Considering salt

[jlcoop277]

As I'm collecting parts to do an upgrade to my tank, I'm considering going salt.
My tank is 100g and will have a 55g sump when finished. I'll be running a benie animal system. I'm planning on using Kaldess media. Reefs are cool, but not my thing. So it's a FO tank.
My questions ATM are can I use the kaldness with salt? If so do I need a skimmer? What is a good skimmer for my setup? What would be a good substrate?
Once set up and established is salt any more expensive then fresh?

[kleankord]

what's benie? and what's Kaldess? so many skimmers, so many would work well. substrate would depend on what fish you would want to keep. Some, such as sting rays, prefer a fine substrate. Once set up and established, the fish are more expensive, but that's about it. gl

[jlcoop277]

Benie is what happens when you dont proof read your posts. it should have been "Beananimal"
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
Kaldness is a type of media that is used in fluidized beds. Its used for koi pond keepers, and water treatment facilities.
There are tons of Youtube vids on it.

[Mwil3]

The big expense with salt is the live rock and lighting. (of course livestock cost more too)

If you are running a fowler tank, you really don't "need" a skimmer or special lighting. I'm not familiar with Kaldness, but your live rock acts as your bio filtration in a salt tank. You could run a tank with just LR and powerheads and would be fine (for just fish with regular water changes) A sump is definately nice for hiding equipment and you could use a filter sock for mechanical filtration.

I'm sure you will get more input. (be careful, it's very addictive) :)

[kleankord]

Benie is what happens when you dont proof read your posts. it should have been "Beananimal"
http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx
Kaldness is a type of media that is used in fluidized beds. Its used for koi pond keepers, and water treatment facilities.
There are tons of Youtube vids on it.

OIC, I've seen articles on both.. Kaldness is for heavy bioloads right? Don't know enough to advice you on either. Salt is tons more fun, the price points are just a bit higher, and acclimation is a bit more important. IME

[greeneyed]

Salt can be more expensive to upkeep.
It all depends on the direction you go with it.

[snow999ball]

ya, cost would be greater for the set-up and upkeep. Look through these threads and you will find what you need eventually for cheap. That being said ive found people selling live cured rock for $2-$4, instead of $6-$10.

Also you may get lucky and find someone nice enough to give you some starter stuff for free....

i'm not sure if that really answers what your looking for but it's just my 2 cents

[jlcoop277]

I keep lurking around some of the salt forums, I'll have to see how the tax return looks. Thanks for the advice. I'm staying away from reefs, just thinking about a FO tank.

[KingBichir]

When you get around to it, I'll give you some of my sand to help seed your tank, also have some rocks I'd sell cheap. Alot of cost comes from buying water with reefs. I'm still fairly new so I'm not 100% about it but I don't think you will have to use RO water with a fish only tank.

[jlcoop277]

Ok thanks, I'm just starting to think about it and trying to figure out what all I need. I know I don't have to money/time/patience for a reef. Plus I like things that swim.

[Erniec]

Have you watched the BRS vids on youtube on Saltwater, I know there is a lot about selling stuff with his vids but I found them to have some information that was very useful, I don't know how much you know but I will post the starting vid

How to set up a saltwater aquarium - Episode 1: Reef tanks made fun and easy - YouTube

[Typical Tony]

99% of people that start out with FOWLR will eventually convert it to reef sooner or later, that being said it's best to have all the neccessary equipments so by the time you change your mind you are already set.

You can half-ass a FOWLR tank by having the minimal stuff and probably won't have much success in the long run or you can go all out and have a beautiful and healthy environment for the fish, the latter choice will require a lot more money and less headaches when it comes to maintaining.

All out as in investing in a nice protein skimmer, doing a refugium/sump, reactors, RO/DI set up, nice light, etc... pretty much quality equipments.


Most important thing... RESEARCH! READ READ READ and ask a million questions, go sign onto all those SW forums, local and nationwide and read some more. Don't be shy and ask all the experts, rarely any here. Slowly build it up and DO NOT rush into it, it will take time... Don't go out and buy something bc you think it's cool, research about it and see if it will be compatible with other fish you like. I spent like over 3 months of researching and going to different LFS to look at things and also attended a couple of sw meetings, picking at ppl's brain before i jumped on and even now, there's a lot i still don't know about this hobby. Just take it slow, there have been way too many people rushing to set it up without any knowledge at all and well their tank looks like crap and fish are dying and they wonder why.

[Mwil3]

I agree with "most" of what tony said. If you get into salt, you will most likely end up building a reef. Please, take your time and don't rush it (you will just end up killing stock.) Also, as he said, do research before you buy that awesome fish you saw at the lfs. Getting a fish out of a reef tank is quiet an ordeal, not to mention, some are poisonous and can kill other fish, inverts, and corals. I would not use anything but RO in a salt tank (I know there are those out there that use tap/well water, but there is so much money involved, I'll just be safe) My RO/DI unit has paid for itself many times.

You don't have to spend an arm and a leg for set up though. I had a 20L reef with a HOB skimmer, heater, some powerheads, and some PC lights for over a year. The cheaper skimmers do require more attention, but everything thrived and is still doing great in my current tank. If you watch the forums, you will come across good deals on equipment. And....despite how he feels...there are a few members that know what they are doing. :)

[jlcoop277]

Cool, Thanks for the input, i'm by no means ready to convert just yet, maybe in the spring. I Love my Roselines and i'm not sure if i want to sell them to go salt. It'll have to happen if I do, the Wife put a limit on my tank collection. I've got my 55 as a sump so thats covered.
I'm for sure reading all kinds of info, I learned the Hard way about buying "cool" stuff when i built my first AR, so I def will research anything before i buy it. Just trying to get a heads up.

Can you use any heater or is there something special i should look for? And what kind of power head/how many would you all suggest?

[snow999ball]

I like korolias cause they dont pull from on specific spot lessening the chance of something live getting caught. also I think they look better:D

[jlcoop277]

I was looking at those today, most likely what I'll go with.

[Typical Tony]

as far as powerheads go, MP series are the best...it blows Koralias out of the water, literally!

[kleankord]

as far as powerheads go, MP series are the best...it blows Koralias out of the water, literally!

I seriously didn't know what the hype was, until I bought my own. sonuva-wow.


but for a fish only? I don't see the point.

[snow999ball]

hhum looks like i may be trying them then, so I won't have to upgrade later

[Typical Tony]

I seriously didn't know what the hype was, until I bought my own. sonuva-wow.


but for a fish only? I don't see the point.

same here, well it could work if you have the money. Mimics natural wave movements that regular powerheads can't do unless you buy a wavemaker.

[snow999ball]

looked some of them up.....dang crazy cool but also extremely expensive.

Not sure of size id need for a 54 corner tank....cause all the reveiws were about rectangular tanks 54 Corner38" x 27" x 22"54 Corner38" x 27" x 22"

[Typical Tony]

looked some of them up.....dang crazy cool but also extremely expensive.

Not sure of size id need for a 54 corner tank....cause all the reveiws were about rectangular tanks 54 Corner38" x 27" x 22"54 Corner38" x 27" x 22"

you can get away with a mp10 but id go with a mp20, theyre pricey for a reason tho. Nothing is cheap in this hobby but if you wait long enough a good deal might come by.

[Mwil3]

I agree....I (and my corals) love my MP10. I didn't want a big ol' wave box in my display, and this thing does a great job mixing it up in there.

[jlcoop277]

Wow they Must be good since 1 MP40 pays my truck payment for a month.

[kleankord]

I had 2 k nanos, and when I swapped in the mp10 I saw, literally, overnight improvement. Out of all the toys I bought for the tank, that one showed the most dramatic results and I would not hesitate to buy it again.

Right now on 33 gallons, I have it set to 1/3 the power. I'm so impressed with it, that I'm considering turning the tank into SPS and moving out the softies so I can crank up the setting a bit.

[Typical Tony]

I had 2 k nanos, and when I swapped in the mp10 I saw, literally, overnight improvement. Out of all the toys I bought for the tank, that one showed the most dramatic results and I would not hesitate to buy it again.

Right now on 33 gallons, I have it set to 1/3 the power. I'm so impressed with it, that I'm considering turning the tank into SPS and moving out the softies so I can crank up the setting a bit.

In my 25 along with the stock pump i had my mp10 running 2/3 the power during the day and 1/3 at night haha

[jlcoop277]

Live sand question
I know i dont need it for FOWLR, but I like the sand bottom look, so i've read that i can of course buy different types of live sand, the top end being the stuff straight from the ocean, or i can use inert sand and "seed" it.
Since i got the time to wait, as i'm still getting parts, I'm thinking of starting to seed some sand in my 29, So what sand do i need to get in order to start the process? The inert sand not the sand with all the critters and stuff in it.

[Incaico]

as far as powerheads go, MP series are the best...it blows Koralias out of the water, literally!

I've been leaning towards a Tunze. Have you tried them out?


Live sand question
I know i dont need it for FOWLR, but I like the sand bottom look, so i've read that i can of course buy different types of live sand, the top end being the stuff straight from the ocean, or i can use inert sand and "seed" it.
Since i got the time to wait, as i'm still getting parts, I'm thinking of starting to seed some sand in my 29, So what sand do i need to get in order to start the process? The inert sand not the sand with all the critters and stuff in it.

I'd stick with live sand. You can find it fairly cheap if you buy it from someone that is breaking down a tank. Sometimes you'll find it for free.

[Typical Tony]

Live sand question
I know i dont need it for FOWLR, but I like the sand bottom look, so i've read that i can of course buy different types of live sand, the top end being the stuff straight from the ocean, or i can use inert sand and "seed" it.
Since i got the time to wait, as i'm still getting parts, I'm thinking of starting to seed some sand in my 29, So what sand do i need to get in order to start the process? The inert sand not the sand with all the critters and stuff in it.

whoever told you that is misinformed and just bs-ing you, straight from the ocean does not mean it's the best... usually with sand its more of a preference but you will need aragonite-based sand if you plan on doing sw. You can get away with inert but i probably wouldn't recommend it, aragonite is calcium base and will help buffer the water as well as release other trace elements needed. I prefer tropic eden's reeflakes bc the grains are a bit bigger and will not get blown around as much as the sugar fined stuff.

As far as it's being "live" is that it just contains the necessary bacterias and other critters in it, nothing fancy. I started out with dry sand and had no problem.

I've been leaning towards a Tunze. Have you tried them out?

I'd stick with live sand. You can find it fairly cheap if you buy it from someone that is breaking down a tank. Sometimes you'll find it for free.

I agree with Will, just keep an eye out theres always people getting rid of sand and what not when they shut down their tank... only problem with those is that even though it maybe live it will also come with critters and pest you might not want... that's why I like starting out with dry sand.

Tunze is a good brand, good powerhead but no where near as strong or as efficient as the Mp series.