[stephaniesquires]

I'm as new and uninformed as it gets so here go the questions... Purchased a house that had a tank. Hired a "service" to help. Was told the tank needed upgrading as prior owners were DIYers. While on vacation - electicity to tank went out for several days.(everything died...) Tried to get tank back in shape, had new pump(?) system installed but service people flaked and tank declined (stopped the pumps as water level got to low etc..). I decided starting from the beginning was a better option than trying to find a new service. Tank is now empty of water, still has sand and rock. (already posted question about lighting).
Is the sand and rock usable? I would rather buy new if there could be problems..

If you could set up a tank again what would you use and where do I buy it?

I need sand or crushed coral or combo??? What type? How much and where do I get it?

Live rock.. are there different types? Is is better for the worlds oceans to buy "farmed" (do they farm live rock?) or harvested from the ocean?

Water... I have read many posts that seem to say a reverse osmosis system is necessary - (I live in So Cal) - how do I salinate the water?

I will start there and save the rest of the questions once that part is established..

Thank you and please be patient with my inexperience...
Stephanie

[msbdiving]

Welcome. Glad to see there is just me from socal. I would go with sand right off the bat if I could start over again. I plan on switching out my cc for sand within the month. As for using lr, you need to scrub off the dead material and cure it. That alone will save you lots of $$$ instead of pitching it and starting from scratch. Go for 1.5-2lbs per gallon. Wow, that will be a lot of weight, just checked your tank size. As for ro/di, I would definately do this. I made the mistake of using tap water for the first year and regreted it since. You will have many unnecessary battles with water quality unless you go this route. To salinate it is easy, have the water the temp you are desiring, add salt from lfs and check with hydrometer. Since you are going for such a large amount of water, you might want to look into mixing in a rubbermaid type container place on a creeper, and use a pump to get the water in.

[stephaniesquires]

Thanks and Hi from Rancho Cucamonga! I just ordered an under sink RO unit through Aquasana - as soon as it gets here I can start making "fish water". I have a big rubbermaid ice chest in the garage that is hooked up to the tank through the wall - to prevent the water level from getting too low (is there a name for that??). I also have a 50 gallon trash can on wheels with a pump and long hose for changing out water.
Thanks for the tip on the lr - I will scrub it and save lots of $$. How do I cure it?
Do I need new sand or is the old stuff ok??

Thanks you again!

[e_baer]

well, it depoends if you should use the LR anymore.

how long has it been out of water?

either way, you can still use it, but you will also need NEW LR to "seed" the old LR if it was out of water too long.

definately go with sand and not crushed coral.

go with at least a 3 inch sand bed, but the deepr the better.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

A good place to learn about and buy live rock. Marine Aquarium - Live Rock - Corals - Tonga - Fiji - Vanuatu - Marshall Islands

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Get your farmed live rock here. Live Rock - Tampa Bay Saltwater Aquacultured Live Rock

[NATIVEVAMAN]

about sand beds. Deep Sand Beds

[stephaniesquires]

Thanks I checked out Tampa Bay - wow - great stuff. I would love to get one of their packages, are their prices competitive?

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I cant say how competitive they are but I will say there packages contain to much.Those packages cotain so much stuff that they could clear an algea filled tank in a day.Imagine the massacre when you have 100 hungry hermits in the tank with 100 slow moving defenseless snails.I would say 1/2 to 1/3 of there recomendation would be plenty.

[stephaniesquires]

Eeeww - I'm not ready for that massacre! I think I'll just start with their lr and ls and build up the critters a little slower!!

[NATIVEVAMAN]

There is an up side and a down side to the florida live rock.the up side:when they harvest this rock they are allowed to leave corals attached,unlike fiji or other out of country rock.So you may get a few freebies.The down side:Aptasia,get some joes juice with your order lol.And if mantis shrimp could fly they would be the florida state bird lol.You will get some of those too.Currently the state bird of florida is the mosquito lol.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I would also point out that just about every live rock importer works out of La international airport. As close as you are to that you could get a good deal if you pick it up.The other plus is that it will be out of the water from fiji for sometimes less than a day,so its very fresh with a short cycle time.

[stephaniesquires]

What about mixing Fiji and Florida? any pros or cons??

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Mixing different kinds of rock is fairly common.It generally done to mix shapes.Like mixing regular live rock with branch rockI personally dont know if there is anything outstanding shape wise with florida rock.