setting up 36 bowfront, need some advice

[oldblu]

Hey all, new to the forums, but been in hobby for a lil bit (mostly fresh water though and a few nano reefs)

Anyways i hate to ask what might seem like simple questions and have been searching alot, but its hard to pin point certain requirments for 36 gal reef tank, so gonna go ahead and ask for yals thoughts.

So wanting to go with a 36 gal bow front, which will be my frist real reef tank attempt, i want to start out with hardy corals and compatable fish after a long cycle so thats the livestock choice at first.

I have been considering a sump but for the time being would really like to go with a HOB protien skimmer, first question, any brands yal perfer, been looking at octopus and others but haver not used protien skimmers before, also what kinda of flow should i go for in a 36 gal.

also i know i will be starting with hardy corals but what would be some good lighting for most corals down the road, Im looking at some HO T5 setups and would need a 30" fit, I've seen some rated at 30+ watts per bulb ( what kinda of wattage and number of bulbs do i need to shoot for)

Also trying to figure out what kind of flow from power heads i need to get in a 36 gal, and would it be better to have 2 powerheads or one big one (also whats brands perfered here)

Plan on having alot of live rock but wasnt sure what a good lbs ratio would be good,

Will I need a wet/dry filter? or anyother filter of anykind. and anything that i might not have thought of.

trying to plan this setup out so havn't bought anything yet but wanting to start as soon as i get my setup figured out,

thanks again for any advice and I will keep searching in the mean time.

[alleykat81]

Have you already purchased the bowfront? If not, I would advise against it. I have a 46 bow and I regret not buying a standard shaped tank due to the lack of space beneath the stand.

[sir_dudeguy]

first off

[welcom]

I have been considering a sump but for the time being would really like to go with a HOB protien skimmer, first question, any brands yal perfer, been looking at octopus and others but haver not used protien skimmers before, also what kinda of flow should i go for in a 36 gal.

Going sumpless is not a bad option. Although many people love having sumps, i personally dont and just find that it adds too much confusion. I'm not trying to tell you to not do one, because in no way is having a sump bad. But I personally like to keep things simple and IMO (in my opinion) i've found that works better than lots of really complex tanks.

Anyways, as far as skimmer, i've tried a few HOB ones, and my fav by far is the Aqua C Remora. I see mixed reviews on here about it, but mostly due to lack of patients. You have to have it adjusted properly but once it is, it worked great for me. I used it on my 55 and it was awesome, and on a smaller tank it would be even better. The coralife superskimmer 65 is also another option, but i dont really care for it...kinda bulky and just didnt perform as well as the remora.

also i know i will be starting with hardy corals but what would be some good lighting for most corals down the road, Im looking at some HO T5 setups and would need a 30" fit, I've seen some rated at 30+ watts per bulb ( what kinda of wattage and number of bulbs do i need to shoot for)

t5 HOs are probably my favorite setups. very low wattage, no heat, and you can grow just about anything... ASSUMING you have individual reflectors on each bulb, because otherwise they're no better than pc's other than color.

That being said...your 36g bow is only 30" long? OUCH! Thats probably the hardest length to find a match for in t5's other than a standard 10g (20"). The t5 fixtures typically come in 24" (at 24w apiece), 36" (at 39w), 48" (54w) and so on. Obviously you wont be able to fit a 39w bulb over it which would be ideal, so you'll have to go with a 24w if you do t5's. I'd try and find a 4x24w t5 HO fixture that is 30" long...check reefgeek.com to see what they have...icecap and sunlight supply are definitely the 2 prefered brands from what i've seen and dealt with. If you have a canopy for this tank though that makes things a lot easier as far as being able to get a t5 setup for that odd length tank... you could do a retrofit like one of these

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...ulbs_by_IceCap

I used the next size up of that same fixture on my 40 breeder and grew anything i wanted. Low light corals (in shade) all the way up to sps and clams. I used the ATI brand bulbs and had great color and great growth.

but the key to t5's is the individual reflectors for each bulb.

Oh and the bulbs are way cheaper than PC's and last twice as long...about a year, and have way better color and less heat/wattage. Did i mention i LOVE t5s'?

Also trying to figure out what kind of flow from power heads i need to get in a 36 gal, and would it be better to have 2 powerheads or one big one (also whats brands perfered here)

well you want a minimum of 10x turnover rate per hour "so they say".... but IMO i wouldnt consider going lower than 20x per hour. I've had upwards of 35 with every type of coral and have seen nothing but great improvement compared to even 20x.

I personally love the koralia pumps. On that tank I'd probably go with either 2 of the koralia 2's or 2 of the koralia 3's...the 3's might be a little bit much (if it were me i might try but some will say thats too much.
They put out a really widespread flow though so its not like its a jet, its more natural of a flow.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...5&pcatid=15955

Plan on having alot of live rock but wasnt sure what a good lbs ratio would be good,

They say 1lb per gallon. I've gotten by with less, depending on the fish load, but more is always preferable and looks better IMO. The more rock you have, generally the bigger load you can have, assuming its not all really dense rock. That being said, in a 36 you are kinda limited on space for what you can keep anyways, so i'd probably just go w/about 40lbs.

Will I need a wet/dry filter? or anyother filter of anykind. and anything that i might not have thought of.

NO. wet/dry filters are sort of a NO NO with reefs. Not that it cant be done, but it complicates things. Wet/dry's are known to be nitrate factories (the bioballs...or any "bio" filter media for that matter, break down amonia and nitrite quickly, but dont brake it down further, which tends to skyrocket the nitrates).

As far as other filters, no. The only thing you'd need other than rock and lots of flow (to get that water movin through the rock) is a skimmer, and thats not necessarily needed. I usually dont run skimmers anymore, specially on small tanks. I find that a regular water change schedule does the exact same that a skimmer that costs 150+ would do.

you say you havent bought anything yet though...any chance of upping the tank to a 36" tank if you havent already bought one? That would make things a lot less complicated as far as the lighting goes and i think you'd be very happy with the results.

Sorry if this seems like a lot of info, and sorry if some of it sounds like mumbo jumbo...i kinda get carried away and my fingers start typing at a different speed than my brain lol.

[sir_dudeguy]

Have you already purchased the bowfront? If not, I would advise against it. I have a 46 bow and I regret not buying a standard shaped tank due to the lack of space beneath the stand.

If you're planning to have a sump that is true, otherwise i love bowfronts (I only have a 16g bow now) and they look very nice

[oldblu]

Hey thanks for all the feedback sir_dudeguy, it really helps, have not bought the tank yet so will consider uping the size, bigger the better right, I had managed to find a few 30" ballast setups but like you said more options for 36" and in better quality, and thanks for the calculations they will help me now no matter what size I go with!

[oldblu]

hey sir_dudeguy, what pump did ur Aqua C Remora use, I see they have one with a Rio1400 and one with a Mag350, just curious.

[sir_dudeguy]

um....Its been a couple years since i've had it...i went skimmerless on my last few tanks lol...but i'm pretty sure it was a maxijet with a needle wheel. I'm not sure if it was stock or not, i think it was. They may have changed the pumps recently, i'm not sure.