New tank- lots of questions

[Sailaway]

Hi! I just purchased a 13.5 gallon. I am VERY NEW to this, although, and this will be my first salt tank! Super excited, but nervous. I have a bunch of questions.

- is it better to buy salt or buy premixed water? (I don’t have a RODI system.)
- is aragonite live sand good? I got a good deal on some and snagged it.
- would I benefit from a wave maker?
- buying pre-cultured live rock from LFS or buying dry live rock?
- best salinity tester out there
Phew. Sorry, that’s a lot!!

 

[ABQ_CHRIS]

Just about all questions have multiple answers. Making your own saltwater is more cost effective and allows you to use the salt that you prefer. Live sand is generally a good way to go, especially on sale. Wave maker generally good, but depends on what you want to keep in your tank. Rock is generally better the more "live" it is. I like my Hanna salinity checker, but most prefer a properly calibrated refractometer.

There are few black and white answers.

 

[Rmckoy]

Hi! I just purchased a 13.5 gallon. I am VERY NEW to this, although, and this will be my first salt tank! Super excited, but nervous. I have a bunch of questions.

- is it better to buy salt or buy premixed water? (I don’t have a RODI system.)
- is aragonite live sand good? I got a good deal on some and snagged it.
- would I benefit from a wave maker?
- buying pre-cultured live rock from LFS or buying dry live rock?
- best salinity tester out there
Phew. Sorry, that’s a lot!!

Welcome ….
they are all great questions .
1) it’s best to buy salt and mix your own . For
Many reasons . Including assuring it’s mixed at proper salinity , when you need water in a hurry you don’t have to wait for the lfs to open . And many others to list .
You would have save tons of money mixing your own .
rodi units are not that expensive but the most important equipment imo .
2) live sand is good but the grain size might be a lot bigger compared to what you prefer .
3 ) wave makers . Yes
You need some type of flow
4) if it’s a new setup with no life yet . Buying dry life rocks is ok .. but nothing beats live rocks
By live they’re referring to the living bacteria
Besides bacteria you might end up lucky with a pretty cool hitch hiker
5) tester for salinity .
a $20 refractometer from Amazon is perfect . And affordable . Be sure it comes with 35ppt calibration solution
Next is a Hanna salinity checker conductivity meter but a little pricier . They also work great

top of the line and best for accuracy is a tropic marine floating hydrometer although the water temp has to be exact . It’s the most accurate imo

 

[Rmckoy]

Hi! I just purchased a 13.5 gallon. I am VERY NEW to this, although, and this will be my first salt tank! Super excited, but nervous. I have a bunch of questions.

- is it better to buy salt or buy premixed water? (I don’t have a RODI system.)
- is aragonite live sand good? I got a good deal on some and snagged it.
- would I benefit from a wave maker?
- buying pre-cultured live rock from LFS or buying dry live rock?
- best salinity tester out there
Phew. Sorry, that’s a lot!!

A few questions :
Can you guarantee your lfs changes their rodi filters often and is 0tds ?
What salt do they use and will it always be the same with same parameters ?

different salts will have different ph , cal , Alk and mag
Is that fluctuation something you’re ok with
Knowing stability is what you need ?

 

[Sailaway]

A few questions :
Can you guarantee your lfs changes their rodi filters often and is 0tds ?
What salt do they use and will it always be the same with same parameters ?

different salts will have different ph , cal , Alk and mag
Is that fluctuation something you’re ok with
Knowing stability is what you need ?

That’s a great point. I have no clue. I am certainly a control freak and having everything in order would be preferable.

 

[Sailaway]

Welcome ….
they are all great questions .
1) it’s best to buy salt and mix your own . For
Many reasons . Including assuring it’s mixed at proper salinity , when you need water in a hurry you don’t have to wait for the lfs to open . And many others to list .
You would have save tons of money mixing your own .
rodi units are not that expensive but the most important equipment imo .
2) live sand is good but the grain size might be a lot bigger compared to what you prefer .
3 ) wave makers . Yes
You need some type of flow
4) if it’s a new setup with no life yet . Buying dry life rocks is ok .. but nothing beats live rocks
By live they’re referring to the living bacteria
Besides bacteria you might end up lucky with a pretty cool hitch hiker
5) tester for salinity .
a $20 refractometer from Amazon is perfect . And affordable . Be sure it comes with 35ppt calibration solution
Next is a Hanna salinity checker conductivity meter but a little pricier . They also work great

top of the line and best for accuracy is a tropic marine floating hydrometer although the water temp has to be exact . It’s the most accurate imo

Thank you SO much. Extremely helpful. what RODI unit would be good to start with? and which salt brands are the best, especially if I’m going to eventually house corals?

 

[tharbin]

You already have some great answers but I like to hear myself typing so I'll chime in as well.

You can buy premixed or mix your own but eventually you will probably prefer to make your own. Lugging the water home will get old and you will need both pre-mix and RO/DI, so, a lot of lugging. Making your own is not difficult and you know the quality of the water. Many new reefers start with pre-mix and then move to making their own over time. Either way, get a refractometer/salinity pen/glass tube hydrometer and verify the salinity of the water you buy.

Live sand is probably good but I would avoid buying sand out of someone else's aquarium. Used sand, unless thoroughly cleaned, is often problematic.

You will probably need some kind of additional flow besides the filtration in the tank. What kind and how much depends a lot on what inhabitants the tank will house and how the aquascape is arranged.

In general, the more live the rock the easier it will be to stabilize your tank.

My favorite salinity tester is the Tropic Marin Hydrometer but you need to use it carefully (still water and accurate temperature measurement with the conversion chart). For most use cases an inexpensive refractometer (and a 35ppt calibration fluid) is sufficient. I don't use the salinity pens and have seen very mixed reviews. If you get one I would still have a hydrometer or refractometer as backup. I would avoid the 'swing-arm' hydrometers as it can be difficult to get accurate readings with them.

 

[Sailaway]

Welcome ….
they are all great questions .
1) it’s best to buy salt and mix your own . For
Many reasons . Including assuring it’s mixed at proper salinity , when you need water in a hurry you don’t have to wait for the lfs to open . And many others to list .
You would have save tons of money mixing your own .
rodi units are not that expensive but the most important equipment imo .
2) live sand is good but the grain size might be a lot bigger compared to what you prefer .
3 ) wave makers . Yes
You need some type of flow
4) if it’s a new setup with no life yet . Buying dry life rocks is ok .. but nothing beats live rocks
By live they’re referring to the living bacteria
Besides bacteria you might end up lucky with a pretty cool hitch hiker
5) tester for salinity .
a $20 refractometer from Amazon is perfect . And affordable . Be sure it comes with 35ppt calibration solution
Next is a Hanna salinity checker conductivity meter but a little pricier . They also work great

top of the line and best for accuracy is a tropic marine floating hydrometer although the water temp has to be exact . It’s the most accurate imo

You already have some great answers but I like to hear myself typing so I'll chime in as well.

You can buy premixed or mix your own but eventually you will probably prefer to make your own. Lugging the water home will get old and you will need both pre-mix and RO/DI, so, a lot of lugging. Making your own is not difficult and you know the quality of the water. Many new reefers start with pre-mix and then move to making their own over time. Either way, get a refractometer/salinity pen/glass tube hydrometer and verify the salinity of the water you buy.

Live sand is probably good but I would avoid buying sand out of someone else's aquarium. Used sand, unless thoroughly cleaned, is often problematic.

You will probably need some kind of additional flow besides the filtration in the tank. What kind and how much depends a lot on what inhabitants the tank will house and how the aquascape is arranged.

In general, the more live the rock the easier it will be to stabilize your tank.

My favorite salinity tester is the Tropic Marin Hydrometer but you need to use it carefully (still water and accurate temperature measurement with the conversion chart). For most use cases an inexpensive refractometer (and a 35ppt calibration fluid) is sufficient. I don't use the salinity pens and have seen very mixed reviews. If you get one I would still have a hydrometer or refractometer as backup. I would avoid the 'swing-arm' hydrometers as it can be difficult to get accurate readings with them.

Thank you! are the fluval brand wave makers sufficient?

 

[Rmckoy]

Thank you! are the fluval brand wave makers sufficient?

For what it’s worth … I have always bought and used the cheap jeabo brands .

easily matched for the size tank and amount of flow you want .

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Consider what you are going to have in your tank when deciding whether you want sand or not. I recently went bare bottom and have no critters that need sand to thrive.

 

[Rmckoy]

Thank you SO much. Extremely helpful. what RODI unit would be good to start with? and which salt brands are the best, especially if I’m going to eventually house corals?

Apparently brs had a decent one not too long ago .
To be honest . I bought my spectipure almost 25 years ago used.
I replaced the ro membrane , and cartridges as needed .
Mine is rated for 90gpd depending on how much water you need , size can be different

 

[Sebastiancrab]

After a bunch of research, I went with an Air Water Ice RODI unit. Their customer service has been great and they have a lifetime warranty. Investing in a unit has been so worthwhile. There have been several times, I needed new water right away.

 

[Rmckoy]

Thank you SO much. Extremely helpful. what RODI unit would be good to start with? and which salt brands are the best, especially if I’m going to eventually house corals?

Salt brands …
Research and knowing what you want to eventually stock will help .
ideally I would recommend sticking with something close to natural sea water parameters .
IMO anything with elevated alkalinity isn’t needed at this point

 

[ScottJ]

Thank you! are the fluval brand wave makers sufficient?

https://a.co/d/2Ul8fxy



I use this wave maker in my Evo 13.5. I have it on the bacl wall under the return. I like the fact that it has 2 magnets to mount it, rather than just a suction cup. It has just enough power for the tank, not too much. I've had this one running for a couple years, and another in my FW tank for like 5 years, all trouble free.

That said, I'm sure Fluval pumps are fine.

 

[PatW]

Hi! I just purchased a 13.5 gallon. I am VERY NEW to this, although, and this will be my first salt tank! Super excited, but nervous. I have a bunch of questions.

- is it better to buy salt or buy premixed water? (I don’t have a RODI system.)
- is aragonite live sand good? I got a good deal on some and snagged it.
- would I benefit from a wave maker?
- buying pre-cultured live rock from LFS or buying dry live rock?
- best salinity tester out there
Phew. Sorry, that’s a lot!!

Congratulations And welcome to Reef2Reef.

You can buy salt and mix it with RODI water or buy salt water from your local fish store. Even with a 13.5 gallon, you might find that getting a modest RODI system and mixing your own salt water is far more convenient.

Aragonite sand is what you want to get. I think it is coral that has been consumed by parrot fish and pooped out. But I am not entirely sure on that. It is calcium carbonate which is what coral is made up of.

A wave maker or a power head is really essential In a reef aquarium.

You can get pre-cultured rock or start with dry rock. It might be better to start with pre-cultured as it might have more bacterial flora than dry rock will give you. It costs more but in a small system that is no big deal. You can seed your tank with bacterial cultures and that works to with dry rock.

Well, I use a refractometer. It is fast and reasonably accurate. If you get one, get some calibration fluid set at 35 ppt (where you want your seawater to be or pretty near).