samedi 29 mars 2014

First SW Aquarium

Hello Everyone! I'm new to this hobby and I'm very excited. I just started putting my tank together yesterday and I wanted to share what I have and I'm hoping to get some advice that can help be be successful in this hobby. I'm located at out the Tampa/Brandon, FL area.



I'm calling this tank my guinea pig tank, so I can practice for the main show. I have ordered a 100 gallon DSA tank (48"x20"x25") but there is a problem with the company getting the top bracing so it's been pushed back until mid April, which is fine. I'm not in a hurry for it, but I did empty one of my FW tanks, cleaned it and now have it running as SW.



Equipment:

1 - 36 gallon Aqueon Bowfront

40 pounds - CaribSea Arag-Alive Reef Sand

2 - Hydro Wave Pumps - 425gph

1 - Current Orbit Marine LED

1 - Aqueon Pro Heater 100 watt



I currently have the tank set up and I used Instant Ocean to make it the water and I was too impressed. I had a lot of bi product or something. There was a bunch of stuff that never dissolved. I had the water heated to 75 degrees and there was a pump circulating the water. I gave it just over 48 hours to circulate and nothing, it never dissolved, so I tried to strain it as I filled the tank, but I think it's sand because my net was not catching it. I bought Rea Sea Pro Salt for future water changes, but I needed something to get the tank started.



I don't have a skimmer yet, but I was thinking about ordering the Reef Octopus BH-1000 or 2000. Since this tank is not reef ready, I need something to hang on the back. Is a skimmer considered mechanical filtration?



Since this is my first tank I'm not trying to throw on a bunch of equipment, I"m trying to keep it simple. This will be a fish only tank, but my DSA 100 will be full blown reef.



I was thinking about getting a Fluval 306 canister filter to help out mechanical filtration and using it to house additional media. I have read that canister filters can be a breading ground for something, forgot what, but I rinse my filters out once a week anyway so it would not be a problem to keep it clean.



I don't have a testing kit, and I'm going to get one in the next few days. I have also placed an order for 25 pounds of live rock. I didn't want to cram too much in the tank because of it's smaller size.



So now I'm waiting on the rock, going to get a HOB skimmer, and a testing kit. What else should I get or do I need?



Questions:

- Why was there left over debris from the Instant Ocean mix?

- It took about 12 hours for the sand to settle (next time I won't add and then fill the tank, I will only add a few inches of water until everything is settled) but now I have a lot of stuff floating around in the tank and I don't know what it is. Since the tank has not even been running for 24 hours, I can't think of what it might be.

- Should I get some type of HOB or Canister filter to help clear the water up. Right now there is nothing and I understand that is why the tank has flaring debris.



Any other comments, or questions feel to let me know.




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