Please advise on setup (Newbie!!!)

[C Rogers]

Hi all, I'm new to this board... and to reef-keeping as well! I have wanted a reef tank for about ten years, and I think I'm finally ready to take the plunge. I have tried to do as much research as possible to avoid asking silly questions. Any and all help you could give me would be much appreciated. Anyway, here is the system I'm thinking of setting up.

 

Tank: 29 gal. long, AGA? (I keep wavering between glass and acrylic. Glass is cheaper and won't scratch; acrylic is lighter and I live in Southern California, aka earthquake central. Any thoughts?)

 

Filtration: approx. 30 lbs. live rock, ? lbs. live sand (what's a good ratio?) Hang on back refugium (AquaFuge brand), plan to have macro algae in there, and also to hide the heater (Visi-therm 100 watt). Also an Aquaclear 150 for occasional carbon filtration. (How often is this recommended?)

 

Circulation: ? I need help with this. The refugium comes with its own powerhead, but I don't know how strong it is. I know I'll need at least one if not two more powerheads, but I don't know what size or where I should place them in the tank.

 

Lighting: 23" Compact Retrofit, mounted into the wood canopy. 2x55 watt bulbs; one 10,000K, one actinic. I need help with this too. Will I need to add a fan for cooling? I estimate the lights will be approximatly 6 inches above the surface. Also, it seems that some people have an open surface on their tanks. Is this necessary? I was planning on using a glass cover, the generic ones that go with the AGA tanks. Is this a bad idea?

Oh yeah, also a clamp-on lamp for the refugium (18W white bulb).

 

Whew... I think that's everything. Obviously I plan on all the "little" things too like a thermometer, test kit, supplements, etc. Anyway, I could really use the knowledge and experience of the members of this board, so please let me know your thoughts!

 

Thanks!

Candice

[Crakeur]

Tank: I prefer glass but I don't have earthquake issues. Not sure which is best for that scenario but we have a large quake friendly base so maybe one of them can assist here.

 

Filtration: rock and sand are all you really need. The hang on back filters are used more here for circulation and most people take out the filter medium. appx 2 lbs of rock per gallong and 1 lb of sand per gallon, although you can adjust both, depending on how deep a sand bed you want and how much room you want to leave for your fish to swim around in.

 

Circulation: the fuge is not used for circulation so pretend like it isn't there for this part of the planning. You will need at least two powerheads, in my opinion, for a 29 gallon tank. If you plan on using the hob for circulation, you probably won't need three powerheads. One thing to consider, you can't hang the hob filter on the fuge so it will end up in a bag or on the side of the tank.

 

Lighting: Do not skimp here. this is the most important factor as it determines what animals will live in the tank. If you think you might want to try clams and sps corals, start looking into metal halides. I would suggest a fan in any lighting system as it can only help in keeping the heat down.

 

With regards to covering the tank, it's up to you. The downside to an open tank is evaporation is much worse and fish have a tendency to fly out (lost a couple this way). If you do go with an open top, consider getting a top off system for the warmer days.

 

Hope that helps.