Setting Up My First Tank

Alright guys, I've decided to jump into the saltwater hobby! I've purchased a 29 gallon Eclipse aquarium, and I have lighting (two 24" T8s/T12s, was told with one 20k and one actenic that would be enough for hard corals), filtration (biowheel with live rock when I get it, and probably a skimmer), and a heater (150 glass). Oh and 30lbs dry sand. I plan on getting a powerhead, and live rock, obviously.


I'm waiting until I move up to BSU to my house for school to stock it though. So my biggest concern right now is getting all the rock, water, and stocking the tank once I move up there. In Bemidji, Friendly Fins closed down I believe, so all I have left is some new pet shop, I checked em out, they have like one 40 gallon breeder tank with some saltwater fish in it. Besides that, the only thing I think I could get there would be mixing salt and maybe a powerhead. Otherwise will I have to drive all the way to Duluth just to go to a decent fish store? Thanks guys!

Nice if you plan on corals u will deff need a skimmer !

Do you want a reef? That setup you bought doesn't have much for lighting really, you will be able to keep most soft corals and some easy hard corals like candy canes, frogspawn and the like but if you get into reefkeeping you will be tossing that setup and upgrading within the year guarenteed. I wouldn't use the biowheel, they are a nitrate trap and not needed for saltwater. For live rock I would look into buying from other members or online, most pet shops are pretty overpriced on rock, I wouldn't pay over $4 a pound max, there's a decent store in Cloquet, I would stay away from the one in Hermantown personally, way too $$$, and they have pests, there's one in Superior that's new.

I'd like to keep a few soft/hardy corals, but I realize how ill-prepped the tank is for real reefkeeping, and I'm not planning on doing too much with this tank. This is more just to get me into saltwater decently cheap. It'll be easier on my stomach buying a huge tank later if I get this one up and running first! lol

Can anyone point me towards good online vendors for rock? I've seen a bunch, but the reason I wanted to go through an LFS was because I'd like to pick out the rock, so I can get my aquarium aquascaped the way I want it.

Lol! Nothing in this hobby is cheap, especially not the inevitable upgrades, just trying to save you some wasted money, I bought all sorts of crap we totally didn't need based on pet store advice, struggled for a year, then shelled out the big bucks for what I really needed. Starting cheap a lot of people get discouraged with the limits and quit. Honestly in hindsight it would have been better to save up, research, buy everything I needed at once and have a decent setup right off the bat. For rock I've gone through LiveAquaria, Blue Zoo Aquatics is good as well. You can also buy some dead dry base rock through bulk reef supply.

"Honestly in hindsight it would have been better to save up, research,
buy everything I needed at once and have a decent setup right off the
bat."

Me 2 that woulda been the bee's knees ! Not that its ever 2 late 4 that! But most expierience and knowledge comes with expierience lol but i suppose expiermenting with the best is always nice

Dead base rock, is that just rock that's flatter/wider? Also dumb question but how DO some of you guys aquascape? I've heard of drilling, gluing, all kinds of different stuff.

Base rock is just dried out live rock, it comes in any shapes/sizes but is cheaper and you get more by the pound since it's not soaking wet. You can do some base rock, get some quality live rock and let it all cure, you can use epoxy to glue the rocks together, acrylic rods if you want rock towers, you can really get creative. I usually just go with the balancing act but HomeDepot and Mnreefcrazy on here have rods in their rock.

Rods will really give u nice look i just have towers or piles though wish i woulda went with drilled way !

Rods seem cool, but I don't have the equipment for it. What kind of epoxy would I need to glue them together? I'm guessing LFSs sell it?

Just on way out the door but eco-rox from bulk reef supply is the way to go just get some of that and a few ponuds of live rock.... will explain more later but that IMO would be the way I would do it if I was starting over. I am in Bemidji so I can help out if you need.

Garrett

Do u recommend gluing or drilling and using rods ? What kind of rods do u use acrylic ?

Home Depot, do you by chance work at Home Depot? lol

TMF89 wrote:Home Depot, do you by chance work at Home Depot? lol

no I dont ...lol I drillrd my rock and used fiberglass rods that you would use at the end of your drivway.works really well. checkout bulk reef supply down in the cities before you head up here that eco-roxs is some nice stuff ,I have some in my tank.

Nice thanks! if I ever start over i will be going with drilled route !

I'll take a look at them, I had no idea they were even local, lol.

My next question is what do I need for a cleaner crew? I'm trying to keep the amount of snails as low as possible, I just don't find them appealing. Suggestions??

Also, has anyone ever ordered fish from Friendly Fins in Bemidji? I was in there the other day, and the lady at the counter said they could order pretty much any fish for me. Has anyone had experience with these guys before? Or know where they get their fish from?

order a pre set cleaning crew from Live aquarium or similar or jump in on group invert order I think they were doing blue zoo ?

A group invert order?

In the group order topic yes i don't think they have ordered yet ?

Is your tank cycling yet? When you get your rock you will need to start the timer over again anyway, but it would not be a bad idea to put in your sand (if you want to use sand, some people go with a bare bottom) and salt water, start your pumps and lights and timers. Do you understand "cycling"? It took me months to understand just what cycling is. You will also want to join one of the big clubs. (Just more information at your finger tips) thereeftank.com or www.3reef.com or reefcentral.com tcmas.org for a twin cities club. And of course we ain't chopped liver. We are a great resource and most clubs have the "pay it forward" philosophy, and I can only speak for myself, I OWE the folks on frozen ocean more than they ever got from me. So I for one will be happy to help with ideas, info, and many spare items that will accumulate with this hobby. I have only been reef keeping for a year.

I belong to several clubs and live in Duluth. (www.lsmac.org) aka Nannook, (club sectretary) we are having a club meeting (and bbq this weekend, let me know if you want to road trip and if there are things you need. I will give Jay and Lori a heads up on extra plate or two.

So bring me up to speed, is there water in your tank yet? Be careful with used sand, LR (live rock) etc, many fresh water items can be contaminated with copper, (deadly to saltwater life forms). I have a fairly large amount of aragonite sand that I will give you. Enough for your cube anyway, let me know if you want a deep or shallow sand bed. If you don't have plans to come to Duluth in the next few weeks we can try to do a relay. I drive a bit with my job and I can try to get some LR or sand relayed to Grand Rapids. 219-721-4692 cell number, email nicholas.krumrei@xerox.com will come across my blackberry. c'ya Nick

Thanks for the offer! I bought 30lbs of sand from Petco, non-live, just saltwater aquarium sand. I was planning on buying my rock dry from Bulk Reef Supply (I'm fairly close to them), and just adding some bacteria formula and maybe the shrimp method to get it going. But I might take you up on that relay offer in a couple weeks when I'm up in school. Maybe a couple pounds of rock or a cup of sand to help the cycle get going? Thanks again.

FYI my tank was started with all dead sand and dry rock from BRS. It took longer to cycle but it was worth it to not have any pests...

I tried the bacteria suppliments and it just made it worse. Just use one bit of it then let it go on its own. It will work out in the end for sure.

The BRS rock is nice because you can drill it easy to get the placement you want. I wish I did that in mine and will be doing it when I upgrade for sure.