New Guy New Tank

Mike brown

Reefing newb
Hey all just wanted to say hi and hope to get lots of feed back.
I am new to all of this and am running my tank now. I am on week 4 of my 4 to 6 week cycle I have nothing in my tank but the grunge, gravel 1 very small snail (I just saw it when my lights went off after the 5 hour run) and a spagetti worm under my gravel. I have looked at so many of your tanks and am kind of shocked at what I have and what you all have as for equipment. Let me know if Im ok here.
 

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If I were you, I would take that gravel out, which looks like crushed coral, and get some fine sand, and add alot more rock.
Maybe another powerhead, take the marineland off too, I only use that in emergency carbon needs.
Maybe look into a good skimmer too, if your budget can afford.

Lastly, welcome to the Reef!! :D
 
Im in Sudbury Ontario Canada so I have 1 salt water fish store. the owner that sold me the 75 Gallon tank told me I didnt need the skimmer for the first 6 months. Another power head after I add live rock. Im ok money wise to buy all that but I didnt till I need to. As for the gravel I think your right its a crushed coral I am adding a better picture of it. The marineland has no Carbon filters it it, its running empty for my cycle. So what im getting is to run any filter at all? all the pictures I see is under tank filters. I dont have that, so if I take off the filter what filters it? The live rock that your suggesting? Plz help I want to do this right.
 

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howdy and welcome to the site..:D
the liverock will be your filtration on the tank so the hang on back filter will be unnecessary ( unless like waddi said you want to run some carbon or something to clean up a water situation).. I would also get rid of the crushed coral and get a fine sand( doesnt have to be live sand).. also a skimmer takes a few weeks to really settle in I would throw it on soon and let it get itself settled..
Here is what is meant by liverock
Live Rock and Live Sand: Live Saltwater Aquarium Rock and Sand although you dont have to get live you can get dry and let it become liverock ( will take longer)..
for sand get something like this
Aragamax Aquarium Sand
and ask as many questions as you can to get up and running ..
as far as cleaning the glass I clean the front and sides and leave the back for a background ( when coraline algae grows)
enjoy
 
Im in Sudbury Ontario Canada so I have 1 salt water fish store.
You should really check out J&L Aquatics, its an online store, but is very good, and good customer service too.
the owner that sold me the 75 Gallon tank told me I didnt need the skimmer for the first 6 months.
Probably right abou the skimmer, but I would say you dont need the skimmer for your cycle, and then after that you could add one. I would suggest maybe, Reef Octopus, Vertex maybe. Just look into them and make sure you look at the reviews too. DONT let the fish store guy tell you everything and believe it, most want to make a quick buck outta you. But not all.
Another power head after I add live rock.
Powerheads you should be looking at are maybe 1050GPH, Koralia, are good, which i see is what you got, but it loos to be in the 550GPH area, which you need alot more flow than that, maybe add two more 1050GPH.
As for the gravel I think your right its a crushed coral I am adding a better picture of it.
Crushed coral is a bad substrate really, it collects all nasty things, and can build up alot of nitrates and so on, so while you have no livestock, it will be easier to just scoop it all out with a net, and replace with some sand.
The marineland has no Carbon filters it it, its running empty for my cycle.
Yep you dont need to run Carbon all the time, and you dont need the filter all the time. The only reason i mentioned it is, i use it just for when maybe something is wrong with the tank like some sort of chemical warfare. But if you keep the HOB (Hang On Back) filter, it will build up nitrates also. So i would ditch it till you need it.
So what im getting is to run any filter at all?
Your filter, will be your live rock, you want about 90-100lbs of live rock in the tank, yes it may be expensive, but not all of it has to be live, look into getting maybe a 50lb box of dry, and the rest live rock.
all the pictures I see is under tank filters. I dont have that, so if I take off the filter what filters it? The live rock that your suggesting?
Yep thats right your rock is the natural filter, as for the filters underneath the tanks i assume your talking about either a Fluval filter or a Sump, fluval is like your HOB, dont use it till you need it, and a sump is where you store your equipment like heaters, skimmer, all the stuff that may clutter your tank.
Plz help I want to do this right.
We want you to do it right too! ;)

All your answers are in the red, hope i helped ya out! :D

EDIT:
I got NINJA'd!!
Pesky little ninja's!!! :lol:
 
Taking the crushed coral out and putting rock in (Depending on the die off) May kick up some nitrates, but since you have no livestock, i doubt it will start your cycle, and if your cycle is don and you do this, just do a good water change, and you should be golden.
But you want to get more rock and change the substrate, it will be healthier for the long run, believe me.
 
Ok so I just got the skimmer I hope its the right one. Got it from Petsmart because Petes reef pond was closed. Petsmart does not sell live rock soooooo that will have to wait I guess.
 

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I have heard bad things about it mate, dont use it or open it. You may still be able to take it back. See what everyone else says, but i have heard its a waste of money. Sorry to be the bad news teller.
Look into Reef Octopus.
 
Well that sucks.... Im starting to think I cant do anything right. I didnt wait for a reply and put it in. So I guess I wait and see. Going to get live rock tommorrow as well as another powerhead.
 
although the design is good for that skimmer the problem is the pump, it just doesnt produce the bubbles that you need to maximize the skimmer.. I tried that skimmer just to see how it was.. I wouldnt reccomend buying it but it can be tweeked a little to help it out..
 
Your going to want to have a sump. I'm saying this because I started like you I had two powerfilters and two koralia evo powerheads(no sump). Your sump is a great spot to hide things, it stabilizes your system by adding volume, it offers many ways to filter, grow pods, it will allow you to build a scrubber which is a ton cheaper than a skimmer and running the lights for your sump opposite your tank it will stabilize your PH. Best investment I've made for the system is having a sump.
 
although the design is good for that skimmer the problem is the pump, it just doesnt produce the bubbles that you need to maximize the skimmer.. I tried that skimmer just to see how it was.. I wouldnt reccomend buying it but it can be tweeked a little to help it out..

So I ran it all night an I have bubbles collected at the top I will try and post a good picture later today.
 
Your going to want to have a sump. I'm saying this because I started like you I had two powerfilters and two koralia evo powerheads(no sump). Your sump is a great spot to hide things, it stabilizes your system by adding volume, it offers many ways to filter, grow pods, it will allow you to build a scrubber which is a ton cheaper than a skimmer and running the lights for your sump opposite your tank it will stabilize your PH. Best investment I've made for the system is having a sump.

That is someting I can add later right? and what would you recommend for my 75 gallon as for the size of sump?
 
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