New tank. Need help.

[Curtis72]

Hey guys. So to start off I have a 33 gallon glass cube. With a 50 gallon filter and im going to pick up 40lbs of LR in the next few weeks at my aquarium store after they finish curing it and I have 25lbs of live sand.

First question I have is should i get two 425gph powerheads? I do plan on getting one at least.

Second question I only plan on keeping soft corals as I have read they are easy to take care of and are for newer people like myself. I also plan on not having a lot of fish maybe only 4-6. mainly want a reef. So after saying all that my question is do I need anything else other then my current set up to have all this?

The guys down at my aquarium store said I should be fine just running fish and mostly soft corals that dont need to much light. I do have the same lighting that they are running on there corals on my tank. dont know the statistics of it off the top of my head.

On a side note I do want to sump my tank but I do not have the money at the moment after buying my tank and all the LR. In due time.

I will probably have more questions to add later Please help me out and give me any advice you think I need.

[lacosta28]

You might want to look into a skimmer. I also think two 425gph might be a bit too much, especially if you add a sump that has a return.

What type of fish are you intending on keeping? 4-6 may be too much for that size of tank.

[Curtis72]

Well what would you recommend on the size of the powerheads? Well I dont plan on getting a sump for awhile. Also is a skimmer totally necessary? I know I want like 1-2 clownfish and other nano fish. Nothing big.

[lacosta28]

On my 36g tank I have 1 korolia 550gph and everything is doing great. The only way I would add another pump is if I had a controller for them. That way I could control the speed and do different modes as opposed to just full blast all the time. Does that make sense?

A skimmer isn't necessary but it does help with the bioload. I have a skimmer on all 3 of my tanks and they pull a lot of dirty crap out of the water. I also feed kind of heavy so the skimmer helps with that too. You don't need a skimmer right away but down the road you should look into getting one.

What type of clownfish do you want? Depending on the type of clown will also tell you what else you can keep in the tank. I have 2 gold strip maroons in my 36 and I wouldn't even think of putting any other fish with them.

[muitroc]

As for the powerheads I would get two personally. Its not like you can't remove one and have a spare. I have a 90 and am downgrading to a 75 plumbed which I consider an upgrade. in the 90 though I use a k4 (1200gph) and two koralia evos 750s (750gph)... and I have another k4 but I haven't incorporated it yet. To lazy and I like lots of flow.

+100 on the skimmer. If not you need to make water changes religous. A skimmer (protein skimmer/foam fractionator) removes things such as detritus and fish waste (raises ammonia) and saltwater fish are much much much more sensitive to ammonia as say a freshwater cichlid who could literally swim in it all day. IMO all hang on back skimmer suck although I have heard good mixed reviews on aqua c remoras with the mag pumps not the maxi jett.

Also I am more of a fan of a hang on back(hob) refugium as opposed to a hob filter. Will grow you pods and add a small amount of water to your cube. If you go without the skimmer I still reccomend the refugium.

[lacosta28]

As for the powerheads I would get two personally. Its not like you can't remove one and have a spare. I have a 90 and am downgrading to a 75 plumbed which I consider an upgrade. in the 90 though I use a k4 (1200gph) and two koralia evos 750s (750gph)... and I have another k4 but I haven't incorporated it yet. To lazy and I like lots of flow.

He has a 33 gallon tank and doesn't plan on keeping SPS corals. I don't see a need for 2 pumps. IMO I think the best route for him would be to buy 1 Vortech mp10. That would allow him to control the flow depending on the corals he stocks, and give him several modes of operation.

[Curtis72]

He has a 33 gallon tank and doesn't plan on keeping SPS corals. I don't see a need for 2 pumps. IMO I think the best route for him would be to buy 1 Vortech mp10. That would allow him to control the flow depending on the corals he stocks, and give him several modes of operation.

Thanks for the help guys. Im not totally positive on what kind of clownfish yet. Im still focusing on getting the tank up and running, im trying to go slow and do things right. As for the skimmer I am looking on a hang on one but they are like 100-140$ isn't bad but I still need to buy like 140$ worth of live rock. So im holding of on it at the moment.

So for the power heads I was looking at the vortechs and they are pricey. So I was looking at the Koralia's but should I get one 240 or one 425? or like two 240's?
Also one more question I put my live sand in this morning and the water is still pretty foggy tonight, just wondering how long it will take to settle and I dont have my filter running.

[Curtis72]

bump

[JHawlz9989]

IMO I think the best route for him would be to buy 1 Vortech mp10. That would allow him to control the flow depending on the corals he stocks, and give him several modes of operation.

they are pricey, but they are certainly worth it in my opinion. i've got one on my 20long and it's been one of my best purchases yet.

[Curtis72]

I know. I plan on upgrading down the road but its my first tank and I still have like 250$ to spend in rock and skimmer. So my question still stands...So I was looking at the Koralia's but should I get one 240 or one 425? or like two 240's?

[rtb388]

If your going with softies mostly then you don't need crazy high flow.
Just get the one 425 powerhead... that will be plenty and you can always add another one down the road if you feel it's needed


+1 on the skimmer... nothing beats a good skimmer.... but do this when you can get a good one... that is a piece of equipment not to be cheap on.

Good luck!

[Curtis72]

If your going with softies mostly then you don't need crazy high flow.
Just get the one 425 powerhead... that will be plenty and you can always add another one down the road if you feel it's needed


+1 on the skimmer... nothing beats a good skimmer.... but do this when you can get a good one... that is a piece of equipment not to be cheap on.

Good luck!

Thank you sir! Great idea on the powerheads was just wondering what size was good. And I know im trying to find a good skimmer. In the mean time just light feeding and water changes.

[lacosta28]

Since you seem like a patient person you can save a lot of money by buying 90% of your rock as base rock. I recommend Bulk Reef Supply reef saver rock. It is really nice stuff. then you can seed it with 10% live rock. Your cycle will be a little longer but you can save a lot of money so you can purchase other things you need for the tank.

[boombox3]

Since you dont have a protein skimmer yet I would recommend in the meantime you can keep a nice filtration media such as Chemipure-Elite, its around 15$ and will last a few months. I also use carbon with it and change that every month. And of course your weekly water changes.The base rock would be a good idea.

[Curtis72]

Thank guys for the tips. Well down here at my aquarium store for live rock its like 3.25$-3.50$ a lb and it comes pre cured and they scrub them and clean them for you. So its not a bad deal in my opinion don't you think?

I also looked into the Chemi-Elite, Im going to buy it when I get up and running. Cheap and apparently works very well and last for 6 months im down to try it for 10$:)

[Curtis72]

Also any recommendations on corals to start with or fish to start with after my live rock cycle?

[boombox3]

Easy corals that I have in my BC29 are ricordias, zoanthid polyps, pulsating xenias (grow like weeds, isolated from all other rocks, but look really nice:)), and a frogspawn. My current stock in my 29 gallon tank is a african midas blenny (has a great character), royal gamma (nice fish but quite timid), 2 black/white clownfish in my RBTA (my favorite fish), the clowns and the african midas blenny release alot of bioload but the chemipure-elite+carbon+skimmer work good to have no traces of nitrates. And have a very cool cleaner shrimp.

[Curtis72]

Sweet. thanks for that info. Another question I put my sand in like almost 2 days ago and my tank is clear but when I just move my hand in the water the sand kicks up particles. So im just wondering when I put my powerhead in there the sand will be everywhere im guessing. What should I do?

[boombox3]

Well if its not directly hitting the sand you should be good. Also try not to stir the sand up too much the first few months it will look really bad,but not disturbing the sand bed will allow the sand bed to establish the oxygen gradient needed for the nitrate-processing bacteria to grow and multiply.You can buy some nassarius snails that will circulate the sand bed for you. Once I hit the 1 year mark I began shifting only the surface of the sand only during water changes to remove some nitrates embedded in the sand.

[Curtis72]

Oh I didnt know this. Well thanks again:)

[boombox3]

Anytime :thumbsup:

Oh I dont know how powerful your water circulation will be but another cool way to to remove nitrates is by blowing off the detritus that accumulates on the rocks during each water change. You do this with a turkey baster.

[Curtis72]

Anytime :thumbsup:

Oh I dont know how powerful your water circulation will be but another cool way to to remove nitrates is by blowing off the detritus that accumulates on the rocks during each water change. You do this with a turkey baster.

Thank you:) oh one last question do you think I should sump my tank? I'm thinking about it but no idea where to start with it

[boombox3]

Thank you:) oh one last question do you think I should sump my tank? I'm thinking about it but no idea where to start with it

If I was you I would. The more water the more stable your tank will be. Plus you can have your protein skimmer there, some cheato with a fuge light, your heater, and all sorts of things. Dunno how to build a sump but you should check out the DIY section. :wavehand: