new reefer questions

discostew

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Hi everyone,

I am new to reefing. Currently in San Clemente. I snagged a Red Sea max E-170 LED on sale.
I wanted to introduce myself. I have not started the tank, but have done quite a bit a reading. I have a few questions regarding reefing in general as well as specific to the tank. Goal for fish, softies, maybe lps. Anyone with experience on this specific tank have pointers as well?

Cycling

  • At what point in the cycling or after cycling should the protein skimmer be turned on?
  • When starting off a tank, how will I know how often to do water changes once the tank cycles, just based on parameters?
Equipment

-Looking at ATO options for this tank,, tunze 3155 vs jbj? Don’t want to flood my floor, but also money saved would be great.

-Any Siphon recs for cleaning and water change?

-rocks, I see mixed recs on rock on sand vs rock on glass or acrylic pad/plate. What’s safest?

-Struggling with this one. Powerhead selection, 1 vs. 2? Not looking to break the bank on powerheads.

-Should I get a lid?


-I plan to use ocean water as I live close to San diego. There is a filtered sea water faucet reefers use. Rather than RODI, while it is being stored, does it need to be heated or aerated or can I do that just before the water change? How long can I store natural seawater in a light-free container?

Tank

Tank will be In a room with some ambient sunlight, but not directly. Not really an option to cover up the small windows letting light into the room. This shouldn’t be a deal breaker right?


In sump Media basket MUST-haves, goal would be to draw out time for water changes if possible.


Quarantine: don’t have a lot of space for this. Thinking about pre-quarantined fish and clean-upcrew from Dr. Reef. Its cheaper to get fish and CUC all at once because of shipping, but realistically I shouldn't introduce to tank together (will this be too much bio load)?

If I do QT can I use the seawater or do I need to mix on own?



Sorry for all questions. These came up while doing my reading. I still plan on researching before getting started. Thanks!!
 

PeterC99

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Welcome to R2R!

You don’t have to start protein skimmer until you put in the fish.

No water changes until you are cycled.

Get your cycle completed then start to work on the other stuff and continue reading R2R to keep learning about keeping a saltwater aquarium! There are multiple options for your questions.
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Auquanut

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Welcome to R2R! The fact that you're doing your research upfront is awesome.

You've got a lot of really well thought out questions. My advice would be to ask each one separately in the appropriate forums. More work for you, but you'll get more concise answers to each question that way.
 
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