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View Full Version : 1st tank - Would like Advice...


rapidity
12/30/2008, 06:51 PM
I'm going to be setting up a 25 gallon glass tank, 24L x 12W x 20H.

This will be my first time doing anything with saltwater so go easy on me. I know I probably should start with a little bit bigger tank but i can't for now. Couldn't talk the wife into a 50gal ;)

I've done a bunch of reading & research but want to be reassured or corrected on my parts list before spending money. Plus there is always more to learn. My plan is a FOWLR system with some inverts that would be friendly.

Here is the parts list for the tank setup:

Skimmer - Tunze Nano DOC Protein Skimmer 9002
Heater - Marineland Stealth 100 Visi-Therm Submersible Aquarium Heater
Power Head - Aquarium Systems Maxi-Jet PH Power Head 1200
Lighting - 4 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 4x24W T5HO

Do I need anything else for the tank? Would you recommend these parts? Do I need to look at something else? I plan on having the top of the tank open with a net or egg crate over it. That appears to be a fairly ideal setup.

Of course I want a sand bed with a good depth ~30lbs of sand if I figured right. And again if my calculations are right... ~40lb of live rock. Can anyone recommend a good source for live rock and sand? I don't mind doing the curing process.

One thing I really don't understand that I have not been able to find a good answer.... I have read many things that say LR should not be stacked on top of each other. It is unstable, causes dead spots on the LR, and traps debris which affects the water quality. How do I put ~40lb of rock in a 24 x 12 area without stacking it? Maybe I am missing something obvious. lol Even if I use epoxy I'm still stacking rock....

Thanks for any help or comments.

MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 07:07 PM
Hi Rapidity,

I'm not sure about your whole setup (being a newbie myself) but I am using the Tunze 9002 DOC Skimmer and I think it's brilliant. I have nothing really to compare it to but it really does the job required. The one thing I will say about is you need a few days/week to get the screw into the right position. In the beginning you will get a lot of foam going into the cup because there is nothing "dirty" in the tank. Turn the screw to the most closed position for the first 3/4 days and then start to open it up little by little. As soon as you add some livestock then you will see that you can open the screw almost half way and you will have the right amount of foam.

Don't try to get it right from the offset - you just can't.

I have my live rock stacked and as far as I'm aware there is nothing wrong with that!!!!

You can see my tank here:

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/507/209308tank01.jpg

Good Luck,
And if I can give you any advice then read the "newbie threads", don't be afraid to ask stupid questions and be patient - very, very patient.

MrsHaggis
12/30/2008, 07:13 PM
A few more things:

1. Get RO/DI water you will be amazed at the difference!! You can buy a unit for about 100€ here in Europe no idea about the Rockies though.

2. Don't be afraid to spend money......if you buy cheap you buy twice.

3. Get a quarantine tank. I'm just setting mine up - not 100% sure on how exactly to work it but there is a good thread that answers a lot of questions.

4. No matter what your LFS says do not add live stock too soon.....made the mistake and lost my hermit crab.

Hope that helps.....

woodiecrafts
12/30/2008, 07:32 PM
[Welcome]

Make sure you develope plenty of patience with salt water, yiou never want to rush anything and as MrsHaggis stated never buy cheap, you will spend twice as much in the long run.

woodiecrafts
12/30/2008, 07:33 PM
Well I still haven't figured out how to make the cool welcome banner but I am patient so one of these days I will giure it out....LOL

reefworm
12/30/2008, 07:45 PM
WELCOME ON BOARD RC! :D

for starters, make liberal use of waterkeepers newbie thread at the top of this forum. LOTS of vital and helpful info that will save you tons of frustration, heartache, and $$$. woodiecrafts is absolutely correct that more $$ up front is often much cheaper in the long run. this hobby is very unforgiving. thoroughly research EVERYTHING before doing ANYTHING. patience, patience, patience. good things happen slowly, bad things happen quickly. "The ox is slow, but the earth is patient." blah, blah, blah, blah. you get the picture ;) Best of luck, and keep asking

mmedeiros2
12/30/2008, 07:46 PM
I am new to sw as well. Started this April. I started with a 10 gal. waiting for my 75 gal. to go up. being only so so experienced myself, all that I can say from what read and experienced is to keep reading and go slow. This site is where I purchased most of what I needed, and this is the sand I purchased.
www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
As far as equipment, I am sure one of the more experienced guys will post and give you good ideas. If they havn't already. I am taking forever to type this. Too many interuptions.
If I were to input I would say to go with 2 - Korilla power heads. Korilla 2's or 3's.
Use two heaters instead of one. (More even heat, and if one gets stuck on, it won't overheat the tank as quick. And if one get stuck off, the other one will continue too heat.)
As far as lighting, I don't think you will need t5HO's for FOWLR.
This is just me giving a newbe opinion. See how I do compared to one of the pro's. You will be able to tell who the pro's are. Good luck.

mmedeiros2
12/30/2008, 07:52 PM
Listen to Reefworm. Read waterkeepers newbie thread. You will learn a lot. I did. It might take a few days, but you will learn. Read things 2, 3, and 4 times.
Make sure to use at least RO water.

lilfishbigreef
12/31/2008, 03:14 AM
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central and the insanity</b></i></big></big>

Hi Rapidity,

Good advice given so far.....

Lighting: Good Choice, once you get the hang of a FOWLR all you would have to do is add a coral and that lighting will be sufficient to have a reef tank ;)

Patience......

FLOW: Min a Korlia 3 AIMED PROPERLY IMO it disperse the flow in a wider pattern that will be better than a stream like the MJ 1200

Patience ........

Water quality: is a must! make the initial investment and get an RO/DI system (you can also use the RO for human consumption as well)

Patience.......

Water changes: do then religiously, it will be the life blood of a healthy system and help with stability in the long run!

Patience.......

Temp: keep it as stable as possible not to vary more than 1-2 degrees in 24hrs max! fish are not as easy as corals in many cases

Patience.....

as for the rock, piling it up is just fine so long as you keep things clean in areas that you see that have excessive build up of detritus and blow it off or suck it out during water changes



and dont forget




















PATIENCE!!!


Welcome to the insanity !!! :thumbsup:

Michael
12/31/2008, 04:49 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14045533#post14045533 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by woodiecrafts
Well I still haven't figured out how to make the cool welcome banner but I am patient so one of these days I will giure it out....LOL

[banner] type this first

then [ ] wipe out the word banner, and type in welcome in its place, inside the captions

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

gnorts
12/31/2008, 07:15 AM
[welcome]

Go slow and don't impulse buy livestock. Research what you would like to have and then research some more on if there compatible.

eyesinthedrk
12/31/2008, 09:14 AM
i would suggest getting two smaller power heads rather than the maxi 1200 in a tank that small half of your tank will be like a huricane, or as stated a korila with a wider dispersal patern

stacking rocks is just fine, when people say dont stack what they mean is using pvc or dowels to lock the rocks in place this does give a better look as you can form pillers and odd tree shapped acuascapes it also gives minimal contact so less dettrus can settle, but it isnt a must, so long as your willing to dust off your rocks with a power head or turkey baster, and build a wide foundation

chromiumlux
12/31/2008, 02:10 PM
I agree with Haggis. Do the research so you only buy once. I've learned this the hard way myself. I have a 30g finnex, tunze 9002 skimmer, 150w mh 2x 24w pure actinic t5, 2 koralia1 controllable for wave action and one koralia nano for behind rocks.
There are a multitude of vendors wo offer live rock. I have 40lbs of tonga kaelini in my tank that I purchased from premium aquatics just before tonga decide to stop shipping. It's really nice rock. alittle more expensive. I cured for 4 weeks. My 14g bio is all fiji rock. personally I prefer the tonga.

dlj420
12/31/2008, 07:13 PM
[Welcome]

rapidity
12/31/2008, 11:20 PM
Thanks for all the advice. I think I will switch over to a koralia... after reading up on it. Thanks for pointing that out.

And thanks for answering my rock stacking questions. Still not sure where I should buy my rock and sand from though. premium aquatics seem pricey.... ???

tims28gnano
01/01/2009, 01:19 AM
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

tims28gnano
01/01/2009, 01:23 AM
i also got my rock and sand from dr fosters and smith liveaquaria dept. - - - - - i think that they are great!

even with shipping i paid only a few bucks a pound. i was only upset that i did not pay $5 more for overnight and instead went for the 2 day delivery!

like you, i had to stay small with my first tank but i opted for the 28 gallon nano cube. i prob could have built a similar system for less but i liked the "all in one" idea of the tank! - - - also got the stand for free from dr fosters and smith.

lenius
01/01/2009, 02:30 AM
I second Dr fosters and smith. I got most of my equipment from them as well as my liverock. Everything arrived very quickly and they had the cheapest shipping. Than again I live in wisconsin where their based.

Michael
01/01/2009, 02:35 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14054448#post14054448 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lenius
I second Dr fosters and smith. I got most of my equipment from them as well as my liverock. Everything arrived very quickly and they had the cheapest shipping. Than again I live in wisconsin where their based.

another new member, been here 3 years and 1st post, when you get settled in and work out how to add info to your signature etc, add some details about your tank or intended tank, flow lighting etc, and start a thread saying hello or pop onto my thread and say hello, its here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1541004

and

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

jpitch
01/01/2009, 03:24 AM
There are a few ways you can save on money without compromising on quality. You don't need to spend 12 bucks a pound on live rock. Get quality dead rock from sources such as Marco Rocks and seed it with a few pieces of live rock. You don't need to purchase sand that is all live sand as well. Seeding it is just fine. A general rule is the larger the tank the larger you margin for fluctuation will be. A small tank tends to have large swings in temp, ph, alk, etc when you add things. Someone mentioned an RO/DI, which is truly worth it's weight in gold. Good luck.

Ugly Dog
01/01/2009, 06:03 AM
From personal experience I would ditch the tunze PS. Mine works okay for about 3 days then i have to tear it apart and clean it. Never has made a full cup. Aqua-C or Octopus would be a better choice I think. Other than that just keep reading and reading...

P.S.: quality test kits and a refractometer