few questions, long post. but need help. :)

[DelmarvaLife]

Hey everyone. sorry this is long and rambly

some questions on lighting, rock, substrate, and other things,

I am trying to decide on lighting, I am on an extreme limited budget. and if your wondering what my budget is, not that it's anyone's business but it is relavent, and I am ashamed to say, But i am disabled, and on a fixed income due to a head injury. that will keep me from working sadly the rest of my life. so Yes my budget is extremely limited, but not impossible.

but I would like to do a softy tank. was thinking either a 40g breeder or a 75g. ( i have both tanks, 75 is RR but in use as a planted tank atm) but to do a softy tank with maybe some easy LPS what is a good light to make them thrive that won't kill me in price. choices on LED's, T5 or(T8?), hybrid? I want to stay away from MH.

another question has anyone ever hooked up their RO/Di to their ATO or sump for continuous unman top offs? (like a freshwater drip system concept with out the drip part.) basicly it uses the RO/Di to top off when it needs it. or fill the ATO when it is low. with out any intervention. and yet still be able to run it for when making water for water changes ext ext...



Also this is a fantasy at moment. or at least thinking about it but i have a 240g non drilled (with a 55g sump) I would love to make it my softy tank, But cost would prevent me from going this route unless I limited stocking to what could fit in a full blown 75g, but I'll run by what I keep thinking and get your take on it.

I was thinking about 100-150lbs of base rock in the center of the tank, as an island. for starters. may build up later, on the ends, but the center 4 feet of the tank would be an island. or 2 separate islands depending on what i come up with for a scape. ( i like the minimum rock look anyway)

Bioload would be light, it be slowly.. I mean Sloooowly stocked. I like Small fish like fire fish and jawfish and clowns and so on. only a few tangs do i actually like, and my favorite Achilles tang I could never afford. so basicly minus a Tang or 2 I really aint looking to keep large fish.

so lighting my 240g as softy tank with the scape i mentioned above, What would be a good cheap lighting for a 8x2x2 softy tank? I think LED's would be out of my budget. but please let me hear idea's.

I love jawfish, and I have read that they need 3" to 7" inches of substrate with rubble to help build their walls of their den, Also that they like a 360° view around their den, has anyone kept them with less substrate, say an inch? if I did a 3 inch substrate on the end of my tank would they go there vs the center of the rock pile? or will they build a mound anywhere if provided the rock rubble? just throwing ideas out.
and what is the best substrate to use for jawfish? and gobies?

Also this goes with the above ^ but what is the cheapest sand I can do in my 240g to get a 3" depth, BRS has dry Argonite fiji pink, and special grade but I would only be able to afford a 1 inch depth for a 8'x2' tank. so is there any place cheaper or any type cheaper. and could i mix those with a filler sand or something, ( i'm thinking freshwater side here. like how you would cap a dirted tank.)

if you made it this far. I would be content to do the 75g as my reef. But the 240g just keeps screaming at me. because of my budget I know things will be a slow start. especially for the 240g. but one thing i learned about the fish keeping hobby, Slow is great. Also something to say about filtration. Lets just assume I don't need help in that department. and it is going be covered regardless of the size of tank.

thanks for your time and help.

[Uncle99]

For lighting, check out Visparspectra 165watt, probably one of the lowest cost LED units that is not fancy, built surprising well built, super quiet fans, and you can do anything from softies up through SPS.

Each is about $160 (and that's CDN and delivered) and would do roughly a 24" cube.

[laverda]

I would say 3" sand bed is the absolute minimum of a jaw fish. I would think if you put all the sand and rubble at one end they would figure it out.
If you jave the 240 I say go for it. You can find good deals on lights in the for sale forum or on craigslist. Two Chinese black box fixtures will get you started on the 240. You want to stick with an Argonite based sand if your going to have sand sifters and jelp keep your tank stable.

[Tastee]

For the RODI ATO I would think your cheapest option is gravity fed using float valves and reservoir(s).

I use an Aquatic Life RODI unit with their pressure-sensitive solenoid and float valve kit to keep a large reservoir full of RODI just outside the house near the tank. That kit is not expensive.

In my external reservior I have two pumps. The first is a Neptune PMUP connected to a Neptune ATK in my smaller ATO reservoir in my sump. That reservoir in turn is connected to the sump using a float valve for a 24x7 ATO (my tank is a Red Sea Reefer 250). So the electric, APEX controlled keeps my tank ATO full via RODI line, and that gravity fed ATO keeps the sump full.

The second pump is controlled from inside the house and pumps water into the house via a 1” hose with a tap value on the end. That allows me to tap water as needed for water changes etc.

You could do something similar on the cheap by elevating the RODI reservoir and using a second float valve to keep your sump ATO full, or even the sump itself, and allowing a higher capacity gravity fed tap for water changes etc. Just be extremely careful with all fittings, as a leak in any of them could cause significant water damage.

In my case the reservoir is below the level of the sump, so I have less leak issues, and I use the failsafes in the Neptune for the ATO. That is effective but by no means cheap. If you construct a gravity fed system carefully and well there is no reason it cannot be safe and reliable.

And gravity is still free!


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[mcgyvr]

Plenty of "Chinese black box" LEDs on Amazon..
Viparspectra/MarsAqua,etc...
Search for "165W reef led" and "300W reef led" and pick..
3 of the 165W on an 8ft tank would be just fine..
You didn't actually say what your budget was so...
Those lights above are going to set you back around $300... If thats too much then no offense but find another hobby.. Reefing ain't cheap at all..
Even going cheap expect a min of $1000 just setting up the tank on sand/salt/pumps/lights/heaters/rock,etc... Not to mention a few hundred in test kits for corals (alk/mag/cal/salinity)..
$150 or so for RO/DI filter which its not a good idea to have it continuously feeding your ATO because guess what happens when the valve or float or whatever fails and you have a continuous source of water.. (yep... flood all over the floor with nothing to stop it pouring hundreds of gallons everywhere,etc...)
Then also expect an increase in your electricity bill and water bill monthly..
And continual salt costs..

It adds up quick.. and then the cost of livestock/corals...

[DelmarvaLife]

Uncle99: thanks for the tip, I will look into them, I have been looking at Dsuny Led as well, I wonder how they would compare as far as par?

Laverda: Thanks for the tip about the Jawfish, I think if I do the large tank, I probably hold off on it until i could provide a deeper sand bed, but if i do the 75 i def would do the DSB
@Tastee; I have a water line under my 240g I ran and used as a drip system for the tank, as well for water changes on my other tanks. i also have a drain line as well because the water had to go somewhere. so putting my RO/DI under the tank isn't an issue, but it was an idea if i was to do the 240 as my saltwater tank to keep it ATO with out me having to do it. I have it so it could never over flow the tank/sump/ATO chamber. as if it fails or something it would just drain into the drain line, this way the less pumps I have to use the better that nothing will fail.

Mcgyvr: My budget on lights is dependant on just how pantient I am. I would say 500 is my max. but Lighting isn't my priority starting out. i plan to keep it a fowlr until I get familiar with things, that will give me time to save up for lights. or i can buy a few black boxes but again. first its just learning the ropes. as I had said to Tastee, about Ato And RODI unit, I would never have a flood from it because it be plumbed in such a way that it would just drain down my drain line. may waste water and power, but saves from having a floor flooded, the only way my floor would ever flood is if the tank leaks. You are right nothing in this hobby is cheap.. But I also believe that we make it expensive. Granted there are somethings we need that cost is going to be expensive. no way around it. but I believe that we make it more expensive then it needs to be, because we need the latest and greatest gadget, to be successful, because we need this and that and everything else. not saying corals don't need dosing and all. Planted tanks require ferts and food too. but I find that their is hype in everything. When i first got into the hobby of planted tanks years ago it was the same way. and it took time to weed through what I really needed and what I didn't need to be successful. and I find that a reef tank is basicly like a planted tank. soft corals and LPS is virtually a low tech planted tank with maybe a DIY co2. and SPS is your high tech counterpart. and fowlr and FO tanks are the same as a african cichlid and any non planted tank. its vertually the same, not saying they are the same as they have different needs and requirements, but its basically just an Upgrade from the freshwater side, if you get what i mean. But we tend to make things as expensive as we want to make them. and believe it or not, the monthly cost of running a full blown reef would still be cheaper then running all my freshwater tanks. it is also why i am consolidating down to 3 tank. 1 salt wanter and 2 planted.

I guess I shouldn't say I am a 100% new to saltwater, it is true I have never had my own tank and am new to saltwater in that regard,but I have picked up things over the years and I have even helped a buddy of mine out with his reef when he would leave town, before he got his travel orders and had to sadly shut down the tank. he had a thriving Softy and LPS 120 reef running on a ATS only tank it was over 5 years old when he shut it down. I remember he said he didn't do water changes that often, but i can't tell you what he dosed or anything like that, But that was a few years ago, and before i really got serious about saltwater.

[laverda]

Another point about your RO/DI is you dint want it cycling on and off constantly. If it does your wuickly use ip your DI and the DTS will be higher. For that reason you really want a top off container.

[DelmarvaLife]

Lavarda: you are right about that. But I would probably set up a large top off tank. with a float valve so once the tank is low the RODi would fill it back up.. I don't think it be used any more than if i had to do it manually. just a thought. but most likely I am going to end up doing my 75g so i won't be able to incorporate this Idea. although it be nice if i could.