# In with both feet



## Jebaidah (Apr 25, 2010)

I have had freshwater tanks for years but have just taken the plunge to saltwater and knowing nothing about marine tanks the past couple months have been spent doing alot of reading. I now have my new tank setup and am ready for live rock, maybe. I have a 110 gallon tank, 48x18x30 so its farley deep. Its on a stand with a overflow box and a 36 gallon sump. I Picked up a SWC 150 BMK skimmer which is working great. Got my salintiy, ph, temp, etc etc all right and its been running for about a week with an inch of course sand. I think I am now ready to drop some live rock in. Can anyone suggest a good place to buy live rock. I will be putting LED lighting on the tank eventually but will be using a couple 400 watt metal halides right now so lighting should be good or is that to much. Also can anyone suggest the first thing I should put in myy tank (fish,crab,snail,etc) I plan on doing a reef tank with some hard and soft corals with fish. Will worry about that down the road. Thanx for any advice you can give me. Anything I should be doing?


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## JulieFish (Apr 8, 2011)

I'd suggest getting your live rock from classifieds like the buy/sell section on here - best prices and best rock in my opinion because it hasn't been shipped a great distance like some of the stuff in stores, and it should be crawling with beneficial life since it's aged... the older the better as long as it's not covered in aiptasia. Right now it looks like one member is clearing out rock from a 90 gallon tank in the hardware and dry goods section, so you could try to hit that up if you can make the trip to brantford. Otherwise, post a "wanted" ad in the saltwater livestock section and see who has some. Another place to look is kijiji or craigslist, there is always some live rock for sale there too.

I don't know much about metal halides as I went straight to LEDs so I'll let someone else answer that

Generally you put in the live rock and then after about a week or 3, you will see lots of diatoms (brown film) on the glass and everywhere in your tank. This means it's time for some snails and maybe crabs if you want them. After the diatom bloom subsides, take 'er slow but you can start adding other stuff like fish and corals (but take it really slow to be safe, at least until you start to get the hang of it).

Research is key. Just keep reading.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

JulieFish said:


> Research is key. Just keep reading.


+1

Your tank is quite deep for a beginner reef. You'll need good lighting to penetrate down to the bottom, but go with whatever. T5's have come a long way; LED's are always improving, MH's are good but expensive and hot. Look at tanks on RC that are as deep as yours and read up on what lighting they had success with. But if you're still cycling, then lighting isn't like super-crucial just yet, though you should figure out what you want now, as cheap lighting isn't worth it.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

2x400w MH's will put quite a dent in the pocketbook in the cost of hydro. Also, if you want to create the dawn/dusk effect w/T5HO, that's another cost/DIY work to consider. I've used 6xT5-HO's (from back to front) on 36"H systems and LPS do quite well on the bottom.

From a brand new $ perspective, you will spend more for a mid-range 4x400w MH + 2 or 4x54wT5HO lighting system w/bulbs ($1100 (SE) $1400 (HQI)+HST+shipping) vs the upper midrange cost of ATI SunPower 6xT5HO w/bulbs ($690+HST+ shipping). Teks are another option but get the Elite for the active cooling; $405+bulbs+HST+shipping.

If you are considering SPS...LEDs

JME/2C


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

wtac said:


> .........
> 
> JME/2C


I always chuckle when I see that. I think Wilson's "2 cents" is worth a lot more than just 2 cents!


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## Jebaidah (Apr 25, 2010)

Thanx for the advice any thoughts are welcome. I mentioned 400watt metal halides as I already have two of them. I plan on replacing them with leds within 2 months so power won't be an issue. I was also going to replace my pump. Does anyone have any suggestions for a make that is good. I was also considering an inline UV as well. Is that worth getting?


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Ah, gotcha . With 2x400w MH's running as the system is cycling, have it on sparingly if there are no light requiring corals as you will have a higher chance of encountering nuisance algae blooms of sorts.

UVS...they have their purposes but you must identify your need for it. For free floating bacterial and algal blooms, an 18w with ~500gph flow through will work well. If you want it for prevention of bacterial and parasitic infections, you are better off setting up a quarantine system in terms of cost, UV bulb replacement every 9-12months, quartz sleeve maintenance, etc.

For proper UVS in a reef system, you will need a high aquarium to sump turnover rate of at least 15x to realistically lower infectious particles/"nasties". For a 100% kill/"zap" rate, a higher wattage UVS is required for high water flow and the UVS must be inline of the aquarium-sump cycle and not "by passed to". Taking all that into consideration, it doesn't "fit" into typical reefing methodology on larger systems for many reasons.

For pumps are you looking for submersible or external?

JME/2C


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

50seven said:


> I always chuckle when I see that. I think Wilson's "2 cents" is worth a lot more than just 2 cents!


LOL...thanks 50seven


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## kylel (Feb 20, 2011)

Jebaidah said:


> I think I am now ready to drop some live rock in. Can anyone suggest a good place to buy live rock.
> 
> If you can't find any from the classifieds, I just got some from Aquatic Kingdom for 2.99/lb. It's not the most mature looking rock I've seen, but the price is right.


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