JBJ 45- Wonderful Restart

[Stosh]

Hello all, 

 

Tryind to revibeBeen asking around for advice and decided to ask the experts. I had a reef tank in the office for years being serviced by a fish expert. I did absolutely nothing but look at the beauty so not a very experienced reef guy. I know some verbiage and functionality and looking for some help.

 

Purchased my 12 year old son a stock JBJ 45 2 months ago where he was adamant to do everything on his own. Well, the tank crashed about 10 days ago (we were out of town) killing all the fish and most of coral. We were left with one live snail. Now, starting from scratch I want to be involved learning more about the hobby. We started small with 2 Clowns, 3 Chromis and 1 Tang with LPS and softies. We'll probably go that same route this time slowly adding more. Here are my questions and appreciate any recommendations:

 

Type of Powerheads and how many? What is a good flow rate?

Type of Skimmer?

Upgrade the pumps (single or both)? Why people say DC is better?

Currently have (2) Zetlight UFO 90W. Is that sufficient?

What type of new lid? (the stock is horse crap)

Type of ATO?

Doser needed?

Type of feeder?

I replaced the sand.

Any other professional direction or add ons?

 

How do I clean the live rock? Will it be safe after sitting in a crashed tank for 10 days.

My neighbor has live rock in his garage covered in a bin for 1 month with saltwater but no water movement.

   -  Is this still good to use? If not, what can I do?

 

I know these are a lot of questions and no need to respond to all. Thank you and let me know your thoughts. Thank you. 

[mitten_reef]

no tang in a 45G, the tank is way too small for one, especially with 5 other fish on your list.

 

for powerhead, most ppl move on to the DC "wavemaker" type where the flow can get varied or be intermittent via controller.  you'll want to look up the "turnover rate" for the type of corals you plan to keep, I think 50X would be fine for LPS and softies.  this means 50 x 45 = 2,250 gph of total flow would probably be minimum to shoot for.  good thing about DC wavemakers are that you can always turn them down.

 

return pump, no need to upgrade to DC. the only two benefits of any DC return pump are the feed mode button and the ability to adjust the flow.  neither of which is necessary for a return pump in a tank this size.             

 

 

[Stosh]

Sorry late reply. Thank you for the insight. This all helps when specking out the tank.

 

The lid on the jbj 45 is so cumbersome and doesn't even cover the return pump reservoir. Is there something better for full or close to coverage. I'm also sometimes out of town 5-7 days at a time. What is a good feeder with an upgraded lid? Thx. 

[mitten_reef]

On 9/29/2024 at 3:13 PM, Stosh said:

Sorry late reply. Thank you for the insight. This all helps when specking out the tank.

 

The lid on the jbj 45 is so cumbersome and doesn't even cover the return pump reservoir. Is there something better for full or close to coverage. I'm also sometimes out of town 5-7 days at a time. What is a good feeder with an upgraded lid? Thx. 

there are options out there for "custom lids", ex. Top Lids and the likes of them.  or you can build your own with the aluminum frame kits from either red sea or innovative marine. 

 

you said this will be with your son?  have him feed the tank while you travel, my 7yo feeds my tank while I travel (been doing so since 5 or 6 yo).