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aqueon 36 bow


NYLouie

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So I was planning to get the Coralife Biocube 29. Did my research and several great members helped with my questions. But on Saturday, PETCO had a 20% off all in store purchase. Read some forums and PetSmart honor competitor coupons. Pet smart had the Aqueon 36 Bow ensemble (meant with tank & stand) for $250. Went to PetSmart, showed the coupon and was able to pick up the ensemble for $200. Considering BioCube + stand would have cost me about $500. Thought this was too good of a deal to pass up.

 

Just wondering if anyone have suggestions in regards to what equipment I need to set up for a saltwater tank.

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To start off you'll need a quality marine salt, a couple powerheads, a source of RO or RODI water, a saltwater liquid test kit, a hydrometer or refractometer (i highly recommend the refractometer, a little more expensive but far more accurate and reliable and last much longer), and probably a heater.

 

Depending on your budget and what you want to do with the tank (reef or Fish-only), you might want to look into a quality protein skimmer and some upgraded lighting.

 

And of course, research! :-)

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I was planning to get the Emperor Power Filter 400 but after taking measurements, the filter is too long since the tank has a middle plastic bar across it. If I do get the filter, I would need to cut off the middle plastic bar. Do you think the Emperor 280 would work as well.

 

Also was planning to get the CPR hang on Refugium and the Tunze nano protein skimmer. But I think I may do the DIY refugium discussed on this forum.

 

I will get koralia nano 425 pump. Should I get two or will one work?

 

About 35-40lbs of live rock. And about two bags of sand that has the bacteria already in it.

 

I read the people has used fuval canister filters, do any recommend the filter?

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jedimasterben

For filters, you can't beat Aquaclear, quality and price are unbeatable. Not to mention moddability. I'd recommend at least the AC70 or even the AC110 if you can swing the extra, you will not be disappointed. If you get the AC110, you'll be able to mod it into a wonderful refugium, and that would eat the extra cost associated.

 

 

You will need two Koralia 425 in that tank. Will help keep detritus from settling and most corals love more flow. :)

 

I wouldn't do live rock - rather expensive that will become 'live' during your normal cycling period. Reefcleaners rock is the best deal, $65 for 30lbs, shipped free. It will color up in no time, and is a superior biological filter versus other, non-porous rock that most places sell as "live" rock. http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?page...t&Itemid=58

 

Pick pretty much whatever sand you want. It will most likely not contain live bacteria if it is bagged sand, but it will help the cycle anyway. Pick whatever color and size you want, CaribSea has some wonderful sands.

 

Canister filters are referred to as nitrate factories because they are very efficient at trapping detritus. While this is good to get it out of your tank, it must be cleaned at least once per week, otherwise it will start breaking down and cause no end of problems. They are also not the easiest to clean out. I would recommend to stay away from them and use a HOB filter.

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If youre going to go with a Hang On Back (HOB) powerfilter I would recommend going with the Hagan aqua clears., Get the biggest one that will fit on your tank.,., Although if youre planning on doing a refugium and skimmer you doing need the filter at all.,.,

 

Avoid the canister filter unless you like to do a lot of maintenance as it will cause a high nutrient level issue for you if its not constantly cleaned out.

 

For a tank that big I would maybe go with a couple Koralia 5's?., The nanos just dont move that much water.,., I had two 425's in a 10g along with an Aqua clear 70 and still wished I had more flow for the corals I kept in there.,

 

The live rock and sand is all well and good if youve got the money for it.,. But be advised you will still need to allow time for your nitrogen cycle to get rolling..,

 

Thats my 2 anyways., Good luck with your new tank., Youll either love it., Or despise it., :P lol

 

 

edit for spelling and cause Jedi types faster than me., lol

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The bow tank has a 2" plastic bar running along the middle of the width of the tank. The two slots measure 13" each. So here is my problem, I can get the AC110 but the length is 14". So in order for me the install the the AC110, I would need to cut the medium out. Do you think it will be ok? Both the AC 70 and AC 110 are the same length. Unless you guys have another suggestion on a filter?

 

Mohawk, did you say that if I convert the AC 110 to a refugium and add a protein skimmer...that's all I need for the tank. No extra filter?

 

Thank you jedi for the link, I plan to get my rock from there.

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jedimasterben
edit for spelling and cause Jedi types faster than me., lol

:lol: and it took me a while to type that up, too!

 

The bow tank has a 2" plastic bar running along the middle of the width of the tank. The two slots measure 13" each. So here is my problem, I can get the AC110 but the length is 14". So in order for me the install the the AC110, I would need to cut the medium out. Do you think it will be ok? Both the AC 70 and AC 110 are the same length. Unless you guys have another suggestion on a filter?

 

Mohawk, did you say that if I convert the AC 110 to a refugium and add a protein skimmer...that's all I need for the tank. No extra filter?

 

Thank you jedi for the link, I plan to get my rock from there.

The 110 is indeed 13.5" long, but you should be able to fit it on your tank no problem. The input tube is about 1/2 an inch (a bit more) from the outer edge, so you can slide it over a hair and get it to fit.

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Not afraid to DIY Led but unfortunately I do not have the time. Got a little girl that needs my attention. This tank is a her present for her upcoming birthday.

 

Did some research last night with LED vs. T5. Seems like the Marineland LED are not that great with coral. I would like to add some coral later. With the rock suggestion you gave, would the current manufacturers light suffice for the rock or should I get a T5. Debating between the Marineland LED and Coralife Lunar Aqualight T5 Lamp.

 

Thanks

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jedimasterben
Not afraid to DIY Led but unfortunately I do not have the time. Got a little girl that needs my attention. This tank is a her present for her upcoming birthday.

 

Did some research last night with LED vs. T5. Seems like the Marineland LED are not that great with coral. I would like to add some coral later. With the rock suggestion you gave, would the current manufacturers light suffice for the rock or should I get a T5. Debating between the Marineland LED and Coralife Lunar Aqualight T5 Lamp.

 

Thanks

Marineland's LED arrays were one of the first to the market, and also turned everyone away from LEDs. They are not for growing coral or plants, they are only for lighting to view what is under them. Why were you only looking at that crappy fixture? There are plenty of others to choose from.

 

What is your lighting budget?

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jedimasterben
I would like to stay under $300 if possible.

Ok, you should be able to use a single taotronics LED light to cover the whole thing, but the stinkin' brace in the middle might cast a shadow. Unfortunately I don't know how noticeable it would be. I think there are enough LEDs in the Taotronics units to make up for it, though. The units are $150 or so each. ONLY get one, however, if they will let you customize the colors of them. The default LEDs that come on the units look positively awful. Send a message to the seller and ask if you can, and if they can, let me know (post it here in your thread), and I will let you know which colors to order.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120W-Aquarium-Cora...#ht_3274wt_1271

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Ok, you should be able to use a single taotronics LED light to cover the whole thing, but the stinkin' brace in the middle might cast a shadow. Unfortunately I don't know how noticeable it would be. I think there are enough LEDs in the Taotronics units to make up for it, though. The units are $150 or so each. ONLY get one, however, if they will let you customize the colors of them. The default LEDs that come on the units look positively awful. Send a message to the seller and ask if you can, and if they can, let me know (post it here in your thread), and I will let you know which colors to order.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/120W-Aquarium-Cora...#ht_3274wt_1271

 

I hope this isn't considered a thread hi-jack since it's somewhat relevant to the OP's thread, but:

 

So I'm curious....this whole LED has me baffled. Here we have a recommendation for a $140 LED light that says it puts out 120 watts (3w x 55 LED's....there's some math problems here though). The IM Skkye Lights that put out 8 watts sells for $100. The 24 watt AquaticLife LED fixture sells for $190.00.

 

What gives? I can understand quality, programmable, etc....but I saw a 120 watt LED fixture on MarineDepot for $900.

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jedimasterben
I hope this isn't considered a thread hi-jack since it's somewhat relevant to the OP's thread, but:

 

So I'm curious....this whole LED has me baffled. Here we have a recommendation for a $140 LED light that says it puts out 120 watts (3w x 55 LED's....there's some math problems here though). The IM Skkye Lights that put out 8 watts sells for $100. The 24 watt AquaticLife LED fixture sells for $190.00.

 

What gives? I can understand quality, programmable, etc....but I saw a 120 watt LED fixture on MarineDepot for $900.

The lights you mentioned are not for growing coral, they are meant to be sleek looking and "energy efficient" viewing lights over a small tank. They use ultra-low-powered LEDs that put out little PAR, but since they are sleek and LED, they command a price premium. The Taotronics fixture Ilinked is a budget unit that has surprising performance, because it uses high-powered LEDs which more efficiently emit light than the little 1/10th watt chips the units you linked. High-powered LEDs are nicknamed 3w LEDs because that's all people seem to understand, so that's how they are marketed, even though most only use 2w or 2.5w each. The aquaticlife unit will support some coral, however.

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Ok...I pretty much have gotten everything that I need except for RO/DI unit which I should receive by Monday. I am modifying my AC110, I realized mthe Tunze nano protein skimmer is big and takes up almost 1/2 the space of the chamber.

 

So here is what I am thinking of doing, I plan to use the modified AC110 setting up the first chamber for filter floss, the second chamber to hold the cheato, and the third chamber put the protein skimmer and heater. I have a spare Aqueon 30 filter that I am not using. I plan to use that to hold my chemi-pure and purigen.

 

What do you think?

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I started my cycle last Friday...I have done three water test so far. The first test done 48 hours after I started my cycle. Then every two days after. I currently have the AC110 running and TopFin 50 filters both running. I have 30lbs of Florida reef rock, 10lbs of live rock and about 30lbs of sand.

 

I did need to alter my rockscape during the process since the original one was not stable after I added the water. Just want to know how my tank is doing:

 

Here are my water test results:

9/23 Test

Hydrometer: 1.022

Refractometer: 1.022

pH: 7.8

Ammonia: .50ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 160ppm

 

9/25 Test

Hydrometer: 1.024

Refractometer: 1.022

pH: 8.2

Ammonia: .25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 20ppm

 

9/27 Test (no change)

Hydrometer: 1.024

Refractometer: 1.022

pH: 8.2

Ammonia: .25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 20ppm

 

Algae is going, being patient as everyone says. I have attached pictures. Please let me know if things are going good or I should be worried about anything.

 

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post-76349-1348808682_thumb.jpg

 

 

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