New FOWLR setup - questions

[kevinpaz]

I'm starting my first saltwater tank in 10 years and have a few questions. Here's some details on my setup:

- 65 gallon tank
- prism pro skimmer (empty bag)
- 200w heater / eheim 2217 cannister (bag of carbon)
- 1 powerhead
- 20w crappy freshwater flourescent light
- Bare bottom, 30lbs live rock
- Tank has been up with live rock and no fish for 3 weeks, cycle seems to be almost complete (trace amounts of nitrite/nitrate - no ammonia)

1) Since I have no aragonite/crushed coral do I need to worry about any water buffering? (or should my salt mix take care of that?)

2) My protein skimmer is still shooting small bubbles into the tank - do I have to worry about this? (ie is it bad for the fish?)

3) I'd like to add a clown fish for my first fish and an anenome. Do I need more lighting for an anenome - what do you recommend? If I can't get an anenome right away is it considered cruel to have a clown fish without an anenome? Will he get "lonely" in a big tank by himself?

4) I'd like to make a cheap DIY water tank to hold my top-off water. Any creative ideas on a cheap pump I can use to pump water from the top-off tank up into my main tank? I'm not looking to automate anything yet - cost is the main factor.

5) I'm currently testing ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph. Should I bother picking up other kits? If so, which ones?


Thanks in advance,

Kevin

[Raf]

Congrats! and welcome back

to try to answer your questions

1) Yes, your salt will temporarily buffer the water when the water is just mixed or after waterchanges but for longterm buffering without substrate, you will need to test the levels and add buffers as needed.

2) IMHO, your skimmer is not that good, if you can afford it, think about upgrading it. As for the immediate problem, try adjusting the valve on the intake to pump less water. Skimmers can also pump excessive bubbles when certain things are added to the tank, water conditioners, meds, foods, even your hands in the tank can cause a skimmer to bubble excessively. Either way, It will not harm the fish.

3) A clownfish is a great starting fish but IMO, I would leave the anenome out for several reasons. Firstly, you still have a relatively new tank where water conditions can rapidly change....an anenome needs a more mature tank where stability is key. Secondly, you do not have enough light, not by a longshot. You will need to upgrade to T5's, PC's or even halides. For your tank, a min of 150 - 175watts 50/50 IMO. The clownfish will do just fine without an anenome...it is not cruel, you may even find the clown will host in an empty shell or cave in the rockwork.

4) As for a pump, it depends what you use as a top off container and where you place it in relation to your main tank. If the pump has to pump water up (head), then you will need a larger pump. If the head is low, a smaller/cheaper pump will do just fine. In my own setup at home, I use 20 gallon plastic garbage containers which are in my laundry room and I have a medium sized Mag pump that pumps the water all the way to the living room with 3/4" tubing. Not super cheap(about $130) but super convenient.

5)If you are not using substrate, I would also pic up a calcium and GH/KH hardness kit. MAke sure you have 0 nitrItes before you add fish...nitrAtes are ok as long as they stay low.

good luck

[justinl]

I don't think the skimmer is such a terrible skimmer. It just needs more fiddling than other skimmers and a mod or two. I did two easy mods to mine and now it works great.

I added an air valve to control airflow (this REALLY helps) so now it won't lose the siphon as easily. It does take a few days to get to know what adjustments your prism needs.

It was spewing some bubbles so I made a DIY bubble trap using an old VHS. Just empty the guts of the VHS, cut off the top, glue a screen over the big holes and attach it to the prizm. To attach I used duct tape but that's temporary. I have yet to figure out a cleaner attachment.

[kevinpaz]

Originally Posted by justinl

It was spewing some bubbles so I made a DIY bubble trap using an old VHS. Just empty the guts of the VHS, cut off the top, glue a screen over the big holes and attach it to the prizm. To attach I used duct tape but that's temporary. I have yet to figure out a cleaner attachment.

Great idea - I'll replace the crappy plastic knob with a proper valve...

Where did you attach the vhs tape? to the water output? sorry - can't visualize it....


[Thanks for the feedback Raf - it definitely helps]