New to the Hobby with a Plan

[blackcrystal22]

Hello there, I'm Jess and am relatively new to the idea of keeping reef tanks.

Despite the whole responsibility lecture, this is not my first walk in the park concerning advanced animal care. I've kept a variety of reptiles, particularly snakes, that are often arboreal and take advanced care that is not something I would ever recommend to beginners. I've been part of the reptile community and hobby for quite some time and still always have much to learn.

That said, while this is not my primary hobby, I have been throwing around the idea of starting up my first marine reef tank. I know the time that is needed and devotion for such a task, and am willing to give it a go. I have done some research and discussed it with a friend of mine (a very talented reef keeper who is a member on here) to get a full grasp on what I need and don't need.

I also know this is not cheap, and takes patience. Here's my plan thus far:
26 gallon bowfront tank, proper lighting fixtures (the most confusing thing I need help with at the moment), a basic filter, good quality protein skimmer, and heater.
I plan on using a layer of course aragonite topped with another layer of fine live sand. I also planned on purchasing 15lbs of live rock to begin with, not sure if that's the best amount or not. I want to use bought distilled water (best option for me at the moment) and instant ocean salt. (Please avoid brand bias, I'm going with what's best rated and least expensive for starters on this).
I want to cycle the live rock, sand, and salt water for a couple weeks, then add some invertebrates. Then, after cycling for another week or two with stable levels, begin looking at some corals and fish. I believe fish are only the accents of a reef aquarium and only plan to get two or three (hardy fish like a firefish and a clownfish) with a variety of corals that I'd like to try to get aquacultured as often as possible.


So that's what I have planned thus far. Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm especially confused about what lighting system is best to use and how much live rock or live sand should be used. I want to focus on biofiltration as much as possible so I'm hoping a basic filter to get out all the big nasties is the best bet. Thanks!

[big cats]

I remember starting up just like you. With a plan.

My first piece of advice, your plan you have now is no good..and I mean that in a good way. It's hard to explain, but my original plan and what my tank looks like now are completely different..lol

Filter wise, sump it. they are much easier to maintain, and give you the most options when it comes to media reactors, dosers, auto top-off systems, etc...

On your rock, you want to get all your rock in at one time. If you don't you can cause another cycle that can potentially kill your livestock. I would say go with about 40lbs of rock, and make sure your rockwork is open and can get lots of flow through it. Also, one of the best things to do is get 90% of your rock as base rock, or dead rock. Only get a few pieces of live rock. Reason being is that dead rock is cheaper than live, and the live rock will seed the dead rock anyways..in your case, if you went with 40lbs of live rock, I would get say maybe 30lbs of dry rock, and 10lbs of live rock.

Skimmer wise, it's always a good idea to assume that your skimmer will never get everything out of your tank, and a skimmer that is rated for your size tank is not good enough. Some people like to get skimmers that are rated at double your tank size. I like to get one that's a half a size big, because marine tanks can be too clean.

Lighting is going to depend on what corals you plan on keeping. Soft Corals and LPS you can get away with not doing anything too fancy, but if you plan on keeping SPS you are going to need some really powerful lighting.

My other piece of advice is watch impulse buying. Sometimes you will walk into your LFS and see a fish or coral that you just have to have. You buy it, get home, and then realize you have no idea how to take care of it, or if it will even survive in your tank.

Other than that I like your plan as far as stocking it goes. I stocked my tank the same way. Inverts first, then some corals, and finally a few fish. Welcome to reef central!

I share the same hobby as you btw. I'm into reptiles as well. I was breeding boas a while back. I recently got out of them but will make a return as soon as I can!

[ajcanale]

You seem to have done a good bit of research thus far, good to see. But you mentioned "a basic filter." If you mean a hang on filter, then I'd advise to avoid this, as these types of filters usually just end up accumulating detritus and waste buildup and generating excessive nitrates. I would cut the filter from the mix. Your live rock, cleanup crew and skimmer - paired with good water movement - will be your "filtration."

For a 29bf you might want to consider more than 15lbs, maybe more like 30-40 depending on how you want to aquascape.

Regarding lighting, there are many options. T5 fixtures, lower wattage metal halides/hqi, LED, etc. LED's have really taken off the past year or so, and for a smaller tank, wont necessarily empty your pockets.

For what it's worth, I'd say to not overspend with your first tank. I started with a smaller tank, dropped a lot of money on it, and soon later was more than ready to upgrade in size. (and did.... and did again)

[blackcrystal22]

Originally Posted by big cats

I remember starting up just like you. With a plan.

My first piece of advice, your plan you have now is no good..and I mean that in a good way. It's hard to explain, but my original plan and what my tank looks like now are completely different..lol

Filter wise, sump it. they are much easier to maintain, and give you the most options when it comes to media reactors, dosers, auto top-off systems, etc...

On your rock, you want to get all your rock in at one time. If you don't you can cause another cycle that can potentially kill your livestock. I would say go with about 40lbs of rock, and make sure your rockwork is open and can get lots of flow through it. Also, one of the best things to do is get 90% of your rock as base rock, or dead rock. Only get a few pieces of live rock. Reason being is that dead rock is cheaper than live, and the live rock will seed the dead rock anyways..in your case, if you went with 40lbs of live rock, I would get say maybe 30lbs of dry rock, and 10lbs of live rock.

Skimmer wise, it's always a good idea to assume that your skimmer will never get everything out of your tank, and a skimmer that is rated for your size tank is not good enough. Some people like to get skimmers that are rated at double your tank size. I like to get one that's a half a size big, because marine tanks can be too clean.

Lighting is going to depend on what corals you plan on keeping. Soft Corals and LPS you can get away with not doing anything too fancy, but if you plan on keeping SPS you are going to need some really powerful lighting.

My other piece of advice is watch impulse buying. Sometimes you will walk into your LFS and see a fish or coral that you just have to have. You buy it, get home, and then realize you have no idea how to take care of it, or if it will even survive in your tank.

Other than that I like your plan as far as stocking it goes. I stocked my tank the same way. Inverts first, then some corals, and finally a few fish. Welcome to reef central!

I share the same hobby as you btw. I'm into reptiles as well. I was breeding boas a while back. I recently got out of them but will make a return as soon as I can!

Hah you know plans, they never go the way you think they will!

Mm, yes I figured my live rock estimate was too low. I'm glad I don't have to get entirely live rock, I was not aware of that and that should save me some money. I'm definitely going to get some soft corals, maybe LPS corals, and I doubt I'm going to be able to stay away from SPS corals. I am in love with some of the species and will probably go all out in the lighting.

I was recommended these bulbs for starters, it's really the setup that I put them in which I don't understand.
http://www.hellolights.com/compactfluorescentlamps.aspx

I will do my best to avoid impulse buying. I do that enough with reptiles as it is.

For my first tank I wasn't sure about sumping, and it seems awfully complex and confusing. I'm guessing I'd need a 5g sump for a 26g tank?

Originally Posted by ajcanale

You seem to have done a good bit of research thus far, good to see. But you mentioned "a basic filter." If you mean a hang on filter, then I'd advise to avoid this, as these types of filters usually just end up accumulating detritus and waste buildup and generating excessive nitrates. I would cut the filter from the mix. Your live rock, cleanup crew and skimmer - paired with good water movement - will be your "filtration."

For a 29bf you might want to consider more than 15lbs, maybe more like 30-40 depending on how you want to aquascape.

Regarding lighting, there are many options. T5 fixtures, lower wattage metal halides/hqi, LED, etc. LED's have really taken off the past year or so, and for a smaller tank, wont necessarily empty your pockets.

For what it's worth, I'd say to not overspend with your first tank. I started with a smaller tank, dropped a lot of money on it, and soon later was more than ready to upgrade in size. (and did.... and did again)

For what it's worth, I am a college student. I won't overspend if I don't need to but I plan for this to be my only tank for the time being. So I will make it as good as I would want it as if it would be my only tank ever. I also would potentially want a larger tank but want to start smaller so that I get the most difficult husbandry down before I invest in a larger tank.

What's the best way to produce good water movement?

Thanks for all the advise!

[big cats]

For a mixed reef I would go with either a 150-200watt MH that is supplemented with blue T5's to give your corals a bit of pop. When placing your corals, just remember that you may want to put your SPS in the top third of the tank, and your LPS and softies you may want to keep lower in the tank just in case so you don't harm them, as a 26g BF is a small tank.

Some good lighting companies are Aquatic Life, ATI, Hamilton..
You can also go LED as well. I have LED's on my smaller 24g tank and grow just about everything. I have soft corals, LPS, and a few of the more common and "easy" SPS, all of which are thriving and growing exponentially. Some of the advantages of LED are that they last longer, and you don't have the worry of heat put off by the light.


Sumping is actually a lot easier than other filtration when it comes to salt water. And it's really the "preferred" method in the hobby. You can buy an overflow box rather than drill the tank, and then just route the line to your sump tank, where your skimmer, media, refugium (if you want one), and finally return pump that goes back to the display tank.

I'm not sure if you have been told this already or not, but smaller tanks are harder to take care of than larger ones. In your case, sumping would benefit you greatly as 26g is a small tank, and problems can arise and spread quite rapidly in that size tank. Everyone goes with a small sump to save space, when in reality, you should have a large sump to increase your water volume, and space to put everthing! Find a sump that takes up the entire bottom of your stand. Not only will this give you maximum water volume, it will keep your stand tidy because you wont have anywhere to just leave stuff laying around.
And if say you get a sump that holds 20g of water, you just made your tank that much more stable in the event of a disaster.

And if you are worried about complexity of a sump, all that really needs to be in there is foam, (to catch the large debris) rock, (to aid further in the biological filtration) a skimmer (unless you have a HOB skimmer) and a return pump. It's really that simple. And the fact that it's not all compact into a little filter gives you room to adjust, and play with if you need to.

For circulation, circulation pumps work well. Koralia, Vortech, and Tunze make some really nice ones. You can even set them up on wave makers and timers to simulate all sorts of currents and tides..

And as much as I know what you mean about not overspending, when I got my first tank I said the same exact thing you said above. And you know, I meant it. But what happens in this hobby is you get your tank set up, start looking at other people's tanks, get your tank fully stocked, and then see something someone has that you want. Then you want to upgrade.

Next thing you know you're spending $400+ on a tank you want, and before you know it you've spent just as much as you did on your old tank that you weren't gonna upgrade from..

Moral of the story.....always plan on getting a bigger tank..lol

[blackcrystal22]

Originally Posted by big cats

For a mixed reef I would go with either a 150-200watt MH that is supplemented with blue T5's to give your corals a bit of pop. When placing your corals, just remember that you may want to put your SPS in the top third of the tank, and your LPS and softies you may want to keep lower in the tank just in case so you don't harm them, as a 26g BF is a small tank.

Some good lighting companies are Aquatic Life, ATI, Hamilton..
You can also go LED as well. I have LED's on my smaller 24g tank and grow just about everything. I have soft corals, LPS, and a few of the more common and "easy" SPS, all of which are thriving and growing exponentially. Some of the advantages of LED are that they last longer, and you don't have the worry of heat put off by the light.


Sumping is actually a lot easier than other filtration when it comes to salt water. And it's really the "preferred" method in the hobby. You can buy an overflow box rather than drill the tank, and then just route the line to your sump tank, where your skimmer, media, refugium (if you want one), and finally return pump that goes back to the display tank.

I'm not sure if you have been told this already or not, but smaller tanks are harder to take care of than larger ones. In your case, sumping would benefit you greatly as 26g is a small tank, and problems can arise and spread quite rapidly in that size tank. Everyone goes with a small sump to save space, when in reality, you should have a large sump to increase your water volume, and space to put everthing! Find a sump that takes up the entire bottom of your stand. Not only will this give you maximum water volume, it will keep your stand tidy because you wont have anywhere to just leave stuff laying around.
And if say you get a sump that holds 20g of water, you just made your tank that much more stable in the event of a disaster.

And if you are worried about complexity of a sump, all that really needs to be in there is foam, (to catch the large debris) rock, (to aid further in the biological filtration) a skimmer (unless you have a HOB skimmer) and a return pump. It's really that simple. And the fact that it's not all compact into a little filter gives you room to adjust, and play with if you need to.

For circulation, circulation pumps work well. Koralia, Vortech, and Tunze make some really nice ones. You can even set them up on wave makers and timers to simulate all sorts of currents and tides..

And as much as I know what you mean about not overspending, when I got my first tank I said the same exact thing you said above. And you know, I meant it. But what happens in this hobby is you get your tank set up, start looking at other people's tanks, get your tank fully stocked, and then see something someone has that you want. Then you want to upgrade.

Next thing you know you're spending $400+ on a tank you want, and before you know it you've spent just as much as you did on your old tank that you weren't gonna upgrade from..

Moral of the story.....always plan on getting a bigger tank..lol

One day, I'm sure that will be the case. But even with the desires and urges, I don't have anywhere to put a second tank while still commuting to college from my parents home.

I was planning on getting a HOB remora skimmer. Would you recommend a different skimmer?

Yes, I completely understand a smaller tank is risky and more difficult. That is partially why I want to do one. I tend to want to challenge myself first with a less expensive tank to get the husbandry down as much as possible before I ever move on to buying expensive corals and fish for a larger set-up.. even if it is more stable.
If I do use a sump it'll probably be 15g so it can fit under the tank. I'm going to discuss it with my friend who will be physically assisting in helping me maintain my tank and see what he thinks about a sump and if it is a good option for me or not. Since I'm not going to be entirely alone on this, some beginner mistakes could be avoided.

Not that I'm trying to cut out the money here but getting a sump including creating it and buying an overflow box may cost $200 extra on top of all this (tell me if I'm wrong or if there's a less expensive way of going about it). I know it may be worth it to avoid loss but I might see if I can add one later on. I think refugiums are very neat parts of saltwater aquaria but have to draw the $ line again at this point. I want to make sure I have enough money to set up the tank as well as maintain it afterwords.

[big cats]

YouTube how to build a sump, and you can actually build your own for less than $50 and you can do the same with an overflow. Check out a PVC overflow on YouTube as well, I think you can build one of those for less than $30

Skimmer wise, I don't know much about HOB skimmers. But stick with high quality brands like reef octopus and the others. For a cheap in sump skimmer you can do the SC65 or 150

And as far as a refugium goes, you can build it onto part of your sump, so no extra cost other than a means of lighting it. (Which total won't cost you more than $20

So you are looking at around $70-$100 max for a sump, overflow, and refugium if you wish to get really fancy and such.

[blackcrystal22]

Hm, doesn't sound too bad.

Can you add a sump and refugium after you get the tank set up or is that more difficult?

I've been looking into the lights. I plan on getting a MH and a daylight & acitinic T5 bulbs. What I do not understand is the hooding options out there to house the bulbs. What are the best options, and are there any where I can house two separate T5s in a dual system and turn one on and one off (I want the acitinic on at night but not the daylight)?

Thanks!

[big cats]

You can add a sump and fuge later, but it gets tricky because you don't want to take away all your biological filtration at one time, and you have to take some of themed out and replace it with the new..it just makes for a longer process.

As for the lighting, your MH is all the daylight you will need. Just go with two actinic T5's and you will be set up perfectly. (That's why you can't find something that controls both T5's separately)

[kingevil]

as already mentioned - get a sump. skip the t5s and go straight to leds. also, you'll want to wait a fair amount of time before adding corals. you want your water parameters to be completely stable which won't happen just a couple weeks after cycling. in fact, you should spend a couple weeks of testing to make sure your levels are consistent. this is why using high quality salt is important. the higher quality salt wil contain elements your corals need.

for more info on water parameters, check out this page: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

[Angel85]

Originally Posted by big cats

I remember starting up just like you. With a plan.

My first piece of advice, your plan you have now is no good..and I mean that in a good way. It's hard to explain, but my original plan and what my tank looks like now are completely different..lol

Filter wise, sump it. they are much easier to maintain, and give you the most options when it comes to media reactors, dosers, auto top-off systems, etc...

On your rock, you want to get all your rock in at one time. If you don't you can cause another cycle that can potentially kill your livestock. I would say go with about 40lbs of rock, and make sure your rockwork is open and can get lots of flow through it. Also, one of the best things to do is get 90% of your rock as base rock, or dead rock. Only get a few pieces of live rock. Reason being is that dead rock is cheaper than live, and the live rock will seed the dead rock anyways..in your case, if you went with 40lbs of live rock, I would get say maybe 30lbs of dry rock, and 10lbs of live rock.


My othe r piece of advice is watch impulse buying. Sometimes you will walk into your LFS and see a fish or coral that you just have to have. You buy it, get home, and then realize you have no idea how to take care of it, or if it will even survive in your tank.

Other than that I like your plan as far as stocking it goes. I stocked my tank the same way. Inverts first, then some corals, and finally a few fish. Welcome to reef central!

I share the same hobby as you btw. I'm into reptiles as well. I was breeding boas a while back. I recently got out of them but will make a return as soon as I can!

I didnt know you shouldnt add more live rock later on...i got some yesterday. If I add more on sunday is it OK? Should I just get "dead rock" instead?

[Angel85]

Also, hi Jess!

Im also new with saltwater tanks. Hope everything goes well for you. I think we are in a very good place starting our research and learning here in these forums

[Cloudburst2000]

Originally Posted by kingevil

as already mentioned - get a sump. skip the t5s and go straight to leds. also, you'll want to wait a fair amount of time before adding corals. you want your water parameters to be completely stable which won't happen just a couple weeks after cycling. in fact, you should spend a couple weeks of testing to make sure your levels are consistent. this is why using high quality salt is important. the higher quality salt wil contain elements your corals need.

for more info on water parameters, check out this page: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

I agree that you should add a sump. If you don't want a sump then look into an all-in-one type of tank like a biocube/nancube/nuvo/ecoxotic/cadlights/ada/Deep Blue/JBJ. They have chambers in the rear for refugiums, different media types, and small skimmers. They also come with lighting. Some are closed systems with hoods with lighting in the hoods. Some are rimless tanks with lighting above the tank. They also include the lights which can range from CFL to MH to LED depending on what you buy. If you have no room for a sump, I'd suggest an all-in-one system. And the lights are included which is a big plus.

I don't agree with the comment about going straight to LEDs though. Nothing wrong with T5s. If you are looking to save some money being a poor college student, T5s would probably be more affordable then a comparable LED light. You could always upgrade in the future.

[Clay4AU]

Lighting: You will battle heat issues with a MH on such a small tank. Compact florescents are better than T5s on tanks smaller than 4' because you get more watts in a tighter space. LEDs cost more initially but you don't have to change bulbs every 6 months to a year which pays for themselves and makes them more economical over time.

Moonlights: Don't run the actinics all night, instead just get a 3 led moonlight module and run it. They run about $30.

Sump: get a 10 or 20L from a $1 a gallon sale then buy sheets of lexan and aquarium safe silicon from your local home improvement store and build it how you want. You will also need a clamp on shop light and a 5k daylight bulb for the refugium. The extra water volume will add stability and running your refugium on an opposite light cycle will keep PH from dropping. I added my sump after the tank had been set up for a couple years using the DIY PVC overflow with no issues. However, a drilled tank is a lot less risky and what I would recommend to anyone just setting up a system.

Skimmer: You can get by without a skimmer for at least 6 months and even more if you do regular water changes.

[EllieSuz]

"I plan on using a layer of course aragonite topped with another layer of fine live sand."
The coarse sand will work its way to the top, so choose one or the other.

"I want to cycle the live rock, sand, and salt water for a couple weeks"

The nitrogen cycle is not something that can be timed. Depending on the ratio of live rock to dry and many other factors, your cycle could take several weeks. Buy basic test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and use them to determine where your tank is in the cycle process.