30g Saltwater Equipment

[tnhowery]

At the moment i have a 29G tank with a fluval 404 filter i would like to convert to SW....

First i want to say im on a college budget so i am willing to conserve wherever i can afford to.

I Plan on starting the tank with small amounts of LR and gradually build up over time. Is this ok? Or should i just buy all at once. In time it would be a full reef set-up.

Eek..> Here come the questions...

Will the Fluval be ok to use or how would i set up and make a 10G sump? Would 20G be better? I really know nothing about sumps so a quick explantion or a good link would be much appreciated.

What should the flowrate be? The fluval is 350 GPH, and i have another powerhead allready, unsure of the GPH its a regent aquatech 3ph.

I have looked at the protein skimmer Miniflotor for tanks up to 50G. Will this be sufficient?

At this time the lighting is just a single tube flourescent, i believe it is a powerGlo. When will i need to upgrade to MH lighting or will i. I know this will limit what corals i will be able to have in the future.


Shopping list so far...

New stand Fell out the truck when moving.

Salt (DUH)
Hydrometer
Live Sand (Ive heard this is unecessary truth or myth?)
Live Rock Start with 10lbs. eventually 30+lbs
Protein Skimmer Miniflotor
Higher quality powerhead.


I feel like i forgot something

Thanks for any help in advance!

TH

 

[atmmachine816]

Here's what I can help with.

I'm a high school student so I know where the budget comes in I would suggest take it really slow and not buy any livestock until you are sure what you are doing. It helps

The fluval would be OK IMO and you could turn it into a small refugium if you wanted of course I've read reporst of fluval's leaking and reports they are great. A 10gallon sump would be great.......if you can afford it and a 20 gallon would be even better, bigger the better.

Depending on the corals you plan to keep decides the flowrate so I've read but it's good to have at least 20x turnover rate so you should have a total of 600gph of powerheads. Don't know about your type but I have a maxi-jet and love it. More flow is better as long as the fish and corals you buy can handle it. More the better

Can't help with the skimmer though so far from what I've researched cheaper isn't always the best, though your probably looking at 100+$ on a skimmer, maybe cheaper if you get it used or online.

Powerglo I think is meant for FW so maybe buy a SW bulb, with that light you won't be able to grow much until later, maybe some mushrooms with it.

I would just go with some aragonite, it's supposed to become live in a bit and that's what I have. I'd give you mine, I have probably 13lbs. of it, had to buy a 15lb bag for a 5.5 gallon tank and barely used it but shipping would be too much probably.

Your going to want a test kit, aquarium pharameuticals is good, it's liquid along with some others later when you get corals.

I would get a refractometer and forget a hydrometer. I like mine so much more than a hydrometer and it's so much easier to maintain. I know it's a bit more but it's sooooo worth it.

The LR I pretty sure if you have your tank cycled and add some more LR that's in another tank depending on the LR it may make your tank go through a mini-cyle poising a threat to any livestock you may have in there at the time. A way to get around that is to get a 5 gallon bucket, put a powerhead and heater in it and put the LR in that until it's gone through it's die out stage and transfer to your tnak, though I'm not positive on that. I would just wiat to add any livestock until you have all your LR. You can find a lot of interesting things to look at on your LR.

Your going to need a 5 gallon bucket, smaller powerhead, and heater to mix SW in 24hrs. before water changes.

Best to research a ton and start saving then buy your stuff and never buy on impulse, of course I'm sure you already know that.

Good luck, I'm sure somebody else should help you out more in awhile

 

[SkiFletch]

I feel like i forgot something

Just remember you're always learning on the salty side of the hobby

You can add small amounts of LR over time but keep in mind that doing so will limit your stocking options initially. Also, you will not want to add too much rock at any one time to avoid nutrient spikes. Your best bet is to find a local club and buy used from them as the rock will be very well cured, experience minimal dieoff, and also be the cheapest

Live sand sold by LFS' in those bags... Gimmick. Just buy good old aragonite sand and let the LR seed the sand bed.

Turboflotor makes a good skimmer but I've never really read anything about thier smaller ones

For flowrate you're gonna want at least 600gph so I'd look into adding something like a maxijet 1200 in addition to the Fluval filter. I'd also remove all man-made media from the fluval and just use small bags (or women's nylons) with carbon and rowaphos in there for chemical filtration only.

Lighting totally depends on what corals you want. You do not have to purchase lights until you purchase corals. Even a simple strip light is enough for LR and fish. A 29g is actually more suited to flourescents than halides due to its very thin front-back dimensions

 

[tnhowery]

Hehe so much info about to explode

Live rock issue - I think you will agree with just buying it all at once rather than doing it over a period of time, will be a better option. I will just save the money until i can buy it all at once problably take a month.

Sump - I actually have a 20G that holds water, but it was used for a very short period of time with my iguana in it, until his cage was finished. Will it be ok if it is just cleaned/disenfected? Or shoudl i just buy new? And where can i find the info to make a sump. What will i use to pump the water into the tank?

Saltwater Test Kit - Told y a i forgot something

Lighting - SW tube will be no problem. What would be the best range, the powerglo box says its 18000K and good for SW corals and inverts...What range should i be looking at.

Protien Skimmer - On Dr. Fosters it sells for 35 + S&H I will problably go with the better one.

How would i go about finding a Reef club in my area the only person that i know that has SW is a co-worker and i think hes got a FO set-up.

And my stocking plans were as follows (Forgetfull #2)

Clownfish - 2 if possible
Watchman Goby - 1
Pistol Shrimp - 1
CUC

What would be some other fish or inverts that would be ok... Oh and a LFS has clown that are hosting anenomes is it safe to buy the both at once or will the anenome be a nono in this tank...

I think thats it for now...

And thank you both for answering all my questions i will problably be a PITA for a while but im sure yall get that quite a bit...

Thanks Again

TH

EDIT: I just read the part on MH how much will this limit my coral options...

ITs also a 29G not the 30G i know its a bit taller but i have both these size tanks will the 30 be better because it is shallower.

 

[SkiFletch]

melevsreef.com more sump info than you'll ever need . Sumps don't always fit into a collegiate time/budget, so while the info on making one might be very helpful, actually operating one may not really be for you at this point in time.

Lighting is more about type and power of the fixture as opposed to color temp of the bulb. You more need to tailor the amount of light to the corals you choose than worry about bulb color temp as corals can adapt to different color temps of light but will wither away if not enough light is provided.

As for a local club, I have to ask, what is in Lima Ohio? Talk about being in the middle of nowhere . Ironically enough there seems to be the Northwest Ohio Reefkeeping Association (NORA) out of Findlay OH which doesn't look to be too far from you.

Your stocking list sounds fine. Word of caution though. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT jump right in and go for an anemone. These animals have exceptionally poor survival rates even when kept by "expert" aquarists. They are not beginner animals. I would suggest reading the guide atop the inverts section of these forums .

 

[tnhowery]

As for a local club, I have to ask, what is in Lima Ohio? Talk about being in the middle of nowhere . Ironically enough there seems to be the Northwest Ohio Reefkeeping Association (NORA) out of Findlay OH which doesn't look to be too far from you.

NOT A THING... Im just here for school i will try that link tho... Findlay is about half an hour away and thats where all the good shops are anyway.

Thank you for the advice on the anenome, i will follow your words...

Well i guess its off to a bunch more reading, studying, reading, studying, and pondering the endless possibilities, and then ive got to hit my first college class.

Thanks again...

TH