Hello All

[Azpatriot66]

Glad to find this place, had just joined ReefTank forums but I was informed that if I wanted a local forum this would be the place to go. I will repost the post I used there as introduction and where I am coming from...hope to meet you all someday.


Hello all,


First post here and as I indicated in the title not only am I a newbie but several years ago I failed even at that. To make a long story short I rushed my first attempt with a bio-cube and 6 months later everything was dead from fish to corals to snails...everything. I lived in an apartment and had limited resources and space; now my resources are much better and I have a house now though the living room is small. I thought perhaps I could give you all some general info of my situation along with some personal preferences and things I think I did wrong the first time around. I would like to take the advice given here put it into practice and blog the entire evolution.


So the things I think I did wrong:

-29g Bio-cube for a first timer without more intense research.

-Overloaded the tank to quickly

-Wrong lighting for corals

-Believing everything the local shop said

-Using pre-mixed water (began mixing myself but with apartment living and lack of time fell back on the pre-made stuff) things changed for the bad quickly after using it.


Where I am now and what I would like to attempt:

-Money is OK and i can afford to do things the right way over time.

-Even though I know bigger is better 55G is just to big for my living room, it would dominate the space.

- I would like to try and keep a clean look as much as possible as much as I failed with the Bio-Cube I still thought it was an attractive unit.

- I live in Southern Arizona, I don't normally leave my A/C on when we are not home and it can get quite warm.

- I have all the time in the world and in no rush, would rather it take me years to do it right then just try to slap something together and fail.

- I really love the look of the corals and find many of the invertebrate and plants as interesting as fish themselves.

So here I stand like a lump of clay needing to get molded...fire away if more anwsers are needed, the only thing I will promise is to try and do it right, document it all and after my experience level grows share with others who need help.

Thanks

Erik

 

[savageAJC]

Welcome! So what tank do you have now? Or Are you still in the planning stages?!

 

[wsz594]

Welcome Erik, hope you have better luck this time around. There are alot of experienced reefers on this forum that can help you get on track. From what you stated in your post imo its going to be real tuff keeping fish or coral healthy with huge temperature swings in the middle of the summer here without running your ac or running a chiller. BioCubes already have heat issues. I run my ac all the time but just at a little higher temp like around 79, and I find that power consumption is almost the same as when I was keeping it at 75-76 and turning it on and off. Your ac uses alot of power when you kick it on when its 100 out and it needs to cool your house 15 degrees.

 

[Azpatriot66]

Welcome! So what tank do you have now? Or Are you still in the planning stages?!

Total planning stages, just totally flushed money down the toilet the first time; this time around I am going to learn how to do it right before I even start.

 

[Azpatriot66]

Welcome Erik, hope you have better luck this time around. There are alot of experienced reefers on this forum that can help you get on track. From what you stated in your post imo its going to be real tuff keeping fish or coral healthy with huge temperature swings in the middle of the summer here without running your ac or running a chiller. BioCubes already have heat issues. I run my ac all the time but just at a little higher temp like around 79, and I find that power consumption is almost the same as when I was keeping it at 75-76 and turning it on and off. Your ac uses alot of power when you kick it on when its 100 out and it needs to cool your house 15 degrees.

Well no biocube anymore, gave it away when everything died a few years ago...so starting from scratch, if I need to buy a chiller then so be it just another thing to add to the list.

 

[wsz594]

Well no biocube anymore, gave it away when everything died a few years ago...so starting from scratch, if I need to buy a chiller then so be it just another thing to add to the list.

Just to let you know chillers also produce alot of ambient heat and use a good amount of electricity, just some things to think about. If you really cant go with a 48" tank, imo a 40g breeder might be a good tank to start with. My first tank was a 70g that what up and running when I bought it, and all the fish were dead within two days of move :headwalls: still have no idea what happened, so I feel your pain. Since then I moved my tanks a billion times with ZERO fatalities.

 

[sillygoose]

Welcome Erik.

You might consider a refugium/sump to increase your water volume within the same footprint. Greater volume just gives you more of a bumper against rapid changes in temp etc. and the extra live rock and rubble that you can have increases your biological filtration.

 

[wsz594]

Welcome Erik.

You might consider a refugium/sump to increase your water volume within the same footprint. Greater volume just gives you more of a bumper against rapid changes in temp etc. and the extra live rock and rubble that you can have increases your biological filtration.

+1 you should get a sump to increase stability, a 20g long would be a perfect sump that will fit under this tank. It will hide all of your equipment, give you room for a decent skimmer, and give you space for a fuge with some macro on the opposite lighting schedule of your display(this will help keep your ph stable at night)

 

[Tanque Verde]

If I were in your shoes I'd look very hard at a cadlight AIO, an inexpensive rimless, or a 40b. I'd probably look for LED lights but would settle for compact fluorescents if necessay to save money (metal halide is inconsistent with your heat concerns). If I settled for CFs, I'd mount a standard halogen spot somewhere on the ceiling to create a shimmer effect. I'd run it open top and mount small wall fans to cool the tank evaporatively. For this reason I'd invest in a reliable ATO and figure out some way to stash a deep reservoir. Depending on the tank, I'd run a small well lit fuge, possibly a CPR HOB, and and aqua-c remora HOB skimmer. If the tanks is not an AIO, I would either build in an overflow for surface skimming or add some sort of skimmer box. I'd save my way toward a dual reactor and run carbon and gfo. I'd save my way toward a ro/di system so I could regulate my salt and water. I'd stock with a limited number of softies and LPS, being wary of allelopathy. I'd keep a very limited number of fish and shrimp so that I could feed minimally. I'd add nassarius, cerith, bumble bee, and possibly turbo snails and possibly hermits. I'd fight nuisance algae, aiptasia, and majanos with all my strength and do water changes at least weekly.

Whatever you do have fun and good luck.

 

[wsz594]

check out tanque verde's systems for sale

 

[Tanque Verde]

^um, yeah, why didnt I think of that. My 26g would be a near perfect start-up system. Cheaper, too, than everything I've suggested above. Thanks, Joe.

 

[Azpatriot66]

If I were in your shoes I'd look very hard at a cadlight AIO, an inexpensive rimless, or a 40b. I'd probably look for LED lights but would settle for compact fluorescents if necessay to save money (metal halide is inconsistent with your heat concerns). If I settled for CFs, I'd mount a standard halogen spot somewhere on the ceiling to create a shimmer effect. I'd run it open top and mount small wall fans to cool the tank evaporatively. For this reason I'd invest in a reliable ATO and figure out some way to stash a deep reservoir. Depending on the tank, I'd run a small well lit fuge, possibly a CPR HOB, and and aqua-c remora HOB skimmer. If the tanks is not an AIO, I would either build in an overflow for surface skimming or add some sort of skimmer box. I'd save my way toward a dual reactor and run carbon and gfo. I'd save my way toward a ro/di system so I could regulate my salt and water. I'd stock with a limited number of softies and LPS, being wary of allelopathy. I'd keep a very limited number of fish and shrimp so that I could feed minimally. I'd add nassarius, cerith, bumble bee, and possibly turbo snails and possibly hermits. I'd fight nuisance algae, aiptasia, and majanos with all my strength and do water changes at least weekly.

Whatever you do have fun and good luck.

You had read my mind Tanque Verde I had been looking at the Cadlight Pro X-1 system, not only does it seem to have everything needed but not bad looking at all. Also the 50g Artisan 24x24x20 also meets the space requirements...so I suppose I learned something 50g is probably my max. One thing I do like about the X-1 system is that it supposedly has a built in evap cooling system...don't know if that is code for a chiller or a lower end version, more research needed.

http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=41&products_id=153

 

[Tanque Verde]

^I haven't researched those Cadlight models. Based on my experience with Aquapods (and the research I performed on AIOs while I ran my Aquapod), I'd advise you to at least consider starting only with the bare bones AIO nano tank and then adding your own equipment (I'm referring specifically to the cooling system you mention above). Until as recently as two years ago, the first thing many educated AIO users did after purchasing an AIO was tear out all the stock equipment and then modify it to their satisfaction. This doesn't necessary have to cost a lot of money.

For example, the stock Aquapod return pump produced more heat and less flow than a simple maxijet. Easy swap. The X-1 cooling system may or may not be swapped out for similarly beneficial results. I don't know but I'd research it.

By now you've probably found the very excellent website dedicated to nanos, which includes a ton of user information about nano mods. Contact me if not.

Finally, you're welcome to come by and look at my tanks, even if you don't want to purchase them. They might be good for brainstorming. I ran nanos for 2-3 years before I condensed to a 57g. I'd be happy to talk things over.

 

[Azpatriot66]

^I haven't researched those Cadlight models. Based on my experience with Aquapods (and the research I performed on AIOs while I ran my Aquapod), I'd advise you to at least consider starting only with the bare bones AIO nano tank and then adding your own equipment (I'm referring specifically to the cooling system you mention above). Until as recently as two years ago, the first thing many educated AIO users did after purchasing an AIO was tear out all the stock equipment and then modify it to their satisfaction. This doesn't necessary have to cost a lot of money.

For example, the stock Aquapod return pump produced more heat and less flow than a simple maxijet. Easy swap. The X-1 cooling system may or may not be swapped out for similarly beneficial results. I don't know but I'd research it.

By now you've probably found the very excellent website dedicated to nanos, which includes a ton of user information about nano mods. Contact me if not.

Finally, you're welcome to come by and look at my tanks, even if you don't want to purchase them. They might be good for brainstorming. I ran nanos for 2-3 years before I condensed to a 57g. I'd be happy to talk things over.

I am cool with any idea, my understanding was that the smaller you go the the more risk you take (especially when starting out) bigger tanks can absorb mistakes easier then a small one, that was my mindset in the 40-50g size.

I am fortunate in that my wife gave me the green light over time to do this thing however I want to do, resources are an issue with anybody in today's time but I would not have issues dropping 2-3K over a couple of years time, but in my mind I need to do it step by step.

I have one of those 2-story/1 car garage lovelies that KB homes built about 5 years ago..space is at a premium (I can't even think of a place to have a quarantine or back up tank. The tank itself has to go in the living room and knowing my better half that means it has to look uncluttered and aesthetically pleasing. I am jealous of the hobbyists in places like San Diego that have 4-5 tanks in the garage and the whole nine yards, however that is not my lot in life.

I liked the look of my Aquapod, I also like the looks of these new rimless models. I am figuring because of where we live I will need a cooler/chiller and would be wise to go with LED lighting to minimize heat.

I would be open to seeing anyone's tank and brainstorming a system that would work for me...would also like to know if there are any club meeting type events at the LFS's, not taking advantage of the skill the obvious knowledge that some members have on this board would be stupid on my part.

 

[Tanque Verde]

PM sent

 

[savageAJC]

We have had meetings in the past, usually at SEA, 2758 N Campbell Ave, Mike is a great guy. Not sure when the next meet will be though. If you dont go with an AIO, I would suggest to diy your own led fixture! itsmateo's is pretty sweet, and built into his biocube hood.

 

[aquaph8]

Hey Erik. Welcome to the forum. My advice to you would be to take your time and don't be afraid to look for used equipment. So many people bounce in and out of this hobby, there is always someone selling great stuff. IMO chillers aren't worth it, there expensive and produce as much heat as they remedy. I ran one for years and replaced it with a clip on fan. An RODI system is probably the smartest thing I ever bought. Start a daily routine of chores on your tank and make it a habbit but be carefully this hobby can be very addicting, you'll see.

 

[Azpatriot66]

Hey Erik. Welcome to the forum. My advice to you would be to take your time and don't be afraid to look for used equipment. So many people bounce in and out of this hobby, there is always someone selling great stuff. IMO chillers aren't worth it, there expensive and produce as much heat as they remedy. I ran one for years and replaced it with a clip on fan. An RODI system is probably the smartest thing I ever bought. Start a daily routine of chores on your tank and make it a habbit but be carefully this hobby can be very addicting, you'll see.

Thank's Aqua, I do plan on taking my time, as far as equipment goes wifey already informed me that the tank needs to be new as she is just finishing our remodel job downstairs and is getting all new furniture etc. I actually have to finish painting the living room and get her a new couch before I begin on all of this (hopefully soon) The more reading and research I do on AIO's keeps leading me back to:

http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=47&products_id=158

39G with LED would run about 1k the 50G equipped the same would be around 1400, other then that both systems are technically the same.


Talked with them today and they seem pretty confident in they're system being ready to handle any challenge without any additional DIY work...Would love to get some input on this thing from everyone here.

 

[Tanque Verde]

A couple of stray thoughts:

If the only in-tank water movement is the return pump, you might wish for more directional flow. One partial solution is a hydor deflector if it cane be made to fit on the return. It might also be necessary to add a pump to your display. Plan your rockscaping to maximize flow, minimize deadspots, and hide your in-tank equipment.

I personally would hang that light from the ceiling with a kit that allows you to raise and lower, so that it doesn't interfere with your access to the tank.

 

[aquaph8]

Those tanks look really nice. I think you could save some $$$ with a Lee Mar tank though. You might talk to SEA and see if you can get a better deal. The only review I've heard from anybody on that tank is that they loved the tank but wasn't real happy with the stand. I agree with Tanque Verde about hanging the light, you'll be glad you did.