So you got a new fish tank Newbie

[TheDrunkenClam]

Tom,

First of all - great thread, thanks for all of your insights for us noobs. The contributions of yourself and others have saved me hundreds of $'s and hours in mistakes (although now I am spending hours reading the forums instead). I took a part of this savings and signed up for a premium membership at RC....and I encourage others who have benefited from this forum to do the same.

Question is this, I keep seeing the recommendation of at least 4" for a DSB and brand X sand, yet an experiment in Advanced Aquarist Online that compared plenum vs. non-plenum, deep vs. shallow sand bed, and fine vs. coarse sand concluded the following:

Each sediment-based aquarium design appeared capable of handling nutrient inputs up to 0.5 mg / L / day of NH4+ - which is equivalent to a well-stocked reef aquarium. At this input level, final concentrations of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate did not differ significantly among aquaria 1) with or without plenums, 2) containing deep (9.0 cm) or shallow (2.5cm) sediments, or 3) containing coarse (2.0mm) or fine (0.2mm) mean particle sizes. Bioload and animal deaths in the aquarium show a much greater effect on the water quality than does the specific design for the tank.

The link is here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/6/aafeature

I am curious to hear your thoughts on this study oh wise one...

Is everyone overly obsessed with this topic? Should we just go with what looks good? Why can't I stop reading RC?

Dave

 

[sarahsmile]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6425974#post6425974 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TheDrunkenClam

Why can't I stop reading RC?

Dave

I'm happy to see I'm not the only one with this disease

 

[Donstuprich]

So you got a new fish tank Newbie

Hi everybody,

Names donovan and I'm just getting into this reef thingamabob. I figured with wine and cigars, I could use a new expensive hobby . After snorkling, I figured I could hack a home reef. After spending the last 2 months reading up on it, I have decided it is going to be a challenge. My buddy gave me a japanese brand canister filter and 29gal. The more I read about tanks that are less that 50gal, the more of a challenge I knew it would be. Well I went to the PX to pick up a couple power heads for ny new challenge, and they had a 55gal.

A little VHO went off in my head and new it was for me... so now i have a 55g with a 29g sump. More challenge.

Stock includes:

55g main with 50%CC / 50%Sand, Thermometer.
29g sump with a 250w and 300w heater, canister filter for a 50g tank, a bio wheel for a 50g tank, and a seaclone skimmer on the way. Not to mention those 2 power heads. Water test kit inbound as well as a salinty tester.

This process is going slow, because I need to learn some patience and this is working for me. So my questions are:

1. My hood rest for my 55g is 47" L x 11.5" W, segmented into two sections of 23" L x 11.5" W devided with a 1" plastic strip. I'm stuck on the lighting . I'm going PC, japanese electric is expensive... should i look for two 23" long fixtures or should I just cut the plastic divider out and go with a 48" fixture?

2. My sump plan is strictly more water volume/filtering, does this look like a solid plan?

The center section has to remain a 15" due to the hang on back filter, left is flow in.. right is return. Seaclone will go in the middle. Should I do away with the two inner baffles?

PS. the internet warned me about the skimmer, after the fact... It also pointed me in the right area for modding it.

Waiting and reading...

 

[Donstuprich]

FYI.. no water in the tank at all at this point

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

well congrats on reading up first.
for the lighting i would go with a 48 fixture if removing the divider will not harm the strength of the hood.

as for the sump if all you want it for is a sump then i would get rid of the first 3 baffles and move the other 3 baffles over enough so you have just enough room for your skimmer and filter. you want the return part of the sump as big as you can as that will be where all your evaporation will show up. also don't make your baffles go all the way to the top of the sump as if you loose power you will want the extra room for the tank water to go without overflowing the sump.

do you plan on having LR in the tank? if so i would just get 100lbs of LR for your tank and forget the filter as the LR will do that for you.

also if i was you i would take the cc out and go with sand only as cc will be a ditrius trap later on.

also the biofilter will also become a nitraite factory later on so i would also skip using that.

just my .02

 

[dastratt]

Don,
[welcome]

what brand of aquarium? Is it drilled?

You may want to consider trading in the biowheel and seaclone and pony up for a better skimmer, such as AquaC, Coralife SuperSkimmer, etc. as discussed in equipment forum. Just a suggestion ...

You may want to consider putting a tray in the sump to run mechanical filtration and/or carbon though you can run those in the canister.

Have you seen Melev's designs on http://www.melevsreef.com/

 

[WaterKeeper]

Darn, I lost a reply somewhere.

I thought I had replied to DrunkenClams question on Bob Toonen's article on substrate/plenum experiments but it got lost in cyberspace somehow.

Anyway, I did read the article and it is interesting. The only bad point was, and this is a common problem with research in this hobby, that it only had 3 tanks each using similar substrate approaches. While this provides some statistical validity it is hardly overwhelming. I am also not so sure that the ammonia loadings were enough to truly simulate true hobbyist tank conditions and therefore nitrate levels were controlled. I did find it interesting that in his conclusions he states-

Robert Toonen, Ph.D., Christoper Wee; An Experimental Comparison of Sandbed and Plenum-Based Systems: Part 2: Live Animal Experiments, Advanced Aquarist Online, July 2005
The only significant effect was that death rate in shallow sediments was significantly higher than (almost twice) that of tanks with deep sediments, and the highest death rate of all was observed in aquaria with shallow, coarse sediments over a plenum.

Being a DSB advocate it made my day but also as a realistic scientist I realize these data were too limited to make really sound assumptions.

Don,
First off good planning so far and glad you found my primer a help. I would suggest that you look closely at using T-5 lighting over the PC lights. You get more bang per watt in true illumination and, IMO, the color rendition is better. Since you are already a pro at following my convoluted threads see The Lighting Thread for the full story. I think Sam & Dastratt pretty well sized up the sump suggestions and recommendations so I won't add more.

 

[Acreagedad]

Tom, slight problem I think!

I've just returned from Italy for a long vacation of about 2 weeks. You remember that my new 125g has been set up and I added sand and water only in December sometime before Christmas. I also mentioned to you that I had started to cure my live rock out in the shed.

The rock is ready, that's not the problem.

The problem is that the tank remains cloudy. I don't know why and this has never happened to me before. I see sand particles everywhere. That's what is causing the cloudy water, but why??? After three weeks?

Is there such thing as bad sand? I've never seen anything like it. What can I do at this point?

Florida shouldn't have sandstorms! We have hurricanes.

Carl

 

[Donstuprich]

After posting I read a bit more and at that point I knew I was going to get bit by the PCs bad bugÃ"šÃ‚¡K. Especially since I wanted to work an anemone into my tank. So IÃ"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¦ve decided, with some helpful suggestions, to go the T-5 route and rip the hood divider out. IÃ"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¦m aiming at

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium...va_extreme_t5_high_output_ho_lunar.asp?CartId

Any qualms out there with these? It has also been suggested that I do away with the CCÃ"šÃ‚¡K. I was afraid of thisÃ"šÃ‚¡K as my sand/CC is already mixed, but not too big of an issue. The bio wheel is out, the sand bed goes from 2Ã"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¨ to 6Ã"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¨, see adding an anemone. The aquarium is not drilledÃ"šÃ‚¡K any recommendations for a return pump? Also my sea clone skimmer stays, as itÃ"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¦s in the mail. IÃ"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¦m sure this will bite me in the rear later on, but IÃ"šÃ‚¡Ã"šÃ‚¦m going to test out these mods for itÃ"šÃ‚¡K more of a challenge that wayÃ" Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ãƒ"šÃ‚º. Hopefully my Japanese electric can handle the extra 4.3 amps required for those lights (100v verse 110v)Ã"šÃ‚¡K. Not to mention pumps/heaters/skimmer/filters power draw.

Sorry this post is all over the placeÃ"šÃ‚¡K and now the questions:

Is 100lbs of LR too much for a 55g? Am I supposed to put the skimmer/filtering lines on the input side of my sump? I thought the motion from the water coming in would hinder the filtering.

Thanks for the help and the patience

 

[Donstuprich]

Add on... Are either of these possible options i should consider???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46314&item=7733378826

http://cgi.ebay.com/T5-T-5-HO-Aquar...736969705QQcategoryZ46314QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6388670#post6388670 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by krzykat
WK - I got my tank all plumbed and got my fresh supply of real saltwater today. So I guess it's time for more questions My return is pushing water out so fast that it's creating like a venturi - millions of tiny bubbles result. I'd think to get some flexible hose and lower the return so that can't happen. But that means when power goes out - I'll have a flood. What should I do ?? (PS - this is the greatest thread for us newbies)

Awaiting my live sand and rock now

So, your return is so close to the surface of the water that it's picking up air as it sprays the water out? You can extend the return deeper under the water, just drill very small holes (I used a 3/32 bit, and made 4 so if one or two get clogged they'll still function) just below the water surface. You wont lose much flow out of the holes (and if you do, who cares? It's still flow) but they will work as a siphon break once the water drops below the level of the holes.

 

[krzykat]

Thanks Reverend,

I'd be glad to try this. You got the scenario exactly correct. But if I drill such holes won't it spit water straight out that hole? Or would it just take the path of least resistance and go out the bottom like you want it to?

 

[reverendmaynard]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6474391#post6474391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by krzykat
Thanks Reverend,

I'd be glad to try this. You got the scenario exactly correct. But if I drill such holes won't it spit water straight out that hole? Or would it just take the path of least resistance and go out the bottom like you want it to?

It will spit some water out the holes, but since they are just UNDER the waters surface, you're not likely to notice it. Use the smallest drill bit you've got, and you'll lose very little water out of the holes. I have my return plumbed all the way to the bottom of the tank for undergravel (well, sand, really) jets. My holes are 1/8" to 1/4" below the waters surface. This gives me only about 3 gallons of backflow from the pump when it's turned off (in my 125). Also, when I drilled them, I angled the drill so that when the pipe is installed, the holes would "point" down, if you know what I mean.

 

[WaterKeeper]

First off, thanks Reverend. WK is not that much of a DIY'er so any ideas for a question like that helps a lot.

Acrerage,

I would have not placed the pasta you brought back from Italy in the main tank. Always cure your pasta in a separate vat.

What you really are waiting for is to get bacteria to coat that sand. Once you add the cured LR to your tank that will start to happen. The little buggers on the rock will soon grow on the sand and produce bacteria glue that sticks the fine grains together. It will take a little time but soon the sand will stay in place.

Don,

I really like the 8 lamp T-5 systems. I think you will find they "outshine" any PC setup although they do cost more. If you plan on anemones then they are even more valuable. Either of the T-5 systems you linked to should be fine. You can let price and your own desires chose which one. The Nippon Electric Company should agree.

 

[bugged]

I have a nice RR tank 58g oceanic, the front glass has some deep scratches in it. Is it safe to use regular glass of the same demensions (its a 2x3x3/8) currently its tempered glass. Or is there a way to buff them out?
The tank is empty and I would like to set it up in a couple of months.

 

[Acreagedad]

Oh, that makes a lot of sense.

By the way, all of the pasta has been cured and is sitting somewhere in my septic tank. Yuck! ...not to mention the 9 lbs of weight I've gained.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi bugged,

To my knowledge there is no easy method to polish out scratches in glass tanks. If you are handy the best method is to removed the scratched panel and replace it with a new pane of the same thickness. It need not be tempered but you might see if you can get a low iron type glass which provides better clarity.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6481395#post6481395 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acreagedad
...not to mention the 9 lbs of weight I've gained.

The cure for that is to do even larger, more frequent water changes on that tank.

 

[kmercado]

Newbie here, my husband and I are looking into starting our saltwater tank we're looking at a 20 gal, so it'll be smaller. One of our main questions ( don't worry we've done tons of research) and it seems like a stupid question, but how often do we clean the tank? or partially switch the water? how does that get figured out?

Is it one of those "uh-oh, tanks dirty let's clean it" or is there something else?

 

[Zaphod]

Water changes anywhere from weekly biweekly or monthly. I wouldn't go bi monthly thats pushing it. I think 5 gal every 2 weeks to a month should be fine. FYI I would recomend a tank at least 55 gal the more water you have the harder it is to mess it up it is more stable.

 

[dastratt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6585471#post6585471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kmercado

Is it one of those "uh-oh, tanks dirty let's clean it" or is there something else?

Actually, that's kind of it -- but I bet many of our tanks are "cleaner" than our houses, of course you don't want to wait til you think its "dirty" (youll know)

Your livestock will like some fresh water every week in a 20 g IME, like 3g is 15% that easily fits in a bucket. You can blow gunk off the rocks with a turkey baster and vacuum out water and gunk with a suction hose. There are a lot of ways to do it.

And fortunately you can purchase cheap labor that likes getting wet
like snails and other critters

[welcome]