setting up my new tank....

jeff20578

wasnt sure if this was the correct place to post this or not

I am starting the process of setting up my new 55 gallon tank.

I have got a new filter Cascade 700

Bio- Activ live agronite

2 new heaters

salt


Now I have put about 3/4 water in the tank.

What is the best order as far as setting everything up? (ie: filter, sand, heaters ect)

I want to do this the correct way, since the last time i did it I killed everything within a month

Any help/advice would be great.

Also is there anything im missing in order to set it up properly?

thanks

Kellsindell

I replied to your other thread
http://www.fishforum.com/saltwater-a...my-tank-21841/

Jewels

Hi there,
I am unsure whether you are talking about a freshwater or saltwater tank, since you mentioned salt.
If it is a freshwater tank, I can advise you to set it up with full capacity water, sand, plants and heater all running for at least 10 days prior to adding any fish. Then do a 1/3 water change and add the fish gradually....
When I set up my tank after a breakin destroyed the old one, I added my cleaner fish (Catfish, Clown Loach) first, waited another week and then added the other species one week apart. It is now successfully running with apparently more fish then one site member thought possible.....
The idea is to get the water parameters stable prior to addition of any fish, and then add the fish one species at a time, with about a week between the addition of each new species. Get advice from your aquarium stockist about the species that you intend to add. Do a weekly 1/4 water change to keep the water clean, as filters do not remove ammonia or adjust pH. If you set it all up in a month last time, I'm not surprised that you lost the lot.
If you are talking about a saltwater tank, Get into the saltwater part of this site, as I'm aware that water conditions are important with a marine tank, but unsure of the details.
Good luck with it! Cheers Jewels

onefish2fish

Jewels,
a few things regarding your post. first if your going to wait 10 days then add fish why not just add a few fish day 1 to do your cycle with fish? a tank will not be cycled in a 10 day period and i recommend danios over catfish or loaches (which most of both species get way to large for the usual tanks kept)
IMO the best approach would be the fishless cycling method which involves adding ammonia to jump start your cycle. without going into details you can find more on both methods here: http://www.fishforum.com/member-subm...-methods-3067/

in regards to aquarium stockists or fish store employees you have to be careful as to what advice you are listening to. in the majority of cases (not always) employees approach you from a sales person point of view rather then having the best interest in the life of the fish. in alot of cases they seem to sell their fish and when they die people will return to buy more. again this isnt always the case but IMO it is most cases, if you can find a concrete place for your fish needs your better off.
this is the saltwater section of the forum.

the original poster,
your not going to want to use a canister filter (or a HOB filter for that matter) unless you are using them to strictly run carbon (which id personally rather a reactor for anyways)
filters trap detritus and debris building up unwanted nutrients.
is this going to be a FOWLR or a REEF setup?
here are two reads i suggest off the bat but research should not end here
http://www.fishforum.com/member-subm...t-water-19051/
http://www.fishforum.com/member-subm...g-sumps-15930/

Pasfur

I am still not sure if this is a marine tank or freshwater. In my answer, I am assuming it is marine.

If you want to have a successful marine experience, you need to forget about the canister filter. A marine aquarium has NOTHING in common with a freshwater aquarium, when if comes to filtration. Instead of a canister filter, you want a protein skimmer. The skimmer, along with live rock and live sand, make up your filtration system.
Hope this helps.

Kellsindell

if you go to this link it'll show almost the same questions and it is en regard to SW tanks.