Benson's First Saltwater Tank

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Benson

Benson

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Apr 8, 2003
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Benson Walker
Hi all, I've been a member of AC since 2003. Always had freshwater tanks. Back in February I got a new tank for the freshwater fish so I decided to use my old 29 gallon tank as my first saltwater tank. It has been up and running since February. I cycled the tank with live rock and a fresh shrimp, man did that smell... lol.

I started to read the thread by Greech and that inspired me to give this a try...


I have the following:

29 gallon tank
10 gallon sump using Eshopps 300 gph overflow
Lifegard 500 gph pump
30 pounds of live rock
30 pounds of play sand - non silicate
10 pounds of Carib live sand
Whisper 40 HOB filter
2 standard lights, one with a 10000k bulb and another with a 420 actinic, 36 watts total
1 Penguin 660 power head

2 Pajama Cardinals
2 Clowns
1 6 line Wrasse
1 Coral Beauty Angel that I got yesterday :)

Thank parameters are

0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
5.0 Nitrate

So far I have gotten some diatoms, but not too much.
 
greech

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
Nice start!

What kind of sand is that? Looks pretty deep so be careful not to disturb it too much.

How are you liking the eshopps overflow?

Do you have anything in your sump?
 
Benson

Benson

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Apr 8, 2003
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I like the overflow ok. It is a little noisy but since it is in my computer room it's ok. The sand is a mixture of play sand that has no silicates and carib live sand. It's about 3 inches in most places. I just have live rock in the sump at the moment. I'm thinking about addind cheato (sp) soon.
 
greech

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Good deal. The noise was the reason I asked. If it gets to bothering you add a Hofer Gurgle Buster. Cost about $3 to $5 in PVC and about 15 minutes of your time to build. You'll need to adjust it a bit to hit the sweet spot but when you do it will make a huge difference. All I hear now is a little trickle of water in the drain pipe. A simple ball valve in your return line (after the output of the pump) also helps dial in the ideal flow and quiet down the drain. Again, cheap and very easy to install.

http://home.everestkc.net/jrobertson57268/HGB/
 
C

Cerianthus

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Jul 9, 2008
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With return spout so far down (~1/4 of tank height = 8 gal??), do you have a check valve on return spout to prevent back siphoning due to power failure?

If not, may be cutting too close or even overflow from sump in case of power failure???

Kill the pump and check how high water level gets in the sump.
 
Last edited:
Benson

Benson

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Apr 8, 2003
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Benson Walker
Greech, thanks for that info. I will look at making one of those this week.

Cerianthus, I have two holes drilled in the return spout less that an inch from the surface of the water. I have tested it many times as I was very concerned about it flooding. I thought about a check valve and may consider doing that as well.
 
Ace25

Ace25

www.centralcoastreefclub. com
Oct 3, 2005
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Check valves ALWAYS fail, and they always fail when you need them to work.. I have tried it myself.. never ends well. I would still raise your return pipe a little even though you have siphon break holes in the pipe already.. just think 6 months from now when you have coralline algae growing on the PVC and it covers the holes up, or algae... the holes are great to have, but I wouldn't rely on them to work 100% of the time unless you make it a habit to use a small needle/drill bit to clean out the holes at least monthly.
 
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