MORE ADVICE FOR ME PLEASE...

by **NAGABEAST** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:54 pm

THANX FOR THE INPUT FROM MY THREAD EARLIER...GREATLY APPRICIATED!!! A MOON LIGHT COMBO SYSTEM??? ANY GOOD 1S OR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ME??? I WAS ALSO LOOKING @ MARINELANDS ECLIPSE FILTRATION & ILLUMINATION SYSTEM WHICH HOUSES LIGHTS & A BIO-WHEEL...IS ANY1 FAMILIAR WITH THIS PRODUCT??? & I ALSO HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIVE SAND...HOW TO PROPERLY SETUP FROM START TO FINISH...I WILL BE BUYING (HOPEFULLY) JAWFISH ONCE MY TANK IS ESTABLISHED SO IM SURE I NEED @ THE VERY LEAST 6 IN. OF SAND BUT HOW DO I SETUP??? IS THERE AN INITIAL CLEANING SIMILIAR TO WHAT YOU DO WITH FRESHWATER GRAVEL??? SHOULD AN UNDERGRAVEL FILTER BE USED OR WILL SNAILS, JAWFISH, ETC. BE ENOUGH TO AERATE & FILTER??? IF IT DOES NEED TO BE CLEANED CAN YOU USE FRESHWATER TO DO IT??? WHAT IS GOOD SAND TO USE??? IS IT BEST TO LAY IT @ THE BOTTOM & GENTLY POUR THE WATER IN OR DUMP IT ALL @ ONCE & LET IT SETTLE (MIND YOU THERE WILL BE NOTHING IN THE TANK)??? SO MANY QUESTIONS...& ANY GENERAL ADVICE I WOULD APPRICIATE...THANX...

by **fihsboy** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:16 pm

find a local fish store......not petco not petsmart........a REAL fish store. buy whats called LIVE sand. No you cant clean it with freshwater.....nor do you want to. You want to let the creatures stir it up.....you should never have to touch it after you put it in your tank. No undergravel filter.......it will just clog and become a nitrate factory. =bad I would continue to do research......(a lot) before you jump in. I made the mistake of just jumping in and making mistakes. It cost me a fortune. Live sand will be dead........if you wash it with fresh water. mix up some salt water......throw the live sand in a clean bucket.....pour some saltwater in and mix it around until it gets cloudy. Clean it up with salt water. Make sure you place rock in your tank before the sand.

by **NAGABEAST** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:34 pm

WHY WOULD I ADD ROCKS 1ST??? ANY PARTICULAR REASON???

by **newbie916** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:36 pm

I really like my Coralife 2x150 Metal Halide, 2x96 PC actinics, and 4 moonlight combo. You could also get the 250 MH's, but I decided to go the lower wattage because of the electricity. However, I still have 5 watts per gallon, which is plenty of light.

Like fihsboy said. Live Sand without the under gravel filter is the best. Also, use 1-1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon. Let your tank sit for three months and do periodic water changes. Let your tank cure first before adding any fish or corals.

by **fihsboy** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:29 pm

rock before sand.........the reason being you can make sure you rock formation is nice and stable.......guy here in my neighborhood called me in frantic.......asked if he could use my tank and if I had any extra buckets of water he could borrow.......he has a 125 with some tangs and wrasses.....but he had stacked his rocks on the sand and just let them sit there........turbo snail dismantled one of those bad boys....right through the glass. of course it was a 50-70lb rock....but he just wanted to keep his stuff alive until he could get to the lfs with it to hold the fishes and corals. LUCKILY.....I had 20 gallons on hand...just enough to hold his fish and a few corals. Moral of this story......put the rocks in first.....put the sand in second........and cement your rocks together with aquamend found at your local hardware store......your going to need probably 10 tubes of this stuff.....but its worth its weight in gold. Also if you leave fingerprints in the cement.......coraline will grow onto it faster. :)

by **puffedupseagull** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:12 am

no bio balls they are nitrate collectors, you will be forever trying to reduce it.

MORE ADVICE FOR ME PLEASE...

6 posts