New Reef Tank(3 days old).. did i mess it up already?

[missi0n]

Your old rock is dead if all you had was 1 cup of salt.
Good luck

wait a sec. I filled up a 5 gallon bucket with water, THEN put a cup of salt in, then poured it into my tank. so there are about 8 cups of salt in there since I didn't fill it all the way and I have a 56 gallon tank. I know I havent read enough, I just started on sunday =) but I'm willing to do the reading, and I have been.

I was just going to put my RODI water into a 5gal bucket.. not enough?

 

[masterswimmer]

wait a sec. I filled up a 5 gallon bucket with water, THEN put a cup of salt in, then poured it into my tank. so there are about 8 cups of salt in there since I didn't fill it all the way and I have a 56 gallon tank. I know I havent read enough, I just started on sunday =) but I'm willing to do the reading, and I have been.

I was just going to put my RODI water into a 5gal bucket.. not enough?

You mentioned you have a refractometer. Why aren't you measuring your salinity with your equipment? Remove all doubt

Russ

 

[Craig]

I am not drilling the tank, I will have an overflow box.

here's a piece of advice you will be kicking yourself a few months down the line if you dont follow:

"do not use an external overflow. have your tank drilled by an experienced reefer" :scratchch

 

[Davidl919]

One Baby step at a time... We don't want you to get stressed and leave before you start.... If you can come to the swap this sunday it's a great place to ask all the questions you have in person... You'll be able to buy some rock possibly and even pick up an RODI.. It's worth the price of admission I know most of the people here who have responded will be there.... and I think Aqua pro builder has a shop you can try visiting....

 

[basiab]

I was just going to put my RODI water into a 5gal bucket.. not enough?[/quote]
Maybe not enough maybe too much. Unless you check it how can you know. You need to check you bucket but you also need to check your tank to know where things stand.

 

[MikeyNYC]

Just wanted to emphasize what Bueller posted. Get the Lava rock out, contains all kinds of harmful metals that will dissolve into your water, and cause potential problems along the way.

As you can see by most of the posts in your thread, it all starts with the quality of the water. I've only been doing this for a little over a year, so I can't preach. Everything you need to know is at your finger tips, if you can find it, post and everyone will be more then happy to chim in. Like everything in life, a little effort, and forward thinking, and the basics of the hobby will become much easier. Good luck with it, it's a great hobby and worth effort. Welcome to the board.

 

[Awibrandy]

Before & After RO/DI pics

 

[missi0n]

wow, is that the same tank?? quite the difference.

 

[Awibrandy]

Almost! I got rid of the actual tank because it wasn't RR, and when I started over I started using ro/di water. I used half of the old water that was in the old tank, and started a Two little fishies phosban reactor, and weekly 40 gallon water changes. I also scrubbed out all my live rock, and placed them in bins for about 1.5 months prior to the actual switch doing weekly water changes on them as well.
I am trying to save you all that hard work. Do your self a huge favor, and dump all the tap water. Start over with all RO/DI from here on, and you shouldn't have to go through what I did.
There was alot done to bring my tank to what it is today. There is a thread here on MR on the tank you see in those pics if you care to look it up.
I will say it again. Get rid of the tap water now, and just start over from scratch. You will not regret it, but you will regret it if you don't dump that tap water you initially used.........

And please do use your refractometer while mixing your salt in the buckets. This is very important.

 

[rookie07]

about 1 cup of salt per gallon is standard(from my experiance atleast)
Use your refractor(they are great and save you time/inaccurate readings)
TAKE YOUR TIME If you rush, you will either mess things up. Or wish you had done things differently.
You are going to have this tank for a long time, 2 or 3 months wont matter in the long run.
Get rid of all the old water.
I would even sugest buying the "pre-packaged" real salt water that is sold in 4.4 gallon jugs.(you still need an RO/DI to add fresh water, in general)
Its from the ocean, so you know its good.
Good water/live rock/live sand will be a huge help to you as they act as a buffer and will help correct the small mkistakes you make.
You also need supplements(once you have fish/coral).
I would recommend the ESV(2 part system) most vendors on here carry it. Its a 2 part liquid you add to the tank to correct PH, mag, cal, alk, most of the things you need. And then phytoplankton, for filter feeding corals/inverts(kent makes some good stuff).
You dont need a clean up crew until, YOUr tank has cycled(about 4-6) weeks from when you start, AND you are feeding the tank(if your not feeding the tank, the clean up crew will have no food)
I am also new to this hobby, but this is what Ive learned so far.
GOOD LUCK
and Manhattan Reefs is awesome, these ppl really help!!!

 

[missi0n]

okay, today is the day! I am taking everyones advice and dumping my old water. I'm getting a big bucket and putting store bought RODI water in there.. (i dont have an RODI yet).. then ill fill up a bucket 5 gallons at a time and salt it. a pain? yes, but from what im reading its totally worth it to start over with RODI water.

Buying RODI this weekend (still dont know which one, but i know it should be 4 stage) should have it for next weekend when i do my first water change.

 

[Awibrandy]

This is the one I purchased. No regrets! Forgot to mention it comes with everything you need, including the TDS meter. And you get it in a couple of days.
Click here: Compact III with DI Bypass Assembly and TDS Meter

 

[rookie07]

check out http://www.thefilterguys.biz/index.htm
keep in mind, RO/DI filters are BIG. app. 22x22x6
I know, I thought they were small also.

 

[missi0n]

update: with pictures.. i know how much everyone likes them. I bought a great EcoSystems sump with a Mag 9.5 pump from JLAudio (thanks!) he was a great help and offered me sound advice on setting up my tank. I finally figured out the siphon, and my tank is running fine now. I added 25 more #s of rock to bring it to 80# in my 55 gallon. I put some chaeto in the fuge with a live rock.. and now im just going to sit back and let the tank cycle for a while until im ready for the next step.

I have an RO system (my parents actually had a used one lying around in the basement for purifying their tap water.. no they didnt have a tank) but they got a plumber to hook it up, and have no idea how it works. Does anyone live around hoboken that wants to help me out hooking this up under my sink? I have all the parts, just have no idea what to do.

I also need to buy a protein skimmer.. if anyone has one for sale im looking for a skimmer for at least a 120 gallon tank.

 

[missi0n]

some pics

 

[missi0n]

by the way the rock has totally not been aquascaped.. i am planning to do that over the weekend. I was going to just take the rock out, lay it on a garbage bag and put it back in the way I wanted.. is there a better way to do this?

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

re route your water line just in case water sips along it and drop right on your light.

show us pic of your RO with all the parts then we can redraw on the pics to tell you how it is supposed to be connected.

First a RO filter should always has, at least, a sediment filter before it. The most common configuration is 1)Sediment, 2)carbon, 3)RO then 4)DI.

RO cartridge in general has 3 ports. The side that is single ported is intake and the side that is double ported has the good water coming out from the center while the waste water coming out from the outside port.

 

[rookie07]

Do you only have 1 powerhead in the tank?
If so(and it looks like a small one) you need more.
I would recommend the koralia(#3 or #4) b/c that gives you alot of flow without a bulky pump in you tank. IF YOU WANT TO SPEND ALOT OF $$$$$, THE VORTECH IS REALLY COOL

 

[JLAudio]

Im really impressed in comparisson to the first pic. Im glad your getting good use with the fuge and pump. Keep it up, your hard work and research is gonna pay off with a BAD ASS reef tank!

 

[Timbo]

Tank is looking really good. Totally agree with JL about the turn around. Keep taking the good advice from everyone and take it slow. Give the tank time to cycle before adding any livestock.