hi all!!! ill start by saying my name is jerry and im from southern new jersey. im new to the site. i getting ready to start to put together a 210 reef tank. im new to coral but used to have a live rock and fish tank with no coral. so any info or tips are appreciated!!! i have a new 210 rr tank. custom stand being built now by a friend(40 years of carpentary experience). i have a model 4 aqueon proflex sump. i will be purchasing the rest piece by piece. my lighting that i will be purchasing 3 radion xr30w's. a skimmer. then power heads. so like i said any tips or info is GREATLY appreciated. also im doing all this with the help of the hidden reef in pa. (jason) has helped me with the tank and sump purchases. its been two years since my tank was take down and sold... i missed it a ton and glad to be back!!!!!!!!!! im setting up a 40 breeder with 10 sump for my wife who just started chemo... she loves watching the fish and cleaners when we had the other tank and goin through chemo back then... but im very rusty... lol... even with mixing(salt to water ratio) ill be buying ro water from local pet store until i get my own unit... her tank will only be live rock and fish... any help with mixing ratio and cycling time ??? thx in advance... I LOOK FOWARD TO CHATTING WITH ALL OF YOU AND LEARNING HOW TO KEEP CORAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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new to site; new build
- Thread starter fatal byte
- Start date
Welcome to the club. I look forward to seeing the progress. Jason is a good guy. He helped me along when I was beginning as well. However, remember he's a salesman and it will become apparent as time goes on. As for coral, try to stay away from hidden reef for that. I've looked plenty of times there and if you get up close you'll find they have many problems in their coral tanks. For powerheads, if your looking to spend money you can go for vortech or if you looking to save a bit, I like the sicce voyager heads. Good luck with the build
Welcome.
If possible switch your sump. The model four will is not built for a refugium and skimmer and if u put the skimmer in the return chamber u will have to run the levels too high and risk overflow in case of power failure. I'm going through this right now. Good luck. With the build
If possible switch your sump. The model four will is not built for a refugium and skimmer and if u put the skimmer in the return chamber u will have to run the levels too high and risk overflow in case of power failure. I'm going through this right now. Good luck. With the build
howze01
NJRC Member
Welcome back to the hobby and to the site!
As to your 2 questions, firstly the mix ratio for different salts are different. What salt are you using? There should be directions on the bag or bucket that tell you how to mix it. Get yourself a good refractometer so you can test it accurately. Stay away from the plastic hydrometers, a good refractometer will give you better results.
As for cycling, this too depends on a lot of factors. Are you starting off with "live sand"? How about the rock? Is it dry rock or are you using live rock? Was it cured? There are a couple things you can do that will help you get through the cycling process quicker and easier. One is using some sand from an established tank. If you have a friend that has a tank, grab a few cups of sand from his tank and add it to yours. Another thing is starter cultures like Dr. Tims or Biospira. Both will help cut down on cycling time.
The last thing you can do, and this is the best move I ever made in this hobby, is to join as an NJRC member, not just a member of the site. It's super cheap and the benefits are more than worth it. The first group buy you join will more than pay for the membership. Not to mention the deals and steals forum. Everyone is super helpful here and you are half way there already. Maybe if you post where you are there will be some people around you. Advice from the site is good but a real life "reef mentor" is a huge help.
As to your 2 questions, firstly the mix ratio for different salts are different. What salt are you using? There should be directions on the bag or bucket that tell you how to mix it. Get yourself a good refractometer so you can test it accurately. Stay away from the plastic hydrometers, a good refractometer will give you better results.
As for cycling, this too depends on a lot of factors. Are you starting off with "live sand"? How about the rock? Is it dry rock or are you using live rock? Was it cured? There are a couple things you can do that will help you get through the cycling process quicker and easier. One is using some sand from an established tank. If you have a friend that has a tank, grab a few cups of sand from his tank and add it to yours. Another thing is starter cultures like Dr. Tims or Biospira. Both will help cut down on cycling time.
The last thing you can do, and this is the best move I ever made in this hobby, is to join as an NJRC member, not just a member of the site. It's super cheap and the benefits are more than worth it. The first group buy you join will more than pay for the membership. Not to mention the deals and steals forum. Everyone is super helpful here and you are half way there already. Maybe if you post where you are there will be some people around you. Advice from the site is good but a real life "reef mentor" is a huge help.
Good Luck on your new build.
Some good comments so far I agree with them all. The one thing that I would do first. Before you spend all the money on the Radions (IMO overpriced and other lights will do just as well, I personally have AI SOLs and love them).
The one thing that you should do FIRST, is get an RO/DI unit and a couple Brute Cans (40 gal ones). You are going to wind up speding way to much money on RO from your LFS, and how do you plan on transporting 200 gallons of water???
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT under any circumstances start the sytem with conditioned tap water. It is something that you will regret in the long term.
A RO unit is one of the best investments and is a MUST have for proper water chemistry.
I also agree with jgraz about a sales people. They are there to make money in the long run. Figure out first what kind of tank that you want and what you want to have in it...
Do you need fuge?
Do you plan on running reactors?
What kind of corals (nice to know what you plan on, remember SPS needs high quality water while LPS and softies do not need as high quality).
Do you plan on running reactors off the main pump or separate pumps?
External Pump or internal pump (internal pumps cause heat), where is tank going? During Summer does it get hot in that spot where an internal pump can raise temp where you need to get chiller.
There are tons of questions to ask, most of which Jason should have asked you.
Good Luck, ask questions that is how everyone learns..
Some good comments so far I agree with them all. The one thing that I would do first. Before you spend all the money on the Radions (IMO overpriced and other lights will do just as well, I personally have AI SOLs and love them).
The one thing that you should do FIRST, is get an RO/DI unit and a couple Brute Cans (40 gal ones). You are going to wind up speding way to much money on RO from your LFS, and how do you plan on transporting 200 gallons of water???
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT under any circumstances start the sytem with conditioned tap water. It is something that you will regret in the long term.
A RO unit is one of the best investments and is a MUST have for proper water chemistry.
I also agree with jgraz about a sales people. They are there to make money in the long run. Figure out first what kind of tank that you want and what you want to have in it...
Do you need fuge?
Do you plan on running reactors?
What kind of corals (nice to know what you plan on, remember SPS needs high quality water while LPS and softies do not need as high quality).
Do you plan on running reactors off the main pump or separate pumps?
External Pump or internal pump (internal pumps cause heat), where is tank going? During Summer does it get hot in that spot where an internal pump can raise temp where you need to get chiller.
There are tons of questions to ask, most of which Jason should have asked you.
Good Luck, ask questions that is how everyone learns..
Woohoo!!! Someone else from SNJ. 
Looking forward to your build.
Looking forward to your build.
Hi Jerry welcome to the club if you need a hand setting up just let me know I am from South Jersey too.
Thx all! Lol guess I never thought about "the salesmAn" lol. I will be buying a ro unit! Unfortunately it's piece by piece so it's on the list! The salt I'm using for the 40 gallon tank is royal nature.