saltwater aquariums- reef cristals or instant ocean?
by Aquaboy on Thursday, March 25th, 2010 | 4 Comments
is it better to get reef cristals or or instant ocean? if there is any other type that i have left out, please add it……..and what else do i need for a saltwater aquarium( 4′ by 12″….those dimentions are right….its a custom tank…) in means of live sand, and what kind of corals to get……….PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!
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I would suggest instant ocean its what me and most other people use.
Aquarium salt brand is highly debated. Just depends on the persons preference. I use instant ocean because I have a F.O.W.L.R tank. If you’re planning on getting corals either now or in the future, go with the reef crystals. It’s a bit more expensive but will provide your corals with all of the trace elements they need to survive.
If your just starting the tank, I don’t recommend any corals for 3 months. After 1 month you can introduce a couple fish after the nitrogen cycle is up and running.
I don’t recommend live sand at all. It’s a waste of money. Buy live rock and use argonite sand or crushed coral as the substrate. The term “live” just means there are beneficial bacteria living there. But your whole tank will have these bacteria once it is cycled in a month.
Here’s a link for different aquarium salts:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113009
Here’s a link on how to set-up your tank:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=313
Good Luck!
Reef crystals is Instant Oceans salt for reef tanks. I use it in my tanks just because I have corals and live rock. It will help keep your calcium higher and suppossedly has the trace elements you need. I still dose my tanks for calcium and trace elements though because of the amount of SPS corals I have. I don’t test for trace elements because of the cost of the test kits and it’s not really necessary. I’ve never noticed a big differance in brands of salt but everyone has their preferance.
If your going to be keeping corals in a tank that tall your going to need some serious lighting. You would have to go with metal halides to penetrate that deeply for the soft corals to live near the bottom. No other bulb can penetrate below 30″ enough to maintain any coral growth other than MH.
Since you want to keep corals you will need the live rock. A tip on setting the live rock up correctly and so it won’tt fall is to use a masonry drill bit to drill a hole in the rock then use a plastic rod like one that comes with mini blinds and aquarium safe epoxy from the fish store to glue the rocks together. You could make one tall live rock column this way.
Since you mentioned this was a custom tank I am assuming you have the money to do it right. A sump below the aquarium that removes water from the top of the aquarium and returns it to the bottom of the aquarium would be your best bet for a filter system. In a 12″ square you would have enough room for a protien skimmer, a heater, and a return pump. You wouldn’t have room for a refugium though. If a sump isn’t an option you will need to find somewhere to put on a protein skimmer as those are required for corals. It’s ideal to get a hole drilled in the back of the aquarium near the top with a bulkhead fitting installed as a drain to the sump. Another alternative is to use an overflow box with a syphon tube to drain water to the sump. Make sure your return pump is going to be enough to lift the water back to the aquarium. A pump loses flow for every foot in needs to pump upwards. Also elbows and bends in the return piping adds to that height as well.
Remember your flow. You need flow from top to bottom on this thing. A few power heads one at top and at the bottom will be needed.
You need to cycle the aquarium with the live rock before you even think about adding any fish or corals. After a month add a clean up crew of snails and crabs and maybe a starfish.
A month or so after the cycle is complete you could think about adding in a few soft corals. Mushrooms and xenias are extremely hardy. Xenias I don’t recommend as they can grow into weed like proportions.
I think I’m getting a little more of an idea of what you are trying to do now after seeing more of your questions. From what I am gathering you are taking on quite an undertaking and should research each thing in depth before making your purchases.
This is not everything you need to think about but I hope it helps. Entire articles pages long are written on each subject for aquariums. Read as many as you can and see how it applies to your case.
I use red Sea salt since it is salt that comes from the red sea and does contain trace elements most water conditioners leave out such as iodine. I’ve used instant ocean, but have gotten away from synthetics for a few years now. If you are going with corals I would suggest REAL ocean salts vs. synthetic, however, it is totally up to you. instant ocean is a good synthetic.
there are many things you need for a salt tank. Have you thought about any fish at all? A skimmer if having fish is something else to consider.
The previous poster has a few good ideas when it comes to a reef tank however a sump is not a requirement for a reef tank if you have other forms of filtration. Also if your tank is only 4 foot by 12 inches, remember most corals do not like rapid water currents. One power head working with your return water will work for such a shallow tank. Lighting is going to be your main factor here. RESEARCH the types of coral you want, and the lighting requirement. Many vary greatly.
Live sand isn’t needed either. Impatient aquarists will use live sand to try to cycle the tank faster. It isn’t needed. You will need rock. It does not have to be live rock but you do need a base for your coral.
Only you can choose the types of corals you want to have. Have a game plan for setting up your tank first. Do you want an L shaped reef an S shaped reef, front to back, back to front?
look on sites like saltwater.com and check out some of the corals and which can live happily with eachother. Remember, when choosing corals on paper first will also help you determine what fish you can have if any as well.
Here is a few photos of my reef tank
http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w10/Fishqueen_2000/
Patience, Planning and Preparation are the best things for you right now. Get your tank up and running. Allow it to start to cycle, choose the type of rock based on the types of corals you want.
For someone to tellyou what kind of corals to have doesn’t work. You need to know what animal you want and the care it requires.
If you need help with your tank start up or in general, feel free t o email me.