# Marine Aquariums > Marine aquarium Set Up >  125 gallon aggressive fish only setup. Need advice.

## SmokeOneLV

Just bleached my old use to be live rock had been sitting for the last 8 years, vinegar scrubbed the inside of the tank. Now running a filter with some filter fiber just to catch the left over thats still in the tank.

Can i use my old live rock and just add a couple pounds of new live rock? Will the new live rock bring back to life my old rock? 

Any advice on gravel vs no gravel? Last time i had crushed coral but it was also a reef and before my 2 kids  :lol:  this time my budget is alot less thats why im going fish only setup. I was thinking about going glass bottom any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Any advice on pumps and fitration?

Im in no rush i plan on taking a couple months to get my rocks and pumps before i start thinking about adding any fish. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!



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*lost* (17-04-2017)

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## lost

I do not see any reason why you can not use you old reef rock with a little live rock  your tank will take longer to mature , your new rock will seed the old. A lot of people are going a sandless bottom route and let Coralline algae cover the base . I have seen one and imo it does look nice , google the pros and cons of a dsb (deep sand bed) . I have a very small layer of crushed coral on mine I think it looks more natural .As for flow yes you will need that at the cheap end of the market there are the water pumps then there are the wave makers and now there is a new wave maker out called a Gyre .While not cheap they are supposed to be good . I think if you only intend to keep fish then the probs of a sand bed and flow are not such an issue as  if you were to have corals . Unless you intend to keep blenny fish or other types of fish that like to live in a sand bed .Me I prefer corals and maybe two fish , looking at your tank do you have any room for a sand bed  :lol:  ? either way keep us informed and make sure we have loads of pics

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## SmokeOneLV

Thanks i was hoping i could just seed these old rocks with some new rocks. I want to have a snowflake eel if that doesnt need sand or crushed coral im pretty sure im going with the sandless bottom. Question to get the rocks seeding do i need to add the salt to the water or will they seed i regular water with light?

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## lost

If you buy seeded rock that will in time seed your old rock if you can get live sand that would help the more you have the quicker it will seed the old stuff . Forgive me I have never kept just fish and I am sure gary will be able to help but (1) do you need live rock for just a fish only tank ? rock will make it look better so you get the best of both worlds and(2) what other fish are you planning on keeping ?

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## Gary R

Hi and welcome to fish-keeping.com

Its nice to see people coming back into the marine hobby  :Smile: 

You will need to add marine salt and some heat with flow to start the seeding with some new live rock ....it will take a couple of weeks to spike, so you will have to do some water tests over the next few days and keep your eye on it......Do you still have a sump, skimmer and filter setup in the bottom of your cabinet ? 

If you are going down the snowflake eel route I would put some crushed coral back in for a base and be careful in which fish you add to the tank with this as they can grow up to around 24 inches in a home tank.  

Water Conditions for a snowflake eel are: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## SmokeOneLV

> Hi and welcome to fish-keeping.com
> 
> Its nice to see people coming back into the marine hobby 
> 
> You will need to add marine salt and some heat with flow to start the seeding with some new live rock ....it will take a couple of weeks to spike, so you will have to do some water tests over the next few days and keep your eye on it......Do you still have a sump, skimmer and filter setup in the bottom of your cabinet ? 
> 
> If you are going down the snowflake eel route I would put some crushed coral back in for a base and be careful in which fish you add to the tank with this as they can grow up to around 24 inches in a home tank.  
> 
> Water Conditions for a snowflake eel are: 72-78° F, dKH 8-12, pH 8.1-8.4, sg 1.020-1.025


Good question i was thinking i needed live rock to help with the quality if water. Do i really need live rock for a aggressive fish only tank? I dont have a list of fish just yet im going to let the kids come up with a nice combination but im thinking porcupine puffer, trigger, lion fish, dog face puffer something like that but i havent looked to see what is good with what just yet.

Only equipment i have left over from my last set up is a emperor 400 hang on filter, uv  sterilizer, and my lights i think its a t5 with 4 bulbs and i forget what the other light is called i have to get back on my research its been down for 7 years now. 

Im in no rush going to take a couple of months before i get my main filter not even sure what equipment im getring. Just starting to write out my list still looking for advice while i seed the rocks re read books and save money for the pump.


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## Gary R

Live rock is not absolutely necessary but it is very beneficial to your tank in helping to keep your fish healthy and it would be good for adding a clean up crew...over time the rock you have now will become live...but a kick start is better  :Wink: 

on the lighting side it looks like you are ok for that  :Smile:  plus you have a uv sterilizer 

Before you can add any fish you will need a good skimmer other wise the fish mess will build up in there and kill them.

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## SmokeOneLV

> Live rock is not absolutely necessary but it is very beneficial to your tank in helping to keep your fish healthy and it would be good for adding a clean up crew...over time the rock you have now will become live...but a kick start is better 
> 
> on the lighting side it looks like you are ok for that  plus you have a uv sterilizer 
> 
> Before you can add any fish you will need a good skimmer other wise the fish mess will build up in there and kill them.


Any advice on a good skimmer? And would a clean up crew survive with aggressive fish? Or do u mean just for the seeding of the old rock use a cleaning crew?  

Another question i have is during the seeding of my old rocks what salt level should i have? And should i allready start testing the water?

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## lost

I would say for a fish only aquarium is 1.020-1.025 if I were you I would start testing after you have given the salt time to dissolve and you have the right temp . Use live rock/sand to seed your other rock a clean up crew is just that to clean up any waste fish food/poop that kind of thing

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## SmokeOneLV

> I would say for a fish only aquarium is 1.020-1.025 if I were you I would start testing after you have given the salt time to dissolve and you have the right temp


Thats what i was wondering think im going to order my salt this weekend. Any advice on good places to get salt and a test kit? I use drfostersmith.com for most thing i have needed in the past. 

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## lost

most garden centers have a tropical/marine fish shop they will give you advice on the best salt , they are a little more expensive but get a Refractometer to test your salt more accurate than the swing arm type

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*SmokeOneLV* (18-04-2017)

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## Gary R

> Thats what i was wondering think im going to order my salt this weekend. Any advice on good places to get salt and a test kit? I use drfostersmith.com for most thing i have needed in the past. 
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


As you are across the water from us, I would say drfostersmith.com is as good as any to order from, unless you have any good marine fish outlets near to you....as for salt I use Red sea coral pro, but everyone to there own.

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*SmokeOneLV* (19-04-2017)

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## SmokeOneLV

> As you are across the water from us, I would say drfostersmith.com is as good as any to order from, unless you have any good marine fish outlets near to you....as for salt I use Red sea coral pro, but everyone to there own.


While im seeding the old live f
Rock should i just get the cheapest salt. And get the salt that im going to use for the long run when im ready for fish? 

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## lost

> Thanks i was hoping i could just seed these old rocks with some new rocks. I want to have a snowflake eel if that doesnt need sand or crushed coral im pretty sure im going with the sandless bottom. Question to get the rocks seeding do i need to add the salt to the water or will they seed i regular water with light?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


By saying regular water I take it you mean fresh water in that case no it has to be salt water otherwise you will kill the organisms  in the rock if you ever have to use fresh water to say top your tank up or make up some salt water use ro water never tap water other wise you will have no end of problems

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*SmokeOneLV* (20-04-2017)

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## Gary R

> While im seeding the old live f
> Rock should i just get the cheapest salt. And get the salt that im going to use for the long run when im ready for fish? 
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


Yep that will be fine as long as its marine salt.

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## SmokeOneLV

Hi sorry I ran Into some car trouble set me back on my tank plans but I think I'm ready to get back on it. I need some advice on a whirlpool RO system. Someone is selling one for $35 and I was just wondering if it's actually something I should pick up for my tank? How important is it to use RO water? My last setup I just used the regular horrible las vegas tap water. I will post a pic of the system she is selling. Thank you!

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## SmokeOneLV

https://offerup.com/item/detail/283537389/

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## Gary R

If this is in good working order, i would get it as looks to be a very good price ....and if your tap water is as bad as ours you will need it for marine setups if you are going to keep corals.

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## lost

I agree with gary it would save you plenty of $$  I really should get one but I only do small water changes so at the mo at least it is not worth it for me

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## SmokeOneLV

Thanks for the advice I got it. Lol now I need to figure out how to hook it up in my washing room. I have never tried plumbing but I'm going to watch some videos. Thanks again.




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*Gary R* (22-07-2017), *lost* (25-07-2017)

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