Noob to salt

[pigpimpc]

Had freshwater before and never maintained the tank rarely but the cichlid and plex didnt mind.

Plan to set up 55 g i want to make a reef farm salt.

I plan on making own protein skimmer and trickle tower and set up in my room.

I have done some research about cycling and conditioning and live rock and all.

Looks like next month or 2 will be doing the setup and then cycle the water and also getting some supplys like a pump and lamp.

So hello and hope I can learn and share on the forum! (chula vista)

[XO PRESENTS]

Welcome to SDR, if you got questions.. feel free to ask away. Have fun though, its what the hobby is all about !

[CMD2213]

You running Scripps or salt mix

[FDdragon]

welcome! yes, like XO said feel free to ask around. I have never seen a site with as much help, advice and support as this site has.

BTW, I built my own skimmer, putting the finishing touches on my DIY sump and built my own stand too. I am happy with my skimmer but ended up buying a "real" one because of size. (I upgraded to 125g) People say saltwater is really tough to do but i am fairly new to the hobby and they must have been doing something wrong. ha ha. It is definitely not hard at all, especially when you have all the knowledge and advice here to help along the way. I recommend searching the "Equipment" and "Livestock" sections for good deals.

Well good luck.

[pigpimpc]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I am glad there is a forum like this to help.

The tank is not set up yet. I was thinking of going to the pier on J st by my house but it doesn't seem like anyone else is doing that. Maybe for pollution?

I need to do more research on going to Scripps for water. A roundtrip would take about $6-8 roundtrip and I don't have a pickup to haul a lot of water. Might be easier to just buy a bucket of powder instant salt for now.

Dragon its fun to tinker and make things I am wondering how you customized your own diy skimmer. Yes I have been discouraged from saltwater from all people sayings its high maintenance and thats good because it looks like it does take just a little more effort like maybe at least refill the evaporated water not like my freshwater haha jk I might try to get away with not changing the water as often as recommended as long as the readings are at good levels

I will search here for equipment as suggested. Thanks again everyone!!!

[CMD2213]

I love my TROPIC MARIN REEF SALT. Amazon $77 lfs cost $100-110+ 5gal jug

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[FDdragon]

I get the bucket of salt and mix it. I use water from the watermill ( i make sure it was recently inspected ) and have had no problems so far. it costs me $1.25 for 5 gallons.

I have heard that Scripps water is great but haven't got any because i drive a car and don't have room to transport it all.

If you were to get water straight from the ocean you would need to get on a boat and get away from the pollution near the shore. (That was the advice from a guy who has been using ocean water for over a decade) you would still need to filter it (maybe through a aquatic sock) before you put it in your tank. when i move to Japan this is what I plan on doing.

[pigpimpc]

sale on salt
http://www.petsolutions.com/DisplayCart.aspx

I think the scripps water would be great but I'm just gonna make my own salt pending an ROdi purchase this weekend.

Maybe I can trade rodi water for a cheap frag with a nano reefer eventually.

STill have to set my tank up lol.

Move to Japan will be fun. Lots of sashimi lol

[pigpimpc]

Ok just 2 more weeks till my light come in but here its is. Probably gonna add one more powerhead.


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[HumanMachine]

I'm not one to deflate someone's balloon, but just for next time. I would encourage you to have your setup complete before you buy corals. These guys are going to be without light for 2 weeks? They're not going to be happy, unless you're lighting them with something that I cant' see in your photo.

[pigpimpc]

By all means thanks for the advice. I am going to look for another light source in the meant time. Thats pretty dark now that you mentioned it hehe

PS I eyeballed the nitrate levels without test kit hehe

[CMD2213]

+1 for the lighting situation.
How big is the tank, and how much flow do you currently have? Every corals different depending if you're going sps dominate tank or a z/p tank...
What did you end up doing for the water? Salt or nsw?

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[naso tang]

Saltwater is not hard if you think about your system components and make sure you have them. I'd ditch the idea of a trickle filter but filtration is easiest in a reef if you have a sump. At a minimum you want a skimmer, good lights, plenty of rock, and maybe a filter sock or aqua clear hang on back if you don't have a sump. I've done sump less with a hang on back skimmer (remora) and An aqua clear converted to fuge with good results with a 4 bulb t5 light. Think about light, mechanical, biological filtration and protein skimmer for organics. And definitely don't overlook flow because without flow you'll have dead spots and nutrient issues

[pigpimpc]

yes i fixed the light issue running cheap chinea leds now
Yes i ditch trickle filter
I have koralia 1050 and 1400
I think I am now goig to try to do similar i think the skinmmer i have is remora also.

Thanks for all help and advice if you didn't tell me to get real light s then the frags would probably be bad shape by now lol
thanks again