Mondo Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Ok I went crazy. I had a brand new 20 gallon arrive the other day and I immediatly went to the lfs to grab some fluorite as this was to be a new planted to house the overgrowth of my 44. So I ended up leaving the lfs with some live sand and some instant ocean. Now time and time again I read to not use tap water in a reef tank. But the lfs has beautiful reef tanks and they're using the local tap water. They've also been in two different locations and the employees have reefs of their own using tap water so I figure the water around here can't be too bad. I know it does have high concentrations of limestone though. Future water changes and top-offs may be done with store bought water. Anyways on the questions. The tank is a 20 gallon high. It has 20lbs of livesand in it now. Should I get some more? There is one 300gph powerhead. Too much current? (I also bought an AC150 today so I could use some carbon to get rid of some bad stuff which could be in the water but it doesnt really provide much current) No lights yet. I'm probably going to buy a coralife 2x65watt CF strip from Bigals for $135 with 1x10,000K and 1 Ac bulb. Is this enough light for good looking easy corals? Can I get away with something cheaper? Live rock...lfs wants $6/lb. No way I'm paying that much. http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/package_chart.html Has a good looking deal on this "package" that comes with a bunch of critters. I'd get the 10 gallon package w/ 20lbs of rock if I bought from them. It may cost alot to ship it all though. http://www.oceanlife-int.com/index.html Has a deal for $2.00/lb on some marshal rock without alot of corline algae growth and claim to have cheap shipping. On ebay you can pickup the fiji rock uncured with free shipping for around $2.00-$3.00/lb What should I do here? (Cost is very much a concern) What is the likelyhood of dry base rock getting seeded w/ coraline algae just from livesand? Protein skimmer...should I get a cheap one for this tank, or not get one and just do weekly water changes? Anything else I should be thinking about? I've done 25+ hours of research and there is so much conflicting info. Thanks in advance! Link to comment
lostdog Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 I got the 10g Package from Tampa Bay Saltwater and so far only have the first part. I am very impressed with this rock, and have had found lots of life on my rock. It only cost $42.50 to ship from Tampa to Seattle, so I can't imagine it'd cost more to go to other places... Anyways, welcome to the hobby. I've only been a part for 9 days now, but I'm having a blast. My wife complains I spend too much time looking at the tank though. Link to comment
Mondo Posted April 1, 2003 Author Share Posted April 1, 2003 Does that cover both shipments? If so then thats not too bad. Link to comment
~_~ Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 Get more sand if you feel it looks better with more. It doesn't really matter if you add anymore or not. I would say, save your money on ordering from Tbsaltwater...there "package" thing has too many critters & the wrong ones IMO. (40 bluelegs and 10 turbos? : ) I would rather order rock from some other company than taking a risk on sumguy on ebay. Current..depends on what you keep & where the head blows, but generally 300gph isn't allot & you probably could throttle it back if it is, or use a spray bar. The lights are fine, although I don't know the build quality of them. Petsupplyliquidator sells some lower cost lights as well. (which is what I have) You should be thinking about what livestock you want, and what type of rock & sand you like. Link to comment
lostdog Posted April 1, 2003 Share Posted April 1, 2003 It was $42.50 for a single 40lb box (only the first box). I imagine I'll pay the same for the next box in a week. Link to comment
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