40g reef tank many questions please help

[missingmyreef]

Hello my recent spark of interest in reef tanks is due to me missing the ocean, id like to start a 40g reef/frag tank with maybe some inverts and clowns just for life and reef help. I plan to upgrade to a larger tank and keep growing coral too.

I have a 40g breeder tank, what all do i need, I'd lke to use a sump. Everything seems so daunting and expensive. Where could I find lower equipment pricing? Please help as my research seems conflicting and confusing

 

[ghellin]

Welcome to COMAS! You are in the right spot you can ask all your questions here. We have a meeting this Saturday at the UCO campus in Edmond you should come and meet everyone. As far as frags once you get your system set up we.have a frag program where you can borrow a frag grow it out and return a frag.

 

[lauremf2002]

You will need lights, live rock, power heads a heater, and filtration. What type of lights depends on the type of coral you want to keep. If you are only looking to keep soft coral, power compacts will work fine, but if you want to keep hard corals, clams, and or anemone's, you will need T5's, metal halide's, or good LED's. Live rock is a must, as it provides biological filtration and sand will also help with this but is not essential. You will need at least 1 pound of rock per gallon and 1/2 to 1 pound of sand per gallon of water if you choose to put sand in your tank. You need 10-20+gph x your tank size for a reef tank, so for your tank you will need at least 400gph flow. For filtration, you can use one or all of the following: hang on the back filtration, canister filter, sump/refugium, and/or a protein skimmer. To start out, you can just purchase a cheap hob (hang on back) filter and add other filtration as your funds allow. (I actually have an Emperor 400 and an Emperor 280 for sale right now). Which brings me to my last point: the most inexpensive way to get equipment in this hobby is to buy used. There are always people on this forum, the for sale forum and craigslist who are upgrading their equipment or getting out of the hobby and selling their stuff. Also, if you cant find the size fixture you need used, you can buy a retro fit kit for relatively cheap and they are pretty easy to put together. I hope this helps. Its pretty basic, but Im sure you are already beginning to realize that this hobby requires an exorbitant amount of research. It is part of the joy of reef keeping. So, happy reading! And don't hesitate to ask us questions. Nothing is too silly to ask, we all remember when we started this hobby and no one minds answering "noob" questions here!

 

[missingmyreef]

Thank you for the welcome and info, I will be at the meeting job willing. So to sum it up to start a basic yet successful frag/clown tank in a 4g breeder is need t5 lights(ill have to research more on those), at very leave a hob filter pushing 400gph(more preferred with no max?), 40lbs live rock, 20-40lbs live sand, then the frags and fish. This equipment should result in a successful tank with growing coral/anemone. Will 1 or 2 clowns live happily in this tank? And am I supposed to set this up all at once let it run a day and be good, or do the varying timeslines I have heard have some merit?

 

[ghellin]

With Saltwater always move slowly the ability to throw gravel, rock, water, filter, lights, and fish all in a tank in one day ends with freshwater. I personally recommend planning out your tank and then slowly building it piece by piece. You said you want a sump, so do you want an over the back overflow or do you want to drill your tank. If you decide to drill your tank you would want to do that before sand and rock. If your good with no sump or an over the back cpr overflow you could use a hob filter until you have your sump and, return pump and overflow. I recommend drilling your tank It's easy and looks really good. You would want to invest in a decent protein skimmer if you are wanting to provide great water quality for your corals, it can be done without one but most would recommend one. As far as lights t5s on a breeder would be great I would recommend 4-6 bulbs which would provide plenty of light and several possibilities on colors with bulb choices.

 

[OKCchief]

One thing you need for sure in this hobby is patience. After adding live rock and sand, I would wait a while before adding fish. You will need to monitor your levels (test kits) to ensure you have the right conditions. Ammonia/ph/salinity/nitrates/nitrites... etc. 1 day is way too soon. While clowns can tolerate higher levels of nitrates 0-40, corals require much cleaner water 0-10. Additionally, you'll need to have calcium in the water (RO/DI only) prior to adding coral. Cleaner crew and weekly water changes/top offs. also. May seem like allot to remember and a slow process, which it is, but every step brings on new challenges and more life to your tank. It's well worth the work and effort. Not a day goes by where my family and I don't stop and look to see whats going on.

If you have any questions, never hesitate to ask. There is a vest array of knowledge here, and they are always willing to help. Joining COMAS differentially has it's benefits.

Welcome Aboard,
James

 

[madkat]

Lauren and chief have covered this the best, but believe it or not, half the pleasure of setting up a saltwater tank is when it has been setting with nothing but rock, sand, water, HOB filter and lights for 3 weeks and yo look in there one night and ........ where did all those little critters and starfish come from.

Keeping a reef tank is like a marathon. It is not how fast you can add fish, it is about keeping those fish long term.

 

[cjilge]

Welcome! All the info above is very true! GO slow, ask lots of questions, and constatly upgrade! lol Feel free to pm me and come out and look at my set up if you want, its not perfect but i love it. Also hit up High Def Corals to look at Pauls tank, worth the trip! There are lots of people in the club and local sponsors that are very willing to help out. There are several people in the club that have the tools to drill your tank and willing to help, lights are a preference and depend on what type of coral you want to keep. Personally I wouldnt run a tank that size and up with out a decent skimmer but it has been done. Check out the for sale forum on RC for good deals on used equipment, also some of the local stores will have used stuff cheap. Keep reading & Hope to see you at the meeting.

chris

 

[Lytehouse]

Good info,

to repeat, the least expensive equipment is buying used from members.

 

[lauremf2002]

to clarify, you will need at least 400gph flow IN ADDITION to your hob filtration. That means you will need to buy some type of power head. Hob filters really only provide surface turbulance, which is good for oxygenating your tank but really does nothing in the way of flow. Also, you should wait at least a couple of weeks to add livestock to your tank and monitor your parameters with testing to make sure there is no ammonia spike. To begin with, I highly recommend you research tank cycling. This is the cycle in which beneficial bacteria in your tank break down ammonia into nitrite and then eventually that is broken down into nitrate. Depending on the quality and ammount of live rock you put into your tank, you may never have a spike in ammonia but its best to wait 2 weeks just to be sure. If your tank does spike, it could take 6 weeks to complete a cycle before you can introduce fish. Never add fish like damsels to initiate a cycle. It is unecesary, cruel and you will never catch them to remove them (and you will want to remove them, because they are horrible mean little buggers) if they do survive the process. If you are unsure if your tank can support fish after the 2 weeks, sprinkle a little food in every other day or so and keep testing your water. If you still dont spike, you are probably safe to add a fish. A fish. Start slow. Start reading up and then let us know what you are thinking about for equipment. If you dont think you can afford a sump now, but want to drill the tank, you can alway cap the hole and hook it up later. This way the hole and bulk head are there when you need them and you wont have to break down your tank to drill it later on when you realize that hob overflows are ugly. They are. I think this would be the best route to go if you plan on buying a little at a time. You dont have to buy all the rock at once either. You can add it as your budget allows until you have the necessary amount. I have some for $3 a pound if you want to get some from me. Im not trying to be a salesmen lol! Just trying to help out. You can get your supplies wherever you want. WetPets in Norman is really good, Aquariums in Edmond and I believe there is a store in MWC too though I dont know the name. Petco also carries some saltwater supplies and fish. The one on NW expressway is the best for livestock.