Newbie to the game

B

Bassmunky

Reefing newb
Yo wuzzup everyone. I am currently a student at UNLV (go Rebels) and working part-time at outback. I am greatly intrigued by saltwater fish and am greatly interested in starting this thing the right way.
I have a small room so my 10 gallon brackish water tank is my pride and joy. I just recieved a 30 gal tank (for my b-day) started my saltwater set up about a month ago. I am running an aqua clear 30gal filter, with crushed coral and an underground filter and a couple of air stones for circulation. My salt is at a constant 1.022, I've recently added 5 damsels to the mix about a week ago and so far they seem to be doing okay. I have no live rock just fake stuff. I know I am going to get a lot of suggestions so just throw them at me, I can take it! I just want to be prepared for when I want the real deal fish. Help a brother out yo!
-Mahalo
 
Welcome to the Reef Bass. My suggestion is lose the air stones as they will cause salt creep and your tank will be a pain in the rear to keep clean, crushed coral and UG filter will both cause nitrate problems is the future. A sand bed with no UG would be better. What are your overall plans for this tank is it going to be Fish Only(FO) you said no live rock so no Fish Only With Live Rock(FOWLR) no live rock=no reef. So tell us your plan and it will be easier to give you advice. Welcome to the sitem its great to have you here.
 
ryan has the right idea. Lose the airstone today. get a few power heads instead for flow. Point the power heads toward the surface of the water and that will give enough oxygen for your fish. get rid of the under gravel filter today as well and get you some live rock, it is OK to add it slowly, but it is the best biological filtration available.

You have too many damsels, before you add the live rock, take them out and add a fish you really want. Make sure you clean out the HOB filter every two weeks or so as it will get gunked up pretty quick. you can't have really big fish in a 30 gallon, but you can have a few cool smaller fish. feel free to ask as many questions as you like. we are here to help. Good luck

-Doc
 
Glad that was someone elses first thought! Have had Brassmonkey in my head since I read that name.

I drink brass monkey and I rock well
I got a castle in Brooklyn thats where I dwell
 
Okay so lose the airstones and UG filter, got it! Okay now, how many GPH should my powerhead filter move and would I require a skimmer for live rock would be my next question. Second, I know I can return the damsels to the store, so would I really want a new fish in the tank while I try to cure the live rock to its new enviroment?

you guys are great please keep the info coming.
-mahalo
 
You should have a skimmer regardless. They are more efficient and cleanlier than a normal mechanic filtration unit. Skip all fish and inverts while your tank is cycling with the live rock.
 
Welcome to the reef. If your going to cure the rock in the tank then I would return the fish. But if you buy rock that is fully cured then the fish will be ok. I also would get a good protein skimmer.
 
RyanG said:
You should have a skimmer regardless. They are more efficient and cleanlier than a normal mechanic filtration unit. Skip all fish and inverts while your tank is cycling with the live rock.
Click to expand...

you can add cured rock slowly with the tank as it is. Get a skimmer. If you want to get rid of the damsels, go ahead, they are worth about $2 a piece at the store, so 5 will get you 1/4 of the way toward a decent fish!

-Doc
 
There is no such thing as a good cheap skimmer. A skimmer is considered one of the major purchases for a reefer. You should figure a skimmer an investment which will pay a return for a long time. It is probably the most effective peice of equipment a reefer can purchase if done wisely. I will let the others slam you with the reality of the prices for good skimmers. Do not even bother with a cheap skimmer as you will replace it if you stay active with saltwater aquariums. Think a two or three semester textbook expensive.
 
Welcome To The Reef. I Would Start By Getting As Much As 50 To 60 Lbs Of Live Rock. It Will Help You In The Long Run. I Believe You Should Have 10 To 20 Times The Turn Over In The Tank So 2 Koralia # 1's Would Work Good. I Run A Css Skimmer 65 On My 35 Gallon And Seems To Be Working Great After All The Adjustments. And If You Do Get Enough Rock You Will Be Able To Run Your System With The Skimmer And Powerheads Only. Good Luck With Everything Hope This Helped A Little. The "pros" Will Add More Suggestions I'm Sure !!
OH AND ONE MORE THING......LOSE THE DAMSELS !!!!
 
Welcome to the reef.
I'm going to agree with everybody else on the rock and damsels.
On the skimmer.I dont know anything about the prizm skimmers,so cant help there.I can however suggest the Corallife Super Skimmer 65.They will get the job done without breaking the bank.
 
Hi and welcome!

Good advice so far. Undergravel filters are fine for freshwater, but simply do not work for saltwater. Same with airstones. Airstones will just get clogged with salt and do not provide enough flow for saltwater animals (which need A LOT more flow than freshwater).

For strength of powerheads, go with 10x the volume of your tank, so aim for a total of 300 gph.

I also agree about the damsels. They are one of the most aggressive fish you can buy. Having 5 in such a small tank will only lead them to kill each other.
 
Welcome to the site Bassmunky.

Here's my 2 cents.You really should start over except keep the water.Remove the airstone and UGF.Replace the crush coral with aragonite sand.Add 30lbs or more of live rock or a combination of live rock and base.The rock will be the main bio-filter,add a couple of powerheads for flow and a good protein skimmer.The Coralife SS is a good skimmer for people on a budget.

BTW,you people who is as old as me remember a song called "Brass Monkey'' from the Beastie Boys?
 
Reef didnt you see me and Alto jamming to it. How old are you? cant be that old if you know the Beasties.
 
Do not waste your money on a Prism. They are junk. No body else seems to be dropping the price bombshell on you, so, in buying a worthwhile skimmer expect to spend at least $100. The UGF can remain in place, just do not use it. It will become a plenum, which is what is used by some reefers under deep sand beds. GARF which is a widely known producer of propagated coral and a research institute uses ungergravel filters in starting all there new tanks. They run them for a month or two, then cap them off and leave them in place. If you are mainly using your gravel in a shallow layer and just for appearance then the crushed coral will be fine, but it will tend to catch detritus due to being pretty coarse and large in particle size. You will need to stir the surface and siphon off the accumulated filth when you do partial water changes, Even the best aragonite oolitic sand does nothing but look good at shallow depths. It takes deep sand beds to get the lowering of pH within the sand bed to provide dissolving sands which supply calcium and trace element supplementation. This in general means 4 inches or more depths. Lighting depends entirely upon what you intend to keep in your tank and personnel viewing preferences. If you can only buy one or the other at a time start out with the live rock first, then the protein skimmer. Then worry about good lighting, then sand if you must. A florescent desk lamp swung over the tank will be a OK start, however two would be better. Anyway, live rock requires little lighting and I assume you do not expect to start out my jumping right in with expensive corals.
 
If you plan on keeping corals, you will need special lights. For fish only, you don't need any special lights.

Aim for 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, so 30 to 60 lbs is a good goal. Live rock will keep your water quality high, as it acts as a major source of filtration.
 

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