Starting a 20 reef and a 10 FOWLR...maybe.

[mattyams]

So attached is a picture of a tank setup I purchased off Craigslist for next to nothing. Now, I have read and read and read and READ almost everything I can about starting a reef tank, and the conclusion is that smaller tanks are more difficult. Understandably so. But, I still wanna do it. I am abandoning my 30 gallon long reef plans because the lighting is just to awfully expensive for that long of a tank...so that tank will just be a FOWLR tank...you can have two of those right? The 20 gallon seems to be a little more on the cost effective side. So here is what I am going to do. I am going to type out everything that I think that I need to do and ya'll gimme the best feedback ever! Cause you guys are awesome like that!

Live sand for both tanks.

Life rock for both tanks. (20-25 lbs for the 20g and 10-15 lbs for the 10g)

One powerhead for each.

Need new heaters for each...le sigh.

<u>10 gallon lighting</u> - Keep in mind this is the FOWLR - Thinking about gettong creative and making my own LED lighting to go above it. Versa top?

<u>20 gallon lighting</u> - Reef setup - Here is where it gets confusing for me. I saw the Coralife Mini Aqualight T5 lighting. Would that work or should I get something a little more powerful. I'm not looking to get crazy wild on corals but just a nice little reef setup. (Baller on a budget)

<u>Filtration</u> - no idea...isn't the LR and LS suppose to take care of the filtration? Right now my 30 gallon FOWLR has two HOB bio-wheel filters...and...I'm not 100% sure what they are doing. (carbon inserts aren't doing anything from my understanding...better just to have the dish cleaning pads from what I've read right?) Anyways I'm putting a Fluval 404 canister on that one as soon as the replacement parts get in.

<u>Livestock</u> - not concerned with it at the moment. Maybe a cleaner crew after the dust settles.

<u>Chemicals</u> - lost me on this one.

So as you can see...I am a total nub when it comes to reef setup. I figure once I get it going, maintaining it won't be a problem. Please give me all the feedback that you can. It is all greatly appreciated. Pic attached of tanks.
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[rdnelson]

I will let others chime in on the lighting. You are right on the filtration. Well partly right. LOL. Live Sand(LS) and Live Rock (LR) will house the bacteria needed for the cycle from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. But it does nothing about the waste or excess food removal.

But the good news is that in a tank that small you could do 15-20% water changes once a week and be fine as long as you vacuum the top of the sub straight a bit each time. A sump helps in that you can put things like filter socks, skimmer, heaters etc in it so it doesn't junk up the tank.

 

[rdnelson]

Oh and one more advantage of having a sump is that it increases water volume. The bigger water volume the easier to keep it all stable.

 

[shanepike]

Whatever you do, I would do it as cheaply as possible. Don't buy anything unless you're sure</em> you need it. I've learned that I can get by on way fewer chemicals and technology than i thought I needed just from all the reading I was doing.

The reason I say stay as cheap as possible is because you'll learn so</em> much in the first several months that will greatly shape the direction you want to take. If you invest heavily in the beginning, you'll end up with a lot of expensive stuff you wish you had never bought.

As for filtration, in my small tanks I never used anything. Your mileage may vary, but it's definitely worth a shot in the beginning not to use anything. (It's also way simpler.)

As for lighting, I've never had a single Coralife product that was any good, including the small T5 fixture. Lighting will be your biggest single expense, so don't spend a lot of money until you're sure</em> about exactly what you need. Stay cheap in the beginning until you're either forced to upgrade or know exactly which direction you want to go.

 

[mattyams]

Not sure I have the room for a sump in that setup. Unless I made the 10 gallon a sump...but then it would be visible and take away from having 2 tanks on that one stand.

 

[superclown]

If your going Fowler your main concern is getting your cycle. Maintaining stable parameters (temps, salinity, ph, no ammonia learn all you can about the ammonia cycle) The live rock provides a populated area for bacteria to grow that will over time grow coraline algae as well as other types that helps remove excess waste but that really takes time to kick in. 10% water changes will be your best way to remove excess waste.

A smaller tank is harder because you don't have the extra time to notice a developing problem. With that being said I have only ever had small tanks cause of limited income myself.

Since you are fish only u can save money by getting the cheaper salt that doesn't have the trace elements in it. If you have a lfs that can test your water for you that can save money over test kits as they can get expensive. Also eventually u will want to invest in a good rodi unit for good quality water but can go without it if lfs sells ro water and even local grocery stores sell the water at a reasonable price. Or with fish only u could even use tap water and add seachem prime to it for dechlorination.



The one investment I would make at this point is a good auto top off.

Regardless of what u upgrade to in the future one of these in your setup always helps and people will always buy these if u decide to sell later

You can get by without one but depending on your house/ tank temps will factor evap rate of water. You will be chasing water lines. In case u dont know water evaporates but salt stays behind and salinity swings are not good. While it seems to harm coral more than fish a salinity swing can still cause stress in fish and even death.


Good luck and post pics

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[frantz]

I've seen some attractive refugium/sumps that can be fine on display, and you'll save some money having two tanks together rather than each running completely on their own. The carbon will help clear up the water but it's the foam that makes a difference. You have to clean them out fairly often though, because the goal is to remove the waste before it rots, and it will rot just sitting in the sponges. Water changes on both tanks will make a big difference. Lights are not my specialty, but I am running T5s on all my tanks. I use the HO wattage for whatever length the tank is and I don't have trouble growing anything.

Feel free to post any purchase ideas on this thread and you'll get feedback!

 

[mattyams]

Ok, so that's settled then...now how do I go about making it a nice looking sump? I know what they look like and how they are implemented (well kinda). I've seen some DIY 10 gallon sumps on Youtube and such....but honestly...they looked horrible. Anyone willing to lend a hand............?

Also...what do you think I should do with this Fluval 404 canister that I have laying around? (Got it off a guy that said it was broken...it was just them impeller) I have 3 other tanks...and they all have HOBs (Penguins on one freshwater and 2 on saltwater, and emperors on my other freshwater.)

 

[superclown]

mattyams;823302 wrote: Ok, so that's settled then...now how do I go about making it a nice looking sump? I know what they look like and how they are implemented (well kinda). I've seen some DIY 10 gallon sumps on Youtube and such....but honestly...they looked horrible. Anyone willing to lend a hand............?

Also...what do you think I should do with this Fluval 404 canister that I have laying around? (Got it off a guy that said it was broken...it was just them impeller) I have 3 other tanks...and they all have HOBs (Penguins on one freshwater and 2 on saltwater, and emperors on my other freshwater.)

Check our melvsreef.com lots of sump ideas and design info. But honestly for what u spend on building a sump unless u got the supplies needed already u might can pick one up on here for similar cost

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[mattyams]

On here..?

 

[superclown]

Check our the drygoods and livestock forum and yes its on here lots of good used equipment on here save u some funds

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[mattyams]

Guess I need to become a member to post up in that forum. I searched but did not see one. It has to be the same dimensions as that shelf which I believe is 20" wide...not too sure about L and H.

 

[rdnelson]

mattyams;823310 wrote: Guess I need to become a member to post up in that forum. I searched but did not see one. It has to be the same dimensions as that shelf which I believe is 20" wide...not too sure about L and H.

You can post on someone elses for sale thread unless it is in the members only area. You just cant post anything for sale. But, the best $30 you could spend in this hobby would be the membership fee. Right from the get go, you get 10% discounts at sponsor stores on most items. But is just the beginning. As a member, you will find you get a whole lot more out of it that you would as a non-member. That has been my experience.

 

[mattyams]

Yeah, I am going to sign up most definatlly for sure...just waiting til after the first of the year... mortgage rates change for me then :-D I love the fact that everyone here has been such a huge help and I've only been here 3 days...and whats even better is that it's local! But...I still need a sump...lol

 

[mattyams]

Well here is what I have done so far. Live sand in both and some coral rocks that I had laying around plopped in. I need to get my hands on some live rock however. I threw 2 HOB filters with some filter floss in them to speed up the settling of the dust. After that, its going to be a waiting game. Will keep it updated. Lemme know if any suggestions! :up:
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[rdnelson]

Looking good. Now comes the hard part. Waiting on the cycle. LOL But don't get in a hurry. Remember that only bad things happen fast in this hobby.

 

[mattyams]

MUST. RESIST. DOING. ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!

or can I put in a CUC (look at me using an acronym) to keep it tidy?

 

[rdnelson]

LOL On the acronym. As for the CUC, I would hold off. Wait until you see a diatom bloom. That is a sign that the cycle is nearing completion. If you put them in before that time there is nothing for them to feed on. You will be surprised at how much life you see as it goes through the cycling process. After a week or two, I started seeing all kinds of stuff that I didn't put in there. LOL

How much do you know about the cycle process. Do you have a good understanding yet? If not, I would be happy to give you a brief explaination but if you already know I won't bore you. As for diatoms, they will come. It is a ugly brown algae that starts to cover the rocks and sand. It is natural and will go away on its own once it has consumed all the silicates that are present in a new system.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

mattyams;823691 wrote: MUST. RESIST. DOING. ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!

or can I put in a CUC (look at me using an acronym) to keep it tidy?

You probably don't need a CUC this early. I would wait a while, especially let the tanks cycle thru as rdnelson99 has mentioned. I'm not sure if you have any liverock yet, but a few small pieces placed in each tank may be helpful once the cycle has completed.

Monitoring basic water parameters would be helpful now to let you know the tanks has cycled thru the initial setup phase.

I hope this info is helpful.

Wannabee

 

[mattyams]

rdnelson99;823702 wrote: LOL On the acronym. As for the CUC, I would hold off. Wait until you see a diatom bloom. That is a sign that the cycle is nearing completion. If you put them in before that time there is nothing for them to feed on. You will be surprised at how much life you see as it goes through the cycling process. After a week or two, I started seeing all kinds of stuff that I didn't put in there. LOL

How much do you know about the cycle process. Do you have a good understanding yet? If not, I would be happy to give you a brief explaination but if you already know I won't bore you. As for diatoms, they will come. It is a ugly brown algae that starts to cover the rocks and sand. It is natural and will go away on its own once it has consumed all the silicates that are present in a new system.

I have a slight understanding of how the cycle works. I already have one FOWLR tank and I watched it get that diatom bloom about 2 weeks in, then it was gone after about 4-5 days. Now if that is all there is to it, then cool...besides, that's all I really know. I need to get my hands on a piece of live rock or 2 like Wannabe said. Outside of what I said...that's all I know...