Flyangler33
Active Member
Hey All,
I am on my first saltwater tank adventure about 5 months in. I had previously dug into any and all information I could find online, R2R, Youtube, Google, etc to get my hands on as much knowledge as possible. There is a ton of information out there to take in and wanted to just share my experiences so far and what I feel are the most important take aways I have had so far and things I have learned along the way. There are 907809 ways to skin the cat but here is what I have done and experienced.
Let me first say my setup is a 50 gallon AIO Innovative Marine Fusion 2 Pro. Great setup, however, there are some definite drawbacks. If I was to do it again, I would definitely not go with an AIO, the AIO somewhat pigeon holes you into certain pieces of equipment which some of the quality on these pieces are trash (Protein Skimmers/GFO/Carbon Reactors). I would definitely go with my own build and add a sump if I was to do it again. I know you can drill your own holes etc, but I'm going to be honest I'm not the most crafty when it comes to customizing things myself.
1. Aqua Scape - This is something that I feel most new people will severely overlook. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT. I was so excited to get the sand and rock in there to start my cycle and just kind of threw the rocks in like yea that looks cool. But there is so much that your aquascape will impact. Your flow, your par, coral position, hiding places for fish, etc. Take the time lay your scape out on some cardboard, think about the corals/wildlife you wish to keep and also the flow, what power heads are you going to run and how is it going to act around your scape. My first scape was what I thought OK, but in fact was terrible, I had way too much rock in there, not enough swim space for my fish, I also had some dead spots with 0 flow which was really bad.
2. Sand Size - This is something that bit me in the rear, I went with a really fine grain sand because its the only thing the LFS had when I picked my tank up. It looks great when its clean....Keeping it clean is a royal pain in the rear. I would definitely recommend going with a larger grain much easier to clean with a gravel vac etc.
3. Lighting - Do your research pick a light that will work for you. I started off with 2 AI Prime 16 HDs, but wasn't super happy with them or their mounting options. I ended up jerry rigging them up on the Hydra mounting system which I liked the look of way more. I ended up swapping this out for a Radion G6 and am much happier with the lighting and the way my tank looks under it. I did wait about 8 weeks before turning the lights on, I wish I would have waited longer to help combat the uglies a little bit better.
4. Salinity - In my short experience one of the most important parameters by far. I struggled with this for a while. I cycled my tank and calibrated my checker and had the reading of 1.025 which I was very happy with for the first time mixing my own water. Before I added my first fish I went to my LFS and had them test my water. They told me my salinity was at 1.030 which surprised me and I did not end up picking up fish because I wanted to get the salinity in order first. Fast forward a week. I had my checker reading 1.020 which would be the difference of what the LFS told me. I went to a different LFS to get my first fish I had them test my water as well and they told me my salinity was low at 1.020...Ultimately I was right on the money and my tool was right, me being so new didn't trust myself and trusted the first LFS.
Be sure to calibrate your tools very often, I did not realize how quick they can get off target and I had a salinity spike up to 1.033 which nothing in the tank was happy about. Calibrate often and trust your equipment if you've done your research and put the time in to learn.
4. RO System - Get one...game changer, I thought making the water was going to be hard and I was going to screw it up. WAY easier than I thought. I hooked a 7 stage RODI system up in my laundry room and picked up 2 brute trashcans I always have 50 gallons on standby ready to go as well as RO water. Its super easy and way better than lugging jugs around and paying for water from the LFS.
Nothing in this hobby happens quick and if it does its usually bad >< be patient and take your time. As for other parameters those will seem to fluctuate for the first few months and then level out. Keep them in check and go off the health of your livestock and corals.
5. Emergency Back Up - Now the ugly. I was on vacation about 4 weeks ago and a tornado came through my town and knocked out my power for a day. Luckily my neighbors let me know and were able to get a generator to my house and the tank hooked up but it was without power for 15-18 hours. This killed all of my coral, all my inverts, and 1 fish. My other 5 fish some how survived. I was out of town for a week and came back to a tank FILLLED with algae. The algae took over everything It was so thick I almost could not see into the tank. My fish were acting ok so over the course of the next week I was taking out rock and scrubbing it in a separate bin and doing about a 10% water change every day to help get everything back under control. It was a nightmare but we made it and 5 of my 6 fish survived which I was happy with it not being a total loss.
This did give me a chance to redo my scape which was nice and change a few things but was definitely a stressful learning event. I have since invested in a generator that can run my tank for 24 hours on a tank of gas. I can't stress enough having some sort of emergency backup if you live in a place where you can experience natural disasters or frequent power outages.
I just put my first corals in the tank yesterday after the incident and am excited to get back on track.
Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the algae but it was out of control and looks way better now. Attaching some pics of my set up before and after the event. I hope this information can help someone else that is new and starting out as well!
I am on my first saltwater tank adventure about 5 months in. I had previously dug into any and all information I could find online, R2R, Youtube, Google, etc to get my hands on as much knowledge as possible. There is a ton of information out there to take in and wanted to just share my experiences so far and what I feel are the most important take aways I have had so far and things I have learned along the way. There are 907809 ways to skin the cat but here is what I have done and experienced.
Let me first say my setup is a 50 gallon AIO Innovative Marine Fusion 2 Pro. Great setup, however, there are some definite drawbacks. If I was to do it again, I would definitely not go with an AIO, the AIO somewhat pigeon holes you into certain pieces of equipment which some of the quality on these pieces are trash (Protein Skimmers/GFO/Carbon Reactors). I would definitely go with my own build and add a sump if I was to do it again. I know you can drill your own holes etc, but I'm going to be honest I'm not the most crafty when it comes to customizing things myself.
1. Aqua Scape - This is something that I feel most new people will severely overlook. IT IS SUPER IMPORTANT. I was so excited to get the sand and rock in there to start my cycle and just kind of threw the rocks in like yea that looks cool. But there is so much that your aquascape will impact. Your flow, your par, coral position, hiding places for fish, etc. Take the time lay your scape out on some cardboard, think about the corals/wildlife you wish to keep and also the flow, what power heads are you going to run and how is it going to act around your scape. My first scape was what I thought OK, but in fact was terrible, I had way too much rock in there, not enough swim space for my fish, I also had some dead spots with 0 flow which was really bad.
2. Sand Size - This is something that bit me in the rear, I went with a really fine grain sand because its the only thing the LFS had when I picked my tank up. It looks great when its clean....Keeping it clean is a royal pain in the rear. I would definitely recommend going with a larger grain much easier to clean with a gravel vac etc.
3. Lighting - Do your research pick a light that will work for you. I started off with 2 AI Prime 16 HDs, but wasn't super happy with them or their mounting options. I ended up jerry rigging them up on the Hydra mounting system which I liked the look of way more. I ended up swapping this out for a Radion G6 and am much happier with the lighting and the way my tank looks under it. I did wait about 8 weeks before turning the lights on, I wish I would have waited longer to help combat the uglies a little bit better.
4. Salinity - In my short experience one of the most important parameters by far. I struggled with this for a while. I cycled my tank and calibrated my checker and had the reading of 1.025 which I was very happy with for the first time mixing my own water. Before I added my first fish I went to my LFS and had them test my water. They told me my salinity was at 1.030 which surprised me and I did not end up picking up fish because I wanted to get the salinity in order first. Fast forward a week. I had my checker reading 1.020 which would be the difference of what the LFS told me. I went to a different LFS to get my first fish I had them test my water as well and they told me my salinity was low at 1.020...Ultimately I was right on the money and my tool was right, me being so new didn't trust myself and trusted the first LFS.
Be sure to calibrate your tools very often, I did not realize how quick they can get off target and I had a salinity spike up to 1.033 which nothing in the tank was happy about. Calibrate often and trust your equipment if you've done your research and put the time in to learn.
4. RO System - Get one...game changer, I thought making the water was going to be hard and I was going to screw it up. WAY easier than I thought. I hooked a 7 stage RODI system up in my laundry room and picked up 2 brute trashcans I always have 50 gallons on standby ready to go as well as RO water. Its super easy and way better than lugging jugs around and paying for water from the LFS.
Nothing in this hobby happens quick and if it does its usually bad >< be patient and take your time. As for other parameters those will seem to fluctuate for the first few months and then level out. Keep them in check and go off the health of your livestock and corals.
5. Emergency Back Up - Now the ugly. I was on vacation about 4 weeks ago and a tornado came through my town and knocked out my power for a day. Luckily my neighbors let me know and were able to get a generator to my house and the tank hooked up but it was without power for 15-18 hours. This killed all of my coral, all my inverts, and 1 fish. My other 5 fish some how survived. I was out of town for a week and came back to a tank FILLLED with algae. The algae took over everything It was so thick I almost could not see into the tank. My fish were acting ok so over the course of the next week I was taking out rock and scrubbing it in a separate bin and doing about a 10% water change every day to help get everything back under control. It was a nightmare but we made it and 5 of my 6 fish survived which I was happy with it not being a total loss.
This did give me a chance to redo my scape which was nice and change a few things but was definitely a stressful learning event. I have since invested in a generator that can run my tank for 24 hours on a tank of gas. I can't stress enough having some sort of emergency backup if you live in a place where you can experience natural disasters or frequent power outages.
I just put my first corals in the tank yesterday after the incident and am excited to get back on track.
Unfortunately I didn't take any pics of the algae but it was out of control and looks way better now. Attaching some pics of my set up before and after the event. I hope this information can help someone else that is new and starting out as well!
