New Reefer

robbie1971 · 03-22-2007, 05:17 PM

Hello, My name is Robbie. I would like to introduce myself. I'm a owner of a brand new 100 gallon tank, in the start up phase. No water yet, but lighting installed, rock and sand, starting to produce RO water. Looking forward to joining ya'll. My tank has already become the main attraction on my street. Each new step I take , we seem to throw a party. Can wait to see what happens , when I introduce my first fish. Wish me luck !

**wwest** · 03-22-2007, 07:06 PM

Welcome to TR

If you have any questions at all just let us know and I'm sure someone here can help you and if you see a post you would like to join in on, feel free

**Seahorsedreams** · 03-22-2007, 07:49 PM

We are putting up a hundred as well right now.

Do you have any plumbing plans squared away? Are you going to use a closed loop or anything? I just figured out my plumbing finally today. Would love to see what you have in mind :-)

veriann · 03-22-2007, 09:16 PM

welcome bud, just make sure thast camera is brought to the parties!

chase33 · 03-22-2007, 10:33 PM

Welcome. Can't wait to see pics!

**CarmieJo** · 03-23-2007, 01:15 AM

Hi Robbie and

to TR.

robbie1971 · 03-23-2007, 02:03 PM

I'm not running plumbing under the tank. I have concerns with power outages in my area and didn't want it to back up and overflow into the house. I'm running a 3 in 1 freedom filter , as my experience grows , I'll upgraded to a better system

Reefbaby · 03-23-2007, 02:24 PM

Hey Robbie - welcome to TR! I'm sure you'll find it a warm, welcoming and knowledgeable family!

Since you're just starting up and still have room for decisions, I would suggest thinking about your plumbing, design a layout and post it here for us to comment on. There are many ways to ensure that even if there is a power outage, it doesn't have to mean that you will have flooding issues. For instance, you can build your sump big enough to hold any overflow. In addition, it depends on where you overflow is, but this also influences the amount of overflow that would occur should your pumps switch off. There are many (some very easy) precautions to take so that you don't have flooding issues, such as drilling a hole in your tubing in order to hinder a siphon effect. Our local plumbing experts can give you great tips on how to tinker everything to perfection!

In addition, I would highly suggest getting a protein skimmer as your main means for filtration. Also, you mentioned that your have your rocks and sand, but no water yet. So, I assume you have dead rock? Another great advantage to adding a bit more stability to your system in terms of denitrification is to have some live rock in your system - it not only adds some great biodiversity, but also lots of good bacteria for breaking down the nitrates and nitrites.

Here is a link where you'll find several good articles to read for starting up a reef system. Hope to see you back with more questions and pictures!

iglowce · 03-23-2007, 03:28 PM

wow reef baby said everything i wanted to say. so yeah hopefully we get some of your pix up here soon =]

robbie1971 · 03-23-2007, 04:27 PM

Great info ! My current filter has a protein skimmer, mechanical and biological filter installed in the unit. My live sand (2bags 40lbs) and crushed coral (1 bag) and (75 lbs) base rock (uncurred)are still in the packaging. I'm running my RO system right know to begin mixing saltwater Sunday morning. I'm picking up about 10 lbs of cured rock Sunday afternoon. The plans are set up my aquascape and beging the cycle process. Any pointer???

I have no clue on plumbing, maybe someone has an example for a 100gal, I could possibly reveiw ?????

Reefbaby · 03-23-2007, 04:46 PM

well, the plumbing is all quite similar, just at different scales. Check out Amphibious' thread on his tank and PM him for some advice. He's a very experienced aquarium plumber!

I would make one recommendation concerning your substrate. I started out my tank with crushed coral and really regretting it. It's quite coarse and ends up trapping a lot of detritus, which over time ends up causing a lot of nutrient issues. If I were to do it over again, I would just stick with fine or sugar fine sand. Definitely set it up so that it's 4" or greater. The sand will condense and get used up over time, so in order to reap the benefits of a DSB, it's better to go on the deeper side.
On a side note, is your sand or aragonite base or silica? You'll want to make sure it's aragonite-based, otherwise you'll have a lot of algae problems. Diatoms feed off of silica, which is a major problem with the silica-based sands.

Also, make sure you heat your salt water before measuring the salinity. Different temperatures have different densities...

The best way to set up a reef tank is to do it slowly and patiently. Don't rush any of the steps. Make sure you get some good test kits (Salifert are highly recommended and are my personal favorite) and watch your values as your tank is cycling. Try to be regular about measuring the following:
pH
Alkalinity/KH
Calcium (I'm not sure if you're planning on having corals as well??)
Magnesium
Phosphate
Nitrate
Nitrite
Ammonia

by following these parameters, it will give you a great sense of how your tank functions and what the good signs of health are. It also helps in the future for being able to easier predict how the health of your tank is.

ummm....I'll stop for now!

robbie1971 · 03-23-2007, 05:28 PM

Very , very interesting ... definitely food for thought on the plumbing.

Yes, aragonite base sand. I really like your suggestion on finer sand, I wasn't really sold on the coarse sand, They use it at my local fish store. I find it unattractive, but they recommended it.

I'm currently planning on a fish only tank...

I'll keep you posted on my progess this weekend ..... thanks