Starting a Marine Tank

[jordan barnhart]

I am starting a 30 gallon reef tank. Money won't be an issue with this. Just need to know what I need. I have read a lot and the reason I am asking is because my dad wants a saltwater tank.

By former profession my dad was in water treatment and I really cannot go into detail on what he did/does. We've been at the local marine fish shop and hangin' around and lookin at all the displays. He decided he wants to start with a 30 gallon. This will be a reef tank. We will get metal halides for lighting. How much lighting will we need to grow a wide variety of corals? I have access to everything I need at this shop. Glass top will be on tank, skimmer, powerheads, filtration. Just need recomendations on what would be best for my tank

I'll quit flappin' my jaws here.

1. It's a 30 gallon tank, how will I filter this tank appropriately.
2. What kind of powerheads?
3. We will have metal halides, how many watts and kelvin temperature is appropriate.
4. I will have about 40 lbs of live rock, 30 lbs of live sand, and have it stocked with small clowns, and clean up crew. I want those peppermint shrimp and some cool crabs.
Any suggestions are good. Thats why i am here.
5. Heating? What would be sufficient.


Just need some info from the guys here at TFF. I don't know if I should trust everything this particular FS has told me. My preferred fish store is not within' driving range for me to go chit chat as I please anymore.

Just point me in the right direction. I will read books and learn as i go as I have been.

 

[Navarre]

He and welcome to the world of Marines

1. It's a 30 gallon tank, how will I filter this tank appropriately

Liverock... This will be your main filtration. Add a skimmer to help reduce nutrients before they enter the nitrogen cycle. You could add an external cannister filter and fill with sponges to help polish the water but this really is all you need. If you have the capacit yfor a sump (you didnt mention one so i will assume you wont get one). then you could try Mineral mud or DSB filters.

2. What kind of powerheads?

Not sure of the different brand names in the USA but over here in the UK a good and efficient powerhead is called "MaxiJet" Any powerhead that is low on power usage and good flow will do though. a marine tanks needs 10x circulation minimum for circulation so with a 30 gallon you are looking for a powerhead (or multiple powerheads) to push around 300 gallons of water. (Even more if you can afford it)

3. We will have metal halides, how many watts and kelvin temperature is appropriate

150w is a good power for this tank but if you could stretch to 250w then even better. Although a 150w will do adequately if you ever wish to upgrade then purchasing 250w after getting 150w would be annoying. (Get as much lights over the tank as possible)
Temperature... 10k give a good bright light and is very warm to the eye. 14k enhances the colours more on the corals and fish and 20k really enhances the colour but its much colder on the eye. I would advice you to use 10k with actinics or perhaps 14k with actinics. (20k doesnt give off muxh lihgt ib the correct spectrum for corals to use)

4. I will have about 40 lbs of live rock, 30 lbs of live sand, and have it stocked with small clowns, and clean up crew. I want those peppermint shrimp and some cool crabs.
Any suggestions are good. Thats why i am here.

40lbs of liverock is good. I think 30lbs of livesand is a bit too much. you dont want to have the sand anydeeper than 2 inches in the main tank unless you are using a DSB. Personally i would not recomend a DSB for beginners. Best to keep the sand level below 2"
As for the cleanup crew. you should be aiming for 30 hermitcrabs/snails (1 per gallon usually) A pair of clowns will be ok in the tank but beware on the peppermint shrimps. Most shops sell "Camel shrips/Dancing Shrimps" as Peppermint shrimps. Camels shrimps can make short work of your corals ) Peppermints are great shrimps but dont ever expect to see em. They are very very reclusive and you will be extremly lucky to ever see them. Personally i would suggest cleaner shrimps or blood shrimps (although in numbers below 3, bloods can be just as secretive). Adding crabs is a risky business. I would suggest you stick with Emerald crabs. these crabs usually feed on detrius or algae. BE careful though with any crab, they are opportunist and will grab such an opportunity should a sick fish stray near them or a goby gets caught down its bolt hole. )

5. Heating? What would be sufficient

My tank has no heater ) The heat buildup from the halides and powerheads meansi struggle like hell to keep the temperature down!
But to be honest though, keep a backup and put it in the tank but also keep the heater gaurded. A snail that crawls onto the heater when switched off cannot escape if theheater switches on and will fry! (believe me i have seen this happen and the rsults are not nice )

Two last things...

You mention that you will be using glass covers on the tank. Whilst this will slow down evaporation, you will get incredible heat problems with the halides. Most people have to run open topped tanks with Halides or use some form of grid to allow for evaportaion (the tanks best way of keeping cool)

You mentioned your father works with water treatment. Then im sure he will agree that tap water is not very pure at all! Investment into an RO unit is a very wise move and will save you an enormous amount of trouble in the weeks ahead of you.

good luck with the tank.

 

[jordan barnhart]

Thanks alot man. How high should I have the 250watt MH over my tank. I wont using a glass top afterall. 40 lbs of live rock and i guess an however much livesand it takes to make a one inch bed. I will definately invest in a skimmer. I was thinking about a sump but I am reading on them. I just don't know how they work . Never seen one before.

If someone could explain them to me and how they work I would really appreciate it. And how big a sump I should use on a 30 gallon reef.

 

[Navarre]

250w halides... I would pace them about 12inches above the tank. It really depends on the depth of course but 12 inches is a good hieght to start with. If you choose hanging haldies then the length can be altered easily.

Sumps.

A sump is a tank (or other holding device) that is usually under the main tank and holds a volume of watrer. this water is circulated from the main tank to the sump and in the sump various forms of filtration can be used (Mine uses mineral mud with macro algaes).

This is my sump.

This is a close up (old photo) and here can be seen my macro algaes. You can also see the end compartment of the sump where my retun pump is house that pumps the water back up to the main tank.

This is a tank that has holes drilled into the base where water riwes and then falls down the pipes. the pipes are connected under the tank to the sump and pumps back into the main tank via a return pump.

This is an example of a sump (mine is actually the other way around and runs from left to right rather than right to left like this diagram)

This is a diagram of my setup. My tank has holes drilled high up on the back of the tank and pipes flow the water down the outside and into the sump.

Hope this helps.

 

[humpy_the_humphead_wrasse]

sry to resurrect this but i had a laugh when reading this lol so had to make a quote!

A snail that crawls onto the heater when switched off cannot escape if theheater switches on and will fry

LOL high quality aquarium produced Eskargot