converting to saltwater

The more coraline the better IMO its worth the extra .50cents per pound for nice rock.

Looks like Eric and Nick got you covered on the LR. About the light, that's odd. I guess it's tripping the breaker. Maybe instead of extension cords, switch outlets. I've heard gfci outlets are safest. If you go with extension cords, be careful of fire hazards.

I'll try to find the link.. i'll get it tonight

813 624 2397

That's his number (or at least the one I have)

Name is Jake Jacobson. He sells clean up crews and rock out of his backyard (he has a diver in the keys).

Let me know if that doesn't go through, I have his email..

Yes the number still works thank you! He said hes out of stock and in the keys right now which is ok because this is almost day 4 and my tank is still extremely cloudy from the sand:(
?
And as far as the GFCI outlet, you think those will be able to support the light? Because I know there only like 6 or 7 bucks I wouldnt mind putting them in.

Glad it still works!

If he's in the keys than that means you get fresh stock when he comes back which is good..

Hmmm. what type of filter are you running and when was the last time you cleaned the sock/bioballs/filter pad?

Yep im excited


Right now im just running the sump with a regular filter pad in the tray and the only other things helping are the sump sponge and the filter spong on the actual pump...I changed the filter pad tuesday night when I put the sand in and ive wrung out both sponges a couple times already...

I was told not to put the bioballs back in the sump so ive left them out and actually sold a good portion of them haha..

I've never personally used GFCI outlets, so I don't know. I went to a reefing conference where one of the speakers highly recommended them, though.

Glad you got the LR sorted out! Keep us updated!!

Alright guys, the caribbean rock guy didnt come through, he said he needs an order of at least 1000lbs in order to get rock and he doesnt have that. Sand is settled and the tanks been running for about 4 weeks. Got the water tested today and the only issue is the ammonia is a little high which would be helped by the live rock, but I cant find any! Went to MW but didnt want to pay $4 a pound then I went to Ocean Lifers and found that theirs is even more expensive. Any other advice on where to get good rock for a good price?

That sucks. I'd check Craigslist and/or post a "Want to Buy" post on the Tampa Bay Reef Club (TBRC) forum. If you can't find a deal on CL, I'm sure there's someone on the TBRC forum with some rock to spare. Their forum's address is: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=72

Alright got a few pieces of rock from MW...going to make a run to Corals and Fins today hopefully...

Also my salinity dropped to 1.021 do I need to add more salt?

1.021 will not kill anything but it should be around 1.025 to be ideal.

oh alright thats good to hear...do you think I should add a little then?

Change a bit of water, and make the salinty of the water higher than 1.025. I would try and do that rather than add it directly to the tank.

Yeah, raise the tank's salinity gradually. 1.025 is where you want it in the end.

Sam_G wrote:

Depends. What type of sand do you have?

To convert it you're going to want:

-skimmer
-return pump and plumbing for the sump
-good lighting if you plan on keeping corals (T5s, metal halides, leds)
-probably an RODI unit or plan on buying water from an LFS (again, if you plan on keeping corals)
-about 70lbs - 140lbs of rock (to keep the cost down I would buy mostly base rock and then buy a little bit of live rock to seed the base rock)
-a heater (I'm guessing you have one of these)
-maybe something to run carbon in (you probably can just use the HOB filter you already own)
-saltwater test kits
-water pumps/wavemakers (e.g. Koralia, Tunze, Maxi-Jet, Vortech, etc.)

Am I missing anything?

Do you need all of this for say a 20 L ?

20 L? As in a 5 gallon?

For something that small, no. I would run some type of small canister filter on it with custom LED lighting or power compact, depending on whether you want a reef tank or not. You would still need the LR and sand, and a small heater too.

20 Gallon Long...Sorry I've been wanting to dabble in Salt for a good while and I've wanted to get into frags and what, however my knowledge vs planted tanks is minuscule in comparison.

Ideally I want a tank with a pair of clowns (since we have such an awesome offer from November's meeting ) and to get some frags going.

Right now I have (or will have)
20G long (Will be getting this thanks to petco) - I'll be taking the rim off this tank if I can figure it out
LED light from the raffle
Heater
Instant Ocean (the bottle we got from the raffle)
and a small bit of knowledge

I know that I will have to grab the following:
Live Rock
Sand
Fish
Filter (would a submersible filter type work)

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Edit: I just realized how old this thread was LOL

20 long makes much more sense! Whoops!

My mom actually runs a 20H right now as a reef tank. She uses a small in-tank skimmer and a Penguin HOB filter with the standard carbon cartridge. No sump or anything complex. Has sand and LR for biological filtration, and then she runs 4 T5 bulbs for lighting and has a small Koralia for water motion. She's been able to keep any coral that she has tried (everything from softies to SPS).

Would that led I got be enough?

I'm not sure. I'd have to see specs on the fixture. I'm sure you can google it, though. I think the strip you won is more for accent/supplement lighting, but I could be wrong.