46g bowfront reef setup

R

RedTurboMr2

New member
Hey guys, i've had my tank setup now for 5 years, but i've never liked the way it was setup. I bought this setup as a kit from my local fish store. The kit consists of....

-46g bowfront aquarium with a glass lid and stand
-36" Fluorescent Twin-Tube Aquarium Reflector 120V 63W 60hz
-Lightning rod 11000K ultra daylight 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
-Lightning rod blue actinic 03 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
-Maxi-Jet 900 powerhead
-Penguin bio-wheel 350 "no bio-wheels, just using the carbon filters
-Heater
-roughly 35lbs of live rock
-not sure how much the sand weighs, but it's roughly 1 1/2" thick

I'd like to redo this aquarium with the help from some of you experts.
I'm thinking of buying an AquaC remora HOB protein skimmer. I'm sure people will agree that it's a good thing to have. I'd also like to get rid of my Maxi-Jet 900 and penguin 350 for something else. I was looking at the Koralia 1050. Should i go with one, or maybe two? Or something different all together? As for the penguin 350, i'm unsure what i should go with, this is where i need the most help. I've red up on threads about some people buying a Hagen Aquaclear 110 Hang-On Power Filter and installing it in a fuge. What you guys think of that. I've been looking at the HOB CPR Aqua fuge, but i'm unsure on what size to go with.

Even though i've had this tank going for 5 years, i'm a complete noob and don't know much. I was really into the hobby when i first started, but slowly faded away from it, since i was running into problems early "had a few things die, and had a heat spike in my apt which killed most of the tank. But now that i have a great job and am pretty stable, i'd like to get back into it, but with some really good quality products.

I hope i can get some good info from you experts. Thanks

I attached a pic of what my tank used to look like. Keep in mind that all i have for fish now is 1 clown. I also have a lil bit of frogspawn and some polyps that survived.
 

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I would strongly recommend getting a sump. You'll have a lot more choices for skimmers depending on what size you can fit. I have a 46/20 setup. I'm using a Warner Marine MF121 skimmer in sump, and it's doing extremely well. I also have a heater and a reactor in there.
Currently, I have two Koralia 750 powerheads, one on either side, that give good flow. However, I only have softies in the tank right now, and would probably have to bump up a size if I start introducing sps corals (which I plan to do). I do not have a fuge, simply because there's no room for one.
Not familiar with t6 lighting, I have two AI Sol Blues mounted on either side of the center brace and get great coverage. I have to keep the intensities low for this size tank and because they're inside a canopy and not very high above water level.
I have used a remora on this tank in the past, before I got the sump, it was loud and not as good as many others that can go in sump.
 
I have a 46 gallon bow front as well. I have been running a reef octopus bh-2000 and could not be happier. As far as a hob skimmer, it does an awesome job.
 
gldnegle76 said:
I would strongly recommend getting a sump. You'll have a lot more choices for skimmers depending on what size you can fit. I have a 46/20 setup. I'm using a Warner Marine MF121 skimmer in sump, and it's doing extremely well. I also have a heater and a reactor in there.
Currently, I have two Koralia 750 powerheads, one on either side, that give good flow. However, I only have softies in the tank right now, and would probably have to bump up a size if I start introducing sps corals (which I plan to do). I do not have a fuge, simply because there's no room for one.
Not familiar with t6 lighting, I have two AI Sol Blues mounted on either side of the center brace and get great coverage. I have to keep the intensities low for this size tank and because they're inside a canopy and not very high above water level.
I have used a remora on this tank in the past, before I got the sump, it was loud and not as good as many others that can go in sump.
Click to expand...

Ya, i was thinking of going with a sump, but i don't really have any room under my stand. i only have a 14"7/8" X 11"1/4" spot to work with.
 
I wanted to use a sump as well but didn't have the space as well. I'm using a mp40 for flow, a jäger heater and a 4x39 watt Coralife t5 fixture. Im getting great coral growth, however I do not have any sps nor do I think it's enough light for them.
 
Well, you definitely don't have enough room for a sump in that stand. HOB skimmers can be a pain. I started my tank using one, and I hated it. I would definitely recommend using an auto-topoff system to keep the water levels and your skimming consistent.

You definitely should upgrade those lights as well. I honestly am not sure what kind you have right now. T6 is not very common, and I've never seen it sold in the aquarium industry. A 36" 4 bulb Tek Light would work wonders if you want to grow coral. Use some quality bulbs like ATI.

For waterflow, I wouldn't use the 1050. That puts out quite a lot of flow, and will make your poor clownfish do barrel rolls across the tank if he gets in the stream. Not to mention, it's bigger than a baseball. I think using two smaller powerheads would give you better performance. I would go with the evolution 550's or the evolution nano 425's. The nano's should work fine unless you have sps corals. Two of those smaller pumps combined with your skimmer output would be 30-35x turnover rate, not too shabby. Two opposing pumps will give you a more random flow pattern than a single pump, much better for your coral. For reference, I use three 750's in my 75 gallon (combined with a 600gph return).

As far as the HOB refugium, it can't hurt. The biggest you can fit is what I would recommend. I've seen people modding the AquaClear for use as a refugium, but that's more practical in Nano or Pico aquariums. In something your size you need way more chaeto than that can hold.

Finally, what are your plans for carbon after you remove the penguin? The only thing I can think other than hanging a bag of chemipure inside the tank is utilizing a reactor down in your stand with the pump inside the display.

But keep this in mind: You're going to have the tubes from the skimmer, the pump from the fuge, the pump from the reactor, the two powerheads, float switches from an auto-topoff, a heater, all inside your display tank. All this gear tends to crowd the tank and detract from the look. For this reason, I love sumps. If you can find a way to do it (new stand maybe?), get a sump. You'll thank yourself later.
 
Thx for the reply. I'll definitely look for a different light fixture and bulbs, i'm gonna go visit the local fish store today and see what else they have. As for waterflow, looks like i might have jumped the gun. I ordered the 1050 last night, i've red a bunch of good reviews about it, so i figured i'd pull the trigger and order one. I'm gonna try it out and see how it works out, if it's too powerful, i'll set it aside till i upgrade my tank. As for sump, i think it's gonna have to wait till i buy a house and upgrade my tank. But for now, i'd like to set it up as good as i can. I've seen threads with people not using sumps and skimmers and having an ok tank, i think i'll just have to watch what i put in the tank. i'll keep doing research about the fuge and how i can add the carbon without the penguin. i'm just a lil confused since i don't see many people using a penguin.

I have another quick question. Last night, i took half the water, my clown, frogspawn... out of my tank, so that i could change the rockwork in the tank. I then moved all the sand to the front of the tank. I've heard people say that you shouldn't add the rock on top of the sand. But now my tank is very cloudy. Do you think this will spike my tank? i've red that i should be ok since i only have an inch and a half sand bed, but i'm not sure.
 
I may have given the wrong impression about HOB systems. You can have a very healthy and happy tank with all HOB equipment, it is just a little more cluttered and a little more maintenance.

As far as the carbon. Just find some way to utilize it. HOB filter, canister filter, hang a bag inside you tank (not the most effective), or get a reactor. Not too many people use a HOB filter like you, although I do on my 10g nano.

I wouldn't worry about stirring up the sandbed. 1.5" isn't deep enough to have the nasty anaerobic bacteria and hydrogen sulfide that deeper sandbeds can have. It should settle out soon. Post a picture of the new rockwork, I'd love to see it.
 
thx for the reply, i just came back from the dentist and notice that my tank is starting to clear up :) but now i'm starting to see some buildup on the bottom of the tank, looks like once i'm done with the rock and i put the sand back, it's gonna cloud up again and cover most of my rock. i'm sure i can use the syphon to pick most of it up, but i don't wanna take more water out, i already did a 30% waterchange. i'm wondering if i can pick up most of the "dust" with a net? i think i should have taken most of the water out before touching the sand, but i didn't have enough pails. What do you guys think i should do? should i just leave it, and let my critters clean it up? I hope you guys know what i'm talking about "dust from the sand?"
Thx guys for all the replies, i highly appreciate it.
 
For filtration, i'm thinking of going with either the AquaClear 110 or a Fluval/EHEIM canister? What would you guys go with if you were to start a 46g bowfront?

I spoke with the guy that i bought the koralia off of, and he's gonna let me change my order. Should i go with two 750's? TimeConsumer suggested two 550's, but i remember reading somewhere that someone said that they had to update their 750 to a 1050 for coral, but i'm thinking maybe two 750 should work. what you guys think?
 
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I spoke with the guy that i bought the Koralia from, and he's letting me change my order. Should i go with two 750s instead of a 1050? TimeConsumer suggested that i go with two 550s, but i remember reading somewhere that someone had to upgrade their 750 to a 1050 for certain corals, what you guys think?
 
I went ahead and ordered. I bought two koralia 750 powerheads and an AquaClear 110 filter. I'm gonna go to the local fish store tomorrow and check out the lighting. Should i go with T5's? or is there something better that ain't too much more in price?
 
Sounds like you've been busy. So dual 750's and an aquaclear for running carbon seems to be your current plan? Should work fine, definitely a lot of waterflow in that tank. If you're moving into lighting next I would recommend a 36" 4 bulb TEK Light T5. These go for about $250 from online retailers. It's a quality well built fixture that have lots of light for great coral growth. So what's the plan with the protein skimmer? Going to use the BH-2000 like the above recommendation?
 
TimeConsumer said:
Sounds like you've been busy. So dual 750's and an aquaclear for running carbon seems to be your current plan? Should work fine, definitely a lot of waterflow in that tank. If you're moving into lighting next I would recommend a 36" 4 bulb TEK Light T5. These go for about $250 from online retailers. It's a quality well built fixture that have lots of light for great coral growth. So what's the plan with the protein skimmer? Going to use the BH-2000 like the above recommendation?
Click to expand...

I can't get off the forums lol. Thx for a recommendation on light fixture, i'm gonna look into that now.
And ya, my plan is 2 Koralia 750, i'm gonna place them in the back corners of the tank "about 3/4 up" and point them both to the top middle of the tank, then i think i might place my maxi jet in a bottom corner, pointing behind the rocks "not sure yet, depending on rockwork". As for filter, i'm going with the AquaClear 110. For skimmer, i'm still doing a lot of research, a lot of people seem to like the AquaC remora pro, but i'm still undecided.
My tank is still cloudy :( and it looks like there's a 1/4" buildup on the bottom, and on a couple rocks that i left in the tank since i ran out of pails. I can't wait for this to clear up and get started on the rock :) My clown looks bored in this other small tank. I think i'm gonna have a hard time with the rock, since a lot of them are pretty big awkward shapes. Maybe i'll return some and exchange it for smaller rock.
 
Can a T5 fixture be placed directly on top of a glass lid? or does it need to be raised? Or in a canopy? I'd like to buy either the 36 Inch Tek 4 Bulb T5 system or a 36 Inch Finnex 4 Bulb T5 System with LED's.
edit:my tank has the plastic support in the middle.
 
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RedTurboMr2 said:
Can a T5 fixture be placed directly on top of a glass lid? or does it need to be raised? Or in a canopy? I'd like to buy either the 36 Inch Tek 4 Bulb T5 system or a 36 Inch Finnex 4 Bulb T5 System with LED's.
edit:my tank has the plastic support in the middle.
Click to expand...

Don't use a glass lid, it will kill your evaporation which can lead to serious overheating issues.

Technically you can put a Tek directly on top of the tank frame but it's a horrible idea. There will only be about 1/4" of fixture on each side to rest on the frame, it's a disaster waiting to happen. But you can purchase a leg mount kit for it.

I don't know much about the Finnex fixture. 5 minutes on google turned up mixed reviews, but I always take reviews with a grain of salt. I did find 2 people who claimed to have a ballast break within the first year. The upside to this is the built in LEDs to add a little shimmer and function as moonlights. If you do get the Finnex, I would chuck the stock bulbs and get some quality ones. There's great advice on bulb selection and color in "The T5 Q&A Thread". And FYI: ReefGeek and BRS both have a combo on the Tek with your choice of bulbs for around $300 shipped.

EDIT: From the picture here, I notice the shape of the reflectors on the Finnex seems to be similar to my old Catalina. Instead of utilizing multiple bends to focus the light around the tube it's shaped like this \o/\o/. This is a cheaper design that will cause some of the light to reflect back inside the tube, wasting it.

FI-DL-2424-desc.jpg
 
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Kill my evaporation? Meaning that it evaporates fast or slow? I notice that my tank creates a lot of salt buildup around the edges, and the water level also drops every couple weeks. The reason why i need some sort of lid, is because of my cat. He's a cheetoh breed "part bengal/ocicat", so he's a handful. I've caught him a couple times on top of my tank, that's why i'm scared to hang it from the ceiling, or leave the top of the tank open. I guess i might have to build a canopy. Rockwork is somewhat coming along, but i notice that i'm gonna need some more rock to complete it. This morning the tank was pretty clear, but once i moved the sand between the rocks, it clouded up again. i ended up doing another waterchange, which got rid of most of the dust. I think i'm just gonna leave the rest and let the critters clean it up, looks like i need to buy a lil more salt to fill the backside of the aquarium "behind the rock"
 
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