Hello All,
My name is Melissa and I am a complete newbie to marine aquariums so I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Btw, I do some work in aquaculture but after reading through forums I have come to realize that an at-home reef system is quite the challenge and though some things are the same (protein skimmer, mechanical filtration, etc) a lot of other things like live rocks, cycling, and such are completely new to me. Any help at all, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
I am setting up a 38gallon reef tank and have a couple questions that I hope y'all can help me with so I head in the right direction with all this. Currently, there is 35gallons of saltwater sitting in buckets in my living room :worried: , along with 60lbs of live sand, a brand-new Marineland C-360 canister filter., a 250-watt heater, 2 - T5s, and a hydrometer.
1st Question (LIVE ROCK)
I plan to buy about 30lbs of live rock from a local lfs which takes in dead rock and they have a seeding tank where the owner seeds it himself. The rocks that are in this process of seeding are $4.50 a lb and 60%-80% covered in the purple coraline algae. I can get 100% covered rock for $8.99 a lb from him as well. Another local lfs gets premium live rock from key west covered in life and kool things. I can pick the rocks I want right out of his display tank so I was thinking of getting about 10 - 15lbs. for $8.99 lb out of his display tanks for a total of about 40-45lbs of live rock.
Is this a good strategy? Is it too much live rock? Should I buy all the live rock from the guy that gets it from Key West…(really full of coverage and life)?
2nd Question (Marineland C-360 canister filter)
This canister filter, which now I wish I wouldn't have bought since everywhere I have read sumps seem to be the best option. But I bought it over a year ago and can't return it. I opened it up today and it has like 4-5 different trays of media. Ceramic tube things, carbon, floss, bioballs… I was reading that it may be better to run the canister filter without all this media maybe just leaving in carbon and some floss…
What should be my best media setup w/ this filter? Should I run it per factory instructions or try to modify it before starting it up? And will I need a protein skimmer right now if it's going to be Rock-only for a few months while it cycles?
3rd Question (In what order should I proceed and what else do I need for initial setup)
OK so my tank is completely empty. Should I wait till I have purchased my live rock to then put everything in at the same time…. or should I go ahead and put in my live sand and water, turn on the heater, and run the filter… then add the live rock? And once I put in my live rock what else do I need to add in with my live rock so it keeps on flourishing. I heard strategies of throwing in a dead shrimp and such. Do I need power heads as soon as I get that live rock in there? And same goes for the protein skimmer which I mentioned above, is it needed for initial setup.
Thank you in advance for any help you all can offer. :) It is verrryyyy much appreciated!!! I'm dying to get all this stuff off my floor and into the tank :spin2::fish2:
Cheers!
Melissa :wave:
My name is Melissa and I am a complete newbie to marine aquariums so I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Btw, I do some work in aquaculture but after reading through forums I have come to realize that an at-home reef system is quite the challenge and though some things are the same (protein skimmer, mechanical filtration, etc) a lot of other things like live rocks, cycling, and such are completely new to me. Any help at all, advice, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
I am setting up a 38gallon reef tank and have a couple questions that I hope y'all can help me with so I head in the right direction with all this. Currently, there is 35gallons of saltwater sitting in buckets in my living room :worried: , along with 60lbs of live sand, a brand-new Marineland C-360 canister filter., a 250-watt heater, 2 - T5s, and a hydrometer.
1st Question (LIVE ROCK)
I plan to buy about 30lbs of live rock from a local lfs which takes in dead rock and they have a seeding tank where the owner seeds it himself. The rocks that are in this process of seeding are $4.50 a lb and 60%-80% covered in the purple coraline algae. I can get 100% covered rock for $8.99 a lb from him as well. Another local lfs gets premium live rock from key west covered in life and kool things. I can pick the rocks I want right out of his display tank so I was thinking of getting about 10 - 15lbs. for $8.99 lb out of his display tanks for a total of about 40-45lbs of live rock.
Is this a good strategy? Is it too much live rock? Should I buy all the live rock from the guy that gets it from Key West…(really full of coverage and life)?
2nd Question (Marineland C-360 canister filter)
This canister filter, which now I wish I wouldn't have bought since everywhere I have read sumps seem to be the best option. But I bought it over a year ago and can't return it. I opened it up today and it has like 4-5 different trays of media. Ceramic tube things, carbon, floss, bioballs… I was reading that it may be better to run the canister filter without all this media maybe just leaving in carbon and some floss…
What should be my best media setup w/ this filter? Should I run it per factory instructions or try to modify it before starting it up? And will I need a protein skimmer right now if it's going to be Rock-only for a few months while it cycles?
3rd Question (In what order should I proceed and what else do I need for initial setup)
OK so my tank is completely empty. Should I wait till I have purchased my live rock to then put everything in at the same time…. or should I go ahead and put in my live sand and water, turn on the heater, and run the filter… then add the live rock? And once I put in my live rock what else do I need to add in with my live rock so it keeps on flourishing. I heard strategies of throwing in a dead shrimp and such. Do I need power heads as soon as I get that live rock in there? And same goes for the protein skimmer which I mentioned above, is it needed for initial setup.
Thank you in advance for any help you all can offer. :) It is verrryyyy much appreciated!!! I'm dying to get all this stuff off my floor and into the tank :spin2::fish2:
Cheers!
Melissa :wave:
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