A NEW NOOBIE!!!!!YAY!! THE DARK SIDE WINS!!!

[ranmasatome]

Hi Everyone!!! Add one more to the Dark side pls...lol..

i've been reading the post here and i must say its was extremely helpful..but there is just soooooooooooooo much to learn!!!! i think my brain is going to explode!!!! i know some of the questions i ask will already be answered....but i've been surfing for the last 6-8hrs non-stop except to eat and go toilet etc...adn reading and reading and reading anda reading so much that i think i can feel my brain expanding in my head and it hurts like hell!! Please help.....noobie lah...what to do....

So i recently got a 3ft x 1.5ft x1.5ft tank and i wanted to do the usual and do up a planted...but then i figured that i should try something new....like a marine....but after reading so much....i'm a bit scared!! At first found that my tank was only 6mm of glass then after some reading and using some calculator found that this would be okay because the tank has a glass brace gonig across the top. So now have to set up tank and i have like 5 million questions....i don't know where to go for help...so help me if you can...

1) Lights...i intend on using PL cos i have no money for MHs...besides i'm not intending on keeping SPS so its okay lah i guess... So is 144w of pls lights and 1 tube of Atinic FL okay? what should the kelvin of the pl lights be? i'm thinking 2 10000k ones and 2 6500k ones...then plus the atinic the wattages should be enough no? Should i stimulate like a lag effect in the lights coming on? for e.g. 1 pair on first then another on 2 hrs later....the same but vice versa when switching off.

2) Filtration.... As of now...intending on using an eheim 2026 for filtration...thats the only one i have....no money to invest in another one...so no choice..perhaps not the best of choice....but why is this???
Also intend to stock it with Carbon, Bio rings, and the rough hard type of foam.....not the soft white type....is this right? how should i layer it??

3) Cycling.... i just bought a bunch of live rock and sand that has already matured for 1 and a half years from a guy that is tearing down his tank and i'm collecting it this weekend...the thing is...can i just dump the sand and rocks in?? i thought this would kick start my cycling then maybe throw some sotong or prawns in to cycle the tank for about 2 weeks?? how long should it take in this case?

4)Protein skimmer.... intend on getting a counter current or venturi protein skimmer but don't know where selling one for a good price (major factor..hint hint), is really good as opposed to just not bad. if you know, can tell me price?? pm me if you dont want to post price. I read that Orca is not bad...so is it good or not bad? Anyone know of the brand CPR?? i want to check out some of their Venturi skimmers...the CPR cyclone bak pak recieved quite good reviews.

5)Circulation - Intend on getting one swivel head powerhead for circulation. Anyone know how many l/hr i should get? what brand? and where? besides this there is also the powerhead assumed for the CC protein skimmer and the 2026 outlet...i think should be enough no? if not, what do you reccomend?

6)Salt - What brand is good? i think Instant Ocean is not bad since it is high in strontium...any other reccomendations? and where to get? How to mix? Must let it stand for a day ah? where to stand 150-200 litres of water for a day?? no space leh...

7)Calcium - i figured i would need this sooner or later..so ask first...how in the world do you add this? some say use calcium hydroxide some say calcium oxide...whats the difference? whats a kalk reactor? do i need one and how much is (a good, reliable) one?

What is a wave maker?? how do you use it? what does it do? this one i really confused..lol..

okay thats all for now i think.....lol..sorry i so noob....but you've gotta start somewhere....today (technically since its already 3am now) going to read more...then clean the filter cannister, then place tank and everything...
Thanks Guys!!

[kelstorm]

So i recently got a 3ft x 1.5ft x1.5ft tank and i wanted to do the usual and do up a planted...but then i figured that i should try something new....like a marine....but after reading so much....i'm a bit scared!! At first found that my tank was only 6mm of glass then after some reading and using some calculator found that this would be okay because the tank has a glass brace gonig across the top. So now have to set up tank and i have like 5 million questions....i don't know where to go for help...so help me if you can...personally, if given a choice, i would not use a tank of 6mm for a 3ft tank... i find that it is treading on thin ice.. weight of water being one issue (saltwater is heavier than FW due to salt content), lets not forget that u have to include live rocks and u should be looking at approximately over 100 kg depending on what u intend to keep. Also, such thinkness, u never know whether from the LR, it has some hitchhikers like piston shrimp or mantis shrimp.. if so, better remove them coz one snap and your house will be flooded..

also, if i have my way, i would like my tank to be braceless especially considering that u are using only PL... having braces will limit the amt of lights being projected into the tank already. It also makes cleaning a bit more of a hassle..

1) Lights...i intend on using PL cos i have no money for MHs...besides i'm not intending on keeping SPS so its okay lah i guess... So is 144w of pls lights and 1 tube of Atinic FL okay? what should the kelvin of the pl lights be? i'm thinking 2 10000k ones and 2 6500k ones...then plus the atinic the wattages should be enough no? Should i stimulate like a lag effect in the lights coming on? for e.g. 1 pair on first then another on 2 hrs later....the same but vice versa when switching off.
Decide on what u wanna keep will determine what kind of lights u should be getting as it will save u the heartache of having to upgrade once u decided to keep SPS.... LPS are not as light loving as SPS but they still need certain spectrum of lights to stay alive, barring the fact that ur tank and water quality is stable and good...
while i find that having a bit of a lag is good coz u dun really shock the corals etc suddenly and this, is a bit hard using PL or FL for that matter... MH do not light up immediately so, it is slightly better.. but on the whole, i dun really see much diff but i might be wrong coz ur mileage might varies.. u can do the lag effect mentioned.. i dun see how damaging it can be..
The selection of kelvins mentioned are fine.. if u can get like 20K and offset with 6.5k lights will be good as it will reduce the yellowish or too bluish tinge in the tank.

2) Filtration.... As of now...intending on using an eheim 2026 for filtration...thats the only one i have....no money to invest in another one...so no choice..perhaps not the best of choice....but why is this???
Also intend to stock it with Carbon, Bio rings, and the rough hard type of foam.....not the soft white type....is this right? how should i layer it??

2026 might be a bit too underpowered for it... suggested getting a bigger one or another 2026 to sustain it. In marine, the amt of waste is pretty substantial and also depending on the species of fishes. Fishes like tangs produces lots of waste..unless u are keeping macroalgae tank, there is no way to reduce the nitrate levels, unlike plants in the planted arena. u can invest in a denitrator if u like.. but i find that using macroalgae is the best and of course, changing water. , the most effective of all.
from the looks of it, urs will be a all-wet filtration system.. try to get it into a wet dry filtration.. it will assist in the breakdown of waste. I would not suggest adding bio-rings coz once it clogs up and clogs up fast, it is useless already...
Filtration does not simply include just filters... LR also acts as a form of filtration but dun rely on it entirely especially if your bio-load is very high.
U should also look into getting a protein skimmer.. get one that can support your tank bio-load.. can consider getting those stand-alone units like macro... cant recall the price though... have not bought anything for a long time already...

3) Cycling.... i just bought a bunch of live rock and sand that has already matured for 1 and a half years from a guy that is tearing down his tank and i'm collecting it this weekend...the thing is...can i just dump the sand and rocks in?? i thought this would kick start my cycling then maybe throw some sotong or prawns in to cycle the tank for about 2 weeks?? how long should it take in this case?
if u have the "cured" LR and "live" sand, u can put it in to cycle your tank... dun need to put sotong already... leave the rocks and sand in the tank for 2 weeks, then slowly increase the bio-load and allow your filters and tank to stabilise again before adding more livestock. Adding too much at one time, your system might not be able to take the sudden increase in bio-load and do not have the ability to break down and might just "crash". I usually a bit more kiasu when i cycle my tank, especially new tanks.. i let it run for 6-8 weeks, depending on size...meaning starting from ground zero..thus the sotong and prawn thing come into the pic.. if i have access to "live" rocks and sand, i will cut down by 1-2 weeks... to me, i dun mind cycling the tank longer to ensure that the tank is stable

4)Protein skimmer.... intend on getting a counter current or venturi protein skimmer but don't know where selling one for a good price (major factor..hint hint), is really good as opposed to just not bad. if you know, can tell me price?? pm me if you dont want to post price. I read that Orca is not bad...so is it good or not bad? Anyone know of the brand CPR?? i want to check out some of their Venturi skimmers...the CPR cyclone bak pak recieved quite good reviews.

Ocra is good if u need a very basic one to house a small tank.. but for your size, i dun think so... but if that is all u can afford at the time being, it is better than nothing.. but do consider upgrading it once u have the $$$$ As for the brand, u can consider getting Jebao (i think so)..some china brands are not too bad.. am using it myself.. but i cant recall the brand off hand at the moment.. sorry.

5)Circulation - Intend on getting one swivel head powerhead for circulation. Anyone know how many l/hr i should get? what brand? and where? besides this there is also the powerhead assumed for the CC protein skimmer and the 2026 outlet...i think should be enough no? if not, what do you reccomend?
i think i know which one u are talking abt, ranges from $20-50+ i think.. IMO, dun get it.. once the calcarous algae grows on it, it will no longer rotate.. tried it and proven.. the most popular wave maker is still tunze but i think it is out of your budget... alternatively, buy a couple of powerheads and just direct it to your corals... if circulation is your concern.. just save the money and get a normal powerhead...

6)Salt - What brand is good? i think Instant Ocean is not bad since it is high in strontium...any other reccomendations? and where to get? How to mix? Must let it stand for a day ah? where to stand 150-200 litres of water for a day?? no space leh...
salt, me using the most basic and cheapest of all, coralife.. some of my friends are using Kent, also good.. personally, Kent is good enuff... u might wanna try Paradiz Reef for them.. i think they might have it.. there are other brands in the market.. including some very expensive ones.. i have never tried them personally coz of cost factor..
To mix, i just add tapwater and salt and stir them before adding them to the sump... some ppl use DI (de-ionised) water.. who have place for 150-200 litres space.. hahaha.. ... sometimes, i'm so lazy that i just add salt directly to the sump and let the pump do the work, of course, i stir a bit lah.. hahaha

7)Calcium - i figured i would need this sooner or later..so ask first...how in the world do you add this? some say use calcium hydroxide some say calcium oxide...whats the difference? whats a kalk reactor? do i need one and how much is (a good, reliable) one?
[b]unless u are considering SPS, the dosage from the water changes should be sufficient... alternately, u can just simply get the Kent Calcium and dose it.. A good calcium reactor can reach almost $1k... it produces a constant supply of calcium to calcium loving animals like SPS and clams as compared to dosage.

What is a wave maker?? how do you use it? what does it do? this one i really confused..lol..
creates current.. to stimulate the natural environment where u might encounter current flowing in opposite or another direction.

[ranmasatome]

Hi Kel...thanks for the reply....too bad kena cut off.....aiyah....

[kelstorm]

urgh... it was a long msg.. damned... ok.. i reply the reminder again soon... sorry abt it.. i had some difficulty trying to post it so, i copy and paste.. never check.. will retype again.. sorry mate...

[ranmasatome]

ugh...lol...i know the feeling....thanks so much for taking the effort to retype kel....i really appreciate it..

[kelstorm]

continued from filtration...

Filtration does not simply include just filters... LR also acts as a form of filtration but dun rely on it entirely especially if your bio-load is very high. U should also be looking into Protein skimmers.. they will help to remove those dissolved waste that are not able to removed via the mechanical means.

Cycling: if u hv the live rock and live sand, u can actually shorten the cycle time considerably, thus can avoid the sotong and prawn thingie altogether, which is used to kick start the cycling process and introduce bacteria... i usually cycle my tank 6-8 weeks depending on the size.. also, i will slowly introduce live stock to allow the system to cope with the new bio-load before adding new stuff. Do not dump all the live stock in at one time coz your system might not be able to cope with the new sudden increase in bio-load and might crash.. and i'm speaking from experience.. with the live stock, u can consider shortening ur cycle time but i still recommend at least more than 2 weeks to be safe.. well, u can stay with 2 weeks and use test kits to test the water quality first before adding...

Skimmers: U can try paradiz reef for the macro skimmers.. they are good.. however, they are slightly pricy as compared to the china brands like Jebao, which i think i'm using.. find out the water volume of your tank, then find out what size suits the tank volume and increase the skimmer by one size.. i hope u get what i mean. China brands can be as low as below $100. Macro should be 2-3 times i guess.. i cant recall as i have not bought any new equipment for a long time. If u do not have space constraint, consider getting an external one. Ocra is very basic and it ican only be mounted inside the tank or the sump. U can start with it first if budget constraint and should look into getting a bigger venturi skimmer once u can afford it. Also, no skimmer during cycling period.

Circulation: I think i know which one u are talking abt. Forget it.. i had it and once the calcarous algae starts growing on the joint, it will stop moving. What is the main purpose of getting the swivelling powerhead? to create currents? U are better off with Tunze but they are a bit pricy.. alternatively, u can make do with just a couple of powerheads, connect them to the timer and position them in various angles. I do not have any idea of the powerhead connected to the 2026 outlet that u are talking abt.

Salt: Right now, me using Coralife. Cheap. U can also consider getting Kent which is slightly better than coralife. Also available at paradiz Reef i think. Instant Ocean is good too.. usually, we will buy in buckets or bulk like 20 kg. unless u are keeping LPS, SPS, i would recommend getting Kent and instant ocean. Otherwise, for fish-only with live rocks, Coralife will suffice. no pt paying so much for the salt. There are more expensive salt available in the market but i cant commend on them as i never used them before. Budget constraint. For me, i just add the salt and tap water and stir them before changing water. Sometimes, i just add them directly to the sump, stir a bit and let the pump do the mixing coz me lazy.. :P I do know of ppl using DI water to mix with the salt. that is good coz it removes all the unwanted metals in the water but again, cost is a factor. lets be realistic, who have place for 200l of salt water mix lying ard when we are all staying in a pigeon holes?

calcium: Unless u are considering getting SPS and clams, which depletes the calcium very fast, u should consider getting it coz it produces a constant level of calcium, which are craved by the SPS and clams. U can also do dosing from premixed bottles but it is not as effective as a reactor. So, if u plan to keep hardies, that is one equipment that u should be looking into. An average one will set u back from close to over 1K. If not, the calcium content in the water changes will suffice, thus, it still very much depends on what u have inside your tank at the end of the day.

[kelstorm]

Wave Maker: To generate currents for current loving corals like Xenia. Refer to Circulation.

I do recommend that during this weekend, do get a couple of books to read up and find out more of what u wanna keep and what are the basic things u should be considering. In that way, u can narrow down what u want. there are too much info available thus the giddiness in your head It is not a optical illusion but just that your brain is trying to absorb everything and confusing u.. hahaha.. :P having a book, u can always refer back to it for some info should u not able to get an instant answer on the net. Also, should u decided against keeping it, at most, u had only invested in a book for additional knowledge and can also use it as a paper weight or donate it to me

Lastly, set a budget for yourself. it is very easy to blow the budget. identifying what u want to keep will give u an idea of what equipment to get.

A few things i wun save. Filters, Skimmers. They are the heart of the system. Lightings depends on what u wanna keep.

[ranmasatome]

Woa!..thats a lot...thanks Kel.
i've decided to go build up my sump/refugium first then when i've saved enough i'll start this tank up with a really good skimmer and Filter/sump/refugium....maybe i should look into getting the 2229 and then together with the sump/refugium it should work.....thanks so much for the help..it will be helpful when i'm in the process of setting this tank up. I've just realised that i shouldn't be rushing into things....so i've calmed myself down and am going to take this slow but the right path.. Thanks again..

Should i grow macroalgae instead in the sump cos a denitrator cost soooo much...?

[kelstorm]

[quote:5f8fa11f63="ranmasatome"]
Should i grow macroalgae instead in the sump cos a denitrator cost soooo much...?[/quote:5f8fa11f63]

u can...if u want... but most ppl just change water..