here i go!!, new reef system, am i doing it right??

[howman1]

hi, this is my first post
on tuesday, i bought a system off ebay, 75 gallon acrylic with 90 pounds of live rock, 40 pounds of live sand, live coral, 2 starfish, tomato clown. i transported 50 gallons of water (sand, rock, etc.) in 5 gallon drums--set it up in my house that night (adding 25 gallons of salinated water that was sitting for 24 hours)
-i have not yet set up protein skimmer (need a pump) or uv sterilizer or metal halide 175 watts (2 pendants)--forgot the ballasts but they should be arriving soon.

for filtration, the guy told me to put live rock and sand in sump, i also put pouch of high quality carbon, added reef builder, marine buffer, iodine and some calcium

am i doing it right?
should i get a reverse osmosis system (which one?? and where??)
i have a lot of nice coral, mushrooms and other stuff i want to keep alive, so help....i appreciate suggestions.

howard

 

[Jeff Hood]

Next purchase should be several books on reef keeping. Its good for getting started and as a referance when things WILL go wrong. Sounds like you have gotten some good advice but you need to do some research next to educate yourself. That will allow you to go to the next level.
Yes also you will benefit from a R/O unit but consider adding a DI unit with it. Also get some good Calcium and alk. test kits so you are not just dumping in those additives blindly.
Welcome to the Obsession


Jeff

 

[Reefer2b]

Howard, don't worry about the RO/DI unit right now. Get your water for water changes from a local marine store. But get those lights and protein skimmer up and running. And Jeff is right, read read read. Books...not just posts.

 

[carolina98]

Right-O! Plus, I wouldn't add any more chemicals until your new system has had a chance to stabilize. Take it slow; nothing good ever happened fast in a reef aquarium. (keep repeating it, over and over) Once you get the corals placed, try to leave them where you put them. At least for now.

And, ditto on the books, for sure! The Consciencious Marine Aquarist, by Bob Fenner, or The Natural Reef Aquarium, by John Tullock are both good, comprehensive books.

Welcome to reefs.org, and Good Luck!

 

[Anonymous]

howman1:
where did you get this set up?
have you been up to Inland Reef across the border in downtown Nashua, NH?
dang nice store, and good advice free of charge.
as for your questions;
the UV might be a hinderance in the long run. you could be killing off beneficial micro-organisms as well as harmful types.

75 gal tank is a nice size. i wish i had gone that route rather than my 55.

if you have the $ get both RO & DI.
i have a unit from Kent marine, and it is okay. Spectrapure might be a better unit.

hope things go well for you.

[ August 04, 2001: Message edited by: moe_k ]

 

[davelin315]

Don't worry at all about the R/O system for now. For the first 8 years of reef keeping, I never used R/O water, just tap with straight dechlorinator in it. Never had a problem. I switched to R/O water recently though, because I found a cheap unit at Home Depot and decided to add it for my reef, birds, my wife's rabbits, and myself.

 

[Anonymous]

dave, your tap water quality must be pretty good.
in boston, however, the tap water has lots of silicates and phosphates in it.
so whether or not howman1 needs RO would depend on his tap water quality.
granted there are other sources for RO than a home unit. many supermarkets have large RO systems in place and a gallon of their water costs 25 cents or something.

 

[howman1]

ok, here is my update.
i just came back from petco and purchased a pump for my seaclone protein skimmer (145 gph--doesn't seem to be doing much)
-i will go to supermarket to find ro water
-i saw some advertised on ebay (reefpure) that have ro and di for 150-$200 with shipping, any opinions, or just go to home depot??
-hopefully tomorrow i will have the ballasts to put in the lighting (now i have a 20 watt flourescent) tomorrow 2 175watt metal halide pendants!!!
-i am going to purchase some zoomed pumps and some rio pumps (water circulation in tank and the uv sterilizer) also probably another stronger pump for protein skimmer (250 gph aqua systems),
-any suggestions for a water test system??
-also thinking of stress coat, more marine buffer and reef builder, trace elements and reef complete

-best store i have seen in my area is tropical isle aquarium in framingham,,,

howard

 

[Anonymous]

hi howman1,

-don't get the Rio pumps. the big ones burn out. Maxijet is good if you're looking for powerheads. similar price range.

- test kits: i like FasTest and SeaTest. get the combo tests for each. FasTest = ammonia, nitrite, nitrate (high range), and pH. SeaTest = phosphate, nitrate (low range), and calcium (i think i got that right).

-Tropic Isle is too expensive, and their customer service sucks in my opinion. Inland Reef in Nashua is sooo much better.

 

[jaydse]

remember the heat problem your going to have with them lights. that will be in your next post

good luck. O i forgot the lovely green alge got to love it! get 2 bottles of stress coat 1 for you & 1 for the tank.
one good thing all your answers will be answered here we all went through sleepness nights with the flashlight watching our babys.

 

[howman1]

yet, another exciting update

moe--thanks for the advice, i will stop by the nashua store--i once stopped at a store in salem NH off I-93--any good
there is also a store on vermont border of I-89 in west lebanon which is good,

where is inland reef--what highway

i have a phosphate removal pad--where should i put it
do supermarkets really sell RO water, really, i can't imagine the cashier would know what i was talking about if i asked for "ro water".

thanks to everyone with the posts, this group is very knowledgable

oh, i have a small fan for the lights, i hope it is sufficient,and i am definitely buying stress coat

 

[howman1]

moe,
which manufacturer makes sea test and fastest?

thanks

howard

 

[Anonymous]

howman1: they are made by Aquarium Systems. good simple tests. low cost.
if you want better quality (and have $$$) - LaMotte test kits are the top of the line, i hear.
inland reef is on main street in nashua.
i usually take route 3 north into NH and get off on exit 7, take amherst st. to main st.
go here: http://www.inlandreef.com they have directions, i think.
as far as supermarkets: ask for filtered water, then read the label. usually says "reverse osmosis" on there.

 

[davelin315]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

i am definitely buying stress coat

DEFINITELY DON'T DO THAT FOR A REEF! Stress coat will add all kinds of crap to your water that you don't want. If you're worried about your water, call your city hall and get a water report. You're gonna look pretty silly hauling 75 gallons of water from your supermarket, and good luck finding enough containers for it! Also, you probably don't need a phosphate sponge yet, since you won't have any in your new water if you use a decent brand.

By the way, if you know anyone who works at a hospital, you can also check there for RO water. That's what they use in kidney dialysis units, and they usually have units that will churn out 500 or more gallons per day. Also, check out your local medical supply company (don't know if they have anything there, but I've found a bunch of stuff for my systems in very wierd places).

 

[Anonymous]

Hey howman1,

I just thought of more water ideas. You know those Poland Spring or Belmont Spring bottled water they use in most offices? Well those empty blue containers are 5 gallons each. You could fill them up w/ RO to help transport.
If you can find an analysis, you might even be able to use their water. I dunno how expensive that is. I'm just throwing out some ideas.
Good luck.