new tank setup

[tiki]

Hi everyone and thanks for looking! I am starting the setup of a 135 gallon tank which I bought from someone. I tested the water that came with it and it is low on salinity and high on nitrate I think part of the nitrate prob may be that the tank's filtration was not running for along time although the fish looked to be ok. I did not take the two fish. What I bought was the tank, canopy, wet/dry sump, protein skimmer, power heads, crushed coral and water in a nutshell. I am not even certain if all of it works yet just got it all home yesterday. I plan to put in mh lights, and 50/50 fl's. and to only use a minimal amount of the water that came with the tank if I cant reduce the nitrates can you tell me the best way to do this and also how high away the lights should be from the water. Have never used mh lights before or how many I should us for that sz tank would be great will post more later thanks

[Michael]

you may get conflicting views tiki but if it were me, id start again, get some aragonite sand and use new water and start from scratch, everything will be new and you will cycle but you will know whats in your tank and a bit of patience and eventually it could be great, whats your long term ambitions for this tank? im looking forward to seeing you re-post again tiki, great to have you here and

[welcome]

[Playa-1]

Congratulations on the new tank purchase. I agree with Michael. I would just clean everything up real good and plan to start from scratch. The water and the crushed coral can be tossed out. That will instantly solve your nitrate problem :D. If you have inverts in the sandbed then you may want to set up a temporary bucket or something for them as life support. A bucket or a brute container with a little of the existing crushed coral, existing water, a heater and a powerhead would do just fine.

I would recommend that you research sumps and refugiums and modify the wet/dry filter to better suit your needs or replace it all together. This should be given very careful consideration as this is the best time to get it right. I would mount the MH lighting around 9 to 12" off of the water when the tank is running. You will probably need about 3 MH lights if your tank is a standard 135 gallon. The height of the tank and your short term and long term plans for the tank need to be taken into consideration when choosing your lights. Also learn as much as you can about Quarantine tanks, and QT procedures. This will save you lots of headaches down the road.

Your going to need a good Protein Skimmer and about 135 to 150lbs of Liverock. You will have to decide what kind and how much live sand your going to use. You should research the subject carefully.

All in All I would suggest that you read as much information as you can. The sticky threads on Reef Central along with a few good books will prepare you to get started. There are no shortcuts here, Do the reading or your likely to be in for a very rough start. I really like "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. The book is not a "How To for Plumbing" but IMO it provides a great foundation of information to start from. RL=http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/tips/index.php]Check out this link[/URL]

[tiki]

I do plan to put some new sand in within the next day or two and some fresh saltwater I went after a used tank so that everything I bought was seasoned I guess you could call it. I like the idea f the crushed coral but that will mostly be concentratd to one corner of the tank where I will put most of my rock I want to have an pen area on the one side of my tank and have the rock sort of cascade down from the other side. I am mostly looking to have a reef tank with inverts and a few fish I actually bought a clown hosted with an anemone and it is waiting at the place i purchased it from I will not introduce it till after the tank is operating and has cycled as well as the lighting put in

[tiki]

thank you I actually learned alot and read alot with my last tank I overstocked it to quick and wound up having to learn through my mistakes and impatience the first time around so I am trying to take my time and do it right this time around the equipment that came with it is very sufficient for what I am after it's more so trying to keep some of the existing water and crushed coral -sand that is my focus right now I dont want to wind up with a big headaches and just trying to weigh whether introducing a small amount of the old water with new will be a mistake oh btw I did wash all the coral/sand that has already been put into the tank with saltwater. I will post more as I progress

[Playa-1]

The crushed coral is believed to trap waste and contribute to nitrate problems. Most people that I know of are moving away from crushed coral for that reason. It would be easier to that now as opposed to later. You and your tank are a long way from being prepared to care for an Anemone.

My advice is to Slow down and start reading.

[Michael]

whatever you decide to do i wish you the very best of luck, i do think you will regret keeping the crushed coral in the long run unless its just an inch or so, and i wouldnt keep the existing water, and as playa had mentioned a good book is a must, hes a very experienced guy and has given lots of good advice to you? seriously tiki please keep us here on the newbie forum involved by re-posting and a merry christmas to you, we like to keep in touch with you all and its nice to become involved, all the very best of luck