My Thread OTD... A few more ?'s!

[Iconz]

Heh, I hate to keep hogging the new threads, but as time gets closer, more and more detailed questions come to mind. So here goes! And, as always, thanks ahead of time for reading and answering!

*** Equipment ***

- What all else do I need? I know there is a BUNCH of stuff that I need still that I'm not thinking about, and I need to start getting a list together.

--What I have so far:

HOTB fuge
2 maxijet 900 PH's
4x24 T5 lighting and blubs (2 blue, 2 white)
LED lunar lighting (blue).
100gpd RO/DI unit.
20g Topfin Heater
Digital Thermometer.
Fission Nano Skimmer (being sent back)
American DJ 8 port power center.
50g mix bag of Instant Ocean Salt.
TDS Tester

--What I know I need:

Better skimmer.
QT tank.


-- What I'm not sure about:

Salifert test kits: Which ones of these do I need? Where is the best place to buy them? (marine depot has them for about $18.00 / kit).

Refractometer: Do I need one or is a test kit better for this? If so, which one?
Or, is a hydrometer better?

Floatmag: Do I need one; Are there some that are better than others?

Syphon: I'm pretty sure I need one of these for WC's, but is there one inparticular that I should get?

Timers: Digital vs Analog? Which brand to go with?

Tongs (not to be confused with thongs :) ) : Do I need a pair of these (or 2) for feeding, arrangement of corals, etc...?

Aqua Gloves: Is this needed to prevent skin oil, etc from getting in your tank?

What else do I need?
__________________________________________________ ______________

*** Water ***

How often do you all test your water parms? (During and after cycle.)

How much temperature swing and PH change is too much between day and night light cycles?

Water changes- how often / how much? (keep in mind im going to be running nano)

When syphoning out water for WC's, do you all agitate the substrate any or leave it alone? My intuition is to leave it alone so that you don't disturb you built up nutrients / micro organisims / cleanup crew, but I very well may be wrong.

__________________________________________________ _______________

*** Substrate ***

Greg and joe have both mentioned to just use dry sand. And try to get a couple of cups of LS from an established tanks. That sounds good to me.

My questions is, what kinda of dry sand? Do I just get some and try the fizz test or what?

Live Rock: How much should I introduce at first? I've heard 1/2 and 1/2, and I've heard all at once. I've also heard all at once can give you an overnight tank crash...
__________________________________________________ _______________

*** Setup ***

During my cycle, do I have all of my equipment on? Lights, PH's, Heater, Fuge, Skimmer? Heater is an obvious one, and I've read that running your lights on an extended schedule helps promote algae growth.

How soon do I introduce my cleanup crew?

__________________________________________________ _______________

Again, sorry for the length, and thanks for taking the time!

-JD

[perpetual98]

Better skimmer. Yes - Check out the Coralife ones we talked about
QT tank. Optional


-- What I'm not sure about:

Salifert test kits: Which ones of these do I need? Where is the best place to buy them? (marine depot has them for about $18.00 / kit). I just picked up a Red Sea Master test kit from Petsolutions for a reasonable price

Refractometer: Do I need one or is a test kit better for this? If so, which one?
Or, is a hydrometer better? Get a refractometer, you'll be glad you did!

Floatmag: Do I need one; Are there some that are better than others? Any one will work, there's some really nice ones out there, but are for larger tanks.

Syphon: I'm pretty sure I need one of these for WC's, but is there one inparticular that I should get? Just use some clear hose from the hardware store. I use a hunk that is I think 1/2" diameter and about 6 feet long

Timers: Digital vs Analog? Which brand to go with? Up to you for what you want to spend. Digital is nice, but most of mine are the analog dial type. Not as accurate, but do your fish care if you turn the light on at 9:30AM or 9:33 AM?

Tongs (not to be confused with thongs :) ) : Do I need a pair of these (or 2) for feeding, arrangement of corals, etc...? I've never had tongs in my years of reef keeping, but if you want them, it's up to you

Aqua Gloves: Is this needed to prevent skin oil, etc from getting in your tank? See above answer

What else do I need?
__________________________________________________ ______________

*** Water ***

How often do you all test your water parms? (During and after cycle.) I rarely check mine, but I don't recommend doing what I do. :)

How much temperature swing and PH change is too much between day and night light cycles? Keeping your temp and pH as close to constant as possible is best. pH swings of .2 aren't terrible.

Water changes- how often / how much? (keep in mind im going to be running nano) a 5 gallon water change every week or every other week would be fine.

When syphoning out water for WC's, do you all agitate the substrate any or leave it alone? My intuition is to leave it alone so that you don't disturb you built up nutrients / micro organisims / cleanup crew, but I very well may be wrong. Leave the substrate alone. Try to suck junk/detrius up off of the live rocks

*** Setup ***

During my cycle, do I have all of my equipment on? Lights, PH's, Heater, Fuge, Skimmer? Heater is an obvious one, and I've read that running your lights on an extended schedule helps promote algae growth. You can run everything but the skimmer I think, but I may be wrong there. I think you WANT some gunk in your tank during the cycle.

How soon do I introduce my cleanup crew?
wait until your test kits are all 0-0-0 (Ni, Na, Am)

[Iconz]

Thanks Eric! That was timely! Muchos Gracias amigo!

[Sweetpea]

A suggestion about the timer... I have one digital and one analog, and I prefer the analog. Every time the power goes out or sometimes even a small surge, the digital timer trips and you have to reprogram everything. PITA, especially if it is tucked away behind the tank or in a stand. ;)

[Sweetpea]

I forgot to mention that the analog timer is cheaper, too! ;)

I have already bought a dual analog timer for the new tank! :)

[jojo22]

The only thing I can add here as all has been covered well is that I would suggest leaving your skimmer off untill your cycle is over or at least the very end. The junk it will pull out is helpfull in speeding up your cycle. Just watch your ammonia and try not to let it get above 3 ppm (my prefrence some go 5 ppm but I am afraid that it would kill off some goodies in your LR). Other than that I must say that I agree with everything Eric and Tracy have said.

[Iconz]

Well, speaking of power outages, here is an option / idea for some of you who want to protect against it....

Battery Backup (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB&total_watts=200)

This item would keep 1 mag 12 pump running for about 40 minutes.

There are others that offer more backup time. And some that offer less (if you just wanna protect against a power flash). Just let me know if you're interrested.

[Iconz]

only questions that have not been answered...

*** Substrate ***

Greg and joe have both mentioned to just use dry sand. And try to get a couple of cups of LS from an established tanks. That sounds good to me.

My questions is, what kinda of dry sand? Do I just get some and try the fizz test or what?

Live Rock: How much should I introduce at first? I've heard 1/2 and 1/2, and I've heard all at once. I've also heard all at once can give you an overnight tank crash...

Thanks for everythign so far!

-JD

[jojo22]

If you can find southdown sand at HD that would be best. It is not made anymore but HD seems to still have it from time to time in certin areas. I have used playsand before and it's only downfall is that it has a compound in it that will cause a rather large diatom bloom but that will go away and then all will be fine.

[carpenterwrasse]

Southdown ws purchased by a mexican company called cemex I am looking into if they have a replacement for the sand They may have just changed the name on the bag.....Long story as to why I know this.

[jojo22]

Nope as far as I have heard they have discontinued the product and are focusing strictly on cement and mortar geared products. Playsand will be the same thing after the diatom bloom is over. Not really a big deal unless you are in a rush, we all know that is never a good thing anyways.