quite a lot more heat than the one with LEDs does.

 

I do like to keep my tanks busy but I never had any major problems with overcrowding. The main reasons I have ever lost fish is because of disease being introduced on a new addition or me doing something stupid. A quarantine tank can be a good idea in order to stop any potential new diseases from being introduced to your main system. I don't have one now because I don't have room but I do dip any new additions in a freshwater solution mixed with a bit of prazi pro which helps to remove any diseases the fish could be carrying (at least thats what the bottle says. I have had mixed results).

 

You just want to make sure the things that you add are all compatible with each other. Everything I listed above can go together but an example of a problem I have seen is someone trying to add a skunkback pseudochromis and a six line together. Both smaller fish but the pseudo beat the shit out of the six line.

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What temp should my aquarium be at? My house temp is normally around 73-74F if I used a 25 watt adjustable heater would that heat a 10 gallon with a 5.5 gallon sump?

I'd use a 50W heater. I prefer the tank temps around 79-80°F.
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CurtBoswell

Thank you both!

 

Today I will be cleaning an extra 10 gallon that will be my display tank! It's all getting closer! I can see it! Haha!

 

When I go buy like rock, I want to make sure that it's pest free. What all should I be looking for on the rock?

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Most of the rock we get around here is pretty devoid of life. However, I would check specifically for Bryopsis and Aiptasia (not just on the rock but in the tank that it's in). Aiptasia is actually easier to deal with IMO. Some of the other pests might not be as visible (like flatworms). You might try the following:

Helpful Tips for Controlling Unwanted Pests:
Submerse the new rock into a bucket filled with saltwater with a specific gravity of 1.035 to 1.040 for one minute. Any invertebrates including mantis shrimp, bristle worms, and crabs will quickly evacuate from the rock and into the bucket of water.

Remove the live rock from the bucket and sort through the invertebrates in the bucket. Determine those you want to add to your system and discard unwanted pests. Bristle worms still attached to the rock can be removed with a pair of needle-nosed pliers or tweezers. This technique can be used to remove unwanted pests before or after curing your newly arrived live rock.

Source: http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=209

A couple positive things to look for would be coralline algae, and rocks with interesting shapes (that would be easy to stack, might look interesting on their own, have ledges to put corals on).

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CurtBoswell

Once I get some stuff clean I'll be starting a new thread so everyone can see my tank as it goes through all its stages!

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I would go with at least a 50w heater. Kept mine around 81-82 no problem. My room temp is 78, i can't go lower and don't want a chiller, too expensive.

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Get a big tank. Dont think a 5 gallon is easy, a 50 is easy, a 5 is hard.

 

An RODI should be the first thing you buy after the tank.

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CurtBoswell

 

I would go with at least a 50w heater. Kept mine around 81-82 no problem. My room temp is 78, i can't go lower and don't want a chiller, too expensive.

Already ahead of you! :D haha! That's what I'm getting.

 

 

Get a big tank. Dont think a 5 gallon is easy, a 50 is easy, a 5 is hard.An RODI should be the first thing you buy after the tank.

I understand that it is hard. Im using a 10 gallon display and a 5.5 sump/refugium. I'm going to go very slowly with it. I'm not in a hurry. I have a 75 GPD ro/di system.

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Yup smaller volumes are definitely more challenging, but just think, once you upgrade too a large tank, it will be a breeze!

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They are dimmable, so two should work well (but I'd probably use them on a LED dimmer switch). One won't provide even coverage across the entire tank.

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I'd check you local fish stores. Sometimes it is even already fully cured. No shipping, you get to inspect it before you buy it, and if you take a 5 gallon bucket of saltwater with you, you can transport it in water so there is very little (if any) die off.

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CurtBoswell

Do you know of any places with cheap dry rock? I'm going to get 10lbs dry and 2lbs live. I want to minimize pest.

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