Please help us build our tank.

Delprincipe · 09/06/2011, 01:04 AM

Hi! We have just decided to start building our tank. After meeting Richard (from Tampa Bay Saltwater) in the Caribbean 4 years ago, his live sand/rock package has long since been in the back of our minds. We've decided now is the time!!!!!

Because we are brand new to the aquarium scene, Richard suggested we ask you all for your advise, help and encouragement. Our goal is a natural reef tank.

So far we have purchased a 40 gallon "breeder" tank and a 10 gallon tank (for the "naughty" hitchhikers). The only fish we must build our tank towards is a clown fish (or 2) for our 3 year old son to enjoy...we definatley want others but are still learning which one's will be appropriate with the clowns.

Please guide us towards the neccessary tank accessories that we now need to purchase:
Skimmer? What brand/size?
50/50 light for fish and corals? What brand/size/watts?
Tank circulation? What do we use to create a good current?
Others?

This looks like so much to ask of you all but please, your experience and knowledge will be greatly appreciated. We live in Arizona and have yet to find a "expert" shop to ask such questions.

Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance for the education you'll be providing us.

j_rizzo · 09/06/2011, 01:53 AM

I am new to SW myself, but I gotta tell ya I learned a ton from these 2 threads:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...ghlight=165224

http://www.saltwater-aquarium-guide.com/Set-Up.htm#

Along with that just browsing posts here on RC will provide a TON of info.

Richards CS is amazing- good choice with TBS!

Best of luck from one noob to another!

Curtis72 · 09/06/2011, 02:13 AM

To answer the questions.
1. Skimmer is not required but is recommended. It also depends if you are using a sump or not if not you have to get a hang on back skimmer which don't work as good but still get the job done.
2. 50/50 light is a good start. Some people prefer a more blue hue to the tank. Mostly preference. The wattage it all depends if you are keeping sps corals(hard corals) They require high light but if I were you I would start out with softies and then add lps. They are more hardy.
3. For circulation this depends also on the type of coral. Sps like high water flow. Some lps like high water flow as well. So make sure you do research before you buy coral. If you want to play it safe and be ready for every type of coral a mp10 would be wonderful for this.
So in short you have to know what you want to stock before you buy your equipment.

Make sure to do some study on the nitrogen cycle. aka cycling your tank. this is also very important.
Make sure to quarantine fish and coral! Not qting can ruin the whole tank.
Water changes and more water changes. Don't forget to do these

Delprincipe · 09/07/2011, 02:25 AM

Thank you for your recommendations. I'll have to check with Richard to see what kind of corals may be attached to the live rock. A lot of others who have gotten material from him have received anemones and sponges... do these require high water flow?

We were not planning on a sump, we just have a basic 40 gallon glass tank to start building.

We feel pretty comfortable with the whole cycling of the tank. The most important thing I have picked up from the posts directed at Noobs is to go slow, still need to read up on how to quarantine. We also bought a 10 gallon tank so that may be a good place for this task.

Agan, thanks for your help.

Curtis72 · 09/07/2011, 12:40 PM

Depending on what type of anemone yes they do. Anemones are harder to keep because you have to hand feed them and they require very stable water parameters.
Yes take it slow worst thing you can do is rush the process by putting fish in early.
Yeah a 10 gallon tank would be perfect. Qting is easy after you have your main tank up and running after the cycle feed the gt tank with your main tank water(so you don't have to cycle the qt) And buy a little hang on filter and heater and a little light for the qt and some people do use live rock in the qt but I use just pvc pipes so the fish have somewhere to hide. Then wait...some wait up to 8 weeks some wait only a few weeks. so wait 4-8 weeks and check water parameters often. Also Do not use anything from the qt in the main tank! filter,nets,heater etc.
Corals are a different story some people just dip corals some dip and qt. So this you will have to find out what you want to do personally

Delprincipe · 09/09/2011, 06:17 PM

My gosh, this is starting to become very overwhelming

It's funny how every new piece of information takes you down a different road, now I really need to research about anemones and see which are easy/hardiest AND also highly compatible for the clowns.

We want to be successful at this. We found this 50/50 light with 78 watts online; a Nova Extreme X2 Saltwater Light Fixture. Richard said this would be the minimun amout of light we would want to do for the corals present on the rock that he harvests and sends. Do you all have any recommendations?

We also found these circultion pumps; "Hydor Koralia Nano 285 and 425 boast extremely low energy consumption of just 3.5 watts and are suitable to mount onto aquarium glass up to 3/8" thick". How do we know which speed to purchase and how many to place in the tank?

We are going slowly for sure, that is advise we have no intentions on ignoring! We just built our tank stand, going to anchor it to the wall tonight and then start gathering our tank supplies. Have no plans on even ordering rock/sand from TBS until December and than nto getting any fish until May. That's our gameplan now we just need to complete our knowledge gathering!

As always, thank you for taking the time to read our post and post your comments. They are greatly appreciated.

09/06/2011, 01:04 AM	#1
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	Please help us build our tank. Hi! We have just decided to start building our tank. After meeting Richard (from Tampa Bay Saltwater) in the Caribbean 4 years ago, his live sand/rock package has long since been in the back of our minds. We've decided now is the time!!!!! Because we are brand new to the aquarium scene, Richard suggested we ask you all for your advise, help and encouragement. Our goal is a natural reef tank. So far we have purchased a 40 gallon "breeder" tank and a 10 gallon tank (for the "naughty" hitchhikers). The only fish we must build our tank towards is a clown fish (or 2) for our 3 year old son to enjoy...we definatley want others but are still learning which one's will be appropriate with the clowns. Please guide us towards the neccessary tank accessories that we now need to purchase: Skimmer? What brand/size? 50/50 light for fish and corals? What brand/size/watts? Tank circulation? What do we use to create a good current? Others? This looks like so much to ask of you all but please, your experience and knowledge will be greatly appreciated. We live in Arizona and have yet to find a "expert" shop to ask such questions. Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance for the education you'll be providing us.

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09/06/2011, 01:53 AM	#2
j_rizzo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Huntington WV Posts: 57	I am new to SW myself, but I gotta tell ya I learned a ton from these 2 threads: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...ghlight=165224 http://www.saltwater-aquarium-guide.com/Set-Up.htm# Along with that just browsing posts here on RC will provide a TON of info. Richards CS is amazing- good choice with TBS! Best of luck from one noob to another!

09/06/2011, 02:13 AM	#3
Curtis72 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 379	To answer the questions. 1. Skimmer is not required but is recommended. It also depends if you are using a sump or not if not you have to get a hang on back skimmer which don't work as good but still get the job done. 2. 50/50 light is a good start. Some people prefer a more blue hue to the tank. Mostly preference. The wattage it all depends if you are keeping sps corals(hard corals) They require high light but if I were you I would start out with softies and then add lps. They are more hardy. 3. For circulation this depends also on the type of coral. Sps like high water flow. Some lps like high water flow as well. So make sure you do research before you buy coral. If you want to play it safe and be ready for every type of coral a mp10 would be wonderful for this. So in short you have to know what you want to stock before you buy your equipment. Make sure to do some study on the nitrogen cycle. aka cycling your tank. this is also very important. Make sure to quarantine fish and coral! Not qting can ruin the whole tank. Water changes and more water changes. Don't forget to do these

09/07/2011, 02:25 AM	#4
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	Thank you for your recommendations. I'll have to check with Richard to see what kind of corals may be attached to the live rock. A lot of others who have gotten material from him have received anemones and sponges... do these require high water flow? We were not planning on a sump, we just have a basic 40 gallon glass tank to start building. We feel pretty comfortable with the whole cycling of the tank. The most important thing I have picked up from the posts directed at Noobs is to go slow, still need to read up on how to quarantine. We also bought a 10 gallon tank so that may be a good place for this task. Agan, thanks for your help.

09/07/2011, 12:40 PM	#5
Curtis72 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 379	Depending on what type of anemone yes they do. Anemones are harder to keep because you have to hand feed them and they require very stable water parameters. Yes take it slow worst thing you can do is rush the process by putting fish in early. Yeah a 10 gallon tank would be perfect. Qting is easy after you have your main tank up and running after the cycle feed the gt tank with your main tank water(so you don't have to cycle the qt) And buy a little hang on filter and heater and a little light for the qt and some people do use live rock in the qt but I use just pvc pipes so the fish have somewhere to hide. Then wait...some wait up to 8 weeks some wait only a few weeks. so wait 4-8 weeks and check water parameters often. Also Do not use anything from the qt in the main tank! filter,nets,heater etc. Corals are a different story some people just dip corals some dip and qt. So this you will have to find out what you want to do personally

09/09/2011, 06:17 PM	#6
Delprincipe Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Arizona Posts: 89	My gosh, this is starting to become very overwhelming It's funny how every new piece of information takes you down a different road, now I really need to research about anemones and see which are easy/hardiest AND also highly compatible for the clowns. We want to be successful at this. We found this 50/50 light with 78 watts online; a Nova Extreme X2 Saltwater Light Fixture. Richard said this would be the minimun amout of light we would want to do for the corals present on the rock that he harvests and sends. Do you all have any recommendations? We also found these circultion pumps; "Hydor Koralia Nano 285 and 425 boast extremely low energy consumption of just 3.5 watts and are suitable to mount onto aquarium glass up to 3/8" thick". How do we know which speed to purchase and how many to place in the tank? We are going slowly for sure, that is advise we have no intentions on ignoring! We just built our tank stand, going to anchor it to the wall tonight and then start gathering our tank supplies. Have no plans on even ordering rock/sand from TBS until December and than nto getting any fish until May. That's our gameplan now we just need to complete our knowledge gathering! As always, thank you for taking the time to read our post and post your comments. They are greatly appreciated.