Grocery List

kcmosodef · 04/17/2012, 04:34 PM

Hi all. Im brand new to the forum and reef tanks. and trying to gather as much information as possible. basically ive decided to try out a reef tank ive been big into cichlids for a while now but want to try corals and saltwater fish. i will be setting up a 40 gallon breeder with an inch of live sand and an inch of crushed coral and a 20 gallon long sump. i would appreciate some information on what else im going to need. like a grocery list... please be specific with brands and models
what type of protein skimmer do i need?
Lighting?
how much live rock?
stocking ideas (for cycling and after)
how big of overflow/bulkheads? do i need to build these or do reef stores drill and build?
try to be economical i understand this is an expensive hobby... but you know hahaa
anything else would be so helpful
thanks

BCreefmaker · 04/17/2012, 04:45 PM

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074
Check out this and other stickies at the top of the forum for good info.
Also reading other members build posts that resembles something you would like to create is a great source of information. Read how they did everything, where they went wrong, or would have wished to change something for next time.

All your questions really can just be answered with more questions. You need to make an informed decision yourself with some knowledge to back it up since it can be the difference between enjoying the greatest hobby ever, and complete chaos and or head aches.

for instance:
1. what is your tank size/bioload expected?
2. What are you planning to keep coral wise?
3. what kind of reef are you looking to create and how much bio load do you expect?
4. how much work are you willing to do day to day for your fish?
5. what size tank / pump are you expecting to use? Where do you want to get your tank/overflow? some are prebuilt "reef-ready", some are some assembly required.

Read, read, read. Soon all your answers will appear.

BCreefmaker · 04/17/2012, 04:45 PM

Oh yeah, and welcome to Reef Central!!!!!

kcmosodef · 04/17/2012, 11:19 PM

1. as i mentioned before a 40 gallon breeder.. but what im wondering is a larger sized protein skimmer better. like for instance would a protein skimmer rated for an 80 gallon aquarium be better than one rated for 40 gallon on a 40 gallon breeder. or is the larger protein skimmer going to remove too much beneficial bacteria? also what brands to look for.
2. i would like to ability to keep any type of coral i choice (obviously with in compatibility and space restraints). i dont want to be limited.
3. seems similar to question one
4. i spend a fair amount of time on all my aquariums im not worried about not making time for my tanks
5. im going to use a 20 gallon long sump as i said before. now that i know i can buy the over flow and piping. i plan on buying a 40 gallon breeder not drilled. how big do the bulkheads need to be and what kind of pump should i be using?

MrTuskfish · 04/18/2012, 08:13 AM

Save yourself a future nightmare; get and use a QT.

spluchino82 · 04/18/2012, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrTuskfish

Save yourself a future nightmare; get and use a QT.

I agree..... I got my tank and everything in it on craigslist. Alot of little pests, and as I read the stickies and other threads here I think it all would have been avoided is the seller had a QT(they didn't.) I now want one, but haven space for it. If you can set one up, I HIGHLY believe you should. I would.

BigBarnacles · 04/18/2012, 09:20 AM

Personally, I'd never discourage someone from going with a skimmer rated a bit higher than needed. Especially if you're planning on really stocking that tank. From my understanding you can't over-filtrate your aquarium, but you can under-filtrate it. As with all types of filtration and having fish and corals you'll lose some beneficial stuff in the water. That's why testing your parameters, dosing suppliments, and having beneficial systems such as a refugium in place are necessary to replenish everything. Take your time, do your research, and ask a lot of questions. My suggestions will be different from the next guy's, and his will be different from the next guy's as well. Find out what works best for you, make an educated decision, and go for it. Just be sure to always have a plan B in place in case it doesn't work. All this stress and confusion will ease and pay dividends in the end. Patience is key.

BigBarnacles · 04/18/2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcmosodef

1. as i mentioned before a 40 gallon breeder.. but what im wondering is a larger sized protein skimmer better. like for instance would a protein skimmer rated for an 80 gallon aquarium be better than one rated for 40 gallon on a 40 gallon breeder. or is the larger protein skimmer going to remove too much beneficial bacteria? also what brands to look for.
2. i would like to ability to keep any type of coral i choice (obviously with in compatibility and space restraints). i dont want to be limited.
3. seems similar to question one
4. i spend a fair amount of time on all my aquariums im not worried about not making time for my tanks
5. im going to use a 20 gallon long sump as i said before. now that i know i can buy the over flow and piping. i plan on buying a 40 gallon breeder not drilled. how big do the bulkheads need to be and what kind of pump should i be using?

And to answer your bulkhead question...for a 40 gal I'd go with a 1" drain and a 1/2"-3-4" return. Look at the Aqueon overflow kits (for example). They'll drain up to 600gph. You'll need to find a pump in your price range that can match that flow (without exceeding it) at X amount of head. The head is the number of feet in distance the water has to travel from your return pump to where the return water enters your aquarium.

kcmosodef · 04/19/2012, 12:31 AM

ok cool thanks for all the info. if anyone could help me out with what kind of lights to get that would be super helpful. mh vs t5ho vs compact vs led. do i need a combination of them? how many watts is going to allow me the greatest diversity of corals on a 40 gallon breeder? possibly a 65 gallon?

thegrun · 04/19/2012, 07:34 AM

A couple of other observations:
I would not use live sand, it usually contains more dead organic matter than live and definitely do not use crushed coral, it traps detritus and will lead to nitrate problems down the road. Just use dry sand.
There are many good skimmers available for your tank, just avoid the cheap skimmers (like coral life). You can get great deals on used equipment if you are trying to save money.
If you can afford it, I would go with LED lighting. In the long run they will save you money but they do have a big up front cost. Do research.
40 pounds of rock is a good amount.
I would go with two 1" drain lines (one as a back-up) and one 3/4" return line.

04/17/2012, 04:34 PM	#1
kcmosodef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Co Posts: 3	Grocery List Hi all. Im brand new to the forum and reef tanks. and trying to gather as much information as possible. basically ive decided to try out a reef tank ive been big into cichlids for a while now but want to try corals and saltwater fish. i will be setting up a 40 gallon breeder with an inch of live sand and an inch of crushed coral and a 20 gallon long sump. i would appreciate some information on what else im going to need. like a grocery list... please be specific with brands and models what type of protein skimmer do i need? Lighting? how much live rock? stocking ideas (for cycling and after) how big of overflow/bulkheads? do i need to build these or do reef stores drill and build? try to be economical i understand this is an expensive hobby... but you know hahaa anything else would be so helpful thanks

04/17/2012, 04:45 PM	#2
BCreefmaker Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 1,117	http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074 Check out this and other stickies at the top of the forum for good info. Also reading other members build posts that resembles something you would like to create is a great source of information. Read how they did everything, where they went wrong, or would have wished to change something for next time. All your questions really can just be answered with more questions. You need to make an informed decision yourself with some knowledge to back it up since it can be the difference between enjoying the greatest hobby ever, and complete chaos and or head aches. for instance: 1. what is your tank size/bioload expected? 2. What are you planning to keep coral wise? 3. what kind of reef are you looking to create and how much bio load do you expect? 4. how much work are you willing to do day to day for your fish? 5. what size tank / pump are you expecting to use? Where do you want to get your tank/overflow? some are prebuilt "reef-ready", some are some assembly required. Read, read, read. Soon all your answers will appear. __________________ To make apple pie from scratch, You must first create the universe.

04/17/2012, 04:45 PM	#3
BCreefmaker Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 1,117	Oh yeah, and welcome to Reef Central!!!!! __________________ To make apple pie from scratch, You must first create the universe.

04/18/2012, 08:13 AM	#5
MrTuskfish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: The Wild Blue Yonder Posts: 7,299	Save yourself a future nightmare; get and use a QT. __________________ If God didn't want us to eat animals, he wouldn't have made them out of meat. "Extremism in the pursuit of ich-free tanks is no vice".........with apologies to Barry Goldwater, 1964 Current Tank Info: 180, 2-240 FOWLRs, 240 reef

04/18/2012, 09:20 AM	#7
BigBarnacles Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Aurora, Il. Posts: 750	Personally, I'd never discourage someone from going with a skimmer rated a bit higher than needed. Especially if you're planning on really stocking that tank. From my understanding you can't over-filtrate your aquarium, but you can under-filtrate it. As with all types of filtration and having fish and corals you'll lose some beneficial stuff in the water. That's why testing your parameters, dosing suppliments, and having beneficial systems such as a refugium in place are necessary to replenish everything. Take your time, do your research, and ask a lot of questions. My suggestions will be different from the next guy's, and his will be different from the next guy's as well. Find out what works best for you, make an educated decision, and go for it. Just be sure to always have a plan B in place in case it doesn't work. All this stress and confusion will ease and pay dividends in the end. Patience is key. __________________ “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.” ― Hunter S. Thompson Current Tank Info: 75 gallon mixed reef. 8 gallon Nuvo.

04/17/2012, 11:19 PM	#4
kcmosodef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Co Posts: 3	1. as i mentioned before a 40 gallon breeder.. but what im wondering is a larger sized protein skimmer better. like for instance would a protein skimmer rated for an 80 gallon aquarium be better than one rated for 40 gallon on a 40 gallon breeder. or is the larger protein skimmer going to remove too much beneficial bacteria? also what brands to look for. 2. i would like to ability to keep any type of coral i choice (obviously with in compatibility and space restraints). i dont want to be limited. 3. seems similar to question one 4. i spend a fair amount of time on all my aquariums im not worried about not making time for my tanks 5. im going to use a 20 gallon long sump as i said before. now that i know i can buy the over flow and piping. i plan on buying a 40 gallon breeder not drilled. how big do the bulkheads need to be and what kind of pump should i be using?

04/19/2012, 12:31 AM	#9
kcmosodef Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Denver Co Posts: 3	ok cool thanks for all the info. if anyone could help me out with what kind of lights to get that would be super helpful. mh vs t5ho vs compact vs led. do i need a combination of them? how many watts is going to allow me the greatest diversity of corals on a 40 gallon breeder? possibly a 65 gallon?

04/19/2012, 07:34 AM	#10
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 7,261	A couple of other observations: I would not use live sand, it usually contains more dead organic matter than live and definitely do not use crushed coral, it traps detritus and will lead to nitrate problems down the road. Just use dry sand. There are many good skimmers available for your tank, just avoid the cheap skimmers (like coral life). You can get great deals on used equipment if you are trying to save money. If you can afford it, I would go with LED lighting. In the long run they will save you money but they do have a big up front cost. Do research. 40 pounds of rock is a good amount. I would go with two 1" drain lines (one as a back-up) and one 3/4" return line.