Got a ~30g for a steal and I am debating on whether converting my 10g fresh to this or starting a saltwater reef setup. I would want soft and hard corals, invertebrates, sea horse, an eel, and I guess two or three fish for a tank this size.
My goal is to spend no more than $250, considering I am very handy I can make pretty much everything myself or with very minimal pre fabbed materials. I will be building a stand and the mount for the lights assuming I don't buy a pre-made led system.
For a filter:
1. Either build a canister out of pvc and some form of a plastic membrane to split media.
2. A 10 gallon wet/dry
3. http://www.amazon.com/HW-404B-5-Sta...1417570499&sr=1-5&keywords=uv+canister+filter
4. Algae scrubber system via converting a HOB.
For a lighting system:
1. One of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30W...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item1c42b6bf65
2. And/Or two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30W...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item566805ec30
For starters:
1. Is it possible to start the tank for $250 or less and once it's running am I going to have spent over $1000 before long or can I get away with not pouring money into a tank like this?
2. Which filter do you think would be most efficient and successful?
3. Which lighting system do you think would be most efficient and successful?
4. I'm not a fan of water changes, I have NEVER done a single water change on my 10g planted and have way too many fish in there, but they are all thriving for a year now. Are water changes an absolute must for a 30g setup or will topping off with R.O. suffice?
Thanks for any and all opinions!
My goal is to spend no more than $250, considering I am very handy I can make pretty much everything myself or with very minimal pre fabbed materials. I will be building a stand and the mount for the lights assuming I don't buy a pre-made led system.
For a filter:
1. Either build a canister out of pvc and some form of a plastic membrane to split media.
2. A 10 gallon wet/dry
3. http://www.amazon.com/HW-404B-5-Sta...1417570499&sr=1-5&keywords=uv+canister+filter
4. Algae scrubber system via converting a HOB.
For a lighting system:
1. One of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30W...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item1c42b6bf65
2. And/Or two of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10W-20W-30W...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item566805ec30
For starters:
1. Is it possible to start the tank for $250 or less and once it's running am I going to have spent over $1000 before long or can I get away with not pouring money into a tank like this?
2. Which filter do you think would be most efficient and successful?
3. Which lighting system do you think would be most efficient and successful?
4. I'm not a fan of water changes, I have NEVER done a single water change on my 10g planted and have way too many fish in there, but they are all thriving for a year now. Are water changes an absolute must for a 30g setup or will topping off with R.O. suffice?
Thanks for any and all opinions!
