Setting up a 30g Oceanic Cube

[talldude]

I've been keeping fish (freshwater and saltwater) on and off for years, but I'm a newbee to reefs and have a couple of questions regarding setup of my 30g Oceanic cube (the cube aquarium, not the bio-cube)

1. I've read a bunch of posts here on RC regarding protein skimmers, both for and against. Some say they are not needed as long as you do regular water changes, some say they are beneficial, etc. I am thinking that I may want to run one at least while the live rock is curing to handle any die off. I am planning on buying 30-40 lbs of live rock from Dr. Macs (he's local). Any one have a suggestion for a decent HOB skimmer (new or used) and pump for this? I'm looking for something < 250 ideally.

2. I am initially planning on SPS corals but might get into some LPS later. I'm leaning towards a 250w HQI Metal Halide since the tank is 20.5" and T5's wont fit. Comments?

3. How much flow should I have? Should this be from the return of the HOB skimmer or seperate powerheads or what? I have read 20-30x per hour (600-900gph), is this about right?

Thanks in advance.

Kevin

P.S. After I can the hang of it, I plan on turning my empty 125g into a reef, but figured I'd start off small.

 

[murfman]

you might be better off starting off with the 125. Reason is, you have more margin for error due to the larger volume of water.

As for your lighting, 250 will be fine, its good upto about 24". You want as much flow as you can get through the tank. Another option is a closed loop system to help with your flow.

How do you plan on plumbing the tank?

 

[nYgel]

turnover rate is right. and smart Idea to start out with a smaller tank for the first one, the margin of error is smaller, but you learn things alot better i think. also cheaper. good luck

 

[talldude]

I bought the tank and stand off someone here on RC and unfortunately there isnt much room inside the stand for a sump, so I was thinking about going sumpless. Otherwise, i would have to get rid of the stand and put it on something bigger, which just ruins the cube look in my opinion. I am open to suggestions though.

I wanted to start with the 30g to avoid having to buy $800+ in live rock to start the 125g.

Kevin

 

[Texsun]

I was in a similar position as you about a year ago. With the birth of our son, I took a couple years off from the the hobby. Saw the 30g Oceanic on clearance one day and decided to jump in justifying it as a small tank/purchase that would require less time and resources. A year later and I'm pining away for a larger tank, not only because of the additional room (once SPS take off they need room!) and stability, but because I realized the marginal cost for a larger tank is relatively small and not exponential as you may think.

If you do stick with the 30g, sumpless is fine. Most nanos are run sumpless due to space and budget constraints. I've always been a fan of protein skimmers as it adds a level of stability in such a small system. I run an AquaC Remora; a popular and well-regarded model that you can usually find used. 250w will be plenty. I run 150w and it's more than adequate for such a shallow tank. Drop in a couple of Maxijet 1200 with hydor flos and you'll be good to go.

 

[Saldarya]

I currently run a 30g Oceanic cube dedicated to SPS. Here is a pic.

Concerning equip, here is what is being used.

- Tank drilled for overflow box.
- Custom acrylic sump to fit the stand.
- Mag 7 for return.
- Flow in tank provided by a Nano stream, Tunze 7300/2 stream controlled with controller and a MJ 400.
- Lighting is a 250w SE 10K w/ actinic supplementation.
- Skimmer is Deltec AP600, plumbed externally.
- around 50# live rock.

Not sure what else you may need to know, but feel free to ask.

 

[DragonFish]

I run a 33 cube sumpless, and I regret not doing it right the first time. I've also got a remora HOB and it really doesn't skim enough. I also have no place to run a refugium due to my stupid JBJ Viper light. It clamps right on the back of the tank and takes up a good four inches of space on the back. Now I'm planning on upgrading the tank to have a sump with a decent skimmer, probably an octopus and dropping the Viper for a 250W HQI. The 33 is 22" tall and the Viper isn't anywhere near enough light to keep SPS happy. Trust me, put the work and cash into getting a sump right out of the box, it is a total pain in the *** to do it after the fact.

 

[talldude]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Thats a great looking tank Saldarya! I can only hope mine will look half that good!

I managed to find a small wet/dry filter in the basement, that I used to run a 20L with years ago and it does fit into the 30G cube stand. I figure I could toss the bioballs and use it as a sump if there would be an avantage to doing so. Its basicially a 3 chamber model with the bio-ball tower, a small 1 inch or so section for foam to catch detritus, and a 8" x 8" section for the return pump or skimmer. I could drill a bulkhead into the side if needed, but there is only a 6" x 20" area beside it to put anything. I suppose I could hang a skimmer on the sump (Aqua-C remora, etc).

Do you think this sump would be beneficial to use? It would add a couple more gallons to the system and allow for better flow I assume.

THanks

Kevin

 

[talldude]

bump

 

[StunnaShadez]

saldarya, ur tank is just amazing

 

[navyav8tr]

I have a 30G cube that I love but we moved in November and I have not had an opportunity to set it back up yet. I have a sump and am glad I went that route. I think a sump gives you more flexibility to add more equipment and more importantly have a little more water volume "just in case". Here are some pics of it when it was up in action as well as the sump area. I custom built the stand and canopy to accomodate the equipment I wanted. There are more pics in my gallery if you want to take a look. Hope this helps.

 

[redmonkey0019]

Hey navy, what kind of rock was that you were using in your 30 cube? Also nice to see another flight instructor with this hobby...though im pretty sure your students are not out to kill you as much as mine haha!

 

[navyav8tr]

Redmonkey, I bought it from a LFS at a steal for $3.99 a lb. The name of the rock is "Totoka" it is a very rubbly porous type. Roll Tide

 

[redmonkey0019]

War Eagle