How does this sound?

[ben72227]

I'm a newbie, so please forgive me if i sound stupid. ;)

I am thinking about setting up a thirty gallon Fish Only with Live Rock aquarium.

I've picked out most of equipment that I will buy, but I was wondering what you all thought about it and i would gladly appreciate any suggestions/comments of what you think about it:

Mechanical Filter - Emperor 280

Protein Skimmer - Red Sea Prizm Skimmer

Powerhead - MarineLand Penguin 660

Subtrate - Carib Sea Florida Crushed Coral (15 lb.)

Hydrometer - Aquarium Systems SeaTesT

Marine Salt - Instant Ocean

Test Kit - Red Sea Marine Master Lab Test Kit

Thermometer - Hagen Themo-Sensor

Heater - Rena Cal Top Light Excel Heater (100 Watts)

I think I will use Cured Fiji Live Rock for biological filtration, but i was wondering who you all think is the best supplier(online) for this.

If there is anything else I missed and that i probably need, please tell.
Thanks.

[OrionGirl]

I'd swap out the crushed coral for sand. Doesn't have to be the expensive stuff from the LFS--any small grained sand will form a DSB, where nitrates can be broken down.

Depending on what fish you want to have, I'd go with a clean up crew of hermits and snails, and not worry about the mechanical filtration. They'll clean up the solids for you, so you don't have to worry about cleaning the filter.

What kind of lights do you have? What are your stocking plans?
How do you plan on cycling the tank?


Welcome to the addiction!

:D

[mogurnda]

Welcome to the salty side!

You don't sound stupid. It looks like you've done some homework, which will really pay off for you.

Mechanical Filter - Emperor 280
-I agree with OrionGirl, but it won't really hurt.

Protein Skimmer - Red Sea Prizm Skimmer
-My guess is that you will hear several opinions about upgrading to a CPR BakPak or (even better) AquaC Remora. My BakPak is great, easy to adjust and skims effectively.

Powerhead - MarineLand Penguin 660
-No opinion, haven't used them.

Subtrate - Carib Sea Florida Crushed Coral (15 lb.)
-Definitely go with something finer. However, just to confuse the issue, there does seem to be something of a backlash against deep sand beds. Some have implicated them in tank crashes years down the line. Both sides of the argument seem pretty unscientific. How's that for waffling. Regardless, I would think about adding some good quality live sand (e.g., from Tampa Bay Saltater, Premium Aquatics, Gulf View, but not from a bag), to add a little divesity to your sandbed.

Hydrometer - Aquarium Systems SeaTesT
-I have one of those. Then I bought a refractometer and found (like most people) that it was off by about 0.002 (reads 1.022 at real specific gravity of 1.024). It's consistent, so I still use it for quick checks. Just be sure to get it calibrated at the LFS before you take it home.

Marine Salt - Instant Ocean
-Excellent choice.

Test Kit - Red Sea Marine Master Lab Test Kit
-I'm not a huge fan of Red Sea products, but their pH, NH3, NO2 and NO3 kits in that package have worked for me. The alkalinity test in that package is a joke, reading "high" or "low." Get an Aquarium Systems kit for that.

Thermometer - Hagen Themo-Sensor

Heater - Rena Cal Top Light Excel Heater (100 Watts)
-The wattage is good. I am a huge fan of Ebo Jager heaters, though. It's one product that has been consistently good for decades. I have had other brands fail (sticking on, eeew!), but the only way I've made an EBo fail is by dropping it. Frankly, though, you will probably be fine, but you asked for opinions.

I think I will use Cured Fiji Live Rock for biological filtration, but i was wondering who you all think is the best supplier(online) for this.
-If it were my tank, I'd buy uncured and cycle the tank with it. People seem to like Premium Aquatics, and they have great customer service. Have you considered aquacultured rock? The stuff from Tampa Bay Saltwater (which I have) and Gulf View has so much more life on it.

If there is anything else I missed and that i probably need, please tell.

-Rich spouse. At least that's how some of us finance our tanks.

[kreblak]

Everything sounds good, but I am in agreement with OG and Dave, go with the deep sand bed over the crushed coral. I switched over my tank from CC to a DSB and I haven't looked back since.

I have a Prizm skimmer, and I like it. It works well, and is easy to maintain.

As far as the Emperor 280 filter in concerned I would save yourself the cost. As long as your powerhead is giving you enough water column turnover you don't need it. The minimum recommended turnover you will need to avoid such dreaded maladies as cyanobacteria (slime algae) is 12x. In a 30 gallon, so long as you have 360 gallons per hour turnover from the powerhead, you should be all right. I run at 17x turnover, personally. Get yourself some scarlett and blue legged hermit crabs and some snails (preferably astrea, cerith, nerite, or turbo) and they will do the janitorial duties for you.

For live rock, the Gulf View rock tends to have many more hitchhikers than the Fiji rock. Some people want the hitchhikers. I got some very cool feather dusters, worms, and even a sponge on mine. I have some fiji rock, and it it came with zero hitchhikers, but it was very attractive and colorful, with lots of purple coralline algae. So, it really depends on what you want. Just be careful of one thing, if you go get the Gulf rock inspect it for mantis shrimp! Mantis shrimp (aka "thumbsplitters") will wipe out your invert population quickly, and are hard to remove once they are introduced into a tank. If you do get one, call Childawg, as he was looking for one a few months back. ;)

[ben72227]

THANKS ALOT FOR THE COMMENTS!!!

I think i will probably drop the power filter and the crushed coral. I will probably get an Aquarium Systems Test Kit instead of Red Sea. I will look into Ebo Jagar Heaters mogurnda since you seem to have a high opinion of them.

As for live rock, i'm not sure if i will get fiji or gulf view.

As for stocking, I'm thinking about getting a pair of ocellaris or percula clownfish, a royal gramma, and a golden/canary wrasse. What do you all think about this?

As for lighting, I'm thinking about getting a full-spectrum "white" bulb and a "blue actinic" bulb.

By the way,(I'm new), what are Mantis shrimp and do they come on all live rock or just atlantic gulf rock?

[OrionGirl]

Sounds like a good stocking plan. I would get the gramma first, then the clowns, then the wrasse. The gramma will need more time to acclimate and get comfortable.

"Mantis shrimp" is a general name used for a variety of stomatopods. In general, there are 2 types, crushers and spearers. Both can cause problems and will kill other crustaceans. They can come in on any type of rock, but gulf rock typically has more due to the increased number of hitch-hikers. They are very cool critters, but a definite threat. Check here for more info on mantis and other hitch hikers common to live rock: http://reefs.org/hhfaq/ .

[ChilDawg]

Of course, if you decide that you want to keep them (in acrylic tanks, they'll crack glass), there is a mantis shrimp forum at this address (http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=37).

[mogurnda]

That's where the hitchiker FAQ lives! It's very useful, but I'd forgotten where it was. Because it spends a lot less time in transit, a lot more hitchhikers, both friend and potential foe, will come in with rock from the Gulf. I didn't get any mantis shrimp, but got about a dozen hairy crabs.

As to the lighting, it's totally your choice. Within reason, the fish don't care, so pick a light spectrum that will make you happy.

[ben72227]

Thanks for the info. about the mantis shrimp. heres another question of mine:

Who do you all buy your Live Rock from?

[kreblak]

I get mine from my LFS, which in turn has it shipped in from wholesalers in Florida. I'm not sure where the Fiji LR comes from (besides Fiji ;) ) Most of mine is aquacultured.

If you want to look online, try

www.gulf-view.com

[mogurnda]

I got my gulf rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater (http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com) . Great service, and it goes from their holding facilities to you in a few hours by air freight.

As far as the test kits, I don't think that the NH3, NO2 and NO3 kits from Aquarium systems are any better than Red Sea, only the alkalinity. If you want a step up in quality, I'd go with Salifert.

[BrianH]

I bought my gulf rock from Gulf-View (http://www.gulf-view.com) and will buy from them again when I need live rock.

Brian

[ben72227]

What websites would you recomend if i wanted to get Fiji Live Rock? I found one called Live Aquaria (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=24&pCatId=397). What do you think about it? Also, can you mix Pacific and Atlantic Live Rock? And if I get LR, how much of it should be base rock, deco rock, etc.? Thanks for all of the help

[kreblak]

I have ordered through live aquaria and was very pleased with the results. As far as mixing Atlantic and Pacific rocks, I have done it in my tank without incident.

For your other question, the answer is really up to you. It is generally recommended that you stock LR at 1.5-2 lbs per gallon. However, you don't have to have ALL live rock. You can buy base rock and build a base, then stack LR on top of the base rock. Over time, the LR will grow over onto the base rock. In essence, you will be aquaculturing your own rock. I have done this in my tank, and my base rock is starting to show coralline algae growth, as well as getting a few feather dusters and stoney worms. I went with about a 50-50 mix of LR to base rock.

[ben72227]

what type of sand should i use? Live Sand, Playground Sand, etc.?

[kreblak]

The most highly recommended sand is Southdown (aka Old Kastle) fine sand. It is available at Home Depot for something like $5.99 for a big bag. Your LFS will try to sell you "marine aquarium sand" which is Southdown, for a much higher price. Live sand is also expensive. I say buy Southdown, toss in a couple of shrimp to cycle the tank, and you are creating your own live sand. If you want worms and detrivores, they are available as kits at most online retailers. Your LR might also bring in some bristle worms and other such critters as hitchhikers that will sift your sand for you. Doing all this might take a little longer than just adding live sand, but you will save a ton of money, and your dsb will be cutomized to your needs.

[ben72227]

how would you mix south down and live sand? 50% LS and 50% Southdown?

[kreblak]

Just toss it in, really. I would add the southdown, and then put the LS on top of it. I aim for 4 inches of depth with my DSB, but my fish and powerheads have other ideas. One of my damsels has cleared out about a 10 square inch area for itself right down to the glass. The current from the powerhead keeps filling this back in, and the damsel just reexcavates it.

Your sand bed is going to shift, so the only time you can really control it is at first set up.