AHHHH!!! First SW tank w/ noob Q's!

OK, I just want to say hello first! Now, I've been researching for hours a day every day and would like you guys opinions.

Right now I have a 75g with stand and single t5 bulb thats purple(t8?Came with tank purchase). I also have a RO/DI unit.

Now, I would like to know the bare necessities needed to start to cycle my tank while I gather the rest of my supplies. I'm going to start out with fish and inverts tank but in the future would like to add some polyps, nothing major. NO SUMP!

Items I think I need to start a cycle:

Salt
live rock
live sand
1 single shrimp to kick start cycle
test kit
Hydrometer

Is this it?

Do I need a powerhead during the cycle?

Future items on the buy list include:

Eshopps protein skimmer HOB
2, 1000+ power heads w/wave maker
Reef Breeders 120w LED light

Do I need a filter of some sort, I've read plenty that the sand/rock/skimmer/inverts are enough but my LFS guy said I would definitely need some sort of filter, recommended a Marineland Emperor 400 biowheel 3 n 1 filter, wasn't expensive and HOB, needed and any good?

Something really important that I'm missing?

I will have algae growth is that correct during this phase? Should it correct itself or is that what the CUC is for after its cycled?

Thanks!
Jonas

 

Welcome, good to see you're researching the hobby before diving in, you'll be an addict soon!

Your list was fairly good for what you need to start. However, you don't absolutely NEED live sand really, it's a bit of smoke & mirrors as you can make dead sand "live" fairly easily. You can take a cup of established sand from another tank or your live rock will seed the dead sand.

I would recommend a refractometer for testing the salinity, I find hydrometers can be inaccurate due to temp/etc. I would also invest in a heater too, as you don't want to forget that, it's not essential to cycling but you're going to need it anyway. I would recommend an Ebo Jager, my fav brand.

Cool on the RO/DI unit, that I think is one of the essentials of the hobby. Getting into the habit of making your own water will be beneficial as you get farther into the hobby. You also won't have to worry that you're adding anything negative to the tank because your water will be pure from the start.

For a 75g I would say 80lbs-100lbs of live rock would be great if you can afford it. That will really jump start your cycle, you won't need a raw shrimp, well I never used anything but my live rock to cycle. You can also do 40% live rock and 60% dead rock to save on cost. The live rock (like the sand) will seed your dead rock over time.

In terms of a process, this is what I did to get my new tank up and running:

- filled it with pre-mixed RO/DI saltwater with salinity at 1.023-1.025
- added sand (1lb per gallon is a good # to go by) so for you, 80lbs or so
- run some type of mechanical filtration (with sponge/filter floss) to clear the floating debris you will get when you add the sand.
- throw in some powerheads once the cloudiness subsides get things flowing
- If you must use an HOB I would recommend an Aquaclear model
- run your system for a few weeks and test for the cycle
- come to 3reef and post pics and ask any questions

Ultimately if you have good live rock and a skimmer you won't need any type of filtration if you do regular water changes. I ran a 55g non drilled reef with just an HOB skimmer (that had a media compartment to run carbon or other media) and lots of live rock (+ was good on maintenence). If you got an Aquaclear HOB that would mainly be for keeping the water clear of debris & running media.

Just get used to maintenence, learning how to make the water, making sure you have fresh RO/DI water to top-off the tank as water evaporates your salinity will rise so you'll need to keep on top of it. Making a schedule will keep your tank healthy.

Those are just some of the basics I can think of.

Hope that helps a bit!

 

Thanks, that was very informative!

So I can feel out the need for the filter when its cycling or just afterwards?

I don't think I need a heater, I'm in South Texas and my room never gets too cold, that's why I want the LED lights so I don't have to deal with the extra heat in my room.

Also, could you touch on my algae question please:

I will have algae growth is that correct during this phase? Should it correct itself or is that what the CUC is for after its cycled?

Thanks!

 

The initial algae blooms will die off as they use up the nutrients generated by the cycle. As you add livestock and start feeding, some may return, and that's when I like to add the CuC.

You'll need powerheads or some type of circulation during the cycle.

Also, although I do run a HOB, it is mainly for surface circulation and media bags with GAC. I do not run filter pads.

 

Dont get all live rock. Live rock comes with a whole heap of nasty stuff that screws around with everything. Im my opinion get all DRY rock, and seed it with one or two peices of live rock.

Not the other way around. This method is far safer and far cheaper.

 

Having an HOB filter on the tank when you initially set it up will definitely be good to clean the water of all the debris you'll get from the sand/rock. You will def speed up the process of getting the water nice and clear if you wanted to run carbon or something like that. The AquaClear HOB's are sweet because they give you a tiered basked that you can either fill with say filter floss or you can put 3 different types of media.

If you think you can get by without the heater for now, just at least get a temp probe, Coralife has cheaper nice ones. You'll want to keep things around 78-82 as if you get some hitchhikers in your live rock you'll want to keep them alive if they are positive ones. Also really try to keep that salinity within a good range if you want to add inverts initially you will need to keep it within that 1.023-1.025 range for them. Fish are much more tolerant of lower salinity levels but inverts aren't.

As for algae growth, you most likely won't see much as your tank cycles (unless it's in front of a window ). You don't really need to use your light unless you have some corals that came on your live rock. After your cycle is done (as you test), you should do a large water change, say 50% or so. From then on as you start to add fish or inverts you will experience a diatom bloom at some point. This will look like a rusty brown algae/powder, it's completely normal for new tanks. This will go away on its own. If you keep up with maintenence you will see coraline algae start to grow, purples, multi colored, that's a good thing. You can never get away from basic algae on the glass as your tank matures that's inevitable. It really all has to do with your light source, your maintenence, feeding, water quality, etc.

This is all based on you using only RO/DI water and nothing that would cause a nutrient spike in your system. If you used tap water to fill the whole tank up with, it's definitely possible you could see an algae bloom at any point from all the stuff that is in tap depending on how your local water is.

So, moral of my story, def start with RO/DI and stay with it, it will save you algae headaches.

 

Thansk Bill!

Ryan, that is how I plan to do it, keeps the unknown critters away and is also cheaper allowing me to spend the saved money on better equipment.

Trying to decide between Marco or Tampa Bay dry rock, then I'll seed it with a cured live rock from my LFS

 

Also, going with less complication/clutter would a combo protein skimmer and filter AIO unit be good?

Something like this?

Reef Octopus BH 100F Hang on Back Protein Skimmer with Filter System - AquaCave.com

 

Thank goodness you're using RODI water; when I started my first tank with just tap water, I got algae in virtually all colors of the rainbow (total nightmare). In terms of rock, personally I'd buy only live rock from a good online source, like Liveaquaria. I'm not saying that going with dry rock and then seeding with live rock is bad, but when you have just live rock, you already start with all the beneficial life that will aid in acting as biological filtration. That would also speed up the cycle, and you also might have some pretty cool hitchhikers.

 

I am in the LR fan club. The only negative from 75 lbs was a mantis shrimp, that is living comfortably in my sump. Otherwise, I love the rest of the HH's I think 50%/50% is a good live/dry mix personally.