pls will someone tell me if this idea will work ?

[catysmum]

hi,

im new to this message board and before i start putting things together i would prefer to have some of you more experienced peoples look over my idea and offer suggestions and/or advice if you can

 

my kids are anxious to try a reef tank, which i think would be a wonderfully educational experience for them not to mention a beautiful addition to our lil house, but as i am space challenged in this house it has to be a small tank

 

but back to my idea i was reading a thread about the suggestion of a "god tank" < Ultra Cheap Nano-Reef : Please Help and was wondering if someone could tell me more about this ?

and whether it is feasable in one of those "all in one" glass tanks such as the aquapro 800 @ 20g i think, its 25"x15"x21" it has 2 lights with independant switches not sure of the wattage tho but i dont imagine they will be very high, they appear to be similar to the aga tanks tho < i cannot find anything about this online but they have lights and wet dry filter in the hood> ..

 

i know i need a heater .. what wattage should i use and is there one small enough that would not be visually intrusive in the tank ?

 

with this i would have 3-4" of live sand < if i can find it here in aust lol > i have not seen or heard of southdown sand being available here does anyone know the equivelant cost and quaity wise that is available here ?

 

also i would think i would need approx. 30 pounds of live rock , would this be about right ? or should i go for closer to 40 given that the tank will be running with only the aquaclear 500 as a refugium /filter ?

 

i will replace the hood with better lights when i can and get rid of the bioballs in the wet dry and just use it for circulation < or is there a better use for this area>? and also install a aquaclear 500 as a refugium as per the various threads on here and reefcentral.com < would this be right ? >

 

for water circulation i would also add 2 powerheads, in the back corner facing in towards the middle .. would this create enough of a current in this tank for a "god tank"? and also what gph would people recommend ?

 

with the aquaclear running in the back would this create enough surface ripple to eliminate the need for a skimmer ? or will i still need one regardless ? and if so what could i use that is a) available here in Aust. and doesnt cost an arm an leg or my first born child .. < im kinda fond of her>?

 

for water setup and changes i would use fresh saltwater for topup water .. this is where i get stuck .. i cant afford a ro/di unit nor am i aware of ro/di water being available in the grocery stores < if it is and someone knows which brand is acceptable pls tell me? >

i have seen a brita water purifier and yet after searching through 4 or so forums it has not been mentioned .. does anyone know if this is acceptable for a reef tank ? < it says on the box and the site it filters out 99% of the contaminants .. is this enough ? > or if this is not acceptable can anyone suggest an alternative that would work < given my budget constraints >

 

i know i will need assorted other things like water test kits and hydrometer etc

 

my intention is to get this up and running and cycled to point that we can watch things growing and evolving within the system .. perhaps with just some snails, a lawnmower goby or maybe a citrine goby ?

or similar for cleanup and algae control. till the point where i can upgrade my lights, would approx 130watt be sufficient long term ?

and then add mushrooms and the lower light needing corals < cant hang a mh here .. its a rental property and im not a good diy'r.. specially not touching electrical stuff ..so it has to be a plug "n" play type >

 

and then finally when the tank is nice and stable, maybe a "marlin and coral " ..pair of false percs and a "jock"< voila 'e is clean !!"> i think he is a skunk cleaner shrimp ?does anyone know ? ...

 

I am sorry this post has turned into almost an epic .. i have so many questions and altho i have read alot of posts i am becoming quite confused and am really hoping that more experienced reef keepers can steer me and the kids in the right directions on this .. i have no desire to kill any fish or other sealife because i failed to ask a question or to understand. so pls forgive my long post.

[Tempest]

Hey there and welcome to the world of nano-reef. My first suggestion is to read, read, read. Good books include "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and "Reef Secrets" as well as others.

 

I'd only use a 2 inch sand bed unless you plan on getting critters that like to form burrows. 30 lbs of rock is fine.

 

You'll need either 2 x 50 watt or 1 100 watt submersible heaters. Ebo-Jager is supposed to be good. I use Tronic and place the protective covers on them to prevent the fish and inverts from inadvertantly burning themselves.

 

Your lighting sounds good - 130 watts of compact fluorescent lighting is fine for fish and low light corals.

 

Use a variety of snails (astrea, margarita, cerith, etc.) and hermit crabs (blue leg and red leg) for algae and detritus control. Emerald crabs are good for hair algae.

 

Citroen gobies are much brighter and smaller (less bioload) than lawnmowers AND lawnmowers really need an established tank cuz they like to eat pods. NEITHER is part of a "clean-up" crew though the lawnmower blennie can help.

 

You can probably pass on the skimmer - it's really personal preference.

 

Don't know about the brita filters, but my feeling is NO. Use store bought R/O water. Most grocery stores sell water that is purified by reverse osmosis (like the green labeled Great Bear water).

 

The only thing missing is test kits. The best hobby grade tests are made by LaMotte and Salifert, but the can be costly. At the very least you'll need tests for pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. For corals you should also test for calcium and magnesium. Phosphate and copper are also good to have (copper if you medicate fish in a separate tank). For the basics (pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) you can use Seachem or even Aquarium Pharmaceuticals.

 

Good luck.

[NanoAmyDee]

IMO it sounds like you are going to start with a package deal for a tank, hood, lights, filter, etc and replace it all or modify it. Why not just start with a basice glass tank (these are super cheap!!) and then put all the other stuff in it.

 

For a God Tank this is what you will need:

Tank

LR (2 pounds per gallon)

LS (2 pounds per gallon and it can be any substrate seeded)

power head

lights (at least 5 watts per gallon)

heater

thermometer

hydrometer

salt mix

ro/di water

 

You set this up and let it start to cycle. You don't need a filter because the LR and LS are acting as a natural filter. You do need the lighting to be somewhat good...you are trying to recreate nature here. You don't need the test kits just yet because you aren't waiting to put something in. As the tank cycles over and over again it will becaome very stable, and you and your kids will find that there is much more life on that rock that you put in than you could see originally. Don't worry about things making it through the cycle. That is part of the process. As the tank stabalizes the LR and LS become an even more efficient filter for the tank, eliminating the need to add a filter or skimmer. All you have to do is make sure the temp doesn't get out of control, or the salinity. And to regular top offs with clean water. (a tip for those who live in rainy parts of the world, collecting rain can be a very cheap way to top off )

 

Sorry for being wordy. You mentioned God Tanks and they are really cool! We set ours up approx a week ago and it is facinating. I can't wait to see what comes of it later in life!!

 

Good luck and welcome to the hobby!!

[catysmum]

ty tempest and nanoamydee for replying to me patiently, i appreciatte it very much.

 

i am trying to locate several books atm , for both me and the kids to read .. its their project im just along to make sure they do it right

i will have to hunt through some stores here in Australia to see what i can find in the way of ro/di water < i know plenty of people have been told that it works out cheaper in long run to buy a unit but they are waaaayyyy too expensive here and the alternative is buying from US and having it shipped which would amount to same thing >

collecting rain water is a great option .. if you get anough rain that is lol Aust is still in drought ..blaahhh water restrictions still... so relying on rainwater collecting for top ups i dont think will work.

 

the reason i wanted to go for one of these "all-in-one" packages is because i like the tank, its molded glass so no corners and no broken vision ..one of the things that used to annoy me about my 4ft tank eons ago< when it used to rain when it was spose to lol >

if im guessing the gallons right, that means about 40 pounds of sand and 40 of live rock ? < which is about 18 kilograms of each ?>

to get 5 watts per gallon i would need about 100 watts or more ? i have to admit only lights i have seen so far are the ones available there lol i will hunt down some more locally tho ty for clarifying that one for me

what sort of gph in the powerhead am i looking for ? 5x ? or more ? would i need to have 2 in opposite corners ? < not trying to cheapen tank just making sure i will have it right >

is using nsw a problem ? i would rather do this if i can .. kids can be totally involved in the process that way.

apparently you can collect nsw 10 ft from the boat ramps in some areas here, if im reading some other forum's responses right, ill follow that one up for clarification too.

oh another thing i was wondering, if i go for sand as the substrate would i then need to have something to buffer the water and add calcium ?

sorry bout all the questions, as i said i just want to make sure the kids have all the right stuff to do this and that i dont mess it up for them by not knowing/understanding what they need.

 

thanks for your patience

[nanocat]

I've used distilled water from the supermarket for the last 8 weeks with no issues. It isn't ideal, but it's better than tap water.

 

I don't think I'd get my NSW from the boat ramp. Too much gasoline and oil around. You'd probably be better off to collect it from a remote beach area if you can't get it offshore.

[Tempest]

The salt mix you use should help keep the pH up. You'll most likely need to add calcium (semi-regularly) after the tank has been established since it'll be depleted by the organizms in the tank (snails, corals, etc).

 

I wouldn't use rain water for top off as it is not exactly pure H2O (acid rain, lead, etc.)