new to reefs and need a hand getting off on the right foot

[j_chicago]

Hows it goin' guys?

So if you guys have been reading the FW forums you may know that I have a 85g that I was planning to use a planted FW tank.

But now, after considering the blue acrylic background I decided to build a reef tank. But need some reassurance before I start buying and building after the holidays.

So far my plan is this...

Flitaration...
DIY sump/refug. using either a 40g long or 30g long. Overflows would run to one side, that compartment will also house a skimmer rated for 200-250g (figure between tank and sump a total of 110g), then a set of baffles, refug. compartment with DSB and cheeto, then a set of baffles, and then heaters (300wx2) and the return pump.

Plumbing...
The 85g is predrilled with two holes in top back corners, and two on the top of the tank in the center (pointing downwards, if that makes sense). There is no overflow compartments in the tank. Should I just use 1" elbows pointing upwards for overflows, or is there a better way. return for the sump will just be DIY jet sprayers from the holes on the top.

Lighting...
Heres where I'm unsure. The tank is 58" x 18" x18" so finding a 58" fixture is impossible. Should I just find a premade 48" lighting system with T5's and 2 MH and also moon lights. Or is it cheaper to buy the lighting components separate and mounting the lights inside a DIY canopy.

Substrate/LR...
Can I just use normal playsand as I do in my planted tank, or do I have to buy some overpriced sand? And for live rock, is it best to buy fully cured and induce a cycle with dead shrimp, or is it better to buy the cheaper uncured LR, do a quick SW bath, and let it cure during the cycle in the tank?

And as always, thanks for all replies, suggestions, and criticism in advance.
J

[Subliminal]

It sounds like you're pretty handy, so on the lighting, your best bet is probably to make your own hood and retrofit a few lights. You could go with 2x150w (since your tank is pretty shallow) and then supplement actinics (or just use a 14 or 20k metal halide bulb and call it good).

I'd suggest getting sand from a pet store. You don't have to use live sand, but you do want an aragonite based sand to buffer your pH, and also to ensure it doesn't leach nastiness into your tank (like silicates, which a lot of the playsand will leach and will cause diatom blooms for quite some time).

With the rock, that's up to you. There's no best way. Or, if there is a best way, it's to find a local reef club and buy it from someone else for cheap. That way you get fully cured rock at a fraction of what a petstore would charge. And, if you buy rock from someone else, you can also get a cup of live sand from them to 'activate' the sand you buy from the petstore.

:)

[salty420]

welcome to the salty side! so glad to see you are getting this all figured ahead of time... as far as the sand goes, you will see that some ppl will say play sand is fine while other say it's a no-no. you def do not need to buy the "live sand" that pet stores sell however. i'll let someone else help you further with that one tho. as far as LR goes as subliminal said it's really up to you if you want to get cured or un-cured and what you want to spend, and what's available. it will take longer to get going if you go un-cured. i got a lot of my rock off ebay (cured) and was very happy with it. craigslist is a great place to look expecially if you are in the city. CMAS (Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society) is huge so def check that out...

[vorlx]

Hows it goin' guys?


Going pretty good. Thanks for asking! =)




Flitaration...
DIY sump/refug. using either a 40g long or 30g long. Overflows would run to one side, that compartment will also house a skimmer rated for 200-250g (figure between tank and sump a total of 110g), then a set of baffles, refug. compartment with DSB and cheeto, then a set of baffles, and then heaters (300wx2) and the return pump.


This sounds great, I have a smaller version of what you are trying to do. If you have room for a 40L I would deffinitely go that route. The more room the merrier for your refugium and DSB. I could only fit a 20L under my stand and I run dual HOB overflows into the left compartment -> baffle -> refugium w/ chaeto rubble rock 1-1.5" sand bed. I also have a 400w heater in here -> baffle with a eggcrate splitting the section to keep the chaeto in place and the outake back to the tank. The only thing I need to change in the future (since this was my first sump/refugium) is that my 3rd baffle will be much taller so that I can maintain a DSB.



Plumbing...
The 85g is predrilled with two holes in top back corners, and two on the top of the tank in the center (pointing downwards, if that makes sense). There is no overflow compartments in the tank. Should I just use 1" elbows pointing upwards for overflows, or is there a better way. return for the sump will just be DIY jet sprayers from the holes on the top.


I'm not sure what you should do with the pre-drilled holes for flow to the sump. Maybe someone else here can provide some info.



Lighting...
Heres where I'm unsure. The tank is 58" x 18" x18" so finding a 58" fixture is impossible. Should I just find a premade 48" lighting system with T5's and 2 MH and also moon lights. Or is it cheaper to buy the lighting components separate and mounting the lights inside a DIY canopy.


If you are handy and can do a DIY canopy I think that's probably the best way to go with a odd sized tank. I believe that Grins has some MH's mounted in her canopy. Depending on what you are wanting to keep will depend on how powerful of lighting you will need in it.



Substrate/LR...
Can I just use normal playsand as I do in my planted tank, or do I have to buy some overpriced sand? And for live rock, is it best to buy fully cured and induce a cycle with dead shrimp, or is it better to buy the cheaper uncured LR, do a quick SW bath, and let it cure during the cycle in the tank?



I personally don't care much for playsand and use an Aragonite substrate. It does a great job of buffering. You don't need Live Sand as it's overpriced and your regular substrate will become live with time. I go with cured Live Rock from LFS's in the area however its overpriced. I don't know how long it takes to cure 'dead' rock. I am sure there are plenty to speak to that.

Thanks and hope you have fun in the salt world!

[j_chicago]

Wow thanks for all the replies, but the more the merrier, it is the holiday time and all....

subliminal..do you mean stick to just two MH at 150 each? or should I still include a couple 50/50 t5's to complete the morning and evening cycles....
I plan on keeping softies, anemone, and maybe an easy clam or two.

salty420...thanks for the heads up on the CMAS, as far as the live sand goes, that seems to be the norm to for-go it.

but is there any benefit to letting the uncured LR mature in the tank, I've seen some people say that it'll speed up the cycle, others say it won't and will smell horrible for weeks, and others say you will get hitchhikers (some desirable/some not)that you otherwise would not...

Vorlx, thanks for all the replies..

perhaps a link to a pic of your refug will give me some help, but I'm pretty sure I understand it, I thought I saw a DIY form with your name on it, but I'll check it out,

The plumbing I'll try to get a sketch or a pic on her the next few days, I can only imagine the gargle coming from my ideas....

Thanks again....
J~

[vorlx]

Wow thanks for all the replies, but the more the merrier, it is the holiday time and all....

subliminal..do you mean stick to just two MH at 150 each? or should I still include a couple 50/50 t5's to complete the morning and evening cycles....
I plan on keeping softies, anemone, and maybe an easy clam or two.

salty420...thanks for the heads up on the CMAS, as far as the live sand goes, that seems to be the norm to for-go it.

but is there any benefit to letting the uncured LR mature in the tank, I've seen some people say that it'll speed up the cycle, others say it won't and will smell horrible for weeks, and others say you will get hitchhikers (some desirable/some not)that you otherwise would not...

Vorlx, thanks for all the replies..

perhaps a link to a pic of your refug will give me some help, but I'm pretty sure I understand it, I thought I saw a DIY form with your name on it, but I'll check it out,

The plumbing I'll try to get a sketch or a pic on her the next few days, I can only imagine the gargle coming from my ideas....

Thanks again....
J~

If you look through the link my sig a guy posted a couple pictures of his sump/refugium. It's the layout I used for mine. I was having some interesting issues trying a few home brewed methods at first. I have a sand bed in my refugium and rock rubble right next to the first baffle. I was struggling with how to get the bubble trap baffles done and this guy was succesful without using them so I skipped them and have had great results.

Here is a link to the bulb I use for the fuge:

http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

I have used a few different combo's and the bulb at the end of that link has worked best for me. I have it hanging over my fuge a little higher than his.

Let me know if you have any questions and I can try to help.

[Subliminal]

subliminal..do you mean stick to just two MH at 150 each? or should I still include a couple 50/50 t5's to complete the morning and evening cycles....
I plan on keeping softies, anemone, and maybe an easy clam or two...

Thanks again....
J~

J,

Unless you want them, there's no real need for t5 support. The actinic bulbs will bring out some of the fluorescence in some of your coral, but definitely not necessary. I, for example, just run a single 175w bulb over my 29g. It's a 14k bulb and it makes the tank look a little bluer than some of the other bulbs, which make the colors pop a little better than say a 10k bulb.

Anyway, point is, you can go all metal halide, you can go all t5, vho or even PC(although power compacts aren't recommended for many reasons), or you can mix and match.

I'd personally recommend the two metal halides for a start, and i think 150x2 or 175x2 would be plenty for you, and not really all that expensive in the long run. AND, in the future someday, if you want to add on actinics, you can retrofit them in later...

Whatever you choose, GOOD LUCK! :)

[tamableanimal]

For your over flow you can build a box that you can silicone in with 1/4 slots that will be at your water height. This will prevent snails and other animals from going down or possibly getting stuck in your overflow. I know that there was someplace that had overflow boxes for sale. I just can't remember where. I have a 3" X 6" homemade overflow on my new tank that I am installing.

[Grins]

It sounds like you're pretty handy, so on the lighting, your best bet is probably to make your own hood and retrofit a few lights. You could go with 2x150w (since your tank is pretty shallow) and then supplement actinics (or just use a 14 or 20k metal halide bulb and call it good).

I'd suggest getting sand from a pet store. You don't have to use live sand, but you do want an aragonite based sand to buffer your pH, and also to ensure it doesn't leach nastiness into your tank (like silicates, which a lot of the playsand will leach and will cause diatom blooms for quite some time).

With the rock, that's up to you. There's no best way. Or, if there is a best way, it's to find a local reef club and buy it from someone else for cheap. That way you get fully cured rock at a fraction of what a petstore would charge. And, if you buy rock from someone else, you can also get a cup of live sand from them to 'activate' the sand you buy from the petstore.

:)

:iagree:

[Morel]

I'm pretty new myself, but the biggest peice of advice I can give you is:

Take what ever figure you think your going to spend.. And Triple it :)

That way you won't pass out at the Visa bill... hehe

[vorlx]

I'm pretty new myself, but the biggest peice of advice I can give you is:

Take what ever figure you think your going to spend.. And Triple it :)

That way you won't pass out at the Visa bill... hehe

:iagree: