Newbie new to sw building tank
- Thread starter psychadelicdrea
- Start date
yeah im not worried about getting the paint off....im more worried about setting up the tank to paint it ...its a heavy tank...its not like my 55 or 25 which i can move around myself........but i hear if u paint it black it helps with the view
If this were to be my second reef setup, I would use:
-greatly undersized sikimmer(rated for aprox. 50g on a 125). My skimmmer seems to take out all the reef plus when I add it so I think It would be better to understize the skimmer.
-plenum system (to keep nitrates low)with 6 -7 inches of sand and an inch of crushed coral on top
-somewhat light final stocking levels (but more than two fish like my 30g has)
consisting mostly of borderline reef safe fish(lions, large and small angels, and 1-3 tangs)
-light level of 4-5 wpg using NO lights
-small wet/dry,sump/refugium with "mud" and plant filtration(macroalgae and mangroves)
all equipment DIY because commercial equipment IMO is over priced and none of it is specifically designed for YOUR tank.
What I would do but probably not the best setup for you.
Probably the easiest setup for you would be a properly sized skimmer and live/dead rock, a plenum seystem and powerheads for water cirulation
The RO/DI would be a good thing to use, I use tap water and i've had algae problems since a month after setup also you should use aragonite sand it will help keep the PH up. I used pool filter sand and I'me just now after about 6-7 months after setting up the tank starting to aproach a PH of 8.
Do a lot of research, either enough to have a stocking list or enogh to know almost every fish your fish store reglary stocks.
Also if you wan't to set up a reef it may be a good idea to build a calcium reactor. with a calcium reactor a reef is almost on the same care level as a FOWLR
-greatly undersized sikimmer(rated for aprox. 50g on a 125). My skimmmer seems to take out all the reef plus when I add it so I think It would be better to understize the skimmer.
-plenum system (to keep nitrates low)with 6 -7 inches of sand and an inch of crushed coral on top
-somewhat light final stocking levels (but more than two fish like my 30g has)
consisting mostly of borderline reef safe fish(lions, large and small angels, and 1-3 tangs)
-light level of 4-5 wpg using NO lights
-small wet/dry,sump/refugium with "mud" and plant filtration(macroalgae and mangroves)
all equipment DIY because commercial equipment IMO is over priced and none of it is specifically designed for YOUR tank.
What I would do but probably not the best setup for you.
Probably the easiest setup for you would be a properly sized skimmer and live/dead rock, a plenum seystem and powerheads for water cirulation
The RO/DI would be a good thing to use, I use tap water and i've had algae problems since a month after setup also you should use aragonite sand it will help keep the PH up. I used pool filter sand and I'me just now after about 6-7 months after setting up the tank starting to aproach a PH of 8.
Do a lot of research, either enough to have a stocking list or enogh to know almost every fish your fish store reglary stocks.
Also if you wan't to set up a reef it may be a good idea to build a calcium reactor. with a calcium reactor a reef is almost on the same care level as a FOWLR
for the ro/di if your tap water is ok then you don't need it (test phos.ammo.nirate.nirite)in our city water there is a presence of some of these,little that there might be,i'm still battling algea in my fw and sw and my buddy who has the same water supply is battling algea too.so i'm tring the ro/di route to see if that helps it's only been about three weeks so no true results are in yet but it does seem to be helping a little in the sw tank.as for the minerals you have to add with the ro/di almost all salt mixs put back the good trace eleaments that ro takes out.it's just fw that you have to add stuff back i.e. RO right by kent
as for the filteration there are many people that run LR LS and a good skimmer with great sucsess.currently i'm running LR a so so skimmer and waiting for a sump pump (on backorder)so i get my refugium running aslo a emporer 400 with the filter pads removed.do some seachering on filter pad and sw tanks in may turn you off on canstier filter.but remeber what works for one pearson way not for the next.
as for the filteration there are many people that run LR LS and a good skimmer with great sucsess.currently i'm running LR a so so skimmer and waiting for a sump pump (on backorder)so i get my refugium running aslo a emporer 400 with the filter pads removed.do some seachering on filter pad and sw tanks in may turn you off on canstier filter.but remeber what works for one pearson way not for the next.
on the protien skimmer the can have a tendancy to remove more than you want to. and i may not be over knowledgable about salt as much as fw but i think a refugium for a FOWLR is over the top, b/c if i have this rights basically a refugium is an extra way to provide two things, one being another natural filtration and two acting as a secondary source for micro food. just my 2 cents. but if you really want to do a full FOWLR than you would need to assure that you can do a proper FOWLR set up and have 2-3 pounds of LR for every gallon, just make sure you add the rock before the sand and you don;t need live sand b/c the LR will eventually seed the sand, making it live sand.
Loss of Essential Matter is a concern the hobby literature has non-addressed over and over. There is very little in the way of trace elements, therapeutics, and more that has been determined scientifically to be removed by skimming. New materials are constantly added with foods, biological activity and water changes. Except for "run-in" periods (the first few weeks) to establish nutrient cycling, I advocate full-time operation of your skimmer. You cannot "over-skim" a tank
that was taken off a web site full of some the best experts i've seen on the web.i'm not saying there 100% right but i would listen to them over you any day of the week,nothing peasonal of course
and its 1.25-1.75 pounds of LR per gallon not 2-3 poor guy would have a tank of just rock although that would make for some nice hidding spot
that was taken off a web site full of some the best experts i've seen on the web.i'm not saying there 100% right but i would listen to them over you any day of the week,nothing peasonal of course
and its 1.25-1.75 pounds of LR per gallon not 2-3 poor guy would have a tank of just rock although that would make for some nice hidding spot
well its a 125 gallon tank...so what your saying i need like 140 or so pounds of live rock in it? .... i was thinking about putting the sand in it and trying to line the bottem with base rock so that i dont kill my pocketbook on live rock then get like ...well if i need around 140 pnds then like 70 base then like 70 live cover the top with live........figure maybe after the base is in the sand and what not long enough it will grow to live rock.........and i have still yet to figure out how to filter all this
I would suggest that you get some really good books and read everything you can on various forums and websites.....
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
Had I read everything in this thread when I was starting out I would have been extremely confused. There are some basic ideas that are not that costly to follow:
Go as large in size as you can afford. Mistakes and problems are easier to handle with large water volumes than small. ie. water quality is easier to maintain in larger volumes.
Basic filtration: Live Rock!!! It is worth every penny and it can be the most expensive thing you add to your tank. The rule of thumb is approx 2lbs/gallon. This will give you all the biological filtration you need besides adding esthetic value.
If going with a sand bed, go deep my friend and forget the plenium. They are nitrate traps as are canister filters/wet/dry filters and any other filters that use synthetic media. A working dsb of 5-6 inches will provide nitrification that you need. You can do this fairly inexpensively using play sand (Personally I didn't, I used Aragomax & Carib Sea) seed this with a couple of pounds of live sand and you are good to go.
Add to this a good skimmer. I personally like the Aqua C. Remora Pro. It does a great job and hangs on the back. Installs in about 5 minutes and once broken in (about a week) will pull lots of crap out of your water.
The second most expensive item will be lighting.......get the best lighting you can afford for what you eventually want to keep in your reef. Spending mega bucks and then wanting to upgrade in a year is silly......save your pennies and buy the best you can now.....
Water movement......add a few good power heads to keep the flow at about 20+ x per hour a good heater and then let this all settle and cycle for a couple of months........and you are all set for fish
Oh and did I tell you about salt mix/test kits (my favourite being my refractometer) and all the other goodies you will want......
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
Had I read everything in this thread when I was starting out I would have been extremely confused. There are some basic ideas that are not that costly to follow:
Go as large in size as you can afford. Mistakes and problems are easier to handle with large water volumes than small. ie. water quality is easier to maintain in larger volumes.
Basic filtration: Live Rock!!! It is worth every penny and it can be the most expensive thing you add to your tank. The rule of thumb is approx 2lbs/gallon. This will give you all the biological filtration you need besides adding esthetic value.
If going with a sand bed, go deep my friend and forget the plenium. They are nitrate traps as are canister filters/wet/dry filters and any other filters that use synthetic media. A working dsb of 5-6 inches will provide nitrification that you need. You can do this fairly inexpensively using play sand (Personally I didn't, I used Aragomax & Carib Sea) seed this with a couple of pounds of live sand and you are good to go.
Add to this a good skimmer. I personally like the Aqua C. Remora Pro. It does a great job and hangs on the back. Installs in about 5 minutes and once broken in (about a week) will pull lots of crap out of your water.
The second most expensive item will be lighting.......get the best lighting you can afford for what you eventually want to keep in your reef. Spending mega bucks and then wanting to upgrade in a year is silly......save your pennies and buy the best you can now.....
Water movement......add a few good power heads to keep the flow at about 20+ x per hour a good heater and then let this all settle and cycle for a couple of months........and you are all set for fish
Oh and did I tell you about salt mix/test kits (my favourite being my refractometer) and all the other goodies you will want......
RO/DI is the way to go, you cant really get much purer, the salt mix contains all the trace elements required (providing its a good one)
Go Live Rock and Skimmer for you filtration, i ran my 40 for a year with a canister putting all different kinds of nitrate /phospate reducing compounds but only now i am using live rock / skimmer with no filter media at all have i finaly got over my algae problems.
Go Live Rock and Skimmer for you filtration, i ran my 40 for a year with a canister putting all different kinds of nitrate /phospate reducing compounds but only now i am using live rock / skimmer with no filter media at all have i finaly got over my algae problems.
