Thank You. I want to tell you that you have been a big help. I am so pumped about being this close to beening able to start. I will post some pictures when I get things moving.

Great! Can't wait to see the pics.

Me too

How is the tank coming along?

There has be a couple of problems. First I made a mistake with the tax return and still haven't got it. Then my mother in law passed away on the 20th of feb. My sump came in broke. I still don't have the replacement since I had someone make it for me.

Good news is that I did get my chiller and skimmer. And on March 10th I get to order my pump.

I'm very sorry to hear about your bad luck lately.
Hopefully things will improve for you.

Here is a couple pictures of my first sump as Reef Mania was making it. The next one will be just like it.

That's a good looking sump... How much did you pay for it?

It was 410.00 plus 100. for shipping. Oh and the size is 40 L x 18 W x 18 H

I do have a couple questions. I have decided to do what frag suggested when I first started posting. I am going to have 120 pds of base hirock. To this I plan on adding 40 lbs of Marshall live rock. Do you think that is enough live rock? Now for the sand if I have 100- 120 lbs of base sand how much live sand do I need?

All you really need is a seed for your live sand. Your best option is to find a couple of people with well established systems and get a pound or two of sand from them as a seed. The more people the better because this will add to the biodiversity of yout sand bed. In my opinion this is better than buying a bag of live sand that was bagged up months ago. If you must use bagged live sand then just one bag would be enough to get you started.

Here is a good article by Dr. Ron on deep sand bed particle size and the critters that live in them. - http://www.ronshimek.com/Deep%20Sand%20Beds.htm

Since the base rock is essentially a clean, uncolonized surface remember to add plenty of grazers like various snails and crabs to help keep the algae in check until the tank becomes established.

Right now you have 120 lbs of base rock and 40 lbs of live rock. That means 25% of your initial rock is live. I would say the 30-40% live rock is a good ratio to start with. But don't worry, as it will all become live eventually.

Only time will turn those base rocks into live rock... It's all part of the cycle that you will go through.

Here is a couple of the tank and stand. When we got the stand it was unfinished. My Hubby did the work for me.The Bottum picture is of the door on the canopy that would not corprate with him on the staining. So we decided to do it this way with wall border.

Very nice i like that look

So how is the tank doing now as they said earlier 30-40% of your rock should be live to help with the bacteria load and all that stuff. When you are ready to put water and sand in your tank what i did is put all the sand in then rock places 6 paper cups of GTG (good to go) sand in each corner of the tank and 2 in the middle those critters will start going nuts over night trying to find a new home. Then take 2-3 medium to large shrimp for the food store and drop them n the tank run some lights for about 3-4 hours and you will be ready to join club of I NEED FISH AND CORALS...........

good luck...

Glad to see that your tank is coming along nicely. Your patience and research should start to pay off soon. :)

Thank you guys. I am very pleased that the canopy turned out so well. This was one of those case we got a lemon and made lemonade out of it.

Okay, Here's a couple more questions. How Long after the cyclecan I add a bubble coral, frogspawn, and a hammer coral? I got it narrowed down to those and alot of zoos. I found a real pretty pink hammer that I am dieing to get. I know patience but I can still drool. I am thinking about 3 months after I get it started before I even consider getting a coral. I know I should have softies first but I am hoping to be able to sneak at least the hammer in. The others I can wait for if needed

You can start adding livestock as soon as your tank has cycled. When ammonia and nitrites have hit zero start checking your nitrates. I would suggest doing a water change or two at this point to help lower the level of nitrates produced during the cycle. Usually around 6-8 weeks after setting up your tank and adding liverock and sand you should be ready to start adding livestock. It is only recommended that you start with softies because they are generally easier to keep as compared to other corals. Softies are a great starting point to gain a better understanding for keeping corals and softies usually have a larger margin of error than other corals. Really you can start with almost anything, including a frogspawn, zoanthids, etc.

I got the Fedex notice. My sump will be here Monday. I am suppose to go to Gainesville to see my daughter and granddaughter. I will be home on Wednesday. Thank goodness hubby will be home.

Yes, Just got thru ordering my pump.
PanWorld 250PS-MD100R External Water Pump - 1900gph

Looks like you are one step closer! :D

Did the sump arrive yet?

No the sump will arrive on Monday and the pump will arrive on Wednesday.

Hi all, I just got back from Gainesville, My sump arrived perfectlly, Thank goodness. My pump should be here later today. The rest of the good news is the taxes also arrived while I was gone. That means in the morning I get to order everything else I need. The plumbing will be done this weekend. First thing Monday morning I will be ordering the live rock. So in 1 week I will be starting the cycle. I am so pumped everything finally is coming together for me.

Congratulations Teeka!
:wav:

Have you been to Ocean Encounters or AquaTropics in Gainesville?
Anytime I am there I always try to stop in those two stores.

Okay now a silly question exactly which test should I order? I want to order all that I need but not the ones I don't.
Thank You Frag.

When first setting up a tank the 3 most important things to test for are Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. The problem with purchasing Ammonia and Nitrite test kits is that you will most likely not need them again after your tank has cycled. So it is up to you as to whether or not to purchase these tests. Most LFS will test water for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate for you for free. As soon as Ammonia and Nitrite has hit 0 and Nitrates start to rise then your cycle is nearing the very end. At this point I would do a 10-20% water change and you should be ready to start stocking. This process will take around 4-8 weeks.

After the cycle the important things that you will want to test for are PH, Alkalinity, and Calcium. (Nitrates too if you are having algae issues, phosphates are tricky to test for as there are organic and inorganic phosphates and different tests read differently, but I would not worry about this unless you are overwhelmed with algae)

I don't remember but I think you said you are going to use RO/DI water right? What salt mix are you planning to use?

No I haven't benn to either but next time I am in the area I will make sure to stop and check them out.

The ph I was planning on getting the pinpoint meter for, would this do? The reason behind the meter is in Aug I plan on adding the calcium reactor,

A PH meter is not completely necessary at this point but if you have the extra money then yes it is a great thing to purchase.

Too bad they don't make affordable alkalinity and calcium monitors, yet. :)

Would it take the place of a ph test kit?

Yes. Sorry if my previous post was not clear.

Oh I Know I would rather have the meters then all the test kits.

It will be nice when the day comes that all water parameters can be checked and displayed digitally. Color changing test kits can be a pain to read.

What is the best kind of salt to use? I know I am playing 100 questions today but I want to get my order together. I am very nervous about this.

That is all a matter of opinion. If you were to ask 100 different people that question you would probably get 100 different answers.
I have used Coralife which I didn't care for, Instant Ocean which is what I have been using for years, and Tropic Marin which I bought a bucket because someone recommended it to me and said it was great and I wasn't impressed when other people swear by it. I have been thinking about trying the SeaChem salt which has elevated levels of borate to stabilize alkalinity.

Here is an article on "The Composition of Several Synthetic Seawater Mixes"

Some people swear by oceanic, but some instability in a few batches a while back has scared off a lot of people, which is one reason I have not tried it. I know someone who has had success mixing Instant Ocean with Oceanic to get the best of both worlds. Certain levels that Instant Ocean are low in Oceanic has plenty of and vice versa.

It is difficult to make a wrong choice in which salt mix to use. Try a few of the major brands and see which one you like best. Sometimes the PetsMart website and Dr. Foster's will have good deals on salt. Just remember that if you order salt online then usually you will have extra shipping surcharges.

I have started a poll here to see what salt mix everyone else uses. Maybe the feedback from others will help you make up your mind on which to use.