rrubberbandman November 21, 2021 Share November 21, 2021 Well......its been about a 9 year break from saltwater but I am getting back into it. Glad I was able to remember my sign in info! I am starting up a 20 gallon nano tank. Going to start off with live rock and fish only for now. It's good to BRK is still going strong....that was my goto place for everything! I still have my 4 lamp t-5 fixture so that's going to be my light setup.(I know LED is the hot way nowadays) ** any recommendations for 20 lbs. of live rock and about 30 lbs of live sand? When I set up my first reef tank back in 94 I remember buying live rock and sand directly from an outfit in Miami.( I think). Are Reef crystals still a suitable goto for salt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpeguero November 21, 2021 Share November 21, 2021 Welcome back! Reef crystals is viable, though I don’t use it, personally (I use hw reefer). It leaves crud in mixing barrels, and I have a mixing setup that is hard to scrub out. BRS is doing their Black Friday sales, so great time to grab any other stuff you may need. There’s likely someone on here who has some live stuff for sale. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime November 21, 2021 Share November 21, 2021 Hey there, welcome back! Just rock and fish should be fairly easy to get going again. I would suggest becoming a paid member to have access to the buy/sell/trade forum, lots of stuff popping up there all the time. BRK should probably have both rock and sand FS as well! Reef Crystals are still fine for salt, but I guess it depends who you talk to. I use instant ocean because it's cheaper and I prefer to keep my alk a little lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howaboutme November 21, 2021 Share November 21, 2021 Welcome back! Many returners recently (me included in the last year). I use Reef Crystals and always have. I could care less about the residue but do clean my SW can 1 or 2x's a year. I believe there are 1 or 2 outfits out of Florida that still sell "live rock" seeded in the ocean. I remember @tpallas seeding his tank this way. Me? I prefer dry/dead to control what goes into my tank and for aquascaping ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn.reef.nerd November 22, 2021 Share November 22, 2021 Welcome! Us youngin' do like them leds If you are just doing rock and fish, I would go with IO. No reason to pay more for the extra calcium and alk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris November 23, 2021 Share November 23, 2021 Glad you are back! Nothing like a salt water aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds November 23, 2021 Share November 23, 2021 I have a few rocks that are baseball/softball size and some smaller pieces you could use to make some structures in the tank. free if you want them. Located in Nokesville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaJMasta November 23, 2021 Share November 23, 2021 Live rock has definitely changed - the pacific sources are effectively all closed. Most people do dry rock and then some kind of microbe starter (several companies have their own flavor), but the maricultured rock from the gulf is still available. There's been a trend towards being afraid of random unknown things in your system (seen as pests), but I've been very pleased with the maricultured rock I got in the spring from Salty Bottom reef company which I picked up at Dulles through air freight - so it was in transit for <12 hours and I had tons of surviving hitchikers. Several other companies do the same sort of deal, but I think supply can be somewhat limited and the price is fairly high over dry rock. There's also aquarium cultured man made rock and the usual rock thrown into a sump for a while at a store that it still pretty generally available. Amount of sand depends on the sand bed you want - some people like none or just a dusting, but more can have benefits or can be required for some kinds of fish. Arguments have been made that bagged live sand may not be as effective as they describe, but the best of it short of scoops out of the ocean seems to be the 'Ocean direct' sand. Otherwise, live rock or a scoop of good sand and dry will do just fine with some grow-in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrubberbandman November 25, 2021 Author Share November 25, 2021 Thank you all for the warm welcome back! I have missed saltwater so much....and snorkeing in Aruba and the keys has amplified that situation. So I am ready to start back up. ! I will be reenrolling as a paid member ASAP. THANKS AGAIN!!!! Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrubberbandman November 25, 2021 Author Share November 25, 2021 On 11/23/2021 at 10:57 AM, epleeds said: I have a few rocks that are baseball/softball size and some smaller pieces you could use to make some structures in the tank. free if you want them. Located in Nokesville Oh man thats awesome, but as of today I dont even have a cycled tank ready yet But Thank you so much! Setting up a little at a time. getting supplies ordered ETC etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds November 25, 2021 Share November 25, 2021 43 minutes ago, rrubberbandman said: Oh man thats awesome, but as of today I dont even have a cycled tank ready yet But Thank you so much! Setting up a little at a time. getting supplies ordered ETC etc... It’s all dry rock. So you can cycle it in the tank. Just let me know if you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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