Well My 2nd go round at reefing........going shopping

garydm

garydm

Reefing newb
Well if you want to see the train wreck that was my first attempt than look under the alge section.......Ok Im starting over
I have taken a go at this again with the help of actual people instead of salesman at a shop......Im making a list of what I still need to make a better go around this time...
What I have :
55 gal aquarium
2 empiorer 400 filters
maxi-jet 600
20 pounds of live rock
a t-5 light with a blue and some other light the guy sold me with it when I bought it

seems like I should have more, this is where you come in......I have a budget but its to get what I need to not let this fail
so I need a shoping list and I have some questions.....
__Thanks to the people that have told me I need a skimmer(octopus)i think....so thats on my list
__More Live rock I read 1 or 2 pounds per gal.....Is that live or rock to be seeded by the live rock?
__I want a refugium(i think it is spelled)...I have a extra 10 gallon tank I just need a good article or pictures of one(im a visual learner) and Im not sure how they work and what I need to get one started....I know I need a growing light not sure where to get one but thats why im starting my own thread for my endless questions and your know how
and once the tank cycles Im thinking Im going to start with snails and star fish maby a goby then a clown fish as my first real fish
Is this a good start are there any holes in my plan....I really would like to know how to set up a refugium.....also some one taked about a over flow tank how does that set up
Im sorry this may be a endless question fest but the little taste of reefing I had just got me reved up to get this going
Thanks for all your help in advance.....Im making a list and going this weekend to get the stuff:mrgreen:
 
Get rid of the filters and get a protein skimmer instead.
Yes on the more live rock.
Good for you for letting the tank cycle before adding anything.
Get your current live rock nice and clean before transferring it to the new setup. Keep it going in a tub with some powerheads while you get the tank cleaned up.
What about substrate? Got any sand?
Does your tank have an overflow box, either internal or external?
You'll need that to get water from the tank, down into your sump (where your refugium and skimmer will be located).
 
Unless you are gonna be on top of your maintanance, I owuld get rid of the emperor filters and just run the skimmer and the LR for filtration. They will collect detrius and cause Nitrate problems unless thougholy cleaned weekly.

I would look into a slightly larger sump for your tank. A 10 gal would be a bit small IMO to hold the skimmer and a fuge for a 55. Maybe a 20 long?

Is the tank drilled? If so, adding a sump will be easy. If not, you have two options. Either drill the tank or get an over flow box. Drilling the tank will be risky but will look better than having an over flow box.

What is the wattage on the lights you have? How many bulbs?

Also, either look into buying a reverse osmosis unit or buying RO water from your LFS. Tap water has too much disolved solids in it to be good for out fish and corals. Like nitrates, phosphates and heavy metals or pretty much anything else.

Sounds like you learned the leason that most of us have learned. The LFS (90% of them) just want to make a sale. Find a good one that will explain things to you and also wont sell you something your tank wont work for. Like an aneneome for a tank that is less than a year old. Or a tang for a 30 gallon.

Good luck:Cheers: we've all been there

Brian
 
For your rock question...just get like 35 +/- lbs of some cheap base rock that's either got a lot of crevices or branches so you can use them later for caves and what not...you don't need to get cured rock, especially if you're trying to save money.

BJ's right about the sump, it's a little small, but do-able, I think typically you want it to be about 20% of the volume of your DT and more is always better; you're just a hair under.

Be careful with which sea star you get, certain species can be a real pain.

Wish I could help you with the refugium and overflow set-up but I've been working with a canister and don't know much about that stuff...YET :mrgreen:
 
well the overflow box what is it for and does anyone have some pics of theres.......I can get a 20 gallon tank no problem and use it as my fuge tank...... Im still not sure about what all I need for my refuge........can I get some help on setting this up....Im at work right now and will look when I get home on the watage of the t-5 light I think it has 4 small bulbs.....Ill ditch the emp. filters
Thanks for the help.....
Oh and how do I clean my rock? just scrub away or is there a better way
 
The overflow box is something that hangs on the back of a tank and siphons water over the back of the tank. Removing the need for drilling the tank. It will then draing the water into the sump/fuge where it will be pumped back up to the tank.

Did a quick search and found this. Overflow for Wet/Dry


Brian
 
When I transfered all my rock from my old 75 to the 125.I sent the wife to wal-mart to get a hard bristled tooth brush.Then I used that to scrub any and all green algae off the rock as I moved them over.
Just be sure the tooth brush dont get accidently stuck where your wife will use it on her teeth afterward:mrgreen:
 
One maxi-jet 600 won't be enough water flow in a 55g tank. You should have at least two powerheads, something in the Koralia K2 / K3 range.

The DRS have them on sale this month. You can get a K3 for under $40.00.
 
messiah023 said:
The DRS have them on sale this month. You can get a K3 for under $40.00.
Click to expand...

$33.00 is a good deal, but with $10 shipping and a 7 day delivery time...gonna have to go to my LFS and get it for $40...but maybe I can use the Drs site to get price match :scratch: Thanks for the heads up! :bounce:
 
You can try it. My LFS usually has higher prices than the DRS after shipping is added on. And most of the stuff I order from there gets here in a day or two.

Brian
 
BTW I have 2 K1's and a mag 5 running in a closed loop in my 29 gallon. Still dont think I have enough flow!!! But thats just me. Thinking about replumbing the mag 5 so it is less trestricted.

Brian
 
IMO, i would test the rocks for phosphates first by sitting them in just enough saltwater to cover them that you've tested for phosphates and known good for at least 1 night.then i'd test the water again. If the water shows phosphates then the rocks are contaminated and are leaching phosphates from all the dead "stuff" in the rock. I've done this and you wouldn't believe how much phosphates can leach out of the rock! It's important to start with good rocks otherwise you will battle algae for quite sometime until it all leaches out. to rid the rocks of phosphates it needs to sit in water aireated and without light then doing waterchange every week, you can also run phosphate remover to speed things up, while testing for phosphates. the test will eventually get to undetecable phosphates. At that time you will have "GREAT QUALITY" rocks for filtration.I i personally like few rocks in my display tank so instead of a refugium i use live rocks without lights in my sump and a HUGE skimmer. this will give good biological filtration and the skimmer will remove waste before it can break down in the tank and prevent phosphate buildup. You will need more water movement in the display tank so detrius will stay in the water column so the filter can "catch it" and remove it.
 
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Thanks for all the info and the link(im a visual learner)......Im still on the look out for a good how to on building a refuge.......Also I looked at my light and its a t-5 light I think its a 54 watt has 2 bulb one blue and one white(fish salesman sold them to me(im sure its wrong).....also I went looking for the stuff suggested and my local shops dont have hardly anything that was suggested and the rocks arnt that big and they want $4 a pound for them.....So what Im getting at is I need a good place to order some of the stuff you guys and gals suggested anyone have a good online shop to get my skimmer and mabye some quality rock
Thanks for all your time
Gary
 

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