new salt water tank installed

bndrinkin

im new to the site and would like to get some input on what type of brand equipment i should get ie type of heater and so on
starting a new tank 37 gal
i am going to upgrade the lighthing on the kit to 10000k (T5 i believe)
using 40lbs of live sand
20 lbs of live rock
aquaclear filter the one for 40-70 gal
2 powerheads (which ones should i get)
heater (which on should i get)
protein skimmer (which one should i get)

Cody

Sounds good so far. You can mod your Aquaclear into a fuge as well for extra "help."

Koralia Powerheads are great. They put out random flow (high, low, medium) and constantley switch. Very benificial to corals. I think you should get two number 1's. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=15955

You can do whatever you would liek on a heater. One that is shatter proof should be best.

There are a lot of varietys for skimmers. Maybe some one can reccomend one, as I dont have any experience with one.

I think adding a sump to this tank will help immensely (maybe 10 gallons) as well.

Good luck!

bndrinkin

whenyou are talking about #1 you mean this guy
Koralia 1 400 gph 3.5 2-1/4" x 5"

Cody

Yes. One on either side of the tank for maximum flow.

bndrinkin

ok
so i am getting the tank on moday, with lighthing, filter, with live sand, and will get 37gal pre made saltwater from lfs to start so that way i know its perfect water to start. i will get a heater and protein skimmer too. maybe powerheads too. so i do the live rock on day one also? or just do sand and water and heater and protein skimmer on day one then live rock two or three days later. when do i get the cuc going? then when do i need to change 5% of water. i thing about replacing 5% each week. how do i know when it is safe to add fish?

Cody

Its good your asking all of these questions without jumping in. Good man. :)

Everything sounds good so far. I would personally not add the rock the first day. This is where you install everything, water test-it, make sure it works, ect ect. I would add rock a day or so after.

Do not add any Livestock untill your cycle is complete. CUC should be at least a few days after the cycle.

5% each week is a bit low. I think the cycle will speed up if you even perform this 5% change each day. You could also do 15-20% every 3-5 days.

Fish should be at least 30-40 days after the cycle, if not more. SW fish need a tank with the proper paramaters; this will ensure no one bites the dust early on.

Good luck.

bndrinkin

so
monday get water, sand, heater, skimmer, and powerheads installed. then wednesday add live rock. dont add cuc until tank cycles? or by friday of this week add cuc? how do i know when the tank cycles? sorry for all the n00b questions.

DJOstrichHead

ammonia and nitrite will be at 0 and nitrate will be forming when the cycle is done

Cody

Nitrate will be under 10ppm for FOWLR. Under 2 should be reef.

Your stocking plan sounds good. CUC is after cycle, not on friday.

bndrinkin

so monday
just do live sand, heater, powerheads protein skimmer and filter. what about live rock? when can i put that in?

once tank cycles then add cuc? then how long after putting in cuc do i add 2 fish?


also i play to add coral 3-6 months later
whats FOWLR?

tank is 30x12x22. that should be good right?