175g Saltwater predator tank - Update:Aug 10th/10- FISH ADDED

[snow1]

Well here is my long a waited saltwater tank.
Just thought I would give a bit of a story behind this tank:
This tank is only 175 but it is very heavy and hard to move. The reason being is that this tank is 31" wide and 26" tall, it's like a cube or square or whatever you want to call it shape. This tank will not fit through your regular doorway. At the sellers house we tried to go out the back and that did not work.....soooo we just took her front door off.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif The used a dolly to move it. I was just me, my dad and my grandfarther. It was SO hard to move this tank! and the heat did not help.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif
So anyways we got the tank home moved it back onto the stand.
As for now the tank is sitting empty, the live rock will be fine in a rubbermaid container with heaters and powerheads. I decided to leave the tank dirty and not clean it b/c it has a lot of good bacteria in it that will help me start it back up again. I will tidy it up a bit but it will look great once it's all filled up.

NOW what done:
As of right now the tanks sump is all hooked up and the plumbing is done, which I did myself....pretty pround.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif There is no water in it right now but I did put some water through just to make sure nothing leaked. We rested the canopy on top and the lights. Tomorrow I will finish the sump and set the lights up,heaters etc....
I WILL post the specs tomorrow but I'm to tired right now.
The tank came with everything right down to the glass magnet scrubber and 12 books on salt stuff. I went out and bought a 160g thing of IO but the tank already came with a bucket and more bags of salt. Came with a big container of prime too. There were also two small hermit crabs in there but not sure what happened to them, they might turn up one day.
Anyways here are some pics!

Here is what the tank looked like at the sellers house, BTW I was thinking is this live rock really alive, it has lots of coraline algae on it, it also has some type of moving plants this dissapears into the rock if you get close to it.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif It doesn't seem so live to me. Anyways I should note that I will be getting another 80LBS of live rock in the next week. ALSO I will be looking for some used live sand b/c there is not enough substrate in the tank, but that will be in a few days.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0327.jpg
In the middle of taking down the sump at sellers house:
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0329.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0328.jpg
At my house:
Lights: Three fixtures that hold 4 bulbs each, came with extra bulb.
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0335.jpg

[snow1]

Cont....

Pics of the plumbing:
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0331.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0332.jpg
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0330.jpg
Overflows:
Right side: http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0338.jpg
Left side: http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0339.jpg
The tank at it's new place:
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0334.jpg
With canopy on top:
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/IMG_0337.jpg

Thanks all for looking and more updates to come. My dad told me since this is your first time at salt why didn't you go with a bio cube? I told him go big or go home.:twised:

[reefwars]

The flower thingy you mentioned that dives back in the hole if you come near it what does it look like?? Can you post a pic?? Chances are it's a pest hitch hiker like aiptasia if it's the case best to kill em now before they over populate and they will very fast. When you buy more liverock Try to buy already cured rock or rock from a healthy system that us pest free, curing your own liverock is very easy. Cheers congrats on the new tank I'm liking the square rectangle thingy lol :)

[snow1]

After consulting my best friend google:mrgreen: it does look like aiptasia. I"ll have to find it tomorrow. I only saw a small bunch and it's all piled in now so I can't find it...

SO does this rock look like it alive?:question:

[snow1]

Oh and as for the LR I was going to buy it from a fish store for $3.50LB but I will look around to see if I can find some used.

[snow1]

Oh and for the "LR" there seems to be bacteria in it which makes it LR but it doesn't seem like any of the LR I have seen in the past....

[Bloodasp]

The idea of a live rock is not that because there are a whole bunch of critters crawling on them, well there are but what is most important about having live rock are the bacteria that live on them. They become your natural filters.
And also just from the price of the rock you are buying from the store i am assuming they are not live rock rather they are dry rock or base rock. Just a hunch but i could be wrong. Most LFS if that is where you are buying it from sell them for at least $10 per lb.

[reefwars]

Of there's life like anemones and coraline algae plus the millions of bacteria you can't see it's alive and as the cycle completes bacteria are going to multiply and become it's own ecosystem.

Liverock takes many forms and comes from many places most people can't tell you where it comes from I have somecweird looking pieces and I've seen even weirder and nicer pieces in different tanks round, flat, branched, smooth, sharp, hard, brittle ... one of the most enjoying parts of your tank you'll have is custom picking out your liverock and trying to visualize it in your tank:)

[reefwars]

Same here liverock sells second hand for around $5/lb and up to $10 at lfs

[snow1]

No this rock is true live rock, they bring it in on a reg basis. They sell it for $9.20LB but I know the owners of the store for a very long time. They are happy that I'm getting into saltwater b/c it's what 70% of their stock and tanks are. I can't say though where I'm getting it from b/c I don't want to break that trust.

Oh and I just measured the saltinity in the bins with the rock with my refractometer and it's 1025. I'd like to be 1027 but it's a start.:)

[scherzo]

You can get slightly cheaper LR at places like Ocean Aquatics (who are also site sponsors). I think they have it at around $5.29 - $6.99 per pound.

Once again, you can't tell if the LR is actually live.

What usually happens is they harvest the rock from the ocean. It sits on the beach, sometimes in the sun. As soon as it does that some things start to die on it. In fact, as soon as sponges hit air they pretty much die immediately. This starts the process of dying rock.

They don't really ship rock in containers of water. This would be far too expensive so they usually wrap it in wet paper while flying it out. This also continues the "dying" process. The rock will sit in containers and in airports for up to 2 weeks! THEN it finally gets to your store.

The only way it starts to become live again is if it sits in water for a few weeks and it will come back. You then purchase it and bring it home. It dies a little and you may (depending on your setup) have a little die off and may detect some ammonia or nitrates as the rock becomes fully live again.

phew!

Many retailers are quite honest and will tell you that their rock is OK if it has been curing in their store for quite some time. They know how long it has been sitting for. If they tell you that it just came in and it is live, I would be a little skeptical.

It is exciting starting a new talk! It looks like you're off to a great start and reading forums and learning from others! Enjoy the journey.

[snow1]

Thanks and I did managed to get that aiptasia this morning so that's now out of the way. I hope I got it all. I'm woking on thet tank right now, more updates to come....

[reefwars]

Keep your eyes put for more they are tough and when you think you got them boom!!! Their in another spot how did you kill the little bugger???

[Greenmaster]

...Once again, you can't tell if the LR is actually live.

What usually happens is they harvest the rock from the ocean. It sits on the beach, sometimes in the sun. As soon as it does that some things start to die on it. In fact, as soon as sponges hit air they pretty much die immediately. This starts the process of dying rock.

They don't really ship rock in containers of water. This would be far too expensive so they usually wrap it in wet paper while flying it out. This also continues the "dying" process. The rock will sit in containers and in airports for up to 2 weeks! THEN it finally gets to your store.

The only way it starts to become live again is if it sits in water for a few weeks and it will come back. You then purchase it and bring it home. It dies a little and you may (depending on your setup) have a little die off and may detect some ammonia or nitrates as the rock becomes fully live again.

phew!

Many retailers are quite honest and will tell you that their rock is OK if it has been curing in their store for quite some time. They know how long it has been sitting for. If they tell you that it just came in and it is live, I would be a little skeptical.

It is exciting starting a new talk! It looks like you're off to a great start and reading forums and learning from others! Enjoy the journey.

A good sign that rock is "live" is coralline algae as the algae takes a while to grow and if it is alive and well then the bacteria should be as well. "Live Rock" generally means that it has bacteria on it.
The rock when it arrives at your LFS it is "Live" it's just not "cured" (most of the time... some times it has gotten too dry/warm/cold that it is no longer live but that is rare). There has been lots of die off and that is what "curing" is for. Some LFS will sell you un-cured rock for cheaper because they don't have to keep it in there system while all the stuff that died on route finishes decomposing. Never add un-cured Live rock to a system with fish in it.

[scherzo]

A good sign that rock is "live" is coralline algae as the algae takes a while to grow and if it is alive and well then the bacteria should be as well. "Live Rock" generally means that it has bacteria on it.


That is way more clear than I was. I guess the terminology is a little weird. Live Rock and Cured Rock.

As for the coralline algae thing, what about "COOKED" LR? Isn't that live? But it has no coralline on it. I have cooked LR and put it into a new tank and never experienced a cycle. Mind you, I've only been doing salt for about 3 years so I'm still new to this as well.

I hope this helps the OP. I think the most important thing is to watch your ammonia, and nitrates when you move a tank or get a new one. I have bought a few systems from Craigslist that were pretty rough looking and I used the LR from them and put them into my sump or main DT. I just watched my levels.

Good luck and let us know how things are progressing!

[Greenmaster]

That is way more clear than I was. I guess the terminology is a little weird. Live Rock and Cured Rock.

As for the coralline algae thing, what about "COOKED" LR? Isn't that live? But it has no coralline on it. I have cooked LR and put it into a new tank and never experienced a cycle. Mind you, I've only been doing salt for about 3 years so I'm still new to this as well.

I hope this helps the OP. I think the most important thing is to watch your ammonia, and nitrates when you move a tank or get a new one. I have bought a few systems from Craigslist that were pretty rough looking and I used the LR from them and put them into my sump or main DT. I just watched my levels.

Good luck and let us know how things are progressing!

I said a giveaway that it was "live" was to have coralline algae on it (because I think you would have to try really hard to have the algae on it and no bacteria)
I also said "live" means it has bacteria on it so "cooked" or "Base Rock" can be made live by cycling it in a tank to produce bacteria colonies on the rocks.

[snow1]

Update July 12th/2010

So here is an update of what the tank is at now. The tested the big three yesterday and things seem to be under control. The skimmer on the tank I found out is to small, I knew this in the back of my mind b/c comparing it to other skimmers for 200g this one seemed small. It's the skimmer Vertex IN-80 In-Sump Protein Skimmer. I'll be getting a bigger one by the end of the month, it will be okay for now since its just cycleing and no fish will be going in it for awhile. The live rock will be going in a few days, it's still doing well in the buckets outside, they are heated and have powerheads in them. I will put it in after I get some live sand for the tank from a member hopefully in the next few days or so. The substrate that came with the tank is okay but there is not enough...that is still in the bucket also. Anyways here is the video of the tank and sump area, if you see anything out of place let me know b/c this is kinda going by trial or error.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ3BMPcXsXE

[Lance]

Update July 12th/2010

So here is an update of what the tank is at now. The tested the big three yesterday and things seem to be under control. The skimmer on the tank I found out is to small, I knew this in the back of my mind b/c comparing it to other skimmers for 200g this one seemed small. It's the skimmer Vertex IN-80 In-Sump Protein Skimmer. I'll be getting a bigger one by the end of the month, it will be okay for now since its just cycleing and no fish will be going in it for awhile. The live rock will be going in a few days, it's still doing well in the buckets outside, they are heated and have powerheads in them. I will put it in after I get some live sand for the tank from a member hopefully in the next few days or so. The substrate that came with the tank is okay but there is not enough...that is still in the bucket also. Anyways here is the video of the tank and sump area, if you see anything out of place let me know b/c this is kinda going by trial or error.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/tongue.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ3BMPcXsXE


If you're getting a bigger skimmer anyway I would suggest sooner rather than later. There will probably be a certain amount of die-off when cycling a new tank and skimming is important during this time.

[snow1]

Well I'm waiting for someone to take down their tank, if they will part with the skimmer which they don't know yet, when it's down then I'll take that one. If not I'll go out and buy a new one.

[snow1]

Hey all so far it's going good, new pics or video will be up tomorrow. I went into work today and tested my water. I was actually very surprised by the results. Nothing bad is showing up and infact the tank seems ready for fish but I can't get any until I get back. Just have some problems though that maybe you all can help with:

The temp of the tank is 73F. This is to low correct? It should be around 78F? I need to go and buy another heater b/c the one I have is not strong enough I guess.
The PH is at 7.5, is this to low for marine fish? I hear mixed opinions? Some say it should be around 8.

Any input? Thanks.:)

[BlueTang<3]

I keep my tanks at around 78-82 u may need a new heater it is best to run a few smaller ones so if one fails u wont have any heat. As for ph 7.5 is low i see you do not have a skimmer a skimmer will help pull oxygen into tank bringing ph up. Try more surface agitation. Run cheat o in the sump on reverse lighting as display will help.

[snow1]

I keep my tanks at around 78-82 u may need a new heater it is best to run a few smaller ones so if one fails u wont have any heat. As for ph 7.5 is low i see you do not have a skimmer a skimmer will help pull oxygen into tank bringing ph up. Try more surface agitation. Run cheat o in the sump on reverse lighting as display will help.

Actually I do have a skimmer and it works well I just need a bigger one.

Could I not just add PH upper?

[snow1]

I guess I can't use ph upper b/c it's only for FW. Is there any other way to get my ph up? What about baking soda? I also do not want cheat-o.

[snow1]

Keep your eyes put for more they are tough and when you think you got them boom!!! Their in another spot how did you kill the little bugger???

Sorry, I did not see your post, I injected them in lemon juice.

[snow1]

July 21,2010 update:
The rocks, sand etc... has now been in the tank for 6 days. Things seem to be going okay. The only problem with the water I'm having right now is the ph, it's at 7.5 and I need it to be 8-8.02. I'm seeing some brown algae that is forming on the live sand, not sure what is causing that. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm planning to get more live rock when I get back aug 5th, I'm going back home for 10 days so I'm hoping to check some fish stores while I'm
there, see if anything has changed. I have changed the structure of the rock three times now, this seems to be working for now, once I get more live rock I'll see if I leave it or move it around, I'd like some really nice big pieces as a base rock for the bottom and I have found someone that has nice pieces.
Here is a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXmx7gMLmT4
pic:
http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo23/snow_videos/P1010906.jpg

Can anyone help me though with my ph problem? What about baking soda? Will that work? If so what's the ratio (tsp per gallon).

[Greenmaster]

The brown algae is just another stage of the tank it will come and then go eventually.

[snow1]

The brown algae is just another stage of the tank it will come and then go eventually.

ahhh thanks.

[snow1]

A small update:
I tested the water once again and it's now perfect and ready for fish. I was having a problem with my ph being to low. Also I'm saving up for a new skimmer so hopefully in the nest while I'll purchase a new and bigger one. I should also note that in the last few weeks I've seen more hermit crabs around the tank and rock. I knew there was some but never knew there to be this many. I think there is 24+ in the tank plus some small clams and one crab. I had a problem with one of the overflows in the tank. It was not woking. So I checked it out and found something clogging the intake pipe. I put a barrier so that won't happen again.

Now, as for the fish I'm going out on monday to get a cheap $10 or less fish. I saw a few cheap ones like damsels etc.... I don't want to go out and get any large or expensive fish at first only to have them die on me. I'll keep this fish for 2 weeks or so and see how it goes. If no problems then it will be time to move onto the main course. BTW I have seen some people give away free saltwater fish from time to time so if you have any saltwater fish you have to give away shoot me a pm and I'll come get it on monday or whenever.http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

[snow1]

UPDATE:
So today I went out and bought two "tester" fish for the tank. They are both damsels...very cute fish.:biggrin: I wanted to get some small cheap yet hardy fish before I go out my main fish. It would suck if I spent $200 dollars on a fish only to have it die on me. I'm going to keep these fish a week or so and see how they do. After that I'll sell them for cheap or give them away....depending if I can catch them or not...
I bought these two at IPU, together the fish were around $10 so the price was right. I put them in this afternoon and both are doing fine. They don't hide like I thought they would. I also stopped off at JL but no fish caught me eye there. Although I did get more salt and $55 worth of saltwater fish food including NLS,frozen, and freeze dried foods...I kind of foods we do not sell were I work. Anyways these fish seem to like red shrimp...they eat lots already. Here is a video of my first saltwater fish.:mrgreen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88m_4lGEX_w

[Greenmaster]

congrats on the fish... it's neat how the bubbles are constantly rising :D