New Tank Help

[riogal_11]

I got a new tank today it is 75 gallon. It is going to be saltwater. I am going to do lots of reading and my lfs is very helpful. I need to know where to start. I have a 404 Fluval, lighting (not sure what exactly it is yet, but it was recommended), hood, and stand. I am going to get my room moved around and get the tank in there, but where do I go from there? as far as adding water, salt, sand, live rock, etc.... Any help would be appreciated.

 

[superman]

If you can, return the fluval for money down on a good protien skimmer (not a prizm or a seaclone) Get a book on saltwater aquarium keeping, there are plenty of good ones out there. Do a lot of searches on this forum as well as to whatever you are wondering about.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Fill the tank with water then put the sand in by submersing the whole bag [already open] and pouring it out underwater. This will obviously reduce cloudiness. This is for live sand. For [dry] aragonite, you will want to wash it first. You will need a heater if you want all hitch hikers [maybe crabs] to have a better chance of surviving. You can buy cured or uncured LR, uncured will cycle the tank [better than cured] as it will cause an ammonia spike for sure. Monitor ammonia nitrite and nitrate and when nitrate is at 0 you are ready for a cleanup crew and your first fish.

 

[riogal_11]

Thanks for the suggestions..... I did all of that, and will have the water tested for the first time tomorrow... I've made friends with the manager of the fish dept. at my lfs, he has many saltwater tanks and is helping me out.... Thank goodness b/c some of this stuff can be really confusing!! again thanks for all of your help!

 

[steelhealr]

Read all the posts.
Consider the following books:
Paletta's The New Marine Aquarium
Kurt'z 'Mini-Reef '
Fenner's The Conscientious Marine Aquarist.

Reading should come before tank setup, sand and water recs. SH