(Reefkeping Tips > Please scroll down for the list of links to helpful forum discussions)

The affordable way to set up a Reef Aquarium is not a secret. Professionals have been using these methods for years. Even if your reef aquarium is already running, reading this information will help with understanding and may just save you from making some of the common and costly mistakes.

My fellow hobbyists, A-lo-ha
I certainly made plenty of mistakes. I'm definitely no expert but I feel a need to share what I have learned over the years, since my first reef aquarium in 1993. Since then I have seen and/or maintained over 500 reef aquariums and helped countless other hobbyists way back to the 1995 founding of this wonderful WMAS.

This initial post describes how to set up a lightly stocked reef aquarium according to the best biology available. It's all about the biology. so if you aren't fascinated by living things, stop right here. This hobby may not be for you. 

The Reefkeeping Tips at the bottom of this OP and posts further on in this thread describe other important time and money saving ideas.

LR = Live Rock. It's called "live" because bacteria, algae, worms and other critters live on and in the rock. 

LW = Live Water. Bacteria, algae, invertebrate larvae and other microscopic life are suspended in the water of an existing, healthy reef aquarium.*

* Bottled Bacteria in a liquid suspension is now available for supplementing the live bacteria of LS, LR, and LW and when used in conjunction is a very good thing.

Macroalgae = Types of plant-like algae which absorb waste. Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha (pronounced "kaulerpa" and "kate-o-morfa") are common macroalgae in the hobby. Here is a link to a thread with pics of many common Macroalgae, both the good ones  and the bad ones  Types of Macroalgae (with pics)  http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5037" rel="nofollow - http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5037

Though slightly abbreviated, here are steps for setting up reef aquariums. I have used this method since around 1999. The method has been used for dozens of my own tanks and by countless hobbyists. If you have any questions along the way, don't hesitate to call. My phone number (as of this edit) is 808-345-1049.

DAY 1

1. Place 1/2 - 1" of screened and washed Oolitic Sand (refer to next post for Utah Oolitic Sand cleaning instructions) in the bottom of the tank. Caution when placing Oolitic sand: A big wet clod of sand can easily slip out of a bucket and crack the bottom glass of an empty aquarium.

2. Fill with LW to just cover the new sand. To prevent stirring up the sand, set a bucket lid or dinner plate on the sand and pour the water onto the lid/plate.

3. Add wet LS from an established reef tank for an additional 1/2 - 1" of depth on top of the Oolitic sand. If that much LS is not available, use rinsed CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand or larger particle sand and as much LS as possible, even if it's just a few cups. Add LW to just cover the sand and place the LS in several small depressions. Completely covering the Oolitic sand with larger particle sand is useful because otherwise Oolitic sand can cause quite a dust storm when water is added and pumps are turned on. It can take up to 2 weeks for a biological film to begin holding the Oolitic sand together so it's not so dusty (inadequate rinsing sometimes leads to a dust storm of fine particles that take up to a week to disperse by sticking to the biofilm on other surfaces).

4. Add several more inches of LW.

5. Place previously prepared Utah Aragonite Rock/Lake Bonneville Tufa Rock (LBTR) as base rock (refer to next post for info regarding this rock). Try to set the bottom pieces on edge pushed partly into the sand for stability with second level pieces straddling the lower rocks. This ensures water flow over as much exposed sand as possible. Look in this thread a few posts down for some aquascaping tips: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38324" rel="nofollow - http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38324

6. Add more LW and newly mixed saltwater to fill the tank at least 3/4 full.

7. Place selected pieces of LR, preferably kept submerged when moved from another hobbyists tank, on top of the first and second tiers of LBTR. If it was not possible to transport the LR submerged, or if the LR was purchased from the LFS, be sure to twist turn and shake it to get all possible air out of the pores. (Air kills marinelife, thus requiring many weeks for decomposition/cycling/recovery. See the Reefkeeping Tip below on how to best move LR.)

8. Finish filling the tank with LW or freshly mixed saltwater and pour in some bottled bacteria. There are many brands. All are good products for supplementing bacteria in addition to that already living in the LS, LR and LW.

9. Place Macroalgae in the aquarium. Strands of Caulerpa and/or clumps of Chaetomorpha Macroalgae are usually available free from hobbyists in the WMAS on this forum. Various well lit positions in the tank are best for Macroalgae. The use of Macroalgae is part of the key to setting up a livable tank as quickly as possible.

10. Place and plug in the pumps. Position water flows to push water up from the bottom up to create a surface water rippling effect. This roiling or rippling effect aerates the water. Aeration gets air to the coral and fish so they can breath. Leave the top of the tank open as much as possible so it can breathe. (This is also called "gas exchange".)

That's about it for day one. Leave the lights on as long as possible, all night if possible. We want algae to grow immediately to filter the polluting Nitrogen compounds (Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate) produced by bacteria as decomposition begins. Regarding the lights, here's a good thread explaining why the lights should be ON:  http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78757" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78757

DAYS 2, 3 & 4 

Add a few soft coral frags.

DAYS 5, 6 & 7

If the coral frags have been expanding and showing polyps, add a few Snails, and a Hermit Crab or two and a couple Green Chromis Damselfish or even saltwater Mollies. The number of snails hermits and fish added at this point depends on the size of the tank and the amount of LS, LW, LR and Macroalgae used.

More snails should be added over the coming weeks as more soft algae begins to grow on rock and glass. Golden brown Diatom algae and sometimes Dinoflagellate algae are first to appear. This is a normal part of new tank growth. Regarding the numbers and importance of Snails and Hermits, see the related thread here and linked below in the Tips section. http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37548" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=37548

This is a good start. More coral and fish can be added in the following weeks, but be cautious of adding fish and stony coral too quickly. Fish are water polluters. Coral are water filterers, but sensitive coral of the stony variety can die easily in a new tank (0-6 months). Anemones are also water polluters, sometimes even worse than fish. An anemone should not be tried for at least 2 months.

Please feel free to ask questions here and feel free to copy, print and utilize all of the information contained in this entire thread. It's my 2 cents worth of contribution to the hobby that I have loved and lived since 1993.

One parting comment for posterity: Let us be thoughtful.  We need to know husbandry information before we bring it home, because asking the question after the organism is having trouble in our tank is less than responsible. I am speaking to myself as well. In September 1993 when I got into this hobby, I kept a list of the stuff I bought and the stuff that died in my 55 gal. Eighteen months later I was a lot smarter but carried so much remorse that I stopped keeping the list. I had gone through almost $2000 worth of animals and what did I have left? Two clownfish, a Yellow Tang, a Six-line Wrasse, snails, hermits and an Ugly Green Haired Mermaid. http://www.garf.org/ugly.html" rel="nofollow - http://www.garf.org/ugly.html
Thanks to the formation of the WMAS and thanks to LeRoy Headlee of GARF, my reef was saved, I stopped killing so many animals and actually started farming marine animals.  ../SeaStar/wmasSeaStar02Feb.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.utahreefs.com/SeaStar/wmasSeaStar02Feb.pdf

I am so thankful for the WMAS. I'm grateful to be one of it's six original and last remaining founding member from 1995. Over the years, I took the time to visit hundreds of hobbyists, welcoming them to the club and picking up tips from them whenever possible. I also helped maintain over 200 reef aquariums while working for Mountain Shadow Marine, the largest marine aquarium maintenance company in the intermountain west. 

Mahalo for reading. I hope this helps. Feel free to call or text me at 808-345-1049.

Aloha,
Mark

  http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78772" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=78772  (the only non-reefkeeping tip here. 

The BobsReef Method of having a nice reef, quickly  http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66673" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66673

Solving Nuisance Algae Problems:
  http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72576" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=72576

Heaters and water Temperature, what's best?  http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79571" rel="nofollow - http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=79571

Alkalinity and Calcium - Temperature and Salinity, The importance of
http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=44957" rel="nofollow - http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=44957
Discussion about the chemicals above, treated as food 

Clownfish -  Can they get along?

and another Aiptasia discussion with a great hobbyist tip on eradicating Majano : 

Utah has two resources that are perfect for setting up marine/reef aquariums. Oolitic sand and Lake Bonneville Tufa Rock (LBTR). See the pics below. But these free resources do not come ready to use. They require first the finding, then the collecting and then cleaning prior to use.[edit June 2013: sand and rock is now available in SLC. Call/text Mark at 808-345-1049]

1. Oolitic Sand

If dry, screen with a window screen or something similar to remove sticks, rocks, bullets, etc. Then rinse in tapwater about four times until the rinsewater turns from tan to a clear gray. Rinsing smaller amounts at a time is usually easier because of it's packing density.

2. Utah Aragonite Rock/ Lake Bonneville Tufa Rock (LBTR)

Blast it on all sides at the carwash with the high pressure spray in the Rinse setting. Squeeze the handle. Try to blast off at least 95% of the lichen and moss from all surfaces. Placing the tip of the wand about 3" from the rock surface will get the toughest stuff. Blast all holes. There is dirt in some nice holes that cannot be opened up unless blasted by the high pressure spray. When it's done the clean LBTR is pretty much sterile with very little organic material to cause pollution. Large quantities of clean LBTR cause no problem in any tank, new or old.

Above is how LBTR looks after picking it up off the ground. Below are a couple pics of LBTR in a tank that has been set up for 16 months. But for two exceptions, all the LR seen in these pics is 16 month LBTR. Can you find the exceptions?

The backlight in these pics is the bright morning sun. This tank is directly in the sun of an East facing window.

Now that you have read how to set up your reef aquarium, it's vital to know something about the water conditions that ensure a healthy aquarium. After Salinity and Temperature, the three most important water parameters for a Reef Aquarium are Alkalinity (Alk), Calcium (Ca) and Nitrate (NO3).

In my opinion, the best test kits for Alk and Ca are made by Salifert. The kits that test for NO3 are all basically the same, but over time you can see the effect of NO3 in the water by observing the condition of the coral polyps, so eventually you may be able to see at a glance that Nitrate is low, just by observing the coral.

Alk and Ca are components of reef aquarium water that become depleted as marine organisms live and grow. It is necessary to replace these components as they are used. 

Nitrate is the third of four stages of what has been commonly labeled as the Nitrogen Cycle. It is not something to be replaced like Alk and Ca, but instead, Nitrate must be removed or preferably decomposed by the living components of a healthy reef filtration system. Because a high level of Nitrate is harmful to invertebrates such as coral and the plethora of water filtering organisms, it is the third important component of reef aquarium water chemistry. To discover more about the four stages of Nitrogen in the reef aquarium do some research on the Nitrogen Cycle. (Because of the methods described here, in your research it is okay to ignore the concepts that say aquariums must go through a long 4-8 week "cycle". )

Adding Alkalinity

This is usually not necessary for a few months after setting up this Oolitic Sand and LBTR tank. But when testing indicates that Alk is at or below 8 dKH, it's time to start adding Alk. See a post below, regarding making your own incredibly inexpensive Alkalinity additive.

Adding Calcium

Directions to Utah Oolitic Sand and Lake Bonneville Tufa Rock. On page 2 of this thread is a nice arial pic/map, so keep on reading )

1. The sand is easier to find than rock. Here is a link to the Utah Geological Survey website which first led us to the sand. http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/rockmineral/collecting/oolitic.htm" rel="nofollow - http://geology.utah.gov/utahgeo/rockmineral/collecting/oolit ic.htm  The directions on that site mention a stop sign. There is no stop sign but there is a sign pointing left to Broken Arrow Salt. Turn left at that road. 

Unfortunately, the sand dunes disappeared from the south side of the road. Not to worry, there is plenty on the opposite side of the road where the dunes continue to the north. Here is a pic looking SW at the vanished dunes!

Below is a pic, in the winter, of the north side of the road exactly opposite from the location in the pic above. Collecting sand can be fun any time of year, but not right after a heavy rain.

2. LBTR

Edit> Please see the Reefkeeping Tip above for my comments about Utah Rock/LBTR.

There are several spots. The closest place is almost exactly north of the sand collection area. Rather than turning left toward Broken Arrow Salt, continue a half mile or so to some trails off to the left that run through the dunes to the West. (Oolitic sand dunes!) Follow these 4x4 trails to the mud flats. Digging with a shovel in the mud along some drainage ditches once revealed LBTR, but over the years it has all been removed by hobbyists.

Other LBTR has been found along the terraces left by Lake Bonneville at various spots on the slopes of Stansbury Island, on the West slopes of the Oquirrh Mountains toward Tooele and further out I-80 at the exits marked "Lakeside - Military Exit" and this:

(This is the sign you would see if traveling from Wendover.)

Where do I find this rock and sand in utah?

I live in Ogden.

Thanks

Jason

invision wrote: Where do I find this rock and sand in utah? I live in Ogden. Thanks Jason

Mark is usually the best source he is the sand and rock..

But i'm sure other replies will follow.

hello

I was wondering if i should switch my  sand out i have in my little 18 gal nano reef. I just went and bought some play sand from sutherlands and put in there. I have had success with this sand in my bigger tank back home but is is a gray ish color. I have not seeded it yet. I put a couple piece of lr i bought from bird word (really expensive) but nothing else. If i should switch is there a possibility that some one could get some for and and some dead rock i could maybe buy from them. THanks for the information. I wish i saw this thread right after i moved down here.

David

You see Jon here is the problem.  You and I disagree on the solubility of aragonite and the conditions of our sand beds.  Unfortunately I know that you are smarter than I am.  Therefore I don't usually bring up this topic because I know I must somehow be wrong. 

But don't tell anyone.

It doesn't really matter anyway... in the end it's just an academic discussion.  If your sand dissolves enought to keep your calcium and alk at desired levels then good for you.  Otherwise, use some other method (bionic, kalk, calcium reactors, etc) to supplement your dissolving sand.  I know in my system, my sand does not dissolve.  I've got the same amount of sand today that I had 2 yrs ago.  But maybe I don't have  a deep enough sandbed :shrug:.

Since we started collecting LBTR about 7 yrs ago, we have moved from spot to spot in search of the best stuff. That location once had a truckload of very choice, very porous pieces. Sounds like you came across some good stuff on that same hill where we probably removed 10 tons of it over the years.

 

Update regarding collecting Utah rock and sand.

The best rock has all but disappeared from the places identified in this and more recent threads. All that is left in those locations is heavy stuff, twice the weight of the good rock. The good rock is still available. For the lightest and most porous Utah Rock, the good stuff,  please feel free to contact me by PM or at the phone # below.