Finalizing 40breeder plan

[fishguy2727]

I just got all the fish out of my 40breeder, so I can start getting all my salt stuff and getting it going. I am planning on:

hardware:
65 gallon super skimmer from Coralife
Hydor Koralia 400 gph powerhead
36" Double T5 Coralife light
Reef Crystals salt (160gallons bucket)

immediate livestock:
At least 40 pounds of live rock plus lace rock and acropora skeletons to become live
pair pecula clowns
pair green clown gobies
pair banggai cardinals (I realize I may have to buy more to get a pair)

Eventual livestock:
blueleggec hermit crabs
scarlet hermit crabs
feather dusters and other filterfeeding worms
astrea and other hardy snails
long-spine urchin for banggais
bubble-tip anemone for clowns
sponges (maybe a blue encrusting)
zoas
mushrooms
hardy starter corals
etc.

I will add more light as needed.

I have a Fluval 304 and an AquaClear 110 on the tank now. Should I keep them both on there?
What would be the downside or possible problems of having both on there?
Should they be run empty?

 

[Electrobes]

Here's my opinion (I too am in the process of setting of a 40Br )

Skimmer: I would go with an octopus skimmer instead of the Coralife Super Skimmer. Especially if it's a HOB skimmer. My suggestion would be the BH-100F or a similar model (I am waiting for mine but they hve fantastic reviews). Just about the same price but quality is a huge difference between the two.

Hydor Koralia: Excellent choice, but I would hionestly go bigger than that. I bought #3 (800 GPH) and evenb now I may either add one or go bigger.

Lighting: I am guessing you have a 2 X 39 Watt HO T5 set up? One 10K and one actinic? Not bad for now, but you can definitely add to that... great technology IMO.

Salt: Good Salt.. like many others out there. It's all in the science and opinions. A good piece of advice? Test a fresh mix before putting into your aquarium... you should always make sure what the Mag, Calc, and more importantly the Alk and pH of your salt mix. Not all packages are the same... there are bad batches sometimes.

Livestock:

- I would not include the following:
- Long spine urchin (consumes corraline, but I consider them bulldosers. They will knock stuff around plus it's a slight risk for you while you're doing work around the tank. I would wait on this for now when you're more aquainted with saltwater.

- Bubble Tip Anemone: Definitely cool but wait on this. These creatures are dramatically different from corals in that they "walk" and require more lighting than what you have now. Last thing you'd want is either a dying anemone rotting in your tank or it high-fiving your other corals as it walks.. never fun!

- Sponges: These are yet another set of creatures that are slightly difficult to maintain without understanding them. You have a shallow tank, and air bubbles are more accessible to all areas of the tank. Sponges don't do well in these types of environment, plus they do need feeding, and for a novice reefer I wouldn't suggest this just yet or for your set up period. Again just my opinion.

Your other coral preferences are perfect. Zoas, mushrooms, and other soft corals aren't only pretty but a great way to start learning about corals in general.. even the harder to keep ones.

As for the Fluval and AquaClear 110. A lot of people use the AC 110 as a refugium area for their tanks (smaller ones like ours). I don't like it much for water movement because I prefer what powerheads like the Koralia offer.. more wide open flow as opposed to direct hits. I would toy around and see how your flow patterns do in the rock-scape you have. It may or may not benefit you to have the AC 110 being used.

A canister filter is another one of those filters which is used by some, but not by most. If I were to use it, it would be for filtering out particles via filter floss and for activated carbon to get out other funk. I tend to stay away from putting too much machinery on my tank as it just gets confounded in the tank IMO.

If you use the skimmer I suggest you can run carbon in it's filter compartment (Which is what I am going to do).

I know you may already know about this but as a precaution: If you've ever used and copper treatments for what I think used to be your freshwater set up or equipment I would not used said components, or at the very least bleach clean them. This includes rocks, filters, even the aquarium itself.

Another thing missing from your list is a grounding probe. You may have just not included it, but again just wanted to make sure you know.

If you are new to saltwater and reef keeping I highly recommend you read the chemistry articles in the chemistry forums (It's at the top as a sticky). If you are daunted by what's provided (there is a ton of info) Randy, Bertoni, Boomer, and many others can direct you to specific links to get you on your way.

Hope this helps!

 

[dwd5813]

additions I recommend to your equipment list include
refractometer for testing specific gravity
ro/di unit for producing your own pure water to start with and use for top off
a good set of test kits for monitoring your cycle and testing parameters during routine tank chores

can you define immediate in terms of your livestock plans?
i would say you would be better off waiting until your tank cycles and stabilizes some, then adding inverts like snails and/or hermits (although hermits are known for killing snails to take their shells so perhaps skipping them altogether is a good idea) then adding your first fish.

anemones are not recommended in new tanks, and typically require a lot of light. 2 36" T5's will not give you very strong light and will not afford you the flexibility of altering color spectrums that a fixture with more bulbs would. i see that you plan to add more light as needed, but honestly you will save money by not purchasing multiple fixtures when you realize, as you will quickly, that you need more than those two bulbs.
I'm not real sure about the sponges.

the downside of the ac110 and the fluval is that they both use filter media. seems like a good idea until you take into consideration that mechanical filtration by it's very nature is a breeding ground for nitrate, which will cause problems with algae. you could run them empty, but i don't see much of a point, given that you are already planning on using powerheads for flow. on that note, you may consider adding another koralia.

also, continue the discussion you were having with the people in the other thread you posted with this plan. they were making good points, and i'm not sure why you started a new thread. regardless, good luck with your new system.

 

[fishguy2727]

Eventual livestock is as stated, eventual. Not yet and not until the tank and I are both ready.

Immediate livestock is the first stuff to go in once the live rock is cured and has cycled the tank. The tank will sit with just the live rock for at least a month.

I priced out different lighting, and for the same cost as something like a 4 bulb NOVA T5 fixture, I would get 8 bulbs worth of fixtures of Coralife double T5s.

Would it be better to get two 400 gph Koralias or one 800 gph one?

Since the tank sticks out into the room and is viewable from the front, back, and one end, the AquaClear would have to be on the other end, which interferes with placing the lights. So I will be skipping the AquaClear.

I will not be using carbon in general. I have found that it takes out too much of the good stuff and is not actually needed.

I will be testing my tap to see how it is, I am on a well. I will not be using RO/DI.

I would like to keep it more biological than technological, so I would like to have things like feather dusters do the mechanical filtration than a Fluval.

Is the Octopus more reliable in terms of not overflowing? I have heard this multiple times as an issue with the Super Skimmer.