Ready to fill tank with water

[Chammy]

Looking for advice, or a step by step to getting my reef tank going. I apologize ahead of time if this is posted but I couldn't find any info.

Anyway, tank is ready to go. So I'm wondering what ratio of salt to water goes in the tank? Running a 90 Gallon

And in doing this, am I safe to get my sand in the bottom while my water cylce stabilizes for the next step...adding rock...and/or possibly somefish?

And while I am waiting for the tank to settle down, where would ideal temperature range be for reef fish?

Thanks again. This community has been quite helpful so far.

[Northernseacorals]

Looking for advice, or a step by step to getting my reef tank going. I apologize ahead of time if this is posted but I couldn't find any info.

Anyway, tank is ready to go. So I'm wondering what ratio of salt to water goes in the tank? Running a 90 Gallon

And in doing this, am I safe to get my sand in the bottom while my water cylce stabilizes for the next step...adding rock...and/or possibly somefish?

And while I am waiting for the tank to settle down, where would ideal temperature range be for reef fish?

Thanks again. This community has been quite helpful so far.

Seriously you looked ?

http://bit.ly/SOflCK

Not trying to be rude; however I think if your lazy searching skills say anything about you as a person; I fear for the new tank inhabitants you are seeking.

Sounds like you have a bunch of reading up to do mate :wink:

[reefwars]

Looking for advice, or a step by step to getting my reef tank going. I apologize ahead of time if this is posted but I couldn't find any info.

Anyway, tank is ready to go. So I'm wondering what ratio of salt to water goes in the tank? Running a 90 Gallon

And in doing this, am I safe to get my sand in the bottom while my water cylce stabilizes for the next step...adding rock...and/or possibly somefish?

And while I am waiting for the tank to settle down, where would ideal temperature range be for reef fish?

Thanks again. This community has been quite helpful so far.


basically mix the salt to the directions on the bucket or box , best to mix the saltwater out of the aquarium IMO use a refractometer or a hydrometer to make sure you salt is at 1.025 mix the salt using a powerhead.

next you can add your sand after rinsing it , eiter before you add water or after...i prefer before.

same for your rocks some people put it in and scape it before water some add afterwards.

ideally you want to add and get tis done all at once so your tank can cycle..

no fish for a couple of weeks if your starting from scratch

temp for a saltwater tank is 78,,,dont go lower than 75 or higher than 85....78 is great.

once its all together , youll need to buy a test kit for amonia and test your tanks water.

we will get to that later im sure;)

[reefwars]

your going to need something to create flow and a heater as well , best to go with 2 heaters as opposed to one , one will act as a backup if the other fails to turn on:)

if corals are your goal i would seriously look into media reactors,skimmers and decent lighting.

i would do the skimmer and a media reactor in anykind of set up i ran be it beginner or advanced set ups.

[Reef_Geek]

Looking for advice, or a step by step to getting my reef tank going. I apologize ahead of time if this is posted but I couldn't find any info.

Anyway, tank is ready to go. So I'm wondering what ratio of salt to water goes in the tank? Running a 90 Gallon

And in doing this, am I safe to get my sand in the bottom while my water cylce stabilizes for the next step...adding rock...and/or possibly somefish?

And while I am waiting for the tank to settle down, where would ideal temperature range be for reef fish?

Thanks again. This community has been quite helpful so far.

Ratio of salt to water -- different salt mixes have different densities. Should use a hyrdometer (less accurate) or a refractometer (more accurate). Target 1.026 specific gravity or 35 ppt for a reef tank w/ corals & inverts.

Temperature target 76-82 degrees F. Most try to target 77-79 because it's hard to keep water temperature cool with some much equipment, especially lighting.

start with adding sand & rock. Cycling from new arrival live rock / dry rock will take months due to die offs and ecological succession. Quickest/cheapest way to get a tank cycled is to buy already cycled rock off another hobbyist who is exiting the hobby. Keep on the prowl here and on kijiji, sometimes find it $2 to $3 per pound. If you do this, may just be able to add fish within a week. If trying to do it from scratch using dry / newly imported live rock, will be aprox 3 - 8 weeks before you can get algae under control (depends on your snail/hermits spending)... very touch and go on corals/fish in the mean time with some easy beginner species (softies, shrooms, tough fish etc).

sorry for the ramble, about to go to bed.

[Nano]

Do you have a refractometer? You will need this for reading and monitoring salt levels in the tank.

Most people set their tanks about 77-79 degrees from what I've seen and a salinity of 1.024-1.026 depending on the salt you are using its tough to give directions but there is usually directions on the bucket it comes in. Usually half a cup for every gallon of fresh water with instant ocean reef crystals with a temperature of I believe 78 will give you 1.025
At least that's what my bucket says.
If your setting up I would get test kits (good ones not bargain brands) so you can monitor your tank for the first few months to see how chemistry works. What are your plans for the tank? Fowlr? Reef?

Any other info on equipment you have for the tank?

[Reef_Geek]

PS- check out my stuff for sale link in my signature. There's a powerhead for water movement (smaller tank, about 20 gal or so), there's a 36" double light strip good enough for some soft corals in a shallower tank, might want to upgrade bulbs.

[Doug]

Moved to reefing forum for you.

[Chammy]

I first off want to thank everyone that went out of their way to give me some guidance with my startup. Its going to be fun for the next few weeks.

As far as negative comments from "NorthernSeaCorrals", keep them to yourself. You were once new to this hobby and I'm sure you were asking for advice as well.