# Setting up a saltwater tank



## JoeT (Jul 11, 2010)

ok, I'm sure there are 5000 threads about this but here I go anyways...
This weekend I'm emptying my freshwater tank and going to saltwater. It's a 46 gallon tank. Im planning on buying a bag of live sand, but I want to mix it with play sand to save money. Is this a bad idea? Also, I'm buying a few pieces of live rock. Is there anything I should be looking for when I buy my rock? Later, I'm hoping to build it into a reef tank, when my budget allows. Would it be ok to go ahead and add a fish, or should I wait? If so, what would be a good fish to start with? Any other bits of info that might help out a rookie to saltwater would be much appreciated.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Play sand is not a good idea because it contains things you dont want in your reef, specifically silicates which will encourage algae growth. 
When you buy your rock, look for color - you want purples and pinks. You also want good pieces so you can balance other things on them, like corals, or more rocks, etc. The finger type of rock I personally dont like because you cannot aquascape too well with it. Go with rocks that are more like boulders and ledges instead. 
You should get your water params balanced before you take fish home with you but if you feel confident in your skills getting the tank balanced, you can put a fish in right away. 
Do you plan to mix your own water or go with store-bought water?


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## JoeT (Jul 11, 2010)

Okay, so this is where I'm at:

I did not use play sand. Seemed like a stupid idea when I thought about it.

I used crushed coral for my substrate. Mixed my own water to a salinity of 1.022

Added some mined rock, and a few pieces of live rock. And I found what looks to be a small anemone growing on it. Kinda cool, but I suspect that it won't survive. Also some tube worm type of creatures. It was kind of cool to see these little hitch-hikers.

Put in 2 small blue leg hermit crabs, 4 snails and a blue velvet damsel. The fish is hiding out at the top corner of the tank most of the time, but seems to be doing ok.

Now here's where i have a problem...
I have spotted what appears to be bearded fire worms, at least four of them. I extracted one, and it's half red, half bluish. I don't think I want these in my tank. I've read that they will eat soft corals. This is why I don't think my mini-anemone will make it. How can I quickly remove these? Are they a bad thing to have? 

Thanks guys, I've learned tons on this forum and I hope to become a contributing member in the near future.


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## GetITCdot (Aug 4, 2009)

JoeT said:


> Okay, so this is where I'm at:
> 
> I did not use play sand. Seemed like a stupid idea when I thought about it.
> 
> ...


The only issue I see with crushed coral is it catches food particles and is a leading source of random nitrate.

The anemone you saw was most likley a glass anemone. You don't want those little buggers anyway they reproduce out of control.

take those worms out and throw them in your sump :-D

In all honesty I had a few VERY large bristle worms in my tank (about an inch thick and maybe 3 inches long) huge buggers. I took em out of the tank and tossed them in the sump. They are happy


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

what I do is start the tank with macro algaes protected in a refugium then do the rest.

I use play sand.

landscape lava rocks.

no filters but some powerheads to circualte the water.


I use male mollies to start the cycle. Let the macro algaes condition the tank for a week then add a molly for each 10-20g of display water. Don't add food for a week then start feeding a single flake per day. after a few weeks start adding marine fish and later corals.


my .02


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