New Reef tank questions

[badjuju]

Well I finally decided to do a reef tank and well I cant say it hasnt been interesting. So much more to learn. So I have a few questions on some probally basic things. So here it goes.

1) How many hours a day of lighting does a reef tank need a day?

2) How often do you need to do a water change and how much of a change is needed?

3) Sump - how often should I do maintenance on the sump equipment ( cleaning ) ?

4) Any other info that might be helpful, instead of learning the hard and expensive way? (hehe).

I am just looking for some general answers? I have been looking on this site, which is great and has been helpful, but its alot of info to process. So any quick help would be appreciated.

My setup is a 40gl acrylic with a CS90 overflow, rs-100 sump, asm-mini skimmer, and a Coralife Aqualight 36" light fixture.

 

[bertoni]

[welcome]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848

That thread is a good place to get started.

1) 8-10 hours a day is probably fine.

2) I would guess at least 20% once a month, probably 10% per week is better.

3) Depends on the equipment.

 

[badjuju]

Thanks, its a good place to start.

 

[Sk8r]

) How many hours a day of lighting does a reef tank need a day?

about 10-12. Part of it can be actinic.

2) How often do you need to do a water change and how much of a change is needed?

either 20% once a month or 10% every week. Use ro/di water, not treated tapwater.

You will have to 'top off' evaporation at the rate of about a half a gallon a day at that size. You do this with fresh ro/.di water, because the salt is concentrating in your tank water due to the evaporation. Most reefers get a 'top off' unit that feeds water to the sump. This 'top off water' can also deliver one of your maintenance chemicals, like buffer.

3) Sump - how often should I do maintenance on the sump equipment ( cleaning ) ?

About every half year. This includes your skimmer. You empty the cup about weekly; the real detailed cleaning is about 2x a year.

4) Any other info that might be helpful, instead of learning the hard and expensive way? (hehe).

Do not add fish or inverts until the tank cycles to 0,0,0 [ammonia, nitrate, nitrite]. You should get a 'cleaning crew' of inverts (one per gallon) snails, hermits, etc, to clean up the algae that will probably bloom about then. When they have cleaned up the tank, and you hit 0, 0, 0 again, you can have fish. Do not add but one fish at a time, except mated pairs or fish of same species which form a group. A 40 gallon tank should concentrate on what the market calls "nanofish", which you can look up on sites like Foster/Smith. They stay small, but are brightly colored and are psychologically suited to a small tank. When you are ready to add fish, query the forum about behavior and requirements. Your fish total should be about 5 to 6, depending on how good a skimmer you have and whether you want to keep corals, etc.

Come back for more questions. They're always welcome.

WHerever reefers gather, there will tend to be more than one opinion on any given subject.

 

[Hoggn]

Research before you buy.... And ask a lot of questions!

 

[badjuju]

Thank you for the advice, and will do. Like I said before this site is great for everything. My tank is still cycling, it is coming back to 0,0,0 and the brown alage is starting to spread. Should be getting close to having a cleaner crew in a few days I think. Lighting, well glad to know I was doing it somewhat right. I was averaging about 10 hours a day, so I am going to adjust that a little. Other than that, everything seems to be going good. I cant wait to start adding real life to the tank, and I know this is a slow process if you want it done right. Again thanks for the info.

 

[joaquin1119]

This is what i got for my 90 gallon tank..

1. MegaFlow Sump Filter model 3
2. portable refractometer
3. turboflotor 1000 multi protein skimmer
4. eheim 1260 hobby pump
5. 250 watt stealth heater
6. coralife digital thermometer
7. dual coralife power center
8. eheim installation set #2 and 10ft of flexible tubing..