New to Salt

Beowulff83

Beowulff83

AC Members
Feb 5, 2007
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Wellington Oh,
Hi all, i have been reading up on salt for a few months now and think im going to take the plunge. I have a 40 gal I am getting this weekend. I was planning on doing a FOWLR.

Now when i hear about base rock, this is dead rock right? I add this then add live rock and eventualy the live rock will seed the base?

Would a hydor koralia 1 be good enough circulation 400gph?

Sand Bed, how deep? I would like a goby if that makes a difference.

Refuge/sump, I dont think right now but in the future I will try to diy one. Was thinking of rubbermaid if this is possible.

Protein skimmer, are there hang on back models? if so are they good? Or should I wait until the sump is done and get a normal one?

I was planning on building the sump while my tank was cycling. That is why im not too sure how soon the skimmer is needed or if its ok to wait and build one in with the sump . . . i still have alot of research to do in sumps/refuges, I have the basic idea just not sure how to go about it.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
you will need another power head.

EDIT: 405 gph in a 40 gallon tank is around 10x turn over rate for water rotation. you flow will also be limited with just one.

805 gph (two #1 power heads) you will have 20x turn over and much better flow.
 
"Now when i hear about base rock, this is dead rock right? I add this then add live rock and eventualy the live rock will seed the base?"

Yeap, but takes time (months). And LR is more fun. And base rock is not that cheap, unless you make your own.
 
alpha123 said:
"Yeap, but takes time (months). And LR is more fun. And base rock is not that cheap, unless you make your own.
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Bah the time doesnt bother me too much but i thought it was cheap . . . oh well lol i should know better by now that nothing in this hobby is really cheap.
 
Beowulff83 said:
Hi all, i have been reading up on salt for a few months now and think im going to take the plunge. I have a 40 gal I am getting this weekend. I was planning on doing a FOWLR.

<<Sounds good>>

Now when i hear about base rock, this is dead rock right? I add this then add live rock and eventualy the live rock will seed the base?

<<Sure, adding base rock is a good way to cut down a little on the cost, its expensive enough..On my lastest reef, i am doing 40% base (dead ocean rock) to 60% live rock..I expect about 6 or so months before the base rock is live and acting as the filtration>>

Would a hydor koralia 1 be good enough circulation 400gph?

<<Being a FOWLR, i would to have around about 1000gph total water flow. , maybe 2 of these, or a koralia number 2 and a number 1>>

Sand Bed, how deep? I would like a goby if that makes a difference.

<<Unless you want to go full DSB ( about 6 inches), average of about 2 inches should be fine. Regarding Goby's, well, it depends on the type you want. I would not go for sand sifting goby's as your tank is new and there will be no micro life in the sandbed for the goby to feed on>>

Refuge/sump, I dont think right now but in the future I will try to diy one. Was thinking of rubbermaid if this is possible.

<<These can always be added at a later time>>

Protein skimmer, are there hang on back models? if so are they good? Or should I wait until the sump is done and get a normal one?

<<Yes, there are hang on models, have a review of them over at Marinedepot.com . My opinion is they are just as effective if the correct skimmer is brought. Correct meaning a good reliable model>>

I was planning on building the sump while my tank was cycling. That is why im not too sure how soon the skimmer is needed or if its ok to wait and build one in with the sump . . . i still have alot of research to do in sumps/refuges, I have the basic idea just not sure how to go about it.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

<<Fact is, you can always hold off the skimmer a little while, but, i'd not leave it too long as this will help in the stability of your system>>
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Added some comments above in red..
 
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