Setting up a 20g

[Blinkgyrl2987]

BCreefmaker: Thanks so much for that whole response... it helped me alot, Now I actually understand the purpose of a fuge.... so let me get this straight the pods will reproduce in there given enough sand and rubble and such? and then they are slowly spilled through the over flow into the tank via movement? just wondering how that works.

And as for the lights it looks great, I'm seriously contemplating getting something exact or similar to that for my 20 long.... if that really is strong enough to keep all kinds of corals than thats something I should look into. I have a 20L I wonder if it would make a difference? How much were the lights were could I find them?

Ps: I have a smaller aquaclear on my tank and I use the filter as is, so I see where you got that little screen thing from ( great idea btw). Since I am upgrading to a nicer canister filter this Christmas should I convert my aqua clear into a fuge as well?

Thanks for the help, I dont want to steal your thread though, haha! I just thought your ideas were cool. We need more pics. I cant see from the pics how the light shimmers. Also does the sump act as a fuge as well? or thats just for media/ pump purposes. I feel very unsmart right now. What is Cheato?

 

[BCreefmaker]

Blinkgyrl2987: haha, dont worry i love answering questions. the fuge is for pods to be safe from the tank predators. im not shure if sand will help them breed, but i know the rubble does. and yes you got the idea, the waterfall will hopefully sprinkle them into the tank if they wander to close to it. right now the rubble is pretty barren and there is no algea to eat in the fuge, so i doubt any pods are in there right now. since i filled my tank i havent seen any. they are usually feasting on the blue sponges that grow on one rock in my tank. as for the light, befor you make a commitment you should think about what corals/inverts do you really want to keep. if you like sps/clams/anenomes all across your tank and not just all crammed under the bright spot then you should consider a 150watt with 2 T5 bulbs. maybe even get some LED moonlight and cooling fans. mine dosent have any of that it would brighten up the entire tank and you will most likely want it down the road anyways. as for the retailer, it wont really make much diffrence. since i live in canada the cross border duty and all that jazz makes it not worth it, plus you can get something cheaper and better in the US anyways . but it cost 359.99+tax candain on sale, noramlly 399.99. apparently Giesemann is a really good brand. and i do know they offer a 150watt /w 2 39watt T5s in a hanging pendant similar to mine, but they are quite pricy, due to the high quality german engineering. or somethin like that :lol: . im shure you can find them in some online store, i check dr.foster and smith but no luck. for your fuge situation, if you need a place to hide heaters and stuff or you just want more water volume or want a small fuge to get some extra pods and grow cheato. then go ahead and convert it. its really simple you just need some silicone and maybe a peice of plexiglass. and you really shouldent give me so much credit for the idea iv seen soooo many people with these HOB fuges, they are acctualy quite common. cheato is a flossy looking macro algea that dosent go "sexual". meaning if it does manage to make a unoticed breakout into the tank it wont become a huge problem a month later. right now my sump is just a little fuge, i need to install some baffles, get a skimmer, add a real fuge, and get some media bags. and here are some more pictures of my HOB fuge, my pretty empty sump/fuge, cheato, and "shimmer".

notice the changing pattern of light and dark. its kinda hard to see cuz of my welfare digital camera. if you save it and then look at it in a smaller view its easyer to see.

 

[Blinkgyrl2987]

I'm getting a bigger tank soon and I was thinking abut possibly making my 20 L into a sump. What is the benifit of this exactely... Mostly just more water volume? Because I really like the idea of the second tank as a sump, but I dont know what I'd use it for... how is it used for a fuge? Just set it up with sand, rock rubble, light and heater to do the same sort of thing you explained the aqua clear was for?

I'm a little confused. Because I just bought a really nice canister filter that I plan on using but I realize this isnt the pump that goes into the sump as return to the main tank... this would have to sit outside the sump and I'd have a separate pump for overflow and return to the maintank.

How do people do this without drilling the tank? I really dont know what I'm doing.. haha... But I like the ideas. Help! lol

I think I'm going to go with a 40 Breeder as the main tank... because anything bigger right now I dont have space for... but since the stand will allow for a sump I would like to try this.

What are my options?

 

[BCreefmaker]

UPDATES!!: well i got 13 more pounds premo fiji once again covered in all sorts of cool stuff. this time i also got a big white coral of some sort growing on a rock in the bottom right, somehow i think its a coral skeleton of some sort.

Blinkgyrl2987: a 40 breeder with a sump is the perfect tank size imo unless you like the fish that like lots of swimmin room. and using your 20 L (and thats 20 gallons right?) for a sump would be a great idea. sumps do alot more then hold your heater and give you more water volume. it gives you a constant water level in your display tank and a place to hide skimmers, phosban reactors, canister filters, chemical drip lines, top off systems, ect. not only that but you can set up a little fuge and add some LR on one end if you so desire. im not shure if your canister filter can go in your sump, is depends if its submersible, if nto it has to be hooked up to it and not acctaully be in it. How they work without drilling is you get a "overflow" box which is a non-break syphon. that means if the water level drops to below the overflow box, you wont have to restart it like a normal syphon. the overflow must be rated to take out more water then the sump pump (or return pump) is rated for plus any head loss (thats water pressure loss from pumping water dirctly up or throught complex piping). for example you have a 900GPH overflow and a 1100GPH return pump, you can make a T in the pipe for the return to control the flow of your retun pump just incase it is faster then your overflow. and you can use the T-ed off pipe to fill your fuge on one side. and remeber some return pumps are fully submersible in the sump. as for how you should set up your sump, drilling the tank is always preffered, since non-break syphons are f'in expensive and not as reliable. and as far as what to pup in the sump, your imagination and the size of the sump are the only limits.

 

[Lagger]

Looks like it's coming along nicely BC! Once that thing cycles you need to get a live favia in there.

Now time to get a black background :thumbsup:

 

[Blinkgyrl2987]

BCreefmaker... that all sounds so wonderful... too bad I suck at this part of reef keeping. Now with all this thought put into it I was wondering if maybe the 20 L beneath my tank should just be its own clowed system for a quarantine tank or hospital tank.

The fuge I could still do on the back of the main tank.... this may save me money instead of trying to get a sump going. I looked into predrilled and built in overflows since they seem to be the only thing you can rely on, and they arent made for tanks that are smaller such as a 40 Breeder. I'd love to go bigger so I can do this, but for sake of space I think I have to stick with my smaller tank ( being the 40)

I'm excited for the bigger tank though I'm bummed because I never thought about the constant filled level of the main tank, that sounds really nice, ( water evaporates quick)

But theres always later to upgrade again.
I went from the nano cube 12 to the 20 gallon, to the 40 gallon, and who knows what will be next

 

[BCreefmaker]

Updates: well my LR is really getting alot of macro algea growing on it, 6 diffrent types have shown up so far. pods are going crazy, they seem to really love the silicone corners and overflow. i cant wait for the tank to cycle so i can put in a pepermint shrimp to help take care of the aspastia.

Blinkgyrl2987:well its up to you. just remeber after your tank is stocked and everything has been fine for a long time, you wont need the hospital tank really. so you will probbably want to convert it into a fuge or sump anyways. IMO a 10 gallon or so would be better. just throw in a little LR, a few hardy corals, a heater, a cheap powerhead, and a cheap light. again you can make it into a fuge to add to your other 20 gallon sump if you find its really isnt needed down the road. but you will always be happier with a under the tank fuge then without. if you need more space maybe just get a taller tank, it still takes up the same room but you can get alot more gallonage .

 

[BCreefmaker]

UPDATES: livestock added- 1 Turbo snail and 2 blue leg hermits.

 

[Blinkgyrl2987]

So a fuge doesnt have to be connected to the tank? it can be separate?

 

[Carrera76]

Hi there

Hi there

Hi BCreefmaker

This thread is very interesting. I just fhinised setting up a 29 gallon SW tank myself . I am new to SW and have lots to learn and threads like this help newbies a lot.

I have an aquaclear filter too and it is running with foam, carbon and something that looks like little rocks(but it is not). Based on you what said earlier it seems that it is not a good idea to have all those things in the filter. I am going to take them out and put some small pieces of live rock.

I have a question for you......what are PODS and what do they look like? you guys talk about them but I have no idea what they are. I know that Mandarin Gobies love these creatures.

I would like to see more pics of your tank.
Cheers
Daniel