Kinda's Large Tank Adventure (LTA)

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, Chibils said:

Anyways, I just finished reading your entire thread starting at the beginning. It sure was an interesting read, and I learned a few things too.

Thanks, I made mistakes, a lot, but I have learn so much too.

[Kindanewtothis]

[Kindanewtothis]

[Kindanewtothis]

How many asterina star fish is too much?

 

I'd say I have 20 of them just on my walls so much more in the tank. They are not bothering the corals so far.

 

Thinking about an harlequin shrimp but I'm not sure because of the pistol shrimp.

[seabass]

You don't want a Harlequin Shrimp.  They'll take care of your Asterina Stars, but then you'll need to constantly purchase sea stars to feed it.

 

The Asterinas' population will grow and shrink depending on available food.  I had hundreds in one of my tanks.  In general, I wouldn't worry about them.

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

You don't want a Harlequin Shrimp.  They'll take care of your Asterina Stars, but then you'll need to constantly purchase sea stars to feed it.

 

The Asterinas' population will grow and shrink depending on available food.  I had hundreds in one of my tanks.  In general, I wouldn't worry about them.

I knew about the feedings needs, the plan was to trade it at some point. But if it's not too bad (the asterinas) it's not worth it. Thanks!

[Jakesaw]

4 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I'd say I have 20 of them just on my walls so much more in the tank. 

Do they breed in your tank, or did you put all 20 of them in your tank?

 

curious

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, Jakesaw said:

Do they breed in your tank, or did you put all 20 of them in your tank?

 

curious

They breed there. Must have came with a rock.

[seabass]

They can reproduce by having a leg break off.  I believe that you can start a population with just a single asterina star.

[Kindanewtothis]

So about a potential new tank, building a tank with a sump myself is out of the question. I read on it and saw videos and I don't have the skills I think. 

 

So there are these Red see and waterbox tanks that look awesome but I want a big tank and they are just way too expensive (hope I can still post on N-R when I'll get a 100 gallons tank). 

 

So here's what's in my mind right now, keeping a similar set-up only bigger. I saw a 72×18x22 tank. Let's discuss what I would need considering what I have. I would still use my fluval 207 canister filter (206 gph) and it is usefull for carbon. I have a Sicce Xstream 3500 (925 gph) and a Nero 3 (2000 gph). I could use my Aquaclear 50 powerhead (270 gph). So I would still need more flow, maybe a Nero 5?

 

I have 2 AI prime 16HD so I would need 2 more or maybe an Hydra 32.

 

I would keep my hob refugium. 

 

My Tonze 9001 skimmer would be too small, I would need an hob skimmer. Any recommandations?

 

So that is my morning thought...😀 Feel free to tell me what you think.

 

[seabass]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

hope I can still post on N-R when I'll get a 100 gallons tank

Sure, no problem.  There is even a Nano-Reef forum for these larger tanks: https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forum/56-large-reef-journals/

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

building a tank with a sump myself is out of the question. I read on it and saw videos and I don't have the skills I think

Some make it more difficult than necessary.  While it requires some plumbing, it's not too bad.  I use a standard 40 Breeder tank as a sump for my 100 gallon tank.  I added a single glass panel to maintain the water level for my protein skimmer.

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

So here's what's in my mind right now, keeping a similar set-up only bigger. I saw a 72×18x22 tank... I would still need more flow...

Yep, you sure could use everything that you currently use (with one or more powerhead(s), light(s), and heater).  I like the idea of a 6' tank, but a wider tank is nice too.  Maybe even a 120 gallon (48" x 24" x 25").  I'm thinking that just one more Prime 16HD could light a tank like this.

 

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I would need an hob skimmer. Any recommendations?

Maybe.  Of course you don't even "need" a skimmer; but I like to run them.  If you think about it, you are basically talking about doubling you existing tank.  You could double up on everything you currently have and it should be fine.  It's like running two 50 gallon tanks (without a piece of glass separating them).  You could just double up on the lights, powerheads, filters, and heaters.

 

If adding new rock, cure it in a separate container first.  If dry rock, I'd probably build up a biofilter using the fishless cycling method before adding it.

[Jakesaw]

3 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

hope I can still post on N-R when I'll get a 100 gallons tank

 

You should be granfathered in.  

 

Or just show half your tank to keep nano status  

[seabass]

[Kindanewtothis]

2 hours ago, seabass said:

Maybe.  Of course you don't even "need" a skimmer; but I like to run them. 

Or I could just try with my small tunze and see how it goes. Would it do the same job but with having to empty it more often? 

 

2 hours ago, seabass said:

I like the idea of a 6' tank, but a wider tank is nice too.  Maybe even a 120 gallon (48" x 24" x 25").  I'm thinking that just one more Prime 16HD could light a tank like this.

The idea with a longer tank was to give the tang some space to sprint but I also same that size of tank (48x24x25) and it's not ideal regarding where in the house it's going but not impossible. 

 

2 hours ago, seabass said:

If adding new rock, cure it in a separate container first.  If dry rock, I'd probably build up a biofilter using the fishless cycling method before adding it.

I'm not sure. There must be 45 pounds of rocks in the tank right now I have 10-12 pounds in a bucket with tank water and a sicce nano pump, no light. Could I just put them directly in the new tank? Do I need more rocks?

[seabass]

31 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I'm not sure. There must be 45 pounds of rocks in the tank right now I have 10-12 pounds in a bucket with tank water and a sicce nano pump, no light. Could I just put them directly in the new tank? Do I need more rocks?

55 lbs of rock is fine for a 100 gallon tank.   The rock in the bucket should be good to go.  There is no "need" to add more.  You might like that more open look; I prefer using less rock than more rock.  However, if you do add more rock, make sure that it is cured (even if it was dry) before adding it to a tank with livestock.

 

31 minutes ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Or I could just try with my small tunze and see how it goes. Would it do the same job but with having to empty it more often? 

With the same amount of livestock, it shouldn't run that much differently.  At first, it will probably even collect less skimmate (as the extra water should dilute the wastes).  Yeah, give it a shot and see how it goes; you could always add another or replace it later on.

 

         

 

[Kindanewtothis]

5 hours ago, seabass said:

With the same amount of livestock

Yeah about that,  do you really need 180 gallons for a blue hippo tang? 😅

 

 

[seabass]

2 hours ago, Kindanewtothis said:

do you really need 180 gallons for a blue hippo tang?

They should have at least a 6' long tank.  Plus, they can grow to 1' long themselves, so a tank that's 18" wide doesn't give them much room.  I'd recommend a 6' 180 gallon tank for one.  But there are other tangs which would do fine in the 100 gallon tank that you are thinking about.

[Kindanewtothis]

8 hours ago, seabass said:

But there are other tangs which would do fine in the 100 gallon tank that you are thinking about.

I saw on live aquaria that a powder blue tang requires 125 gallons so I guess that could be ok.

[seabass]

Yeah, a Powder Blue is a smaller fish.  I think your proposed six foot 100 gallon tank would probably work for a single Powder Blue, given it's the only tang in the tank.

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

Yeah, a Powder Blue is a smaller fish.  I think your proposed six foot 100 gallon tank would probably work for a single Powder Blue, given it's the only tang in the tank.

I have a Yellow tang already 😐

 

Would it do in a 48' long tank like you mentionned?

[seabass]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

I have a Yellow tang already

If getting a Powder Blue, I'd re-home it.

 

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Would it do in a 48' long tank like you mentioned?

Your Yellow tang (or, I believe, even the Powder Blue) should do well in a 4' 120 gallon tank by themselves.

[Kindanewtothis]

1 hour ago, seabass said:

If getting a Powder Blue, I'd re-home it

Ok so no powder blue in that case, I'm keeping the yellow.

 

Edit: any suggestions of something not too small that can go with a Yellow tang and is reef safe?

[Kindanewtothis]

[Kindanewtothis]

Is there a reason why I would want an "overflow" ?

 

https://aquariumdepot.ca/products/aqueon-reef-ready-aquarium-with-overflow-black-120-gal

[seabass]

If you want a sump, you'd need some sort of an overflow. See next page.