Thinking of Salt Water

[Grey Legion]

I must admit that I am very green when it comes to SW I have FW tanks for at least 10 years and have kinda hit my limit on what I enjoy and want from them. Of course the pictures of peoples SW tanks have kinda got me hooked so I thought what the heck maybe it is time for me to try..

I have a 135 Gal tank 72Lx18wx24h and it is sitting empty in my basement waiting for funding for lights and such..I was looking at getting a 72" VHO fixture that would give me 2.3watts per Gal I know this would be fine for a planted FW tank but what about SW ?? would it be enough to get a reef started with some beginner coral and fish ??

also what other things would I need I know a heater and a skimmer but do I need another filter of some sort ??

also does the 1lb of live rock to 1 gallon rule, does it have to be followed all at once or can I add rock as funding permits...And is it wise to go live sand and live rock or does it not really matter ??

I am doing my research on this subject and planning on getting some good books to guide me, but I am totally confused about what to get and when to get it so many people run there tanks so many different ways !?!

any help would be great !!

 

[Navarre]

Hi grey legion,

Great to see you are considering a marine tank. The lights you have will almost definately need new tubes as these will be the wrong colour spectrum. You can get away with these lights for a reef but you will be at the very lower limit of coral keeping. The lower light soft corals should be ok in this light.

As for the Liverock, this is the only rel lfilter you need but its always a good idea to use a canister so that you can use the compartments for placing treatments etc. The rule of 1lbs per gallon really should be followed as its this very rock that is going to be the filter for the tank. However, money is a major factor and the expense of kitting out 100+ gallons is not a nice thought. If you could add perhaps 50lbs and then add another 50lbs a month later then you should be ok, just remember not to put too much strain on the bioload whilst the rock is not at full operating capacity.

 

[Grey Legion]

Hmmm...very interesting

I have not purchased any light yet...but even the one I mentioned will be a slight strain on my budget ( for lights )

I may start with a smaller tank I was thinking 50-75 anything that is a liitle more shallow and a standard 48"

what is a good tank size to start with and what gear is a good start

name brands please so I may look them up online to get more info...

1 more question how does a skimmer work ??

thanks

 

[parker313]

For tank size, there's a really good article pinned to the top of the forum to give some pros and cons of different tank sizes

A skimmer works to help collect and remove dissolved waste from the water. You know how when the ocean waves crash on the beach, there's usually a lot of foam there? Well, that's the dissolved particles being "skimmed" out through nature's skimmer. Filters don't really catch these particles and water changes don't get them all out either.

I'll let someone else help with the hardware brands as I don't know much about that!

 

[Grey Legion]

Parker your all to blame for this !!! I read your posts on setting up your nano and you got me hooked it looks so amazing following your picture diary and the events of your tank..

I'll check out the pinned post..thanks

 

[parker313]

Parker your all to blame for this !!! I read your posts on setting up your nano and you got me hooked it looks so amazing following your picture diary and the events of your tank..

Thank you and you're welcome

I'd have a full, larger reef aquarium if my husband would let me!! I think that the overall cost is a bit prohibitive for where we are fincancially right now, but SOMEDAY! I will have my own full-size reef aquarium (maybe when we move, if I have to get rid of all of my fish, I might end up turning my 46g into a reef tank) B)

--Kristin

 

[Grey Legion]

I fully understand I think my 135 would be better as a FW tank

I may looking into a 50-75 for my first SW..I really love the nano reefs how hard was it for you to set up yours parker ??

Thanks

 

[parker313]

It really wasn't very hard to set up at all. I did a lot of reading and research but the more I read, the more opinions I found and the more confused I got. I went to the lfs and talked to the guys there and finally decided to just take the plunge. So, following their advice and the advice of people here, I've had my tank set up for 6mos now and am very happy with it (other than my hair algae problem, but we're working on that!).

Now that I've got things set and stable, the tank really doesn't require that much maintenance. I keep the water level topped off and I feed the fish every other day and that's about it other than water changes!

 

[Grey Legion]

So I guess you must alwasy have aged saltwater on hand for top-ups and water changes...so really when you get through all the set-up the maintanence is not all that bad compared to FW ??

I am fighting a green slime algae problem in my FW 27 Gal tank and have been fighting it for a few months now...got some new lighting on the way to really give my plants a fighting chance with the algae...

so I feel your pain

 

[steelhealr]

Parker is a witch...she got me started on this too. By the way Parker (not stepping on your thread Grey), I"m ready to power up and dry run tonite and hopefully live rock next week. Go for it Grey....it's a lot of work just to research it and it's DEFINITELY NOT CHEAP. SH

 

[parker313]

So I guess you must alwasy have aged saltwater on hand for top-ups and water changes...so really when you get through all the set-up the maintanence is not all that bad compared to FW ??

With my 10g it's really easy. I have 3 1-gallon milk jugs that I always keep full. One is for FW R/O water for top-offs and the other 2 are pre-mixed R/O saltwater. My lfs sells FW for $.50 a gallon and SW for $1.00 a gallon. At that price, compared to what I'd have to pay for my own R/O unit, it just didn't make sense to get my own R/O unit. Plus it's that many more times I have to run up there to get water and I always take a peek around "just to see what they have"

SH - Awesome!!! Didja see the pics in my nano-diary that I took of the miniflotor? It's doing a great job skimming!

 

[Grey Legion]

Parker your becoming my favorite person on this forum and the one I dred the most...everythim I see you name I start talking about fish and tanks to anyone that cares to listen...I have learned alot and have a good idea what I may do.

I am working on getting my 27 in tip-top shape and if it does as well as I hope I may make the 135 SW once I save up for the lights. I love the nano-reefs they actually have most of my interest...but I want to start big and keep it simple and I know the rule of thumb for any aquarium ( bigger is better ) so I guess I will keep reading and see where it leads me...sooner or later I'll have a SW tank

 

[superman]

I definitely think that you should go ahead with the 135 gallon reef. I do however fully premote an RO/DI unit, it would be a must for a tank that large, buying water from a store or a pet store would be rediculous with the amount of water you need. A good priced RO/DI unit can be had on ebay, (you can get a great RO/DI for under $200 easily) that's where I picked mine up and it has been running very well, my TDS before I filter it is about 300ppm! I'd also pick up a TDS meter as well, this will give you an idea of how hard your RO/DI unit is working, and when you need to change the filters or membrane.
As for lighting, well that depends on what you plan to keep. If you want to be able to keep many different types of corals then you should plan on Metal halide, don't fight it , for that tank I would get at least two 250 watt metal halides (I would look into the HQI mini pendants, they put out a ton more light vs. a single ended bulb in my opinion.) Be careful of the deals that you see onlline, most of the crazy deals you see are one that come with magnetic ballasts, which use a ton of electricity and run very hot (shorter life span) I would go with an electronic ballast, they run pretty cool, and use hardly any electricity beyond what the bulb uses (my 400 watt electronic ballast that runs my 400 watt metal halide uses only 410 watts vs. a magnetic ballast that will at least demand 450 watts of electricity)
Champion lighting is a good place to check out for lighting, along with hellolights.com
If you want to keep some specific corals that don't demand a ton of light like LPS (open brain, elegance, frogspawn, bubble coral...) Then VHO lightin does very well, I know of many people that swear by VHOs for LPS.
Let us know what type of corals and inverts you plan on keeping and we can get more specific with the lighting recommendations.
If it were me I would definitely drill the tank or have it drileld by someone else if the the tank is not drilled already. First make sure that the tank is not made out of tempered glass (the bottom may be but the sides probably are not) do this by calling the manufacturer.
I am out of time, I will try and post more when I have a chance.

 

[Grey Legion]

Drill the tank for what...man left me hanging by a thread there

Just when I start to think I am doing ok More ideas to think over...

I am not crazy about drilling a tank if the reason for doing so is not 100% valid..

I guess I need more help

as for what to put int he tank...I have no idea on any types of corals soft or hard as for fish I would like a clown and a yellow tang..that is all I got so far

what i am trying to do is get the biggest bang for my buck lighting wise and then see what works with that lighting...as it stands I can do 4.77watts per Gallon if the retailer ships to Canada...

time will tell

 

[Eelzor]

I'm also a victim of parkers thread and just couldn't resist the beauty. I infact started the more difficult way, starting with a 5 gallon Nano SW tank. So far so good and the cycle is currently in its nitrite stages.

As for your fish enquires, a clownfish is suitable in a 10 gallon or more, but i have seen some people keep them in less, and the yellow tang should be at least a 50 gallon. They can both be kept.

Good luck on your setup.