Good starter tank?

[Jim96SC2]

I know, stupid question.

I wanted to start with a 40 breeder as my starter reef tank, but since no one came up with the bright idea to drill it I'm looking for a tank roughly the same size. I do not want to go over 60 gallons. I looked around and saw two things: glasscages will do a custom job or an Oceanic 58RR.

Anything else people can point me towards?

 

[fitlerreef]

As long as the glass where you want to drill isn't tempered, you can drill the breeder yourself. It's actually quite easy provided you spend a little time reading about what to do (e.g., lubricate with water) and what not to do (e.g., put a lot of pressure on the drill) during the drilling process.

You can buy a kit with an integrated bit and everything from glass holes:
http://www.glass-holes.com/main.sc

I'm sure there are other companies that do similar things.

I would suggest getting the tank you want and drilling it rather than settling for a tank that is not your first preference just because it comes pre-drilled.

 

[kernyboy]

if you're worried about drilling and dont want to worry about the potential for sump over flow in case of power outage, you can always go the hang on back refugium route

 

[Jim96SC2]

LFS has a 34 gallon Current USA Solana rimless tank setup thats pretty much a nano. I was looking at it quite intently and thinking about maybe pulling hte trigger. They are out of 58g RR's atm in black, but they said probably next week to check and they'll call their distributor.

My plan was to run a T-5 Nova pro light on top of a 36" tank, 29 gallon sump/fuge with a small skimmer. My goal is to be able to get SPS growing in that tank. I was reading some guy on RC using the same setup on a 40 (?) and getting very good results.

 

[chort55]

Jim one of the biggest things I have been told in my starting up and researching for this hobby... go with the biggest tank you can (have room for), and are comfortable with (can afford basically).

I don't know if you have the 29g you were planning on using for the sump, but if not I would actually just use the 40 (the bigger the sump the better also as you can always use it in an upgrade and get a larger skimmer etc. down the road, not to mention more water = easier to maintain parameters) you have for the sump and get the 58RR for my display (if the price is in your budget, and you have the room).... If you do already have the 29 also I would drill the 40 (like mentioned above its not that hard just make sure you keep water flowing over the location of the hole, and don't apply alot of pressure. Also if you have a 2 speed drill set it to torque not speed and keep the speed low, take your time... thats how I drilled my 75 w/o problem), or use one of them for the sump, and the other for a QT

I hope this helped atleast a little, and goodluck

 

[Toddrtrex]

It wasn't my first tank (( or even my second, third....)) but, I have a 58RR and love it. Think that it is a really good size -- not so big to be intimidating for someone that is new to the hobby, and yet big enough that the parameters won't shift quickly like they do with smaller tanks. Plus, I like the front to back dimensions, allows for more choices when aquascaping.

Mine has a 20 gallon sump under the tank in the stand. Mine is mainly SPS, with 2 Haddoni ( carpet ) anemones.

 

[Jim96SC2]

Chort,

I'm limited by wife to sizing of the tank, I wanted a 200 gallon for a bar back but that got shot down since she wants to get her FW community tank thats in her head going. She basically won that coin toss.

This tank size footprint is about as big as I'm willing to go to put in my room. I don't have a 40 breeder or I'd use it, so I'm stuck with either getting one from the LFS and having them drill it or going to the 34 Solana or the Oceanic 58 RR. I threw out some question in some other forums about lighting in the 58 for SPS corals. You did throw ou thte QT tank though, something which I forgot to plan. I'll have to look into that.

leaning towards the 58 ATM because its a standard tank system vs a all-in-one, upgradeable, and is just a few inches taller then the breeder.

 

[Rustylugnuts]

I heart my 40, its big enough to be stable (with a 30 gallon sump) but small enough to be easy to clean the back corner w/no wet tshirt sleeves and the 18" front to back gives you room for cool rockscapes.
From personal experience it might be best to skip the DSB (or put one in the sump) and a large calfo coast to coast overflow (unless you can build an external overflow to maximize in tank realestate) might be out too. Another plus due to being shallow, a 40 doesn't require you to pull out the big guns for lighting which saves some cash that you could put towards a better skimmer or livestock.

 

[Jim96SC2]

Which is the problem I'm looking at now. I wanted to stick with a Nova Extreme Pro, 234 watts but with the 58 the added depth may not let me sit on my SPS like I want to.

Know where i could get an overflow. My LFS will drill but they said ordering the overflows was a pain for them and they rarely if ever come in.

 

[Jim96SC2]

So updated: bought the 58RR with starfire glass, very happy with getting it. 29g sump is here and my LFS has some 20g drilled for a fuge, they got in some overflows.

I've framed out my tank stand as well, but due to some financial issues the 200g community is out, we're trying to put an extension and garage on the house and quite frankly I'd get more use out of that. Maybe a few years down the road.

Redesigning my bar back to take advantage of the reef tank, probably doing 2 shelving units on either side with abinets underneath. I had to make the stand itself 46" high so we could see it behind the bar.

Right now I've picked out a few more bits and pieces to purchase online and I'll use my LFS' to get livestock, salt, and additives once everything is ready to be filled.

Next list of junk to buy:

Nova Extreme Pro T-5 Fixtures 36"; 234 watt
Glass Only Mag-Float® Medium
Power Sweep Model 226
Quiet One Pumps Model 4000
Portable Refractometer 0-100 ppt salinity and
1.000-1.070 specific gravity
53.0 mS Calibration/Reference Fluid 2 fl oz
Stealth Heater 150W (backup)
Stealth Heater 200W (main)
Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer 65 gallon

Comments or suggestions?

 

[Rustylugnuts]

Sorry to hear about the 200 but it'll happen eventually, the 58 will be a great way to grow out some colonies for when you do get to put it together.

I haven't done SPS myself but my thoughts on the list are:

Refractometer :thumbsup: hands down more accurate and no waiting for the swing arm to settle.

Add RO/DI if you haven't already
I went with a 100gpd typhoon III with a pressure booster from airwaterice and I love it. The initial outlay was in the midrange for RO but the cold weather here makes the pressure booster a must have in the winter and the service was great. I've also heard good things about buckeye field supply and melev's reef as well.

Add more flow
I like the Koralias a lot but there a ton of folks who swear by the Tunzes. I have a pair of 2's for a softie tank theres not even a 10w draw with both of em!

A higher capacity skimmer
I went with a octopus dnw150 which is way overkill for what i'm doin now but but the plan was to be in a 75 or 90 by now :sad1:. There's a lot of good stuff out there but the common suggestion seems to be to go with fractionator that's rated at roughly 2x your system volume.

Media reactors
A pair of these (one each for carbon and GFO) or one of bulk reef supply's ro housing based dual reactors are a great way to go. It looks ridiculously cluttered with my temporary hob setup on the 29 but I'll get to hide it in the stand again once I get moved in in a couple months. I went cheap with the via auqa setups and one of em gets salt creep no matter how tight I screw it down. I'm thinkin of sellin em off and goin with brs unit.

I went with the cheapest stuff that I thought would be reliable and scalable. Hope this helps:rollface: