Just Got Home From The Lps...

[WayneVT08]

So I just got back, and it's a brand new store and all as of right now it looks very good. I walked in and there was probably a 72 gallon marine tank with 3 purple fish, maybe some Tangs? I'm not sure. But then they had a whole section on marine fish. So that was cool. I was thinking about after I get the 55 gallon tank I have set up right now, I could go marine with like a 3 foot tank and put it in my living room. I would still have to reinforce the cabinet that it would be sitting on. The cabinet is set into an alcove in my living room and I'm not sure how I could do that.

But what are the basics that I would need to get this started. Of course the tank, LR, and LS. But how big does the sump need to be and what all do I put in the sump? I'm a total noob, so bear with me.

You got another aboard.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Welcome Aboard!

A 3 fter is a decent size, but one you wont be able to house those purple tangs in, just lettin you know first off. But that in no way inhibits the variety of fish you could posibly have in a 3fter.

A sump helps water volume, which in tern keeps the parameters of your water stable. It helps remove unsightly equipment from your main display, and helps in the process of any mecahnical filtration. You generally place your skimmer, heater, and bioballs or any other filter media you might have in it. A well designed sump can suit many purposes. A sight which will completly explain, and demonstarte a running sump is melevsreef.com

A sump has no real "must have" size. Its what ever fits your requirements, and IMO, the bigger the better. Hope that helps, and welcome to the Salt Water pages!

 

[WayneVT08]

So I am thinking about putting of the FW tank and jumping into SW... I think the bigger saltwater tank would be easier and the smaller freshwater would be better because I only want small fish so this is more ideal. MY dad and I are building a stand. I am only 15. But I do mow lawns and bring in about 45-60 bucks a week. And that is just 2 or 3 lawns, I can get more if I need to. I'm looking at the Melev's Reef Site and looking at everything about sumps and SW tanks. I'm thinking of a 20 gallon sump, can I just get a regular aquarium and then have a small divider or something? Or can someone give me tips on what to use to make/build one?

I am really leaning towards the SW tank. The colors are more abundant and the FW is pretty much green. I want vibrant colors in a tank and Petco has inspired me to do this and so have you guys.

Thanks.

 

[SkiFletch]

Oh yeah man, go for it. Couple suggestinos, first about the sump... Get a 20 long for it and buy some window glass from Lowes to make your dividers and bubble walls. They custom cut for you so that you can have the right dimensions. Then use a generous bead of "GE Silicone II for windows and doors" as a sealant to hold the walls in place and seal them up. This is by FAR the easiest method imo in making a sump. Melevs reef will teach you about bubble walls and how to design your sump.

Remember when buying your glass from lowes that they sell it in sheets of many dimensions and then cut those sheets down from there. So if you wanted say two 24"x10" walls you'd want to have them take out a piece of 24x24 and trim that down to 24x20 and then cut it in half for two 24x10 pieces. See what I mean? Optimize the amount of glass needed by selecting the right pane for them to cut

Edit: About Petco... You might be lucky down in atlanta and have a decent petco in your area, but around here all the petco's PALE in comparison tho the saltwater LFS' in terms of quality. I'd look for smaller privately owned shops for livestock. Petco has decent hardware prices, but they just dont compete when it comes to livestock. Sure you might pay 10-20% more at a smaller store, but it'll live 50% more of the time in your tank than anything from Petco in my experience.

 

[WayneVT08]

About the sump. I just wish someone could like give me pictures and stuff. Cause I have no idea like even how to do it. It seems way to complicated. And I don't have all that much room in the base of my stand. The stand itself is 49 3/4" and there are 2 pieces of 3/4" oak plywood. This has already been built... I'm not sure how I could modify it to work. I'll have to get measurements for each space in between the two dividers when we do a rough build of it sometime in the near future. I'm going up to NJ for a wedding monday and won't be back until the following week sometime... So I have no idea when this could happen.

Could anyone make me a small sump when I get the measurements? I would pay of course. I just don't get how to do it I'm more of a visual learner type. I don't see things as I'm told or as I'm reading. I have to see it done. I just had to trust my dad on how the stand would come out. I had no idea what it would look like when he told me what he was going to do.

 

[SkiFletch]

Visual learner huh? This link from melvsreef.com taught me just about everything I needed to know hwen designing my sump. couple nuonces wer emissed here, but most of it came from there. Having someone here make it for you might get expensive... Just in parts alone we're talkin $25 for the tank, $25 for the glass walls, $5 for the silicone, and prolly $30+ for the shipping. Thats easily $85 just for the parts and shipping let alone any labor anyone wants to charge you for it...

 

[WayneVT08]

Haha that's what I've been reading, but it went in one ear and out the other. Maybe my dad can make sense of it. I'm not sure. WE'll see. My sister's graduation is tomorrow and then we are leaving Monday. Making a dive into SW has probably pushed my plans back until around xmas. Since I'd need to get all the things necessary. How many powerheads would I need for a 55 gallon tank. And what kinda lights, and what would that run me in costs? The tank is 48"x12"x20" W x D x H

 

[SkiFletch]

Ah the venerable 4foot 55g, the best starter tank by far. For powerheads you want a minimum of 20 times the gallon capacity... So in your case you'd want 1100 gallons per hour worth of rated powerheads or like 3 or 4 heads. If you buy them online from marinedepot.com (you're crazy if you dont) they could run you anywhere from $20-$50 per pump depending on how fancy you want to get.

Lighting again should be ordered online cause its WAY cheaper. If you only want fish only its pretty cheap around $70. If you want to keep corals you'll need T5s or PCs or even better MHs and that cost will range from $100 to $150 to $200 respectively (approximate). If you are looking at corals and therefore a "reef" tank, ask the guys at your LFS if there is a local reef club or society and go join up there... will help tremendously in the long run

 

[WayneVT08]

So I'd need about 4 powerheads? And each one of them has their own pump? I do want some corals but that is way off, is it practical to just get the metal halides when I need the lighting or wait? What are T5s, PCs, T8s, and MHs? I assuming the MHs are metal halides?

I only have 4 pet stores near me, a PetSmart, Petco, Petland, and then a more local one, which I did go to this morning and don't have as big a selection as Petco or Petland (of marines). Who should i ask, any employee or what? What is the local reef club or society for?

You and MrMiagi are a huge help. Thanks!

And about the sump. The whole stand is 49 3/4" across (from side to side) And there are two support pieces of 3/4" oak plywood (5 ply) The space under the tank is set up into 3 sections. The sections are about 15 6/8" across and 14 3/16" deep. I'm not sure what kind of sump can go into that, but please let me know if you can think of anything.

 

[jen20147]

Is suggest you do some serious research on the cost of the hobby, being a young person with a very limited income, unless your parents are interested in helping out as well. You said you were looking into a larger SW tank with a sump setup. This can get really costly, as in thousands of dollars to set something like this up.

Another peice of advice for you is to find a LFS in your area that is dedicated to fish, particularly SW. You will get a better idea of what you are getting into there than in a Petco where the people are not really trained to help people set up a SW tank. I have kind of a anger thing for Petco since they started stocking SW fish and to me seems like they are just trying to yank in more money which is business yes but they dont seem to put any importance on making sure these fish are healthy or that the employees know much about them.

Everytime I go to a Petco at least one of the fish has ich, and the one near us has started to stock not just damsels and clowns but puffers and lionfishes...asking much cheaper prices for them than the LFS but you go one day and see a Black Volitan lionfish and then go the next and see it floating upside down dead because Petco has no clue..and its just kind of sad.

Just my opinion.

 

[SkiFletch]

T8, T5, and PC (power compact) are types of higher output flourescent fixtures listed in order of power (PC>T5>T8). From the sound of it, MH are not for you. They are costly both to purchase, operate, and maintain. MH do put out the best light, but not worth the cost for a youngster new to the hobby. You're probably going to want to go with T5s or PCs if you can afford it. 4 Foot T5 fixtures I think run about 45 watts per bulb and PCs of the same length run around 110 watts per bulb. PCs are in general 30% more expensive than T5s but there are the obvious power benefits.

Especially because you're going to be on a tight budget, finding a local reef club will be nearly essential. Its really just a term for a bunch of reefers who trade coral frags, swap old equipment, and help each other out when they can. Great place to get hand-me downs of other people who started tanks just like you. As hokey as that might sound, my local club has helped me out a lot since I started. Usually not some kind of crazy formal membership thing. I'll pm you a link that should be helpful for someone in atlanta.

As for the stand, I'd have to see pics to really help with it... kinda hard to visualize what you're describing.

 

[WayneVT08]

Hmm money isn't all that of an issue, I make about 60 bucks a week and that can sustain me for a while. Plus I don't drive so I don't have to pay for gas. And there really isn't a extremely good LFS store, the one that I went to today that was privately owned was deecent, but not a good selection. It seemed Petco was better but then again it was a brand new store. Petland is the next best choice, but I can always bust out the Yellow Pages and find a better one. You never know.

 

[SkiFletch]

In a city the size of atlanta, there has to be some decent LFS' around... Heck we have 4 reef dedicated stores in tiny Buffalo

 

[WayneVT08]

I did a local search for fish stores near where I live and there are a few. But they are not in total abundance. Atlanta isn't a really big fish-keeping city... I just wish the ones that I did find were closer to home. But alas, they aren't. I'll go and try to check one out today, even though it's Sunday, I still want to know if I can find where some are. So a new adventure begins.

 

[SkiFletch]

I did a local search for fish stores near where I live and there are a few. But they are not in total abundance. Atlanta isn't a really big fish-keeping city... I just wish the ones that I did find were closer to home. But alas, they aren't. I'll go and try to check one out today, even though it's Sunday, I still want to know if I can find where some are. So a new adventure begins.

hehe, cool . Thats surprising especially with the atlanta quarium and all