New guy in Phx AZ

[AZINDY]

Hello everyone.

My name is Shane and I live in Phx with my wife, 4.5 year old son, and my father-in-law. I build performance cars for a local speed shop, and race at the drag strip often. My whole family loves animals, we currently have: 1 hermit crab, 2 gerbils, 2 dogs, 2 cichlid tanks (20 & 50 gallon), and our 8 year old female bearded dragon. Leslie (my wife) takes care of the land creatures LOL, and Homer and I take car of the fish. Well that's a quick run down on me, feel free to ask some ?????

My father-in-law (HOMER nickname) and I have both wanted a salt water tank for as long as either one of us can remember. About a week ago one of Homers friends gave us a 50 gallon SeaClear tank . We decided to make a live reef out of it. I have been doing a lot of research on it since then. And this site has helped the most so I figured I would join the forum. We are noobs to salt water so please bear with us if we ask some dumb question.

Here is a list of things I think we need to get the tank started:
a skimmer
enough power heads to flow over 300gph or more
55-70 lbs of base and live rock
200lbs of sand (I think that might be enough)
stand
lights (not sure which ones gonna check with LFS on that based on critters in the tank)
water heater
water chiller
test kit
salt water (from LFS less chance of me screwing it up)

Please let me know if I am forgetting anything.

[Wiskey]

Hello AZINDY!

I'm in Phoenix too, and work on the Fire and Saftey crew down at Manzi (dirt circle track).

This fourm is really not the best for getting a wide varity of opinions,.. I'd be glad to meet up sometime and discuss tanks with you if you want,.. but in the meantime think you would get more views and more opinions if you posted your questions in GRD. It's always a good idea to get ideas from as many people as possible.

Whiskey

[AZINDY]

Thanks for the tip. Is it ok to just copy this post in the GRD section?

I wouldn't mind meeting up sometime, I can use all the info I can get my hands on.

[Goingpoor]

hello,and welcome to the forum


live sand is only about 1 pound per gallon ,200 pounds is way to much you only wont about 2 to 3 inches of sand on bottom the less the better due to amonia build up,but for live rock you wont 2 pounds per gallon for your biological filtration so i would spend your money more on that then sand...i would ask your lps for bio speria to help get your tank going quick this works very well with adding nitraphing bactria ....For your lighting starting out with Compact Fluorescent Lighting would be good if you dont wont to fork out a huge amount of money for a hqi system...well i hope this helps you out some when you buying at the pet store..Im always open for ?????

[AZINDY]

Thanks for the info. So your saying just use all live sand and not to mix it with regular sand? And if I understand right I would only need about 50lbs of live sand for our tank. That will help make the budget a little easier.

BtW - most our family lives back there in the Fort Wayne area.

[AZINDY]

.....

[Goingpoor]

Ya all you need is 50 pounds and you could mix it if you wonted,but your live rock is the important thing you dont have to buy it all at once i still dont have 2 pounds per gallon my tank is a 180 and i have 220 pounds of live rock,but the more the better...Wish you luck i remeber being where your at right know but its all worth it when you have your tank up and running,and i have noticed my tank is never done lol.....i think your about good on your list....

[AZINDY]

Glad to hear the list sounds complete. Whats the least amount of live rock I should start with? I figured atleast 5lbs, and I planned to wait till I have the proper amount of live rock before we add any fish. But how soon after we start adding live rock should we add a cleaning crew?

[Goingpoor]

Well you dont wont to add anything live till your tank is done cycling and as for the live rock you wont have to wait till you have 2 pounds per gallon to add your fish,you could add them with just the 5 pounds but DONT ADD ANYTHING till its cycled if your lps (local pet store)carries the bio speria this would help you out alot with cycling your tank faster...but with saltwater you defenutly will learn you have all the time in the world because loss is very pricey so patience is a virtue...
oh ya and dont forget your filter theres not one on the list some how i miseed that,and you will probably only need one powerhead on each side of your tank...i dont know if you have a pet smart near you but they have a really nice oculating powerhead thats desent in price....

[AZINDY]

We will more then likely wait till we have around 25lbs or more before adding fish. I was under the impression that I didn't need a filter since I plan to have around 1.5-2lbs of live rock and a skimmer in a 50 gallon tank. Do I need the filter just till the cycling is over in the beginning or will I always need a filter????

[dobejazz]

Originally Posted by AZINDY

We will more then likely wait till we have around 25lbs or more before adding fish. I was under the impression that I didn't need a filter since I plan to have around 1.5-2lbs of live rock and a skimmer in a 50 gallon tank. Do I need the filter just till the cycling is over in the beginning or will I always need a filter????

with enough liverock and a good skimmer you don't need a filter

[Goingpoor]

Will In That Case You Will Defenutly Have To Have More Then 5 Pounds And Good Luck Ive Never Tryed It!I HAVE TO MUCH MONEY INVESTED TO EVEN THINK ABOUT TRYING IT I RUN A 400 GALLON FILTER FOR A 180 GALLON TANK..

[AZINDY]

Originally Posted by dobejazz

with enough liverock and a good skimmer you don't need a filter

What would be considered enough live rock for a 50 gallon tank. I figured 80-85lbs of live rock and a good skimmer. Any advice on which skimmer would work the best, or should I let the LFS I'm going to use help with that? From the research I have done I have one LS close to my house and another on my way home from work. I stopped by the one close to my house this weekend, and it was very impressive to me. The staff seemed to know what they were talking about, and they have a very large variety. The thing I liked the best was that the employees didn't seem to be "fishing for high dollar customers".

[dobejazz]

I would say 50-70 pounds of rock - you can buy base rock and a minimal amount of live rock - it will take longer to get up to speed but is a less expensive way to start out

[Wiskey]

Woh.

I haven't used a standard sponge, or sock style filter for years,.. I have a great skimmer, plenty of flow, about 1LB of rock per gallon, and a good sump setup so the water gets to the skimmer.

Here's a random pic of my 180G SPS tank:


Whiskey