Advice on setting up a marine tank. (no fish this time!)
Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:54 am
Alright for those of you who don't know. I have a marineland 37 gallon tank with LED hood that I set up with salt water about 3 weeks ago. I had a gsp in there, but a day ago he lost his battle with IP's and now i'm ready to set this tank up the right way before putting anymore living critters in harms way.
Current hardware:
Stock LED lighting
CPR bak-pak 2 skimmer
200w heater in skimmer
Hydor Koralia evo 750gph powerhead
Current Decor:
40lbs sand (half live sand, half aquarium aragonite sand)
Head sized chunk of Live rock
Some decorative rock.
*I have ordered 50lbs of marco rocks key largo to create a nice scape for the tank, in hopes that my current live rock will seed the dry rock and eventually all will become live.
*I have also ordered a bottle of Dr. Tim's in order to speed up the seeding process for the new rock.
Current SG is between 1.023 and 1.024 and I'm slowly raising it up. Going to do a very large water change before all the new rock and bacteria go in to bring the water to 1.025.
As far as future livestock goes. The owner of the LFS has talked me into getting a dwarf lion for the tank. He is also trying to talk me into some low light, beginner corals (i believe he recommended zoanthids), though I'm a little timid to try corals.
Does my setup sound ok for a decent marine setup? Do I have enough circulation with the return from my skimmer and the 750gph powerhead for a 37g? Where should a single powerhead be placed in the aquarium and what direction should it point?
I'm also wondering how soon I need to get another living thing in this tank before my current cycle/bacteria bed starts to die off. Will my chunk of LR keep my cycle relatively stable? I'm not too worried about it since I will be adding the Dr. Tim's, but I don't want anything bad to happen to my live rock.
I appreciate any and all advice.
Current hardware:
Stock LED lighting
CPR bak-pak 2 skimmer
200w heater in skimmer
Hydor Koralia evo 750gph powerhead
Current Decor:
40lbs sand (half live sand, half aquarium aragonite sand)
Head sized chunk of Live rock
Some decorative rock.
*I have ordered 50lbs of marco rocks key largo to create a nice scape for the tank, in hopes that my current live rock will seed the dry rock and eventually all will become live.
*I have also ordered a bottle of Dr. Tim's in order to speed up the seeding process for the new rock.
Current SG is between 1.023 and 1.024 and I'm slowly raising it up. Going to do a very large water change before all the new rock and bacteria go in to bring the water to 1.025.
As far as future livestock goes. The owner of the LFS has talked me into getting a dwarf lion for the tank. He is also trying to talk me into some low light, beginner corals (i believe he recommended zoanthids), though I'm a little timid to try corals.
Does my setup sound ok for a decent marine setup? Do I have enough circulation with the return from my skimmer and the 750gph powerhead for a 37g? Where should a single powerhead be placed in the aquarium and what direction should it point?
I'm also wondering how soon I need to get another living thing in this tank before my current cycle/bacteria bed starts to die off. Will my chunk of LR keep my cycle relatively stable? I'm not too worried about it since I will be adding the Dr. Tim's, but I don't want anything bad to happen to my live rock.
I appreciate any and all advice.