bearwithfish Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Ahhhh its good to be back.. As normal i have been lurking for a bit and debating if i want to jump back into the saltwater world. Of course I do. And now it would seem the wife may be interested as well.. (Always a good thing in my world)... For those who do not know (or remember me) I have had 3 previous salty tanks. I learned a lot on those adventures. In fact i would like to recap some of those lessons for new folks (and for those of us returning to the hobby after a break). Lesson 1 - DO NOT learn on the fly - take the time to really think and plan every single aspect of your tank. Poor stock choices, the wrong equipment, DIY skills not being quite what you think they are, and rushing are all keys to failure! Lesson 2 - Once you have a plan, stick with it. Adding all sorts of stuff you dont really need just to be one of the cool kids is a really really dumb idea.. often a dumb and expensive idea. Lesson 3 - if you have researched and planned and are sure you want to move ahead with your plan, stick with it! again adding junk later is a really bad idea. Lesson 4 - If you intend to add things later be sure they are part of the original plan. going back to make adjustments (drilling a tank with live stock in it) is a hard thing to do and may be more hassle than starting it off that way. Lesson 5 - take advice. that means listen to people who know, that does not mean their word is law and you MUST comply. But have the decency to listen and judge what is best for you from the wisdom shared by others. Ok so let me review previous tanks. #1 - 29 gallon that poor stocking choices destroyed (chemical warfare in a tank like this is UGLY) #2 - 50 gallon breeder with a 20 long sump through a wall into the next room. Nice tank nice size, running a sump into the next room and trying every single DIY i could find on the net ended up costing me around $3000 only to crash the tank and sell it off.. but i did learn what i not to do (again) #3 - 40 gallon Breeder - loved this tank and build a above tank fuge - this tank went well however i was constantly fighting LHA and other issues form getting some "free" rock off a guy.. (lesson here - know what you are buying and who you are getting things from, if its free there is usually a reason for that).. another guy i knew wanted back into the hobby and was certain that he could deal with the issues so i sold it to him... then took a few years break... last year we started up a nice 40 breeder FW and while its nice and all i love Saltwater and i have been reading over the last few months in order to make a cost effective, and much more informed plan of attack on a new salty adventure. Here I am in the midst of the planning stages and getting ready to make the first purchase in the next couple weeks. This is going to be a SLOOOW build. i want to get exactly every things i want before the first drop of water is in there. this total set up will cost just under $600 to start us off and get the cycle going. while i am working towards the basics i will be researching live stock options. a few fish and softies, if i set things up properly perhaps even a LPS (no SPS will be attempted in this tank) The following is my plan of attack on set up: 40 Gallon Breeder Glass cover Heater (Aqueon Pro 150w) Powerhead (1600gph x2) Aquaclear filter (70 gal) Aquatraders 36” LED lighting (i have had good experiences with this company http://www.aquatraders.com/LED-Aquarium-Lighting-Beamswork-Pent-HI-Lumen-p/56366.htm) Marco Rock Reef Cleaners Rock (50# dry rock) Live Sand 20# bag Aragonite Sand 10# bag (x2) Reef Crystals Salt (Orange) (Box =200 gallons) Live Rock (~5#’s) API Master Saltwater test kit. Hydrometer Refractometer I will be going with just the LR for bio filtration and the AC70 will house the mechanical (floss and 1 - 3 days a month carbon once corals are in the tank). I will be utilizing bottled distilled water as i have no way to obtain RO water and a in home system would not make a lot of sense at this time. (used this last time with great success for months prior to the bad rock) OK thoughts thus far on this plan of attack? Link to comment
seabass Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Welcome back. For your dry rock, consider buying dry rock from Reef Cleaners: http://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/rock Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I looked at them. They are a little less costly, but what is the appeql of one over the other?? I am interested in learning more,, Link to comment
seabass Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Reef Cleaners rock: It has been professionally cleaned and dried after a long soak in a deep water well to prevent leaching of phosphates. This rock is free of organics except the dust that may settle on it during transport. Some rock from Marco Rocks has been found to leach phosphate. I'm not saying they are a bad vendor, just that Reef Cleaners rock should be free of phosphate. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Welcome back to Nano-Reef! Love your plan (Especially lesson 5, which I struggle with)! Only thing is DO NOT buy a Hydrometer. Now you can get a great Refractometer for $20 or less http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-10-Fish-Tank-Aquarium-Salinity-Refractometer-Salt-Water-Tester-Hydrometer-/131508677781?hash=item1e9e872c95 Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Reef Cleaners rock: Some rock from Marco Rocks has been found to leach phosphate. I'm not saying they are a bad vendor, just that Reef Cleaners rock should be free of phosphate. Interesting.. some of the rock in one of the last tanks was Marco (bought seeded) I am curious if that was part of the issue! I will have to look at this further. Thank you very much!! Welcome back to Nano-Reef! Love your plan (Especially lesson 5, which I struggle with)! Only thing is DO NOT buy a Hydrometer. Now you can get a great Refractometer for $20 or less http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-10-Fish-Tank-Aquarium-Salinity-Refractometer-Salt-Water-Tester-Hydrometer-/131508677781?hash=item1e9e872c95 Wow prices have dropped a great deal over the last couple years. I will have to research this device a bit since i have not used one before and want to be sure its something that i can use before i change my mind. Thank You!! Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Interesting.. some of the rock in one of the last tanks was Marco (bought seeded) I am curious if that was part of the issue! I will have to look at this further. Thank you very much!! Wow prices have dropped a great deal over the last couple years. I will have to research this device a bit since i have not used one before and want to be sure its something that i can use before i change my mind. Thank You!! Oh yeah it's easy. Just put a few drops of water and look inside the tube. Very precise! Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 reading on this now! so far i am being swayed. Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 ok i am sold.. list adjusted.. going to read up on the reef cleaners rock now. Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 wow quite a few con's for Marco and nothing but love for RC... list adjusted again!! And its better on the pocket! man i love this place. Link to comment
IronChefItaly Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I can comment on both flow and filter... - Low 20-30x (1400 - 2100gph) - Medium 30-40x (2100 - 2800gph) - High 40-100x (2800 - 7000gph) You'll have 3200gph not counting the filter so that should be good. Looking at the filtration, i can vouch to say that the aquaclear is fantastic for running floss and chemical bags however for 40 gallons it might be a good idea to look into a sump if you haven't already. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 wow quite a few con's for Marco and nothing but love for RC... list adjusted again!! And its better on the pocket! man i love this place. A great skimmer is the Cad-Lights PLS-50, but its sort of expensive at $125. If you can keep up with water changes id ignore a skimmer for now Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 I appreciate the input, however i am avoiding a sump...and also the skimmer for now.. my thought is that if the skimmer is needed i can add a HOB or Hob fuge.. no sumps though... Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Hmmmm, things may have shifted a bit.. We are looking to buy a new house so i am waiting to start the build until we move. (i HATE moving tanks).... on the upside we are considering going to a 55 with a sump... i may have just scored 50% of the materials for $50... i am waiting to hear back form the current owner.. so my list will be updated once i rework all my numbers and equipment needs. Link to comment
bearwithfish Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 At this point i decided to generate 2 potential lists based on what "may" be available. that being said even if i was to buy all brand new, so long as i stay sumpless i can still pull this off for under the $600.00 mark. Initially i was all giddy about a larger tank and started planning a sump and all the excess things that go with that. After the initial processing however I am determined to keep things simple, sumpless, and manageable with out a $2,000.00 start up price tag (been there - hated it). That said the only major change to the list above is the amount of sand and rock to add to the tank.. rather than ordering more RC rock i am going to increase the live rock (faster seeding), and increase the Aragonite Sand to balance costs.. I guess the only really debate on this at this moment is if i should stay with the 1 AC 70 or add another one. I am thinking 1 should be fine (its only for chemical and mechanical filtration)... the power heads i have in mind each have 2 heads and will be able to keep the flow right even in a 55 since i can spread out where they are directed.. I am looking to keep softies and LPS so high flow would likely be a bad idea anyhow. Ironically the lights i have picked out at the same price for 36" as they are for 48" so no change in price at all there.. Link to comment
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