Salt Water Tank

[Jay_Bunny]

Well I broke down and got a salt water tank. Its not much right now. Actually its not even filled with water. I just moved the 20L where I want it to be and I'm about to start setting it up. I have a Millennium 3000 filter, live sand, 4lbs of live rock and thats it. The guy at the LFS said I wouldn't need a light till I start putting corals and inverts into the tank. I'll have pictures to come tomorrow once I can find my camera.

[python.princess]

whatcha gonna put in it?

[Jay_Bunny]

Mostly corals and inverts. I already have one invert that was quite unexpected. I have a little starfish thingy in the tank. It washed off the live rock when I was filling the tank. Cute little bugger. Teeny tiny though.

[SleepyPenguin]

You are going to want about 20lbs of live rock. I would recommend getting an aquaclear filter and converting it into a refugium. You can pm me if you have any questions, I have been keeping "smaller" reefs for a number of years now.

[Jay_Bunny]

I will be adding the live rock over time. The LFS sells it for 10.99/lb. I have the two pieces of rock sitting side by side and the water is all in there. I actually have an extra 5 gallons. I still need to put the live sand in and I'm about to do that now. And then I'll get the filter going.

So what should be my next step. I plan on taking in water every week for testing. How do I go about cycling this tank?

[chupster]

So what should be my next step. I plan on taking in water every week for testing. How do I go about cycling this tank?

invest in a 'master test kit' .. API makes a good one. liquid drop test. make sure it's for salt water. it beats having to take your water in to heara 'looks good' from the pet store..

cycling a saltwater?

check out reefcentral.com and nano-reef.com

never done saltwater... I'd love to see it when it's done

[Sunny1]

Ooooooh!! I'd love to have a saltwater tank setup someday.

I'd love to see pics too!! Good luck with it!!

[Jay_Bunny]

I would invest in a master test kit but I think it would be cheaper for now to use them to do my testing. They are not a petstore but a Salt Water Fish Store and specialize in salt water. The ONLY things they sell are for salt water fish tanks and after talking with them a bit, I trust them. The guy who owns the store sets up tanks for businesses around the area and the tanks always look healthy and beautiful. They charge like 50c a test. As soon as i can find my camera I'll take some pictures. Its not much. Just some sand and two rocks.

[AF4]

Congrats, I just set one up a month and half ago myself. One way to speed up the cycling process a bit would be to add one or two uncooked cocktail shrimp to the tank and just let them decay.

When it comes to lighting, the difference between PC (Power Compact) and Metal Haliade is to be debated. As long as you have the right wattage per gallon of water for what you plan to put in there you'll be fine. Good luck, it's exiciting and frustrating, but there is so much information out there, you can find almost anything.

[SatanicIntention]

Petsmart.com has really good prices on their master test kits. I have the freshwater one and it's been very nice to have.

Plus, if you have a PMart in your town, you can print off the webpage, and they will price-match at the store.