New reef tank! 41 Gallon Fluval Osaka. Suggestions?

[redearslider]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

As I mentioned elsewhere, ditch the internal filter and the lava rock. You have no idea what's in it, and you don't want to spend thousands on corals and have to ask one day why they keep dying. Lava rock is an unknown and should not be in a tank. Save yourself a lot of potential grief right up front and go buy 15 pounds of fresh live rock at the LFS. Make sure it's new rock, not something they bought off someone else shutting down. IMO the biggest mistake in this hobby is using somebody else's old rock.
Other than that, the list looks fine. Brown stuff is diatoms, perfectly normal and will go away on it's own.

Ooooookay

I like the look of it, but I guess if it has to go, it has to go.

This is going to take me longer to set up than I thought, I was pretty happy with the deal that I got on the Live rock, because I wanted to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on it.

One little thing at a time I guess. I am going to buy a used protein skimmer and get rid of the internal filter, I am also thinking of adding another powerhead to replace the small one.

I did clean off most of the diatoms from the glass yesterday, I couldnt see much in the tank, so hopefully that is okay that I did that!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by redearslider

I did clean off most of the diatoms from the glass yesterday, I couldnt see much in the tank, so hopefully that is okay that I did that!

They'll come back, but it's fine to wipe them away until they stay gone.

I know it sucks spending money on stuff, especially rocks, but rock really is the main life support of your system. If you have to, you can try used, but I wouldn't.

[MarkoD]

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Some people have a vested interest in keeping sponsors happy. There's nothing wrong with buying used rock or even dry rock.

Most stores take in people's rock when they shut down. And that's what they end up selling you at 4 times the price.

Just use common sense look at what kind of tank its come out of

[redearslider]

*UPDATE*

It is a Fluval Osaka 41G

30lbs argonite
15-20lbs live rock (About 30lbs of lava which I will be removing)
2 powerheads:
Active Aqua pump 250GPH
Laguna pt 8100 80GPH
A Current USA SunPod 250W MH Fixture
Aquaclear 10 submersible heater 50W

5 scarlet hermit crabs
8 blue legged hermit crabs
2 pink turbo snails
Brittle sea star
2 paradise snails

[11purewater]

85 gallon Osaka,love the tank eccept for the corners

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by MarkoD

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Some people have a vested interest in keeping sponsors happy.

This is a bunch of crap Marko. I have no interest in keeping anyone happy other than fellow hobbyists. Used rock is just that, used rock. Rock acts as a sponge and will adsorb nutrients and eventually leach them back out into the water, usually causing all kinds of algae problems. We see it all the time in posts here and other boards. Someone buys a bunch of rock someone had sitting around, then they battle algae forever. I can list the members that have done that in the last year..many very experienced people that maintained their tank well. Sure, it's possible to buy rock that's used AND clean, but it's a gamble. Fresh live rock from the ocean is the best product to use when starting a reef. That has nothing to do with keeping anyone happy, just years of experience with tanks and reading the "help, I have a tank full of algae" threads.

[MarkoD]

Most of the rock bought from the lfs is people's old rock from shut downs.

I've taken lots of rock to the lfs and it just all goes into one bin and all sold at the same price. So the risk to get bad rock is there regardless.

At lease when buying from someone you can inspect it and there's a better chance there won't be any pests

[Aquattro]

Pests shouldn't be the concern, nutrient build up should be the primary issue. Yes, I know a lot of stores resell the rock from shut downs, that's why I mentioned to make sure it's fresh. I wait for orders or order it in.
While I agree it is possible to get perfectly good rock from someone shutting down, assuming the rock is reasonably young and the owner managed nutrients really well, there is no real way to tell unless you know the person and their tank. But usually, the rock is already in a tub and who knows what's in it.
Again, it still might be fine. But the risk is getting higher.

How many people get out of the hobby before they really even get started, due to unmanageable algae issues? We see it here all the time. So yes, my way costs more up front, but it lessens the risk and increases the chances of enjoying the hobby for many years, instead of trying to figure out how to get the lawnmower in the tank!!

[Aysha]

you could always do a dry start. place your dry rock add a small amount of live rock presto! it's all live in a few weeks. Aqua Giant has great base rock for 1.99 a lb. I don't know if rock from shut downs is an issue? people have the same LR in their tank sometimes for 10 years at a time. Just a thought.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Aysha

you could always do a dry start. place your dry rock add a small amount of live rock presto! it's all live in a few weeks.

Yup, you could do that, couple of weeks in and it's like live rock, only without the live part. And if the dry rock got dried with a ton of dead stuff, you might end up with some algae. Or a lot of algae.
Like someone mentioned in another thread, take advice here with a grain of salt.