Square 1 all over again

[_LittleRed]

Hello, I've been in the saltwater set up for about a year now, and due to LFS bad advice I have decided to start square 1 with better research after I came home to find my entire reef tank gone.
If you have any ideas on places to start lets here em, because I was given every bad advice under the sun (including, but not limited too, a fish-in with tap water cycle)
I want to make sure I do this correct this time
I have a 36 gallon tank that needs deep cleaned to avoid whatever killed my beloved hobby, I have about 30-40 lbs of new rock ordered and some caribsea ocean direct live sand waiting for me
I had a HOB 70 Gal filter but I have started research on building a 20 gal Sump

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D

 

[_LittleRed]

Hello, I've been in the saltwater set up for about a year now, and due to LFS bad advice I have decided to start square 1 with better research after I came home to find my entire reef tank gone.
If you have any ideas on places to start lets here em, because I was given every bad advice under the sun (including, but not limited too, a fish-in with tap water cycle)
I want to make sure I do this correct this time
I have a 36 gallon tank that needs deep cleaned to avoid whatever killed my beloved hobby, I have about 30-40 lbs of new rock ordered and some caribsea ocean direct live sand waiting for me
I had a HOB 70 Gal filter but I have started research on building a 20 gal Sump

I have started with listening to a playlist made by reefrookies on YouTube and thats where I got this forum site from

 

[Gumbies R Us]

 

[get-salty]

Howdy and welcome to the saltier side.

Use what you have and cycle your tank with out rushing - lights OFF during the cycle.
There are a lot of threads on "how to" cycle a tank here..

Once that is done, you can add beginner corals and a pair of clowns if you like and ofc cleanup crew.

Use RO water and mix your salt accordingly and also for topping off the tank.

Good luck and happy reefing.

 

[Evil1]

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yes-- the ReefRookies video series is a good one.

 

[_LittleRed]

Yea i had to throw out a bunch of my rocks due to dead fish trapped in them unfortunately and since I didn't know what killed everything I figured it was best to get new sand, should I use the filter? Or would a sump be better?
I plan on using pre mixed saltwater and topping off with my water store ro water just to ensure everything stays within parameters. I always had issues with high nitrates (insanely high) and couldn't figure out why so I figured this way is probably best as I don't have an at home ro system

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here! Sorry about your rough start. Check out BRS 52 weeks of reefing on YouTube. If the rock you ordered is dry consider adding some additional live rock as well, good luck this go around.

 

[DmitryB]

Welcome, glad you are here! Sorry about your rough start. Check out BRS 52 weeks of reefing on YouTube. If the rock you ordered is dry consider adding some additional live rock as well, good luck this go around.

I watched the BRS 52 Weeks videos. Very helpful.

 

[Gman83]

Welcome!

 

[_LittleRed]

Welcome, glad you are here! Sorry about your rough start. Check out BRS 52 weeks of reefing on YouTube. If the rock you ordered is dry consider adding some additional live rock as well, good luck this go around.

I have 2 or 3 usable old peices from my setup but I cleaned them well (scrubbed) and left out in the sun, everything is i bought so far said its 'live' but its all dried so I assumed id put it in during the cycle stage but i could be 100% wrong and can look for something wet

 

[ReefNutsThailand]

Welcome

 

[kevgib67]

I have 2 or 3 usable old peices from my setup but I cleaned them well (scrubbed) and left out in the sun, everything is i bought so far said its 'live' but its all dried so I assumed id put it in during the cycle stage but i could be 100% wrong and can look for something wet

https://tbsaltwater.com/

 

[Fish Fan]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I like to suggest the following article and video series if you're brand new to reefing:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...Lfp8RCDyqHK-reztaD4pDlXGY5DwJ-rprFaG3ejOfFahJ

Good luck!

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!

 

[NyteRyder1]

 

[winxp_man]

And glad to have you here!!

Always ask and do research! No such thing as a dumb question, and research is better than making mistakes and killing our lovely pets!

 

[edsbeaker]

Hello and welcome!