A Step by Step bare bone guide for Beginners - getting it right and sa

[Oprime]

Dear friends,

First of all welcome to the hobby of marine husbandry! This article is based on intensive research / interviews with most of the reef experts & my experience in this area. This article is intended for those who are starting out small i.e. tanks up to 60 litres and thereabouts.

1. You will need a good tank and a sturdy table to put it on. Please remember that you don't have to cough up thousands of dollars. Its just about 70% more expensive! The only real difference in a simple marine set up and a fresh water fresh up is, (a) you need a hang on back protein skimmer in which case you don't need a sump; ( you will need a chiller, assuming you don't have 24 hr air-conditioning (you need a pump to direct water through it). You don't need an external filter which many of us use for our fresh water tanks so 1 of the expenses cancels the other out. Now we come to the lights. What to do? Are T5's good enough? 2 white and 2 actinic tubes? It's cheap and it works BUT T 5's generate more heat as opposed to LEDs and they are not as bright, Halides are the hottest. I'm not a Halide fan. If you want your tank to look spectacular then go for LEDs. Will cost you a couple of hundred more.

2. One of the biggest issues relating to the tank is: - What should the right thickness be? Salt water is denser and heavier then fresh water so is this really an issue? Well, I'm using a Juwel Rekord 600 which has a capacity of about 60 litres and the dimensions are 61x31x42cm - glass thickness is 6mm. No problems. No explosions. Tank has been running fine. Always remember that its the height of the tank that determines the thickness of the glass. Not the length of it.

3. Next we come to the blood and soul of the tank. The salt water and live rock. On the water, there are mixed opinions. The safest bet is using a salt mix. Its not just salt but it has all the other important elements that your little tank needs. When preparing the mix don't add salt into the bucket before adding the water. Add the water first then add the salt. How do you mix it? The best way it to have a power head in there. A cheap one which draws water and pumps it out. A couple of hours and presto. You don't need to leave it overnight. Coming to the water. The best way to do it is to run your tap water through a DI/RO unit and after that add a little anti chlorine/anti chloramine liquid for good measure. IMO just adding the anti chlorine to tap water is not enough. You will need around 20 table spoons of salt for a standard sized bucket of water to bring up the SG to 1.205. After a couple of hours test the SG using a Refractometer. It costs just 50 bucks and its accurate.

4. Next comes the live rock. Its BEST to use live rock which has been stripped of all external living matter. Sponges etc. It should not smell. There should be light purple splotches on it and thats your good algae. Coraline Algae. No need to boil it etc. How many KG will you need so that your tank doesn't look over crowded? 12 to 15kg should be more then enough. The live rock should go in on the initial set up.

5. Now what do we do? We wait for 3 weeks and then add snails and hermit crabs and after a couple of days we add fish. I'm not a fan of test kits. I've used the elaborate ones but IMO things take care of themselves. The live rock will take care of forming colonies of good bacteria and as long as your SG is between 1.202 to 1.205 your tank will be fine. Just do water top ups from time to time when you see that the water level has dropped.

6. Water changes? Small frequent partial water changes are the best. 10% every 3 or 4 days.

7. How much should all this cost brand new? Approximately $1030.00. Second hand about half the price. Approximate Break down as follows:-

Tank: $170 (you dont need a cabinet! Just put it on any old table)

Skimmer: $100

Wavemaker: $20

Refractometer: $50

Live Rock: $120

Chiller: $250

Salt Mix: $40

Pump: $50

Sand: $20

DI/RO: $100

T 5's x 4: $100

Anti Chlorine: $10

Voila!

(Fish & Coral Not included - how many fish to put in? 6 to 7 small ones)

P.S. Plug and play systems might cost less - my tank is a Juwel Rekord 600 (you may want to leave the built in bio filter inside and fill it with activated carbon media)

[Oprime]

SG should be 1.023 to 1.025 - apologies for the Erratum.

[nicreef]

Hi Thanks for the thread.

Just wondering if i purchase salt water from the shop instead of doing it on my own do i still have to test for sg?

[Oprime]

Dear Nic Reef

I would strongly advise you not to use actual sea water. The sea water they sell you is taken from our waters and our waters are not GOOD! Some of these guys will tell you that it's filtered etc. I doubt it. They will also tell you stuff like you can add fish faster etc. I strongly recommend that you use salt mix. It has all the essential elements your tank needs. Its easy. You can do it at home instead of going up and down. I know that we all want it to be as natural as possible but unfortunately nothing is natural anymore! Nurture triumphs over nature in this instance i would say! I have had wonderful results with using salt mix and all my 7 fish are hail and hearty. Never has problems with ICH etc. When you use a salt mix its best to use RO/DI water and treat the RO/DI water with anti chlorine as well. I use API. It works.

[Oprime]

I would like to add that even though I have said in other threads that using test kits are troublesome and a waste of money, IMO its good to use them once or twice to get a hang of the chemistry involved. Its fun and informative but some of these kits can be hard to use. You have to focus and you probably will get it wrong the first time or even second time. I used mine a couple of times and i doubt i will use it again. There is one important thing that I suppose we should test for and that's the calcium level which is pertinent if we are going to have hard corals in the tank. Things like PH & KH etc should resolve themselves if we use a decent salt mix and the tank is properly broken in coupled with water changes at the proper intervals i think everything should be fine. Initially i got pretty carried away with test kits too but after sometime you realize ah heck it la - everything is fine!!

[jackywongto]

Hi Thanks for the thread.

Just wondering if i purchase salt water from the shop instead of doing it on my own do i still have to test for sg?

Hi bro.

Yeah, do check on the salinity level. Also just note that different batch of NSW might contain different parameters.

Personally I would prefer to do my own salt mix as the parameters are more stable in concentration.

cheers

[jackywongto]

There is one important thing that I suppose we should test for and that's the calcium level which is pertinent if we are going to have hard corals in the tank. Things like PH & KH etc should resolve themselves if we use a decent salt mix and the tank is properly broken in coupled with water changes at the proper intervals i think everything should be fine.

Not sure why you would test for Ca and not KH. Not an expert but I understand that Increasing Ca will inversely affect KH.

You will need to balance both of them together. and if you have problem getting them to the required level, then Mg is the issue.

But they are all co-related and need to be checked for proper level in the tank.

These are very critical for SPS tanks and less so for softies/ lps/ fish-only.

Encouragement to check for Ca alone seems like an ill advice and misleading to newbies too.

[desideria]

if you check one, check all... can't just check one and leave the rest to sort themselves out because you'd never know.

[Oprime]

It is not ill advice and it certainly isn't misleading. If your calcium levels are within 380 to 450 ppm then there isn't an issue. These levels get depleted as your reef matures. Having said that if regular water changes are done the salt mix you use will take care of the extra calcium needed and having a calcium reactor if you have stoney corals is good if its used properly. Yes there is a relationship between calcium levels and alkalinity. If you test for Calcium and its too high i.e. in excess of 500ppm then there is a tendency for alkalinity to drop. Conversely if alkalinity levels get too high then then calcium levels will tend to fall. If your calcium levels are stable then your kh levels will be stable. (7 to 10 dkh).Dkh and kh are one and the same thing. Kh is basically the alkaline buffering capacity of your aquarium. It isn't a measure of the actual alkalinity level in your aquarium. PH levels will tell you how acidic or alkaline your aquarium is.

if you have a very unstable KH level in your aquarium look into causes such as a large amount of decomposing organic material.

We have all too often seen a mess created with the zealous use of test kits. Wrong readings and expired batches result in unnecessary dosing with disastrous consequences.

This following article is useful.

http://www.reefecosystems.com/reef-facts/water-chemistry-and-parameters/calcium-alkalinity-and-magnesium/

[tropic]

V

[jackywongto]

V

Yeah I think so too...... Just check calcium is enough man...... Sweeeeeeee !

Can throw away my ph, mg and kh tester liao.........

Sent from my iPad2 using Tapatalk

[Oprime]

Yeah I think so too...... Just check calcium is enough man...... Sweeeeeeee !

Can throw away my ph, mg and kh tester liao.........

Sent from my iPad2 using Tapatalk

V right back man!

[Terryz_]

Dear friends,

First of all welcome to the hobby of marine husbandry! This article is based on intensive research / interviews with most of the reef experts & my experience in this area. This article is intended for those who are starting out small i.e. tanks up to 60 litres and thereabouts.

1. You will need a good tank and a sturdy table to put it on. Please remember that you don't have to cough up thousands of dollars. Its just about 70% more expensive! The only real difference in a simple marine set up and a fresh water fresh up is, (a) you need a hang on back protein skimmer in which case you don't need a sump; ( you will need a chiller, assuming you don't have 24 hr air-conditioning (you need a pump to direct water through it). You don't need an external filter which many of us use for our fresh water tanks so 1 of the expenses cancels the other out. Now we come to the lights. What to do? Are T5's good enough? 2 white and 2 actinic tubes? It's cheap and it works BUT T 5's generate more heat as opposed to LEDs and they are not as bright, Halides are the hottest. I'm not a Halide fan. If you want your tank to look spectacular then go for LEDs. Will cost you a couple of hundred more.

A sump is not a must but good to have as it increases the water volume, thus the parameter fluctuation will not be too large... A protein skimmer is not enough, you will still require a mechanical filter that will filter out the bigger chunks of waste... On the contrary, T5 is better than LEDs, I have better results with T5s then LED... It all boils down to what you are keeping..

2. One of the biggest issues relating to the tank is: - What should the right thickness be? Salt water is denser and heavier then fresh water so is this really an issue? Well, I'm using a Juwel Rekord 600 which has a capacity of about 60 litres and the dimensions are 61x31x42cm - glass thickness is 6mm. No problems. No explosions. Tank has been running fine. Always remember that its the height of the tank that determines the thickness of the glass. Not the length of it.

for a 2ft tank, 6mm will do the job IF you have proper bracing.. If it is a rimless, it will not work.. And the bowing/warping of the tank glass is not immediate, it will happen over the course of time... Have you seen a 6mm tank with a bowing/warping front glass panel, I have and I tell you it is no joke and the glass breaking is a matter of time... And who told you it is the height of the tan that determine the thickness, It is the length that determines the thickness of the tank...

3. Next we come to the blood and soul of the tank. The salt water and live rock. On the water, there are mixed opinions. The safest bet is using a salt mix. Its not just salt but it has all the other important elements that your little tank needs. When preparing the mix don't add salt into the bucket before adding the water. Add the water first then add the salt. How do you mix it? The best way it to have a power head in there. A cheap one which draws water and pumps it out. A couple of hours and presto. You don't need to leave it overnight. Coming to the water. The best way to do it is to run your tap water through a DI/RO unit and after that add a little anti chlorine/anti chloramine liquid for good measure. IMO just adding the anti chlorine to tap water is not enough. You will need around 20 table spoons of salt for a standard sized bucket of water to bring up the SG to 1.205. After a couple of hours test the SG using a Refractometer. It costs just 50 bucks and its accurate.

This is pretty straightforward

4. Next comes the live rock. Its BEST to use live rock which has been stripped of all external living matter. Sponges etc. It should not smell. There should be light purple splotches on it and thats your good algae. Coraline Algae. No need to boil it etc. How many KG will you need so that your tank doesn't look over crowded? 12 to 15kg should be more then enough. The live rock should go in on the initial set up.

May I ask why is it still called a live rock if it is stripped of all external living matters??? Liverock is the basis for the microfauna such as pods and worms, they are the scavanger that will take care and breakdown all the uneaten foods... The best LR i feel is those with small hitchiker sponges and corals, algae(Good ones of course), YES, some will die in the course of the cycling but most hitchikers are very tolerant...

5. Now what do we do? We wait for 3 weeks and then add snails and hermit crabs and after a couple of days we add fish. I'm not a fan of test kits. I've used the elaborate ones but IMO things take care of themselves. The live rock will take care of forming colonies of good bacteria and as long as your SG is between 1.202 to 1.205 your tank will be fine. Just do water top ups from time to time when you see that the water level has dropped.

You should make sure that the tank goes through the ANN cycle to build up the bacteria population... Because if you dun and there is not enough Nitrosomonas that convert ammonia to nitrite and Nitrobacter to convert nitrite to nitrate, you will be having problem of ammonia spike if you add any livestock to your tank

6. Water changes? Small frequent partial water changes are the best. 10% every 3 or 4 days.

Not much comments on this... It all depends on the nitrate level of your tank...

7. How much should all this cost brand new? Approximately $1030.00. Second hand about half the price. Approximate Break down as follows:-

Tank: $170 (you dont need a cabinet! Just put it on any old table)

Skimmer: $100 Depending on your stocking $100 might be just nice...

Wavemaker: $20 I believe a SEIO or SunSun wavemaker would exceed this budget liao and 1 is not enough circulation

Refractometer: $50

Live Rock: $120

Chiller: $250 If not wrong, cheapest I can find 1st hand is $300 plus and it is hailea chiller

Salt Mix: $40 Buy the bucket one more economical as you need to do water change weekly

Pump: $50

Sand: $20

DI/RO: $100 Got so cheap RO/DI ah? I also want...

T 5's x 4: $100

Anti Chlorine: $10

Voila!

(Fish & Coral Not included - how many fish to put in? 6 to 7 small ones)

P.S. Plug and play systems might cost less - my tank is a Juwel Rekord 600 (you may want to leave the built in bio filter inside and fill it with activated carbon media)

Some Informations are wrong.. And Most of these info are just your guts feeling I presume...

Edited August 21, 2011 by Terryz_

[Terryz_]

Dear Nic Reef

I would strongly advise you not to use actual sea water. The sea water they sell you is taken from our waters and our waters are not GOOD! Some of these guys will tell you that it's filtered etc. I doubt it. They will also tell you stuff like you can add fish faster etc. I strongly recommend that you use salt mix. It has all the essential elements your tank needs. Its easy. You can do it at home instead of going up and down. I know that we all want it to be as natural as possible but unfortunately nothing is natural anymore! Nurture triumphs over nature in this instance i would say! I have had wonderful results with using salt mix and all my 7 fish are hail and hearty. Never has problems with ICH etc. When you use a salt mix its best to use RO/DI water and treat the RO/DI water with anti chlorine as well. I use API. It works.

The NSW are from the LFS itself, if they can keep the fishes with these water, I dun see any problem.. Of course buy from a more reputable source..

Though I use saltmix, I just want to sound out that both NSW and saltmix are okay to use, just that NSW will be more troublesome as the SG is inconsistant...

[Terryz_]

It is not ill advice and it certainly isn't misleading. If your calcium levels are within 380 to 450 ppm then there isn't an issue. These levels get depleted as your reef matures. Having said that if regular water changes are done the salt mix you use will take care of the extra calcium needed and having a calcium reactor if you have stoney corals is good if its used properly. Yes there is a relationship between calcium levels and alkalinity. If you test for Calcium and its too high i.e. in excess of 500ppm then there is a tendency for alkalinity to drop. Conversely if alkalinity levels get too high then then calcium levels will tend to fall. If your calcium levels are stable then your kh levels will be stable. (7 to 10 dkh).Dkh and kh are one and the same thing. Kh is basically the alkaline buffering capacity of your aquarium. It isn't a measure of the actual alkalinity level in your aquarium. PH levels will tell you how acidic or alkaline your aquarium is.

if you have a very unstable KH level in your aquarium look into causes such as a large amount of decomposing organic material.

We have all too often seen a mess created with the zealous use of test kits. Wrong readings and expired batches result in unnecessary dosing with disastrous consequences.

This following article is useful.

http://www.reefecosystems.com/reef-facts/water-chemistry-and-parameters/calcium-alkalinity-and-magnesium/

Can you enlighten me on this? How is kh related to decomposing matter????

And it is not as simple as it seems, kh increase, ca decrease and vice verse.. It is not playing with see saw, there are often other cause that will cause different scenarios... Ionic Imbalance is one of the scenarios...

[jackywongto]

Yeah I think so too...... Just check calcium is enough man...... Sweeeeeeee !

Can throw away my ph, mg and kh tester liao.........

Sent from my iPad2 using Tapatalk

V right back man!

Lol...... Pls don't take me for real ....

Chill bro, just a hobby.

Happy reefing !

Sent from my iPad2 using Tapatalk

[Oprime]

LIVE ROCK

The microfauna found on live rock are detrivores and herbivores (as they eat algae and fish waste), and provide fish with a natural, attractive shelter. Live rock usually arrives from online dealers as "uncured", and must be quarantined in a separate tank while undergoing the curing process, which involves the inevitable die-off of some of the rock's inhabitants and the subsequent production of undesirable ammonia and nitrite. Live rock that is already cured is available at most pet stores that cater to saltwater.

When it is stripped off of sponges etc. , its stripped off visible external live matter. Even after the sponges etc are stripped off you will still have enough micro organisms on it. You just don't see it. Coraline and good bacteria isn't removed. When live rock which has been scraped clean is placed in the tank it seems like there is nothing left on the surface but give it a week or so and you will see things growing on it. Don't be surprised if you have a baby lion fish suddenly appearing in your tank. Where did it come from? The Live Rock! It's happened and its happened recently in Singapore. Anyway that's my considered opinion. Works for me - no fouling up of water - no bristleworms etcetera.

[Oprime]

LED

The most recent addition to the list of aquarium lighting technologies is LED lighting. These have the potential to be much more efficient than any other technology, but are not fully developed. LEDs have the advantage of point source lighting, but are also adjustable to most power levels. This allows for more advanced lighting schedules, the simulation of cloud cover, or even lightning storms. So far, LEDs have found use mainly as lunar lighting in commercial products.

Reef-keeping enthusiasts have began to build their own LED light fixtures as well. Debate over their effectiveness towards coral is still inconclusive, particularly with respect to their ability to give off UV radiation, critical to obtaining a vibrant array of colors that most people interested in LED lighting are looking for.[3]

LED lighting can be considered one of the most energy efficient and low impact options to lighting a reef tank as well, with a projected life expectancy of seven years.

[Oprime]

FILTRATION

Most small tanks have a box filter built in. As indicated my tank is a Juwel Rekord 600 (60 litres) which came with a box filter and power head. I chose to remove this and add an external Eheim canister filter to free up space. If your tank doesn't come with one then yes you will have to add an external canister filter. Many of us start out small and often aquire a tank which isn't sump ready. Ofcourse its super to have a sump but it doesn't mean that you absolutely need one. The article was written for small tanks. 60 litres and smaller.

[Oprime]

Thickness of the Glass

Its the height not the thickness. Please see below:-

http://www.austinglass.com.au/aquariums.html

[Oprime]

Saltmix vs NSW

There are numerous problems as indicated in several threads on this site with regards to NSW. Therefore IMO its best to use Salt Mix. Convenient, stable & safe.

[Oprime]

KH or DKH

Carbonate hardness (KH)-Measured in mg/l, ppm, or the German dKH. Measured with test kits. Carbonate hardness (also known as alkalinity) is the measure of carbonate (CO3-) and bicarbonate (HCO3-) ion concentrations dissolved in water. These minerals are present in municipal, well, and bottled spring water. The level of carbonate hardness in tap and bottled water depends on the source of the water and the treatment processes it has undergone. Carbonate hardness helps stabilize pH in the aquarium. An aquarium with a low KH level (50 ppm or less) will tend to be acidic. Aquariums with very low KH are also subject to rapid pH shifts, if not monitored carefully. Water with a high KH level (>200 ppm) usually has a high pH. In many saltwater aquariums, especially reef aquariums, the demands for carbonate hardness are high. Carbonate hardness in marine aquaria constantly decreases as biological processes, primarily biological filtration, produce acids that neutralize bicarbonate ions and remove them from the water. (Moe, The Marine Aquarium Reference 1989)

If you have a very unstable KH level (drops rapidly), look into causes such as a large amount of decomposing organic material. The more organic break down (de-nitrification), the more acids produced. Some filters if not cleaned regularly can cause this; including canister, UGF, and Wet/Dry.

[Terryz_]

LIVE ROCK

The microfauna found on live rock are detrivores and herbivores (as they eat algae and fish waste), and provide fish with a natural, attractive shelter. Live rock usually arrives from online dealers as "uncured", and must be quarantined in a separate tank while undergoing the curing process, which involves the inevitable die-off of some of the rock's inhabitants and the subsequent production of undesirable ammonia and nitrite. Live rock that is already cured is available at most pet stores that cater to saltwater.

When it is stripped off of sponges etc. , its stripped off visible external live matter. Even after the sponges etc are stripped off you will still have enough micro organisms on it. You just don't see it. Coraline and good bacteria isn't removed. When live rock which has been scraped clean is placed in the tank it seems like there is nothing left on the surface but give it a week or so and you will see things growing on it. Don't be surprised if you have a baby lion fish suddenly appearing in your tank. Where did it come from? The Live Rock! It's happened and its happened recently in Singapore. Anyway that's my considered opinion. Works for me - no fouling up of water - no bristleworms etcetera.

Yeah, correct but the thing is these things will die off during the cycling and they contribute to the cycling... But if you are adding in after the cycling, den the LR have to be cleaned and cured...

[Terryz_]

LED

The most recent addition to the list of aquarium lighting technologies is LED lighting. These have the potential to be much more efficient than any other technology, but are not fully developed. LEDs have the advantage of point source lighting, but are also adjustable to most power levels. This allows for more advanced lighting schedules, the simulation of cloud cover, or even lightning storms. So far, LEDs have found use mainly as lunar lighting in commercial products.

Reef-keeping enthusiasts have began to build their own LED light fixtures as well. Debate over their effectiveness towards coral is still inconclusive, particularly with respect to their ability to give off UV radiation, critical to obtaining a vibrant array of colors that most people interested in LED lighting are looking for.[3]

LED lighting can be considered one of the most energy efficient and low impact options to lighting a reef tank as well, with a projected life expectancy of seven years.

yes, it is still too early to tell but from my own experience,I have used all types of lighting from PL to LED, I find T5s better than LED in terms of the response from the corals, the color retains better and the color combi is much nicer than LEDs... Although the down side is the running cost..

[Terryz_]

Thickness of the Glass

Its the height not the thickness. Please see below:-

http://www.austinglass.com.au/aquariums.html

I am not sure on this but it seems contradicting, it does not depends on the length becos you will be fitting bracing to the length, den in a rimless tank without any bracing? I believe what I have seen with my eye, my fren's 2ft tank was running for year den the bracing broken off by accident and the front glass started to bow as the time goes by... It is only a 2ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft...