dlmelius

Welcome to this wonderful and fun hobby! What do you mean dirty live sand? Algae?

This would be my list of things to start going to a reef:

Test Kits
Refractometer
More live Rock, about 25 - 30 pounds more
Clean up crew if you don't have any. Snails & hermits - if the sand bed has algae and that is why it is "dirty" these guys can help
change the whisper to a fuge if possible
Also maybe another power head

The list above would be my starting point. Do you know how long the system was up before you received it? That is what I can think of for right now, I'm sure many others will add more suggestions as well. good luck, and keep us updated!

Cleaning the sand is not really a good idea if the tank was setup for over a year. Over time phosphate binds to the sand and there is not really a good way to release it. Phosphate promotes the growth of unwanted algae in the tank and will make it that much harder to keep the tank clean down the road.

has the tank already been relocated and set up? and are there animals in the tank?

If you want to clean up the sandbed to start anew, here's the article for you: http://www.melevsreef.com/rinsing_sand.html

Save a cup or two to seed the sandbed, and wash out the rest.

melev - Today 04:15 PM

If you want to clean up the sandbed to start anew, here's the article for you: http://www.melevsreef.com/rinsing_sand.html

Save a cup or two to seed the sandbed, and wash out the rest.

Or you can do that, nice article mark.

I spy with my little eye.... the old phone cord to reach the entire house gig

(I hope that was a really old article marc)

That's funny

Yes, that article goes back to 2004.

sorry, I couldn't resist

Other than test kits (what types?) and cleaners (what are the best?). Is there any easy and inexpensive way of building a fuge? We know that this hobby is and can be very expensive but if there ways of cutting down on costs and DIY pieces to this tank I would take any advise you got.

Thanks

David

Originally Posted by Douwant2play

Welcome to this wonderful and fun hobby! What do you mean dirty live sand? Algae?

This would be my list of things to start going to a reef:

Test Kits
Refractometer
More live Rock, about 25 - 30 pounds more
Clean up crew if you don't have any. Snails & hermits - if the sand bed has algae and that is why it is "dirty" these guys can help
change the whisper to a fuge if possible
Also maybe another power head

The list above would be my starting point. Do you know how long the system was up before you received it? That is what I can think of for right now, I'm sure many others will add more suggestions as well. good luck, and keep us updated!

There are many different brands of test kits, and I'm not sure what the "best" are, for a reef you will want: Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate, Ammonia, Calcium, Ph, Alkalinity,and possibly Magnesium (others please chime in for any other ones). As for a clean up crew I like lots of snails. I have nassarius, cerith and nerites in my tank currently. I have also had Turbo snails when I had larger tanks. Also stomatellas are great reef cleaners which mostly get in your tank as hitchhikers. here is an articles that shows how to convert an HOB filter to a fuge and you may be able to do something similar to yours: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hagenrefugart.htm Or you could always go this route:http://www.melevsreef.com/sump.html & http://www.melevsreef.com/55g/55sump.html

And a lighting possibilty for the HOB: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/Value-P...NGLE-LIGHT.htm
Or if you go the bigger sump & Fuge route: http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

One way you can save money is by buying dry base rock instead of live rock. Just leave it in the tank with the few peieces of live rock you have for a few months before adding any predators. All the bacteria and little critters will eventually spread to the new rock.