# HELP WANTED - SALTWATER FAQ



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I'm looking for the experianced saltwater members to help with a saltwater FAQ, I think the simplest way to do this is for you to post in this post with any typical saltwater question like for example "What is live rock?" and then answer your own question.....

this way with everybody helping we can cover all the main aspects of setting up a saltwater tank, once we have enough entrys I will compile it and neaten it up.


----------



## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

sorry dude i know nothing about saltwater :laugh:


----------



## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

whats a saltwater tank


----------



## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

i will try to get something up..


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

thanks for these helpfull FAQ questions and answers guys, some really usefull information [/sarcasm]


----------



## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

maybe someone should ask some questions and we can answer them, because I really don't know what most people would ask. Il do my best to help though


----------



## Lahot (May 20, 2003)

what's the salinity supposed to be?

what's a good temperature?

what's a good substrate?

what chemicals do I need to add to the water besides salt and dechlorinator?


----------



## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

this is for fish:

1)salinity can range from 1.018-1.024.
people recommand keeping salinity level as low as possible..diseases such as ich do not prosper in low salinity levels..also fish come from all over the world,different oceans,vary in there salt levels(ex:red sea).although fish can be acclimated to lower salt levels..it doesn't always do them good..

2)temperature varies as well from cold water to warm water species
warm water:78-82f
cold water:71-78f

3)good substrate:

different varities of gravel you can go with.most common ones are:
-crush coral is a good buffer..helps with the ph levels.
-live sand is also available in trade but carries a steep price.
-level for ph in a saltwater tank are suppose to be 7.8-8.2

(sorry this was a quicky one ..i will add more tommorow)


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

a basic how to set up a tank - cycling, live rock, salt, and anything else?


----------



## Chad_linden (Dec 3, 2003)

I think the basic filtration layout would be a good topic to cover too. I don't know anything about saltwater, but I do know it's not as complicated as some people make it seem. A nice picture with arrows and words might be nice


----------



## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

I would love to see this done so we can publish it.


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

Xenon said:


> I would love to see this done so we can publish it.


 yer, lucky I'm one step ahead of you


----------



## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

I will write some stuff up this evening.


----------



## Chad_linden (Dec 3, 2003)

Innes said:


> Xenon said:
> 
> 
> > I would love to see this done so we can publish it.
> ...


 Great minds think alike, but I did think of it first


----------



## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

Here is a start I will do more over the weekend.

Saltwater FAQ:

SMALL TANKS FOR BEGINNERS:
My opinion on small (nano) saltwater tanks for beginners:
I have seen many beginners start out with 10g tanks and be very successful in keeping a reef tank.
They key is that these people did tons of research, asked a lot of questions, and made a game plan before purchasing the first piece of equipment.
A big key to successful reefkeeping on any size tank is patience, and the willingness to commit the needed amount of time for proper husbandry. If you don't have a lot of it or can't develop it, you should not try keeping a reef tank. Corals are incredibly more sensitive to their water parameters than fish are.
I have kept saltwater tanks that ranged in size from 7 gallons to 180 gallons, in my opinion the only difference in husbandry between them is the quantity of water, salt mix and additives you use.
Obviously the size of the equipment is different but it still must be equally maintained/serviced.
Yes, it is true that you have more "cushion for error" in a larger tank, but if you do your research, and are very diligent in your tank husbandry, you really shouldn't have any errors.

WATER:
For top-off and for mixing new saltwater I highly suggest using RO/DI unit, at a minimum an RO unit.
RO = reverse osmosis
DI = deionization
Tap water will just cause diatom, algae, and red slime algae outbreaks.
Tap water also contains metals, nutrients and the worst thing, phosphates. 
With an RO or RO/DI unit there is no need to add dechlorinator before use.
RO water is OK for human consumption too.
RO/DI is not recommended for human consumption.
So your RO unit could also be used to provide pure water to be used in cooking, drinking, etc.

SALT MIX:
Get a good salt mix and stick with it.
Do not constantly switch salt mixes, as they are really not all the same. Some have more trace elements than others. Some will mix to a higher pH than others.
These variations are not good for your fish and especially not good for your corals. Just by switching salt mixes you can cause bleaching and coral death.
In my opinion&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;
The best dissolving and most consistent salt mix on the market today is Tropic Marine, it is German made, and is expensive in the U.S.
The next best is less costly and more widely carried in the U.S., it is Instant Ocean.

SUBSTRATE:
Crushed Coral:
Can used but it will trap detritus, allow it to decompose and foul your water. Using a thick layer of this will only compound the problem. 
Fine sand or fine Aragonite: 
If you need your substrate to buffer your pH, aragonite will do this just as well as crushed coral. 
The depth is up to you, but be prepared to take care of your sand bed as if it was a living creature if you plan on going 3"-4" or more. Sand beds 3"-4" and over are considered deep sand beds (DSB) and can act as biological filtration. Fine sand will pack down tightly with the weight of water on top of it. The first 1" of sand will be full of life to sift the sand and break down left over food and waste. The deeper layers are anaerobic and aid in de-nitrification. 
A sand bed of 3"-4"" or more will require to be inoculated with a varied host of tiny creatures to sift it and keep it from becoming a "big pile of sewage waste", which over time will start releasing toxins, phosphates, nitrates, etc. back into the water column.
From time to time you will need to replenish these creatures that take care of your deep sand bed.
Unfortunately no one knows exactly how much life and exactly what types of worms and critters you need to have in your sand bed. These DSB critters can and will be eaten by other tank occupants so a careful eye must be used to make sure the DSB is always working. 
Purchasing live sand or getting it from an established tank will help get your sand bed started. Only the top 1" of sand is what you want, any deeper and you are just putting the toxins from the anaerobic part of the DSB in your tank.
My suggestion (only because most people don't like the look of bare bottom) is to use a ½"- 1" layer of fine sand. The Este's reef sand is very white and fine. It is not live sand, but if you purchase this sand before you put in your live rock, the live rock will seed the sand with critters and it will become live, whether you want it to or not.
If you go with a thin layer of sand:
Stir the sand weekly when you do your water change, and/or lightly vacuum it.
Over the course of time you may have to add a little sand back to the tank, no problem the Este's reef sand will sink almost immediately, with only a few floating pieces that can be scooped up with a net.
Bare Bottom:
Pretty much what it says, no substrate.
My 10g is bare bottom. Over time the bottom will become encrusted with coralline algae, tube worms, maybe even corals, and you wont see the glass. The bottom of my 10g has high density polyethylene board on top of it. It is light blue but photographs white, like sand. When going bare bottom you must vacuum the bottom of the tank weekly. The whole idea behind bare bottom is to remove the "waste" instead of leaving it and hoping some biological organism will break it down to Nitrate for you. Nothing will remove Nitrates except for doing a water change. High nitrates can be detrimental to corals, but fish seem to tolerate them to an extent.

BIOLOGICAL FILTRATION:
Live rock:
If you are setting up a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or REEF tank, live rock should be your choice of main biological filtration.
Not all rock is the same.
Tonga branch is very dense and heavy, which you don't want. A few branches for aquascaping purposes is OK.
Fiji and Vaunatu is very lightweight and very porous, which is good, it will hold a lot of good bacteria.
Aquacultured can vary. I have seen some aquacultured rock that was made of oyster shells that were "glued" together. The outside will get porous and allow bacteria to thrive, but the core of the rock is solid.
From the outside it looks like great rock, until you break a piece and see it is just a bunch of oyster shells.
Some aquacultured is better though, they start with a good base.
www.Tampabaysaltwater.com/ has great aquacultured rock, as well as www.drmaccorals.com/
Wet-dry with bio-balls:
The use of a wet-dry filter is pretty outdated, but if used along with a large refugium and large water changes this method will suffice for a FO (fish only) tank.
Refugium:
The refugium is another means of biological filtration it is used along with live rock.
It is a tank that holds small pieces of rock, live sand, and marine plants, mainly _Caulerpa_ species and/or _Chaetomorpha linum_. As these plants grow they take up nutrients from the water column. Harvesting the plant when it grows excessively is called "nutrient export". The plant is then allowed to grow more, and the process repeats itself.


----------



## Andrew (Mar 3, 2003)

Some more.......
I am still working on more too.

MECHANICAL FILTRATION:
Protein skimmer:
Although there are reefkeepers out there that insist they are not needed.
It is your call, but I HIGHLY suggest using one.
The skimmers that are designed for in sump use perform the best. I believe it has to do with their height and cylindrical shape.
Hang-on skimmers are available also.
For in-sump use I choose the Euro-Reef.
www.Euro-reef.com This skimmer was originally designed and manufactured in Germany only. It is now manufactured and sold in the U.S. as well. It is the Mercedes and BMW of skimmers.
For hang-on I choose the AquaC Remora.
Hands down the best hang-on skimmer.
Once you get a skimmer and see all of the "muck" it is removing from your tank, you will see why I highly suggest one.
Skimmers do remove some trace elements that are needed in the water column. But, these elements are replenished when you do your weekly water change. This is another reason why water changes are important.

Filter pads:
Do not use filter pads or filter socks unless you plan to clean them weekly, twice weekly would be better for a heavily stocked tank.

Hang-on filters and canisters:
They really don't have a place in a Saltwater aquarium that utilizes live rock for biological filtration.
At one time I used 4 of them on my 125g reef tank. I did not have any media in them except for a media bag of activated carbon in the end ones. I also removed the bio-wheels. I used the filters for flow only, they really agitate the surface of the tank water, which is exactly what you want. The surface of your water, if left stagnant, will form a film of dissolved organic compounds. When agitated they get broken up sent back down to your live rock and sand bed where de-nitrification can take place. I also had power heads operating as well.

CHEMICAL FILTRATION:
Activated Carbon:
Activated carbon is optional. The argument to use it and why not to use it is lengthy. Carbon can remove compounds from the water column that you need. Carbon even has the ability to remove a small amount of calcium from the water column, but if you have corals you will most likely be dosing some type of calcium anyway.
Alot of corals can release toxins, they use their toxicity to keep other corals from invading their territory. If you have ever seen an SPS coral fall onto a mushroom coral, they both turn to jelly or the flesh just disintegrates where the contact was made. Activated Carbon can remove these toxins.
Nudibranches, flat worms and sea cucumbers leach toxins when they die.
High quality Activated Carbon will not leach things back into your tank.

Phosphate sponge:
If you cannot control your phosphates there are phosphate sponges that can help. Currently Salifert, a company in Holland, is the only one you should use. All other manufactures of phosphate sponges use a heavy metal to absorb the phosphate. This is something you definitely don't want in your tank.
Other manufactures have realized this and are taking steps to develop a new sponge. I would just stick with Salifert brand.


----------



## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

Innes said:



> a basic how to set up a tank - cycling, live rock, salt, and anything else?


 well here a brief list of whats needed for a fish with live rock setup:

hydrometer to test the salt level
buckett to mix the salt(never add salt right to the tank)
sea salt
sand (I mix live sand and reguler marine aragonite)
protien skimmer
decent lighting
non stainless heater
thermoter
de-clorinator or reverse osmosis water.
filter

ok first thing to do is add the heater filter and skimmer to the tank, don't turn them on yet though. now add your sand. mix your salt with your treated water to a buckett and measure with the hydrometer.make sure the water is heated to the correct tempature or you will get an incorrect reading. once your reading is between 1.018 and 1.024 you can add that to the tank.

the next step is adding the live rock and cycleing the tank. add your live rock, about 1-2 lbs per gallon of water.unless you went diving for your own live rock there will be some sort of die-off of the live rock from shipping. this is how we will cycle the tank, with the ammonia produced from the die off of the rock.you also may add some hermit crabs and snails to begin with. normally when cycling with a fresh water tank you let all the levels peak then drop again, but that would kill off more of the live rock, so when levels of ammonia ,nitrite, and nitrate get past safe levels, do a partial water change. once ammonia and nitrite are at zero you may add a few fish, do go overboard though, its better to start with a few and give the tank time to mature.

this is a very simple break down, I may have missed a couple little things, but its a good basic start.


----------



## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

very nice info andrew


----------



## Chad_linden (Dec 3, 2003)

Nice info guys, good job. Now I will have to actually sit down and read it...


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

Thanks Guys


----------



## Fallenangel0210 (Dec 15, 2003)

My 2 cents

Different types of Filtration

Mechanical: physical removal of debris and particles from water. done with the use foams, pads, or filter cartridges.
Chemical: absorption of pollutants by using types of carbon or some kind of Poly filter. (Use carbon recommended for marine aquariums only).
Biological: growth of beneficial bacteria which break down ammonia and nitrites to nitrates (Nitrogen cycle).
Power filter: an external filter, pulls water out of aquarium, through filter media and back into the aquarium. (Usually incorporates biological, mechanical & chemical filtration).
Canister filter: an external filter, pulls water out of the aquarium through the filter media and back into the aquarium. (also Biological, mechanical & chemical).
Undergravel filter: an internal filtering system, a plate that goes under the gravel with lift tubes that are operated by using powerheads. This is a biological system. Not good for use with thick substrate beds, a tank with live rock or a reef. For fish only systems.
Wet/dry filter: in my opinion, ,the ideal type of marine filtration, consists of an external filter which pulls water out of the aquarium, drips through filter media. Clean water is pumped back into the aquarium. (Biological, mechanical and chemical filtration).
Protein skimmer: removes dissolved organic wastes (which a filter alone cannot) from aquarium water, always a wonderful addition to filtration equipment, but not absolutly mandatory for a lightly stocked, fish only system. Very important ofr live rock, and neccesity for reef tanks


----------



## thoroughbred (Mar 14, 2003)

nitrofish said:


> Innes said:
> 
> 
> > a basic how to set up a tank - cycling, live rock, salt, and anything else?
> ...


 DOESNT SOUND AS HARD AS I THOUGT IT WAS I WAS THINKING OF DOING ONE FOR MY WIFE SWEET THX GUYS


----------



## Jebus (Feb 29, 2004)

this site really made it easy to understand saltwater tanks









http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/beginners.../a/aa011602.htm


----------



## air*force*one (Mar 5, 2004)

Death in #'s dont act so dumb


----------



## Jebus (Feb 29, 2004)

air*force*one said:


> Death in #'s dont act so dumb


 what's with you and purposly derailing threads go away


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

thanks to Andrew it has been finished


----------

