Experienced Fish Keeper, New 2 Salt & Reef

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by bomb1977

I have been keeping freshwater fish for ages, I breed and I have many nitrate neutral tanks that require only a small water change every 3-4 months. I feel like I have it mastered and I'm ready to cross over.

I have so much respect for saltwater reef tanks that I've always been afraid to attempt one before I felt I had the skill for one.

Anyways I am in the process of renovating my home and I'm currently working on the front and back yard, taking out eleveted flower beds and filling in a very large 20x40 foot pool in the backyard.

When the weather gets too cold to work outside, I switch back over to completing the gutting of my basement which I'm about 80% completed. Then I re-frame it, put down a floor, put up a celing and instal a water softener and RO/DI kit.

I'm planning on having a holding tank for RO/DI that will be pumped up to the kitchen sink. I could easily just order a second holding tank for RO/DI saltwater

I have a heavy, thick walled glass tank that I measured the volume to 125.8 gallons. The guys at the LHS that sold it to me for 2 bills told me it was a 120 high.

Question #1 - I'm planning on picking up a used tank off kijiji or craigslist for 50 bucks or less and making my own sump. I was thinking a 75 gallon or a 90 gallon...which would you suggest? I like the idea of the 90...more water to me has always equalled better stability.
im a fan of larger sumps, gives you room at add another tank in the future, and gives extra insurance:P
Question #2 - My plan is to feed the water down out of the top left and top right corners via 1.25" PVC pipe and pump everything back up via a 1.5" to 2.0" PVC pipe. I plan on splitting the return to fire on 45 degree angles down and to the left and down and to the right from the middle back of the tank. Are these sizes correct? What would you advise?

i would drill the tank and install an overflow box, syphon hoses are very risky imo

Question #3 - My 75/90 Gallon sump. I'm planning on using the small pieces of live rock that don't really fit my plant in the first part. I would have the overflows feeding into this area with a sock to collect debris. Is foam filtration required also?


no no foam is required, filter socks arnt even required.


Qusetion #4 - My second chamber would be for my protein skimmer, I was thinking of something that will handle 200-250 gallons. Does that sound about right?

personally i woull skim in my first chaamber and i would have my overflows empty into this chamber first

Question #5 - Then I would run a bubble trap with lexan or plexi glass, just like the other dividers into the final stage where I would have a subrersable pump that can run around 1000-1200 gph. Am I in the right ballpark?

for a 90g tank thats about right, really it depends on whats in your sump as for the amount of turnover you have

Question #6 - Is a calcium reactor really required? Is it the easiest way to maintain calcium levels?

def not necessary, although as you get into it you may find its actually quite handy , calcium depends on what the livestock uses in your system , fact is you may never have to dose calcium if you do not have alot of calcium requiring corals.

there are also lots of ways to do calcium besides a reactor.

As for what goes in the tank...I'm in no rush. I plan on running the tank with just live rock and sand for quite a while just to make sure everything is good. I plan on a rock wall covering 80-85% of both the height and length of the tank with a cave and a buttload of corals. But I want to make sure everything is stable first.smart thinking

My wife does want a pair of Nemo's But otherwise the creatures in the tank will serve the purpose of keeping my beautiful corals and frags healthy and happy on the right track with this thinking

I plan on running 2 powerheads, one on each side. I'm not sure if I should run 2 big ones, or one big one and one medium one and alternate them. flow like calcium is going to depend on what corals and other livestock you have. its safe to say start out with 2 and go from there.

I plan on using LED lights, I know that they cost an arm and a leg...but this is an expensive hobby led is the way to go friend:P

I am located in Hamilton, Ontario. I won't be starting the tank till the spring. It might not come together as fast as some of yours might, but I have nothing but time on my hands.

Thanks,

Kev

good luck

[Proteus]

your on the right track. my only suggestion is like denny said install overflow box and read up on different styles of drains. personally im a bean animal fan. dead quite and multiple fail safes.

second is the sump regardless of size i prefer wide and shallow. i recently took a 75 gallon torn it apart. took the glass to the glass shop and had them cut 8" off the height. it turned out to be 55g or so after i rebuilt it

i ran a 180g mixed reef without a reactor. there are pros and cons so its up to you. i did biweekly wc and manually dosed ca mg and kh



btw take the jump. i could never seem to keep fw. i tried multiple cichlid tanks without luck. tried saltwater did my reserch and bam im hooked like its crack

[MKLKT]

Since you have the time still, I'd recommend reading up on setting up new tanks and how each piece of equipment functions. From that base you can decide how you want to run your tank because every system is very different, lots of different opinions as well as differences in livestock which will have different requirements. You sound like someone who will be responsible and patient with it which is a huge plus. It's very addictive, I'm warning you.

For example, I personally really like using a filter sock on the overflow. I also highly recommend having a drilled tank for reliability and esthetic sense, especially since you don't even have it yet. Shorter sump is good, but remember to get one that can handle its own water + any backflow that will come down from the tank when the return pump is off.

I also recommend really researching which pieces of equipment you buy, otherwise if you buy the "cheap" starter stuff you'll want to replace it within a year and all you've done is wasted cash, and it's tough to re-sell the junkier pieces. Try to connect with other people locally who have tanks and they can demo how theirs runs and you might make a friend who can help you out in a pinch.

[bomb1977]

All good advice.

I'm still doing a lot of reading on how the items involved work. I'm currently reading up on protein skimmers and how they work. I actually can't believe that such a simple device is so expensive.

It seems like a 2 litre pop bottle with the bottom cut out of it and a wooden airstone or two with a tube out the top draining into a collection cup would do the same job for about $25 bucks. But that's just my initial thought after a few hours of reading.

As for the calcium reactor, I will back burner that and add my calcium and alkaline manually in the beginning. If I find I need heavy and frequent dosing, an auto doser seems like the way to go.

I like the idea of a computer controlling my lights and powerheads, but the rest just seems like overkill to me at this point.

Quick background on me...

Age 19-27 - I was a Tool and Die Maker for a major Auto Manufacturer
Age 28-33 - I was a Corporate Sales Rep in the Downtown Core (Toronto)
Age 34-Today (35) - I run a company in West Hamilton with about 12 employees

So I can build things and I have the ability to bring things in wholesale also. I'm hoping to do this for my live rock and corals to save some money.

But I also have an excellent relationship with all of the local fish stores from my days as a cichlid breeder. I know the big guys within big al's at Hamilton and Oakville. The Oakville guys just moved to Mississauga. So I'm hoping I can use those connections too

I think I'm going to end up using 250-350 pounds of live rock for my wall, cave and in my sump. I might order what I need, or I might order in 500-1000 pounds to get a lower price and pass on the savings to other people I know in the hobby

I did try the HDAS, but they just aren't my kind of people. I'm an ex jock that would rather do things than sit around and talk about doing things

Hopefully I can meet up with some local people and put together some group buys. I don't mind using my company as a front to get wholesale pricing What? The tank is going in my home office That's a write off

[DAVE]

I think you have been given some very good advice so far.

Good luck and keep asking questions.

Dave

[Adread]

First off, I'm pretty new to saltwater as well after years of freshwater we just decided 6 months ago to start our reef tank.

Definetly put the protein skimmer in the first section of the sump. I didn't when I started and it did almost nothing for me until I rearranged my sump setup a couple weeks ago. You need it to get the suspended proteins out before they settle.

Just keep on your schedule and take it slow. It's easy to get excited but worth the wait. We still only have 2 fish and two shrimp in our 75 gallon plus cleanup crew but it's a blast watching the everything grow an have our frags fill out.

Adam