# New to salt



## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

I am new to saltwater and am considering setting up a fowlr 29 gal. is an AC110 enough filtration? is RO water a must what are some options? any additional advice appreciated thanx


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Really an AC110 is worthless unless modified for saltwater use, and YES RO WATER IS A MUST unless you want to start a lifetime battle with algae in your new tank.

Advice: go to reefcentral.com and spend the next 3 months reading before you make the jump... more knowledge will save you money in this hobby and make the experience a good one, not a battle


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Listen to Skunkbud..hes like the white Snoop dog...functional and knowledgeable pot head.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Well I will add a few things for you to read up on and someone with more experience will chime in. First SW is great, you will get hooked ASAP. First and foremost RO water is a MUST. No other way around that other than water from the ocean. As far as using a ac110 it will work with some modification but is not a very good filtration system. Dont use any media in it and mod it into a fuge. Here is an example Click You would be better off with a skimmer. There are some pretty good HOB skimmers as well. Without a skimmer you must keep you bio-load pretty low. Make sure you have plenty of flow throughout your tank. A good idea for rock is to buy it dry. Its much cheaper this way. It will also allow you to start pest free unlike the hitchhikers you will receive with live rock. Base rock will seed itself and eventually become live rock. A few good places to buy base (dry) rock is Click and Click. That is just the start. You need to do a ton of reading, so when you are ready to set up you will already know your game plan. Feel free to ask away..Im sure skunkbud will chime in soon.

Edit: My stoned ass just typed all that for no reason..... SB summed up what I said in like 3 sentences.



notaverage said:


> Listen to Skunkbud..*hes like the white Snoop dog...functional and knowledgeable pot head.*


Good sh*t.... Needs to be in your sig SB


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> Listen to Skunkbud..*hes like the white Snoop dog...functional and knowledgeable pot head.*


Good sh*t.... Needs to be in your sig SB
[/quote]

Hahahah... on it!


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

No sh*t bro...you know your stuff...and at times its very random what you do know...it bugs me out and I don't smoke trees.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

notaverage said:


> No sh*t bro...you know your stuff...and at times its very random what you do know...it bugs me out and I don't smoke trees.


Oh man trees. Man that was a flashback to the good ol' days. Man I havent heard that word in a while.

sh*t, sorry for the derail.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

What the hell do they call it now?
Weed or something????









Yeah..sorry for messing with your thread....listen to Snoop.


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## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

Thanks guys. There is so much info out there it is hard to determine whats the right and wrong way to do things. Do you get RO water from the LFS or make it yourself? Ok I guess I just need to READ READ AND READ. I will post again soon as I am goingto start pieceing this thing together. I will need you opinions on equipment. Thanks again


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## ryanimpreza (Jul 19, 2006)

I make my own water and I just started too. I got my tank a few days ago, it was already establish so I had to dismantle it and drive 4 hours to my house and re assemble. Here is a pic of the R/O system I made.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

^^^ Have you checked your tds with that 3 stage?? I ask because your tds might not be as low as it should without a DI canister. Then again your water to start off with may not be to bad. And if you bought the r.o filter used with the tank I hope you changed the filters.


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## ryanimpreza (Jul 19, 2006)

SeedlessOne said:


> ^^^ Have you checked your tds with that 3 stage?? I ask because your tds might not be as low as it should without a DI canister. Then again your water to start off with may not be to bad. And if you bought the r.o filter used with the tank I hope you changed the filters.


bought it new, what are TD's? Might sound dumb just never heard that before.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Total Dissolved Solids (often abbreviated TDS) is an expression for the combined content of all inorganic and organic substances contained in a liquid which are present in a molecular, ionized or micro-granular (colloidal sol) suspended form. AKA sh*t in your water. You want your tds to be zero, which means there are no nutrients in your water. You need to get a tds meter and check your water weekly. Once your tds starts to rise you need to change your filters out. If your tds is not reading zero then I would suggest adding a DI canister to your setup.


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## ryanimpreza (Jul 19, 2006)

cool!!! got it.


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## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

Guys this seems like alot...any reassurring words?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Fordfanatic said:


> Guys this seems like alot...any reassurring words?


What seems like alot?


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

You wont regret it one bit. Its really not that hard.


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## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

There just seems like SO MUCH to do with the saltwater tank vs a freshwater tank. I guess once you set the tank up and get it cycled it would be like maintaing a freshwater aquarium, only with RO salt water for the weekly water changes. But correct me if I am wrong.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Fordfanatic said:


> There just seems like SO MUCH to do with the saltwater tank vs a freshwater tank. I guess once you set the tank up and get it cycled it would be like maintaing a freshwater aquarium, only with RO salt water for the weekly water changes. But correct me if I am wrong.


There is lots more going on, and that needs to be monitored and controlled in a full blown reef tank for sure... But you are talking starting off with a basic FOWLR (Fish only, with live rock) tank.... Knowing as much as possible about reef tanks, and saltwater aquaria will give you a head start on your new project, and make things less painful in the long run.

Really you need: 
Salt
Source of 0ppm RO/DI water (buy your own filter, or find a place to get water?)
Tank
Light (doesnt have to be special until you go reef)
Sand
Rock
HOB skimmer (not necessary, but would be AWESOME to have)
Powerheads (with a wavemaker to make things better if you can afford it?)
Test kit and hydrometer (to monitor your cycle in the tank)
And modify that HOB filter to hold some more rock rubble and a filter sock of carbon if you were ambitious
A cocktail shrimp to start your cycle

After a week or more, you should be set to add your cleanup crew (some snails and hermits) and a couple weeks after that you can slowly add fish and other livestock.


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## Fordfanatic (Feb 2, 2006)

Would I need a skimmer AND a filter? Or just skimmer?
Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Fordfanatic said:


> Would I need a skimmer AND a filter? Or just skimmer?
> Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!


In summary (you should do more reading about skimmers and what they do! heres a good start: SKIMMERS ) and simplistic terms, skimmers remove organic compounds by binding them into chains on the surface of air bubbles, so they work like a "filter" on a fresh water tank somewhat, but do it in a completely different way. The rule of saltwater aquariums is to EXPORT (not trap and break down, like fresh water filtration) things that cause nitrates, nitrites, phosphates, ammonia etc etc... so you dont want sponges, filter pads, and things that will accumulate waste. filter socks and things like that need to be cleaned weekly at the longest, (i change filter socks every other day when i run them)

Ideally you would run a skimmer, and your HOB filter with (no filter pad!) rock rubble stacked inside, and a filter sock of carbon would be good as well. But thats something i would consider an "extra" and not necessary if you dont want it. In saltwater, ROCK is another one of your main "filters" because of the "bugs" and bacteria that live in the porous core. The more rock, the better, but you will have to find a balance of what you like visually in your display... this is where the HOB filter comes in, giving you more rock surface area and "filtration" if you want to put it that way.

DONT BUY A SEACLONE SKIMMER... they are garbage! Its worth saving up for a few weeks to afford a badass skimmer, something that you could use if you upgrade your tank size in the future. You can always get your tank running with sand, rock, some powerheads etc NOW, and let it cycle for a week or 2 while you save up for your skimmer.... and then let it skim heavy for a few days...

OK, for smaller skimmers, using google i found people were using AquaC remora, and the CPR bakpak with maxijet upgrade, the downfall to that you would need a new skimmer if you got a larger tank.

heres the CPR Bakpak Clicky

Heres the Aqua C Clicky

With either skimmer i would recommend you get the optional "surface skimmer" or overflow box... it will increase skimming efficiency 
Heres the one for the bakpak Clicky And they make one for the other skimmer, and most on the market...

Do some research about what people are liking, and people who have compared them side by side for your tank size!


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