[mastaJ]

Hello All,
I must admit that I have been 'lurking' boards for awile just sucking up info...[img]/ubb/smile.gif[/img](and i found this one to be the best...!)

Anyway...I am 15 and i just set up my first saltwater tank last sat. night, i work at my LFS and i just couldn't hold out any longer. It is only a 7 gallon bow tank (i know, start out as big as u can afford) because we are planning on moving in september so i didn't want to move a 75 gallon, which is what i was going to get...I think my tank is virtually cycled because i used half a bag of "bio-active" sand (split it with LFS owner) and i used half a bucket of rock rubble covered in corraline that somebody just dropped off that day at the store (along with 50 lbs. of liverock). So, i'm sure it is cycled, however my sand bed is NOTHING just bacteria covered sand.

Here is my question...How much is shipping on the 9 for 99 special at IPSF? All i origanally wanted to get was the worms and Live sand activator...however that came to $40(LSA) + $20(worms) + $28(shipping) + $5(box) which would equal $93...WOW!...so, it donned on me why not just order 9 for 99...but is there any extra costs? also...do u guys think it would be to much stuff for my 7 gallon?

Here is what i would get....
Wondermud
L.S. Activator
Baby Bristle Worms
Feather Caluerpa
6 Strombus
Pods
TH Red
TH gold
Anthelia Polyps
And supersize it and get 2 leathers? Sounds cool...If u think my tank is ready of course.

Any comments are welcome...
(sry bout the long post...)

OH...ya, just about forgot to tell ya i have a 14 watt bulb on my tank which equals 2 watts per gallon...would that be enough for the leathers and polyps?

-mastaJ

[naser]

all the basics are great for new tanks just makes sure your amonia nad nitrite levels are low or gone before you add things that cost you 100 bucks plus shipping. hate for you to throw it away! the key in the earlier parts is testing! cant stress that enough. even though you have live sand it might not be up to par so to speak with the balance of the tank.ive always sacrificed a damsel or two. you feed them things get dirty and then all your bacteria steps up nicely!. my .02

[naser]

ive myself and it seems others have thrown out the watts per gallons rule. if i did that id have almost 11 watts per gallon. id try to step up the lights to the mini pc's the are really small with more intensity!

[Ltspd]

The 9 for 99 includes 2nd day shipping to your door. IPSF is a great place to deal with and the products are very good. I have been and still am pleased with all the stuff I hve gotten from them.

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Paul C
Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.
Einstein

[Ninong]

Hi mastaJ, welcome to Reefland! [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

As Ltspd just mentioned, the 9 for $99.95 special at IPSF includes shipping and if you super-size it, they add $19.95 = $119.90 total (shipping included). Sounds like a good deal to me.

Ninong [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]

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Irrational Exuberance!

[waterboy]

Masta,

9 for 99 includes shipping. I just got mine a week ago - here is what I got:

Wondermud
L.S. Activator
Baby Bristle Worms
Feather Caluerpa
6 Strombus
N-reducer
6 trochus
1 booster peg (I talked them into substituting this)
coral heaven
2 leathers

If I had it to do over again, I'd get the anthelia's, tang heaven?, and amphipods instead of the bristle worms, n-reducer, and coral heaven. There were bristle worms in everything they sent me. Some of them were tiny and I'm not sure if they'll survive or not, but, they were thrown in with everything. I'm not sure I needed the n-reducer because my tank has been established for awhile now. And they threw in a coral heaven sample pack as a special, so I actually had double the coral heaven. My advice to you would be to drop the bristles and get the trochus.
Also, I would get at least 4 watts/gallon for the leathers. You could maybe keep mushrooms with 2 watts/gal, but that's about it. PC's would be fine (maybe a retro).

-Brian

[skipm]

I too have ordered from Gerald at IPSF and was pleased with my order. As far as lighting is concerned if you can do some minor electrical wiring thn you should go to www.ahsupply.com and check out their 2x13 watt flourescent kits, they are easy to install and not very expensive, it should also be quite easy to build a canopy for a 7 gal tank, probably $10 or less. Good luck and welcome, Skip

[reefhead]

you shouldnt need that much stuff for a 7 gal tank.

I would just purchase the worms, maybe 4 and some snails

your choice really!
enjoy,
joe



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My Reef Tank
:fish:

[chromis]

Go ahead and get the 9 for 99. You will have the coolest 7 gal. ever. I cant wait to set up my tank and get one.
Andrew

Welcome to Reefland mastaJ!

i used half a bag of "bio-active" sand

What is the depth of your sand bed from this?

IPSF has excellent products, but sometimes the wait can be a while. Recently I heard people mentioning 3 week back-orders. It is most definitely worth the wait though. [img]/ubb/wink.gif[/img]

i used half a bucket of rock rubble covered in corraline that somebody just dropped off that day at the store (along with 50 lbs. of liverock). So, i'm sure it is cycled

50lbs of LR in a 7gal [img]/ubb/eek.gif[/img], is there any room for corals? [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] Have you performed any tests (i.e. ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) to assure your tank has cycled?

Scott

[mastaJ]

thanx for the replies everyone...
now back to this lighting issue, would the two 13w compacts fit in my 7 gallon striplight with some tinkering on my part? the striplight itself is smaller than a 10g striplight, it is only 15" long.
thank you

-mastaJ

[mastaJ]

the half bag of sand gave me a 2" sandbed, and no i didn't use 50lbs. of live rock in my tank...i was just saying that somebody dropped off 50lbs. of rock at the store. lol. I'll be taking a sample of water to the store wed. when i work. so, no i don't have any test results yet.

[mastaJ]

ok...i just guess i'm going to order it except not the polyps or leathers for now...i'll worry about the lighting issue later...
thank u for your input...

-mastaJ