[DA KING]

Hello and I am new at this whole saltwater set up, I just got a 46 Gallon bow tank and stand. So far all I have done was hook up the Marineland Canister Filter and added in some sand. I have yet to buy my skimmer, my heater and any other equipment I am going to need. That is why I am here, so if you like to answer questions and help, I am your guy because I have a ton of questions all advice is welcome. Thanks.

[teriyakithunder]

welcome to RB! ask away!

[Mr.Silverblood]

welcome, i find this site very usefull and everyone is very nice and experienced. id say get some live rock in there asap as well. i let my tank run for 2 and a half months with just sand, rock, water, and filter. seemed to cycle better that way, i found patience goes the extra ten yards in a marine aquarium. good luck

[IceMan]

if i may i'd reccomend petsolutions to get your rock from, i got mine from them and though it's considered partially cured it was fully cured on arrival, i never had any cycle spikes in my system at all.

[DA KING]

before i buy my rock should i have already added my salt and when it comes to rock how can i tell if it is cured or not. i am realllllllllly a newbie when it comes to this so i want to learn the right way... trust me i am patient

[IceMan]

yes, get your salinity right first, then (if i were you) add rock then sand, if your rock is placed then sand added it will be more stable.

when you have it all in and skimmer running let it alone for about a week n test your water, then go from there... if the rock is fully cycle you should see 0 amonia, 0 nitrite, and nearly 0 nitrate. this is assuming you order LIVE rock not so called dry liverock. dry live is an oxymoron. if you go with dry rock the whole game changes.

[DA KING]

i have already added my sand to the tank, will this be a problem when adding the live rock i plan on getting some today from the LFS... i want to get it cured already being that i am new to this... or should i just buy it uncured and learn how to do it myself?

[IceMan]

no, you do it the way you want, this is your toy... neither is a wrong way. as to the sand you're ok on that too, just try to nestle the rock into the sand as much as posible, twist it a lil to get it close to the glass floor.

[DA KING]

I was reading an article on the saltwater set up and wanted to know if the canister filter i got is okay to use with my saltwater tank or do i just need a protein skimmer? i will be getting my live rock from the LPS maybe on thursday along with my skimmer and wanted to know if i really needed this canister filter?

[demonsquirt]

In a new setup the canister filter does little to no good. Your reef tank is an actual piece of a large reef system. Many problems take time , months to yrs , to appear and only makes it more confusing by then as you are lead to think it must be something other then your basic setup.

You need good water movement from powerheads. This is what supplys oxygen and controlls PH and algea and keeps your beneficial bacteria at check.
Then Your LR and LS are your best bio filters converting ammonia and nitrate into harmless nitrogen but if flow is low then it only collects these unwanted elements.

For any long term success you need to learn and understand the basics.

[DA KING]

so if the canister filter isn't doing me any good, what do i need other than the protein skimmer and the LR and LS?

[demonsquirt]

Powerheads for water movement.You want atleast 20 times exchange. Example , a 50 gallon would need 2 powerheads rated at 500 GPH each. Your canister will help filter any loose debris but thats about it.
Just keep it clean or it will become a nitrate collector.

[DA KING]

Cool thanks a lot...

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by DA KING

so if the canister filter isn't doing me any good, what do i need other than the protein skimmer and the LR and LS?

it IS helping you... the cleaner you keep your water the better.

[IceMan]

Originally Posted by demonsquirt

Powerheads for water movement.You want atleast 20 times exchange. Example , a 50 gallon would need 2 powerheads rated at 500 GPH each. Your canister will help filter any loose debris but thats about it.
Just keep it clean or it will become a nitrate collector.

Actually you need a min. of 10x per hour not 20… It would also depend on the corals in the tank so either as a blanket statement is a lil vague… if we are talking about an SPS tank then I could see the min. 20x but considering this is a new setup thread I hope it’s not an SPS tank… for many corals that would be found in a newer tank 20x might actually be too much flow.

[DA KING]

Today I got my LR (about 25lbs) I also picked up some powerheads being that they were 50 percent off. I had water in my tank, but I took it out being that it was tap water and it was told to me that it would be better to start out with a filtered water. I did the mixture of salt and water as it said to on the bag, but now it looks like the water is a bit cloudy or it looks as if the salt have yet to dissolve. How long will this look this way or should it look this way.

[IceMan]

point your power heads down to keep th salt churning... should be good n mixed in th morn. check your salinity though... the label isn't always accuraate, run your heater n get the temp up too, this will give you a more accurate reading.

[DA KING]

Thanks alot with this one. How much is too much LR for a tank. I was thinking about going back getting about another 30lbs or so so I can have my LR already in the tank and have it in place where I want it, but I only have a 46gal. tank, so how much LR is too much LR.

[teriyakithunder]

i think most people say go with 1 lb/gal. but really its how much you like and perfer since its your tank. i have about 75 lbs of live rock in my 60 gal with fish and no coral.

[IceMan]

a good rule of thumb is 1 - 1.5lb per gallon, but then density of the rock would cause the value (bio value) to swing, if you have very light porouse rock great and less rock will do more for you, if dense rock you will need more of it to do th same job.

[DA KING]

I picked up some more live rock on Sunday, today i realized that there was something crawling on the rocks, then after looking a bit more I noticed something that appeared to a slug, can someone tell me what that is.

[IceMan]

gonna need pictures my friend... there is about a billion things that fit that description

[DA KING]

as soon as i can get some in focus i will upload them, but how can something live out of water for at least two hours that belong in water? plus the little bug thing goes in the holes it seem like everytime i see it..

[IceMan]

you will continue to be amazed trust me! God made many wonders but the reefs have to be one of the most amazing.

[DA KING]

could it be something that i need to be worried about? can it be harmful to the tank?