40 Gallon Hob setup (With pics)

[Mitch123]

Hey everyone, I had a quick question. So I checked the water parameters today and the ammonia is at about 2 - 2.5 and the nitrite is just starting to cycle in. I dont wanna mess up the cycle, Thanks 

 

Should I do a 20% water change? p.s I tryed posting a picture of the test results but the file was to big 

[Lula_Mae]

23 minutes ago, Mitch123 said:

Hey everyone, I had a quick question. So I checked the water parameters today and the ammonia is at about 2 - 2.5 and the nitrite is just starting to cycle in.

 

Should I do a 20% water change? p.s I tryed posting a picture of the test results but the file was to big 

I think most people wait until the cycle is done before changing the water, unless they're doing a soft cycle to preserve life on the rocks.

[Mitch123]

I do have some live rock in my tank but only like 2.5 pounds. Dose it matter if the ammonia gets to high like 4 ppm or is it "healthy" to just leave it for the beneficial bacteria.

 

 

[Lula_Mae]

I think most people just leave it but I'm rusty lol.  I'd put more live rock in though, I think I have more than 2.5 pounds in my 5 gallon tank! Regarding picture posting--most people use an image hosting service like Flickr or Imgur (sp?).

[seabass]

I'd only do a water change if ammonia (or nitrite) got above 5ppm.  Then let ammonia become undetectable.  If nitrate is higher than 10ppm after the cycle has become established, then change out enough water to get it under 10 (before adding any livestock).

[Weetabix7]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

I'd only do a water change if ammonia (or nitrite) got above 5ppm.  Then let ammonia become undetectable.  If nitrate is higher than 10ppm after the cycle has become established, then change out enough water to get it under 10 (before adding any livestock).

 

Agreed.

[Mitch123]

My tank is cycling really quickly, I started it on the 9th of this month and the ammonia is at 2.0 ppm now, Nitrite is 1.0 ppm (yesterday it was about a .25) and the Nitrate is 40 ppm and was I just wondering if its unusual for the tank to go through the cycle this fast ( or if this is normal ) , thanks 

[seabass]

I find that cycles can vary dramatically when it comes to different types of rock (even different types of dry rock).  It really depends on the dead organic matter on the rock.  The more it has, the more ammonia will be produced (resulting in more nitrate at the end).

 

What you are seeing looks fairly typical for rock that has some dead organics on it.  Once ammonia is undetectable, you can change out the water to get rid of the excess nitrate.

[Mitch123]

My Nitrite spiked today, it was at 5ppm the Nitrate was 80ppm and the Ammonia was at .5ppm so I went ahead and did a water change. gonna do tests tomorrow when when I wake up.

 

I also have a quick question about lighting and the fixtures, I was looking to go down the MH route and was looking for some threads or suggestions on anything you guys would think I would find useful would be greatly appreciated 

[seabass]

What happened to the fixture you found on Craig's List?

 

[Mitch123]

They sold it on me  

[Mitch123]

Bump

[Lula_Mae]

22 hours ago, Mitch123 said:

My Nitrite spiked today, it was at 5ppm the Nitrate was 80ppm and the Ammonia was at .5ppm so I went ahead and did a water change. gonna do tests tomorrow when when I wake up.

 

I also have a quick question about lighting and the fixtures, I was looking to go down the MH route and was looking for some threads or suggestions on anything you guys would think I would find useful would be greatly appreciated 

Did you try some searches, or looking in the lighting forum?

[Mitch123]

I was looking for someone that used MH bulbs/fixtures and if they had any advice for a 40 gall cause I haven't found a specific answer how MH bulbs are beneficial (ups and downs )or any threads.

Maybe I can check out @Clown79s tanks. To be honest im having problems with temperature if I get an MH light it will be to high, I might need a chiller its at 76 without a heater right now 

[Lula_Mae]

10 minutes ago, Mitch123 said:

I was looking for someone that used MH bulbs/fixtures and if they had any advice for a 40 gall cause I haven't found a specific answer how MH bulbs are beneficial (ups and downs )or any threads.

Maybe I can check out @Clown79s tanks. To be honest im having problems with temperature if I get an MH light it will be to high, I might need a chiller its at 76 without a heater right now 

You may have to look for older threads on MH because it kind of fell out of favor somewhat when LED's came on the scene.  Info is out there.  Try a general google search (not on NR) for information.  And yes, it may cause temperature issues because they produce a fair bit of heat.

[Mitch123]

yeah I  noticed a lot of people using LED nowadays, I just like the look of MH (and might want to get into acroporas and whatnot in the future ) I dont want the wattage to be to high for my 40 gallon therefore producing to much heat. I thought id come here for advice cause all the you-tubers are saying different things and its really pissing me off, theirs so many different options id like a light that costs in between 200-300$. threads would be appreciated il keep an eye out on Kijiji and update you guys on anything I find.

[seabass]

MH is still provides good lighting.  Two 150W fixtures should be good for that tank.  76° F is cool.  You can keep your tank as high as 84° (but I'd recommend 80°).  I have no idea without digging through a bunch of old threads and articles just how much the temperature should be impacted, but I suspect it would be OK.

 

Finding a couple of fixtures in your price range, in Canada might be your biggest obstacle.  Remember you need ballasts too.  I'm guessing you are looking to spend up to $300 total, not for each, right?

[Mitch123]

I know there all so expensive, kijiji is my best bet at the moment. And so id need 300w and 4 bulb places ? maybe a 250w would do cause I dont need a heater ? 

 

Also how much dose temperature matter ? as long as it dosent get to out of control? (72- say 82) I want to keep corals in the future 

[seabass]

You should still use a heater.  The lights aren't on 24/7.  You want to keep the temperature stable at night.  I'd stick with two 150W fixtures, a 250 is a lot of light.

 

The other problem is spreading the light over the 3' length of the tank.  You probably need two pendants to do that, or a T5/MH hybrid fixture.

[Clown79]

I'm personally not a fan of MH lighting.  

I don't like the look of corals under them and the heat that comes off them is just too much.

 

Also hydro cost for MH is a major factor as I'm in Ontario, we have ridiculous rates.

 

A few places to check out for MH in cda

 

Reefsupplies.ca

Petsandponds.com

Aquariumdepot.ca

Jlaquatic.com

 

Big als aquarium

 

You will still need a heater because like @seabass said, the lights aren't on 24/7.

[Weetabix7]

For Metal Halide, 2 x 150w is probably your best bet, and a Phoenix 14k bulb would be great. 

 

I agree that you'll get heat off it, but there are some fans you can use that aren't terribly expensive. 

If you want to start off more inexpensive, why not get one 150w and center it, put the higher light demanding corals right under it and Soft corals off on the lower light sides. 

I regularly see people think they need a super high light spread over their entire tank and then have to adjust when some of the corals they want are unhappy with how high the light levels are. 

In my own tank, my light spread doesn't cover the entire tank, I have it centered just like I described above and I actually find it very useful to have different light zones, I also don't think it looks bad at all. 

If you are creative, you could also get one or 2 of the screw in LED bulbs that start around $25 us dollars and use them as supplements on the ends. 

Just trying to think creatively for you. 

 

If you have further questions about this and I don't respond cause I get distracted and forget to come back to the thread, feel free to PM me. 

[Lula_Mae]

9 hours ago, Mitch123 said:

I know there all so expensive, kijiji is my best bet at the moment. And so id need 300w and 4 bulb places ? maybe a 250w would do cause I dont need a heater ? 

 

Also how much dose temperature matter ? as long as it dosent get to out of control? (72- say 82) I want to keep corals in the future 

Temperature stability is important as swings are bad for livestock, so def keep a heater in there for night especially.  It doesn't really matter where your temp is within the range as long as it stays about the same with only a couple degrees swing at most per day.

 

Your tank's kind of long, so like pointed out above, it's better to get two fixtures to cover the whole tank instead of one super strong one blasting the middle and potentially creating a zone where very little can be kept cause it's so strong!  Two fixtures will give better coverage and light spread too.

[Mitch123]

10 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I'm personally not a fan of MH lighting.  

I don't like the look of corals under them and the heat that comes off them is just too much.

 

Also hydro cost for MH is a major factor as I'm in Ontario, we have ridiculous rates.

 

A few places to check out for MH in cda

 

Reefsupplies.ca

Petsandponds.com

Aquariumdepot.ca

Jlaquatic.com

 

Big als aquarium

 

You will still need a heater because like @seabass said, the lights aren't on 24/7.

I live in Ontario also Damnn wynne bhahaha. Thanks for the websites, the tank is at a steady 76 without the heater even on so im gonna need a chiller I think if I want MH or even just in general might buy a reef controller so I dont have to worry about anything getting out of control, possibly an apex jr.

[seabass]

9 minutes ago, Mitch123 said:

the tank is at a steady 76 without the heater even on so im gonna need a chiller I think if I want MH

Like I said, 80°F is ideal.  However, if kept steady, even 84°F is acceptable.  There's a good chance you wouldn't need a chiller.  You might not even need a fan.

[Mitch123]

so your thinking something like this,

 

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c267799/p16715919.html

 

or 

 

http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c293075/p17552345.html

 

and there is the option of having two like you said. I will be hanging the light from my ceiling if it is one single fixture 

and okay noted I also like the orbit  Marine LED if i end up not finding a cheap MH fixture