saltwater noob/55 build thread

[bhsgk]

So like the title says I am a saltwater beginner but I have been keeping freshwater tanks for a couple of years and recently acquired a 55 gallon tempered glass perfecto tank, the matching stand from perfecto(marineland) and a DIY canopy from the previous owner. After talking with the wife we settled on a FW cichlid tank because she likes the colors and I like the different species and varieties. After researching the fish,filter, and many other things for about a week or so I had finally settled on everything and was going to purchase everything on the next paycheck. Well last night my wife comes home and tells me that while on her lunch break at work she was sitting in the back by the tv and it just so happened to have Finding Nemo playing. Well the movie just started and it was the scene at the dentist office with the nano tank and she said that it looked nice and she wanted a saltwater tank as long as she can have a starfish, preferably pink.Thank you Disney for persuading my wife. Thus beginnith my tank.

Sorry for the long back story but here are my specs and a few items that I have already looked at this morning.

Tank: 48"x12"x20" The tank is tempered glass so no gl*******s.com kit for me

Sump: 20"x11"x12" my re-purposed 10 gallon FW tank or a 20 gallon long if i can find one cheap enough

Lighting: odyssea 716W metal halide/t5/led lunar combo

Skimmer: does anybody knows of a sub $150-200 skimmer that actually works? it doesnt have to be an internal sump skimmer, i am thinking of not having a sump if i can get away with it

Return pump:either a mag 7 or mag 9.5

Canopy: there is a DIY canopy on my tank already but I will probably have to work on it to get the lights in there, any tips to get the feet on the lights to hook on the tank but still keep the structural integrity of the canopy and still leave room for the fans on the lights

live rock/sand: probably around 55-75 pounds "dead" and about 20 "live" and about 40 lbs caribsea and 10-20 "live" all from tampa bay saltwater, the guy goes out of the marina right arounf the corner from my house!

Livestock: a starfish or two depending on species and size, a pair of ocelaris clownfish,maybe a wrasse, and maybe a goby, nothing too crazy in the beginning

Coral: something easy and hardy at first, maybe some kind of anemone for the clowns after everything settles down in a few months, and something green for my wife as that is her favorite color

also what is the best lfs in the area?

IMAG0130.jpg
sorry about the flash from my camera phone
IMAG0134.jpg
no flash with the 2 18w actinics that came with the tank on
IMAG0137.jpg
inside the hood that i will be modding for the halides if i dont toss it
IMAG0138.jpg


and i am going to be joining tbrc in the near future and cant wait for the pier trip next month

And go easy on me, this is my first post in a forum

[tcwayne]

Easy on you? No problem, once we get to know you, then we will rip you a new one! Lol

Anyways, good luck and I think you off to a good start. Reading is fundamental. RIF! Seems like your doing good research.
You may be able suspend the light from the top of the canopy and use no legs. Since that tank has no depth you'll want space to get into the top. If the light was on legs than you would always be fighting the light to do anything.

Skimmer; check out reef octopus. Never owned one but lots of people have good luck.
The LFS's close to you are;
Rocking reef 54th and 66th
FAOIS Tampa rd in Oldsmar
Creative aquariums Dale Mabry and Kennedy (roughly)
There are other shops but further away from you. They all have good things to offer.

[CMcNeil]

for a skimmer look into a bubble magus,they are cheap and work good for the money.here is one that would fit your needs.you dont have to order it from the site i linked,FAOIS can and will get it for you and usually for the same price or better.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...n-skimmer.html

this is the one i would go with since it is a little oversized and still in your price range.
http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/BubbleMagusNAC5A.aspx

[bhsgk]

i just looked at the bubble magus CMcNeil and it needs at least 9" of water and my current sump i am only going to run around 5-7" max to save room in case of power loss. is there any sump that can be run in that little of water or do i need to find a 15-20 gallon high tank to use as a sump? does anybody know of a place in the area that can make custom acrylic sumps?

[tcwayne]

CMcNiel can make pretty much anything I think out of acrylic, plastics whatever

[forddna]

That's a lot of light. You didn't say, but what are you wanting to keep? Just fish?

Skimmers...look for SWC brand, Reef Octopus, Bubble Magus, Vertex. You can browse the last three of those on www.aquacave.com. You can get used ones for good deals on here, too (both in this forum and the main RC classifieds section).

[bhsgk]

[QUOTE=forddna;18919181]That's a lot of light. You didn't say, but what are you wanting to keep? Just fish?

No,sorry. I want to make it a small piece of the ocean in my living room! I know it sounds tacky or stupid, but my wife is an avid diver and I am learning now and I just want to bring the ocean to my living room to the best extent that I can. I want to keep some of the more colorful coral as my wife loves bright colors and I want her to like it as much as I do. I am looking at frogspawn, some of the brighter zoa's, a plate coral or two, some mushrooms, and eventually a bta or some other species of anenome. I only want to buy one set of lights for a while, so if I eventually get some sps then I will be covered by the extra wattage. I will pull some of the actinics out if they are too much or only run one halide if i need to.

[borg1of2]

Originally Posted by tcwayne

CMcNiel can make pretty much anything I think out of acrylic, plastics whatever

Hi,

Is this true? I am in the reseach stage and think I would like to get a custom sump built and would be interested. Might also go the same route as OP with a glass and add in dividers and baffles, but just trying to weigh options.

Thanks

Scott

[bhsgk]

this might be a silly question,but ill ask anyways. do I have to have my sump/fuge up and running with the skimmer to get the rock and sand cycled? or can i just put the rock and sand in the tank now and in a couple of weeks get the sump/fuge up and running and the lights hooked up?

[forddna]

Nope. You can cycle with just sand and rock. You are needing to build up biological filtration, and that is found in the rocks and sand.

You really don't even need a skimmer til you start to get more of a bioload..a few fish. Just make sure you are doing your water changes. And be sure the water you are using is 0 tds. Don't trust what the LFS sells. Test it yourself or ask them to show you. Make sure that the saltwater they are mixing up is coming from that same 0 tds water.

BTW, see if the wifey likes this guy. They are easy to find, easy to keep, and a nice addition to a reef tank:

[bhsgk]

What kind of starfish is that? A brittle star? Who has those? I took the wife to rockin reef and she actually loved it. It looks like everything is starting to come together. I just need lots of money now for all these new toys for my tank. I'm going to buy about 75lbs "dead" rock this week. How much LR do I need to seed the dead rock? I was thinking about just getting 10lbs because It's $5 a frickin pound!

[forddna]

I know I'm a long drive away, but I have probably 50lbs or so of somewhat live rock. It's been dry, then put into saltwater, and fed some flake food once in a while to keep a bit of life to it. No aiptasia or anything. $2/lb. I can give you a few pieces out of my tank as well to seed it, but I do have 2-3 aiptasia in the tank, so it is POSSIBLE to have some hiding in the rock. Or you can find some from another member on here that might be fortunate to have not had any in their tank. $5/lb is LFS price. You can get it much cheaper from members on here. Like me. LOL

But the stuff I have sitting in tubs is definitely aiptasia free.

That's a serpent star.

[tcwayne]

BHSGK. I have no rock for ya. But if you need any help sometime, I go over the skyway twice a day.

[bhsgk]

@Forddna I will let you know about that rock when I get close to getting everything up and running, can you put some pics up of the rock?


@TCWAYNE that's ok about the rock, but I will hit you up for sure when it cones time to setup my sump and make sure nothing overflows! I have a general idea hoe to set it up, but just to make sure I may bribe you with some beer and have you stop by. I'm behind McDonald's on 34th and 46th

[bhsgk]

Sorry @forddna I forgot, the wife said the star was creepy looking and she just wants a plain normal pink starfish. Liveaquaria.com has a blue and pink one that I will show her and will get that one eventually, but I will see if any lfs can order it instead of getting it through them

[tcwayne]

@TCWAYNE that's ok about the rock, but I will hit you up for sure when it cones time to setup my sump and make sure nothing overflows! I have a general idea hoe to set it up, but just to make sure I may bribe you with some beer and have you stop by. I'm behind McDonald's on 34th and 46th[/QUOTE]

MMMMMMMMMMMM Beer!



I cut right behind that McDonalds all the time. Well not all the time but I have. I live on the other side of Gulfport in South Pasadena.

[bhsgk]

I always have a case of corona light or some blue moon. A little bit of beer for some reef knowledge seems like a good trade to me. I'll pm you my number and we can work out a time that you can come over and help a new guy out with his plans.

[tcwayne]

Sounds good. PSSST.... I read the PM first. HAHA!

[forddna]

Originally Posted by bhsgk

Sorry @forddna I forgot, the wife said the star was creepy looking and she just wants a plain normal pink starfish. Liveaquaria.com has a blue and pink one that I will show her and will get that one eventually, but I will see if any lfs can order it instead of getting it through them

LOL...hey, that's my starfish, and he says he is NOT creepy looking!! lol

What kind of starfish are you looking at? Some are not reef safe, and some that are reef safe are hard to keep.

Here's some pics of the rock. There's more rock now that I took my Biocube down. Some of the rock I have is boring base rock but there are also some really cool shapes in there.






Those are older pics. There is more rock than what's in the pics.

[bhsgk]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/...22&pcatid=2722


ill let you know about the rocks when i start to set everything up

[NONNA58]

The starfish is a beauty Amanda. I have more of a dingy orange in my 300 as well as a few other serpents but I like yours. I cannot seem to keep other stars alive other than serpents and I do not trust brittles at all.

[forddna]

I've had this guy for a couple years, I think. At least one year. Love him!

[forddna]

Originally Posted by bhsgk

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/...22&pcatid=2722


ill let you know about the rocks when i start to set everything up

Like other starfish, this member of the Astropectinidae family also consumes small invertebrates, including shrimp, urchins, mollusks, bivalves, or other small sea stars. As such, they should be actively fed with a varied diet that mimics their natural food sources, especially in well-established marine aquariums. Otherwise, these voracious feeders can quickly clean your aquarium of detritus and then bury themselves into your substrate, starve, and eventually begin to decay.

[bhsgk]

i know, i know. but if i dont get her a pink starfish then i dont know if she will let me have the tank. i may get it and wait for it to be a pest and say sorry, i have to get rid of it. then she cant say you cant setup the tank because its already done!

[bhsgk]

whats the best thing to paint the back glass with? a couple of coats of spray paint or kilz?