BigH55
I'm that guy
Thats been my idea for years. I want to put one tank as the bar and make the other tank the backdrop. Shyster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
100 Gallon Tank Set up
- Thread starter qstorm
- Start date
dcantucson
Reef pro
+1 Big
I don't think we count those though! :lol:
I don't think we count those though! :lol:
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Hi and welcome to the site!
Like others have said, the light you have is not sufficient to keep any kind of corals, not even low light ones. (With the exception of 3 species or so of non-photosynthetic corals, which do not a reef tank make). You will need to buy new lights. New lights for a reef tank will cost pretty much your entire budget. To save money, you should look around for used lights. They are a fraction of the cost and work just the same as new ones.
You will need live rock to cycle the tank. Unfortunately, all of the "miracle cures" that claim to cycle a tank quickly are unproven, and most people that try them never see a difference. There is no substitute for patience.
I hate to sound blunt, but I think your expectations are way off. Most tanks take several weeks to several months to cycle. It is simply not possible for you to have your entire tank set up and running by the date you want it. You should start by researching as much as you can.
The UV sterilizer you have is probably not worth much at all. It's not lighting. It's actually a water sterilizer. Which means it will kill everything that passes through it, good and bad. Definitely not good for a new tank, when you're trying to increase the population of the bacteria in your tank.
Maybe set a different "ready date" of say 4 months or so. By that time, you should have a cycled tank and a few fish in it, as well as new lights. And when it does come time to add fish, keep in mind that you should only add one fish every 3 or 4 weeks... This hobby takes time. And it sucks for impatient people like me. But if you are not patient, there are a million different ways that you'll screw things up.
Like others have said, the light you have is not sufficient to keep any kind of corals, not even low light ones. (With the exception of 3 species or so of non-photosynthetic corals, which do not a reef tank make). You will need to buy new lights. New lights for a reef tank will cost pretty much your entire budget. To save money, you should look around for used lights. They are a fraction of the cost and work just the same as new ones.
You will need live rock to cycle the tank. Unfortunately, all of the "miracle cures" that claim to cycle a tank quickly are unproven, and most people that try them never see a difference. There is no substitute for patience.
I hate to sound blunt, but I think your expectations are way off. Most tanks take several weeks to several months to cycle. It is simply not possible for you to have your entire tank set up and running by the date you want it. You should start by researching as much as you can.
The UV sterilizer you have is probably not worth much at all. It's not lighting. It's actually a water sterilizer. Which means it will kill everything that passes through it, good and bad. Definitely not good for a new tank, when you're trying to increase the population of the bacteria in your tank.
Maybe set a different "ready date" of say 4 months or so. By that time, you should have a cycled tank and a few fish in it, as well as new lights. And when it does come time to add fish, keep in mind that you should only add one fish every 3 or 4 weeks... This hobby takes time. And it sucks for impatient people like me. But if you are not patient, there are a million different ways that you'll screw things up.
You are right about the space for the lighting, I will need more room from what I have been seeing on other setups.
Has far as the support, The tank is sitting on 2x4 frame with heavy duty casters which is very sturdy. The plywood is just a removable frame around the tank. I have also had it filled with water before.
So I am going to concentrate on my lighting, LR, and RO DI system.
I have two of those big 50 60 gal plastic drums. Any 1 23 steps on how to setup that system to make my own water and have it return to my tank when needed.
Or do I need to use buckets to replenish the water.
Also I would like a setup not too complicated as well as one that eliminates water overflowing when the pump is off. In my neighborhood I loose power at least twice a week and when I had water in the tank it overflowed on my floor. Now I have wood floor and I can't have that happen.
Someone at my LSF told me to drill a hole in the top of my over flow tube and that should work???:question:
Has far as the support, The tank is sitting on 2x4 frame with heavy duty casters which is very sturdy. The plywood is just a removable frame around the tank. I have also had it filled with water before.
So I am going to concentrate on my lighting, LR, and RO DI system.
I have two of those big 50 60 gal plastic drums. Any 1 23 steps on how to setup that system to make my own water and have it return to my tank when needed.
Or do I need to use buckets to replenish the water.
Also I would like a setup not too complicated as well as one that eliminates water overflowing when the pump is off. In my neighborhood I loose power at least twice a week and when I had water in the tank it overflowed on my floor. Now I have wood floor and I can't have that happen.
Someone at my LSF told me to drill a hole in the top of my over flow tube and that should work???:question:
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I see that Its not possible to accomplish my goals for that date.
I have a few questions. What exactly is being accomplished during this cycling phase. How do you know when its ready.
I am curious because when I first got my ph/nitrate kit and what levels I am looking for It took me about 5 days to get the right balance etc. Is there more to the cycling than that.
As far as adding fish go. I have seen in my office 6 fish added to the tank at the same time. What was different about that set up?
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during the cycle you are trying to grow benificial bacteria like microalgae you should probably do some reading on it someone will most likely post a link for a good article but you can also google search it thats what i did when i started. as for the tank at your office they probably shouldnt have been adding that many fish at once you have to allow time for your tank to grow enough bacteria to accomidate the new fish.
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
Yes they most certainly are BigH...
I am glad to hear that your setup can hold the weight... sorry to hear about the miscalculation for the lighting. Like I said before, fix it now before you have 1000lbs of tank in your way.
As for making the water and filling on your own you are talking about an Auto Top Off system. You can make one with a simple float valve and a bucket above the tank, or with a bucket, pump, and solenoid float switch. Just search ATO and you will find some build threads. You always top off with freshwater since the salt stays behind when water evaporates. So as far as the logistics go, you just need a water source for your RODI next to your ATO so you can easily fill the bucket. You should always add saltwater manually to make sure you don't create hyper salinity in the tank so it's probably easiest on a tank your size to just mix it in a bucket without trying to plumb it into the system.
If you just drill a hole at the water level in your return line, it will break the syphon in the event of a power outage. If you are really loosing power that frequently, and for any duration, you need to give some serious thought to a battery back up system. You really need to maintain flow to ensure the gas exchange occurs to keep the water oxyginated so your livestock doesn't suffocate.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
If you use fully cured live rock, live sand from an established tank, and at least some water from an established tank, it's possible to set up a new tank right away. But you need ALL your rock to be cured and mature... Lots of fish stores that set up tanks and maintain them for customers do things this way, but they've really been preparing the sand, water and rocks for several weeks in their store ahead of time. And it's just a matter of moving things around.
If you're talking about adding a lot of fish at once, you can do that once your tank is more mature and established. Or if you have a very large tank. In a new tank, if you added 6 fish at once, you'd probably crash the whole thing. But if you took the same tank, fast forwarded a year or so, and added 6 fish, there's a pretty good chance it'd be okay.
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
During your cycle you are waiting for good bacteria to become established to eat the bad bacteria. You will have die off in your LR. The good bacteria will process the waste and become established in your system. You are basically building a system to handle waste. A filter, more or less. You can tell that it is happening because waste creates ammonia. You will see your ammonia levels spike. Then as it's processed it will be converted into nitrites and you will see your nitrites spike. Then the final step is for the Nitrites to be converted to Nitrates and you will see your Nitrates spike. Once the Nitrates come back down to 0 and your ammonia and nitrites remain at 0, your cycle will be finished. The reason that you add one fish at a time is that the bacteria that is created during the cycle is only enough to handle very little waste. When you add one fish, the bacteria grows and adjusts to the new waste level and then you can add the next fish. If your office added 6 fish at once, it must have been a large tank and probably well established. Its not a good plan for a new tank.
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
super ninja!
I never asked this question when I had first bought LR. They were taken out of an aquarium at the LFS and place in a box and given to me. Would those be cured or not. The clerk never said anything about cleaning them only to place them in the tank. I paid extra for those as suppose to the ones that were wrapped in plastic in a box on the floor.
As far as power I have a UPS connected to most of my appliance (commercial UPS not those cheap ones) that gives about an hour on battery for my television/dvd/cable modem.
Power normally goes out for 1-2 max except for today it was about 10 mins.
Thats all I do all day read, read and more read.. hope my boss doesn't catch me...:^:
mng777777
Shark Wrangler Wannabe
Yes the LR in an aquarium is likely cured. I say likely because it needs to be in the aquarium long enough to grow the bacteria but a reputable LFS wouldnt sell it till it had been in the water long enough. Stuff wrapped in plastic on the floor is dead. It's no different than the stuff you already have. Just make sure you keep the LR from the LFS wet until you get it into your tank so you dont have a lot of die off.
So this is where I am at. I have acquired an extra $600 from Texas holdem last night so I am ready to roll. :bounce:
Lighting : The height between the hood and top of the tank is 5 1/4". Is this sufficient for a T5 lighting.
I haven't decided on what lighting to get so any input is greatly appreciate. My tank is 5x2x1.6. so which lighting do I need for LR, Corals, Fish. I don't know ANYTHING about corals other than they are beautiful. The ones I might go for is less maintenance.
Power heads: How many do I need. Do I need for my RO set and tank.
Thanks
Lighting : The height between the hood and top of the tank is 5 1/4". Is this sufficient for a T5 lighting.
I haven't decided on what lighting to get so any input is greatly appreciate. My tank is 5x2x1.6. so which lighting do I need for LR, Corals, Fish. I don't know ANYTHING about corals other than they are beautiful. The ones I might go for is less maintenance.
Power heads: How many do I need. Do I need for my RO set and tank.
Thanks
yote
In Memoriam
T-5s would be good for that tank.Just look into the retro-fit kits.
What wattage do I need. How many bulbs will I need. Do you have any model number that I can just get. or any specs that is required for what I would like to do so I can research it.
I would prefer one with auto timer settings. Also I like to do things once so something that I won't need to upgrade in a year or so.
yote
In Memoriam
This is what I would go with.
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...5_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...5_High-Output_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_IceCap
I know reefing is expensive, but I $600 is steep. Is there anything less expensive that is just as efficient.
