New Saltwater Setup

Teamtang92 · Dec 11, 2018

So I used to have two 40g breeder with freshwater fish in them. One tank included a green terror and 4 female convicts. The other breeder had 2 Koi Angels 10 Red Serpae Tetras and some Neon Tetras with some Emerald Cory Catfish. I have recently taken them down and plan to start up a new saltwater aquarium. I plan on having one 40g breeder as my display and the other as my sump. So far I have ordered Jebao DC-12000 as my return and I’m thinking about ordering an oversized Maxspect Gyre for a future tank since I will eventually go bigger lol. I also ordered 15 lbs of Reef Saver Dry Live Rock and 2 Medium Foundatiom Reef Saver Dry Live Rock from BRS. I have a couple questions one being what kind of Test Kit should I get to test my water. I’ve seen Hannah Checkers have the digital display which sounds nice and easy but not being familiar with test kits what should I get and are there better cheaper options? I also know you’re supposed to cure the rock before you use it but being my first tank can I cure the rock in the tank as I’m cycling it? Or should I cure it in a separate trash can and then put it in my tank and try and cycle the tank then? (I also have a 10g for a possible ATO)

James M · Dec 11, 2018

You can cycle the tank without curing the rock. If I’m not mistaken curing the rock is basically cycling the rock.

SPR1968 · Dec 11, 2018

Welcome to R2R and that sounds like a great start!

The Hanna alkalinity and phosphate checkers are very good, easy to use but also expensive, so while you get used to everything I would look at standard test kits like Red Sea for example who have an entire range and of course there are others.

I assume curing rock your meaning adding it to the tank whilst cycling so it’s all part of this. Have a look at some of the modern cycling methods, like for example ATM Colony which works and provides an immediate tank cycle. Again there are others.

You might find the following articles useful

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

reef lover · Dec 11, 2018

Welcome to r2r!!

hdsoftail1065 · Dec 11, 2018

Welcome to R2R!!!

ihavecrabs · Dec 11, 2018

#WelcometoR2R

I agree with @SPR1968 and I also use the Hanna phosphorus and alkalinity checker. It is definitely worth the alkalinity checker if you plan on doing corals as you'll be testing that parameter a lot. Phosphate/Phosphorus is debatable. The rest of my kits are Salifert which are quite inexpensive and have a great reputation for both accuracy and precision.

Teamtang92 · Dec 11, 2018

SPR1968 said:
Welcome to R2R and that sounds like a great start!

The Hanna alkalinity and phosphate checkers are very good, easy to use but also expensive, so while you get used to everything I would look at standard test kits like Red Sea for example who have an entire range and of course there are others.

I assume curing rock your meaning adding it to the tank whilst cycling so it’s all part of this. Have a look at some of the modern cycling methods, like for example ATM Colony which works and provides an immediate tank cycle. Again there are others.

You might find the following articles useful

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

Thank you! I’ll look into those articles and see how I want to start my cycle!

Teamtang92 · Dec 11, 2018

ihavecrabs said:
#WelcometoR2R

I agree with @SPR1968 and I also use the Hanna phosphorus and alkalinity checker. It is definitely worth the alkalinity checker if you plan on doing corals as you'll be testing that parameter a lot. Phosphate/Phosphorus is debatable. The rest of my kits are Salifert which are quite inexpensive and have a great reputation for both accuracy and precision.

I know I will end up eventually getting some Hanna checkerS lol. But I’ll look into Salifert in the mean time! Thank you!