Questions :)

[sarahooty]

We have a 30 gal, in-wall Saltwater that has been up and running for at least a month now. The tank is hard to maneuver in. I can fit my head between the space of the tank and the top of the wall, but I have a small head. I'd say it's a 5 inch space, give or take. It is running with the following:

40gal non-glass heater (I believe 100 watt),
HOT Magnum canister,
Coralite Super Skimmer for up to 65gal,
Maxijet 400 powerhead,
2" wooden airstone,
2-3" inchs of live sand,
and I believe we have 18lbs of live rock, give or take.

We plan on adding some more live rock before adding corals, fish, or invertebrates. But we do plan on going all out with a Reef Aquarium.

My main concern is our lighting. I'm not quite sure what 2 bulbs we have, but I'm afraid it's not enough. I've been reading but I really just want someone to recommend a brand and name of a bulb that will sufficiently light the aquarium. At the moment our fixture only supports a SINGLE bulb and we don't want to have to purchase a double bulb fixture if possible. The MH fixtures seem to be an option, but the clearance between the tank & the wall causes an issue. Am I right in thinking it's not possible to support the tank with one single bulb?

Also, do you believe our current setup will sufficiently maintain the aquarium? Or will it just need upgraded later on when there is a lot of living inhabitants?

Finally, what do you recommend, as this being a beginner tank, in the types of invertebrates, fish and coral we should begin with? And should corals come before inverts/fish or vice versa?

And if there's anything unforeseen that I should be worrying about, I'd be happy to hear!

Thaaaank you!!

 

[Frick-n-Frags]

Re: Questions

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9723031#post9723031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sarahooty
But we do plan on going all out with a Reef Aquarium.

OK, I'm going to assume you mean this


do you really mean this?



OK



There are 2 games to play when keeping a reeftank:
1) low nutrients/good water quality
2) good light and flow (we'll call that physical characteristics)


Your first step is to read lots of articles at the top of this forum and in the reef chemistry forum. and maybe buy eric Bornemann's coral book to get some great info on how the corals themselves work. then you'll have a better idea what to do and why you are doing it.

1)OK, the low nutrient game includes good nutrient removal. your best friend is a skimmer, one that actually does its job.

people tend to realize that they could use more water volume and a place for that ugly skimmer, so they opt for a sump.
If you think you might want a sump, you may want to think about drilling your tank for the overflow rig. a sump has a lot of practical advantages. drilling a tank is best done before it is full of water

study up on your substrate theory, ie what is on the tank bottom and why are you doing it this way? this could impact your maintenance and nutrient war later on too. you need to be set on this at the beginning too.


2) your flow can be easily tweaked by adding powerheads if needed. you can see how what you have works out then go buy more.

lights. first you need to learn about and decide what corals you want to keep. I think you'll get a good idea of typical lighting just from reading all the threads. but a good 200watts or so would probably be good for almost everything, like a 150w MH with two flourescents, or a 75w MH with two flourscents, or lik a t5 or PC all -flurescent hood. etc etc etc etc etc



buy yourself a salifert alkalinity test if you don't have one. this may be one of the most important things to own for keeping corals.

 

[sarahooty]

thanks

hahaha i am serious.. sometimes I think I should have been a blonde.. but trust me, I've been reading! Lots! My boyfriend is ill because I've been online for about 5 hours ATLEAST researching hah.

It's kind of like I have an understanding.. but getting feedback from living people and not an article always makes me feel better.

And I think I've finally got an idea on what to do for my lighting..

I've just got to keep my man from jumping ahead and killing things~!

 

[sarahooty]

Oh! And a sump is sort of out of the question with this aquarium being in the wall.. it's hard enough getting into the aquarium without having to crawl over a sump 4 1/2 ft below it.

 

[DrBCool]

Lighting all depends on what you intend to keep in the aquarium .
I have a 36 gallon bow front ( which is my first attempt at saltwater ) Currently I have a coralife 2x65 watt PC lighting system with 2 blue LED moon lights . I have 3 maxijett power heads 2 of which run constant and the other I turn on occasionally to stir things up in the tank

Corals : Green Star Polyps ( several color variations ) Zoanthids (several color variations ) , Pulsing Xenia , Ricordia a couple colors , mushrooms several colors , a Porky spawn ( frog spawn that was a morh from a local CORA member ) Kenya tree , Toadstoal , Green Bubble Tip Anemone , Clove Polyps .....

Note : everyone says the lighting needs to be more for my Anemone but he seems happy and healthy in the tank
Also another note : my zoanthids are only 10 - 12 inches away from the lighting system

Fish list in the tank : 1 red firefish , 1 purple firefish , a pair of percula clowns ( which don't realize they are supposed to host the anemone LOL ) 1 yellow clown goby , 1 royal gramma

I have some snails and hermits along with 1 pepermint shrimp ,1 feather duster worm

I have a lot of rock in my tank some of it was live rock and some was dry base rock . I have built a series of ledges at different heighths to accomadate different species of corals and lighting requirements . I have two sizes of coral substrate and live sand ontop of that .. Here is a link to a post with some pictures of my tank in progress if you want to take a look

I don't run a sump , just have a skimmer and filter running . I do a 3-5 gallon water change on a weekly basis and vacum the top layer of sand to pick up and debrits the snail and hermits don't get . I also have an open top so I have to top off evaporation at least once a week with RO/DI water or on occasion I mix up some kalkwasser ( 1 teaspoon of pickling lime to 1 gallon of RO/DI water )

My tank has been setup and running for 3 months now It is very additive and I already need a bigger tank .. You will see why as you start getting corals and such I am not an advanced saltwater aquarist but I do run a small tank such as yours .. If you have any questions feel free to ask

 

[sarahooty]

What was the link?? I'm curious and it doesn't look like the script let you post the link

We have a shop here that sells RO water. It's convenient.

I came across a few combination bulbs and I'm wondering if I can get away with using one of these instead of having to buy a double bulb fixture.. or anything other than just a bulb.

BULBS!
Reef Sun 50/50 combination of 6500k trichromatic daylight and actinic 420 phosphor,
OR..
Quantum Leap T6 Lamp w. 11K Ultra Daylight and Actinic 03

((Coralife 50% 6000K natural daylight and 50% 7100K Actinic 03 Blue w.reflector)) I havent seen it in 24" though.


The Quantum I am VERY curious about.. I don't understand why it wouldn't be sufficient?? http://www.petsolutions.com/Quantum+Leap+T6+Lamp-I-74000094-I-C-102423-C-.aspx

 

[sarahooty]

I just looked at the VHO's...


Coralife VHO White Actinic Bulbs
the 24" is 75 watts
"Combination 50% 7100K Actinic 03 and 50% 6000K natural daylight spectrum bulb. Ideal for use with VHO Super Actinic Bulbs."

..and would I also HAVE to have this bulb also:


Coralife VHO Super Actinic Bulbs
24" 75watt
"100% solid blue spectrum to resemble blue chlorophyll absorption peak utilized in photosynthesis."

I probably sound even more like a complete noob.. but eh, will a VHO require a new fixture also?

 

[DrBCool]

I may have forgotten the link
http://www.corareef.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1624
see if that one works ...

 

[DrBCool]

In general corals need 5 or more watts of lighting per gallon
I currently have low lighting for a salt tank at 130 watts for 36 gallons ..
So I have around 3.6 watts per gal .. which is low
I currently can't afford another light so I make due .. And building the rock work up with ledges helps also
That way you can get things closer to the light

 

[sarahooty]

man I'm just going to get a bunch of flashlights and hang them from inside the wall somewhere hahaha


your tank is so pretty i'm jealous! hah

 

[DrBCool]

Yea I thought about a pendant Metal Halide to spot light my zoanthids so I can add more ..

You might look into them as a lighting option .. they are pricey but they would add lots of light to the tank .. you may be able to hang them on the side if you have room .. Not sure with it being in the wall ...