Starting, and starting small

[yellowJZ]

So I have officially finished reading Saltwater Aquariums for DUMMIES and have decided to start small. Well, at least as small as the book said I should, 30 gallons. So I haven't bought an aquarium yet but I currently have a glass 15 gallon aquarium and was thinking of using this as a sump, actually I'm not sure what a sump is but I was thinking of using it to increase the actually water volume of the entire tank to 45 gallons but have the 15 gallon aquarium out of site in the bottom of the stand and keep a biological filter (or liverock?), heater in it.

So basically I'm thinking about having a 30 gallon tank on top with a canister filter that filters the water and pumps it down to the 15 gallon tank underneath. I want to fill both of them and circulate the water by using a canister filter to move the water down to the 15 gallon tank from the 30 gallon and then pump it back up to the 30 gallon tank after it has been filter/heated in the 15 gallon tank.

Will putting a heater in the 15 gallon tank keep the entire system to the set temperature? And will the 15 gallon tank kept out of sight need a light of its own?

Sorry I'm completely new.

Here's what im planning to buy to start.

-SeaClear 30 gallon regular acrylic tank
-RENA xp1 canister filter
-RENA 150watt heater <- probably need to be uped because i just had the idea of adding the 15 gallon tank
-Some type of biowheel filter (maybe liverock, this is for the 15 gallon)
-Powerhead (to get water back up to the tank)

Im also thinking that a overflow bucket (or something like that) could replace the powerhead if i used the canister filter to pump the water back up to the tank. can anyone give me any tips?

I want to get a steady/mature tank set up before I get any livestock.

Thank You, I think i like this community <3

 

[indydog1]

[welcome]

here goes. setting up a 30 gal with a 15 gal sump is fine.

i would make sure it is reef ready, or have it drilled for bulkheads/drains.

let gravity do the work to get the water from the tank to the sump. now all you have to do is get a return pump rated for 600 gph.

your heater would go in the sump and yes it will keep the water heated in the main tank.

live rock is your filtration. you will have most in your tank and possibly some in the sump. figure 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per gallon. so 45 to say 75 pounds.

stay away from the canister filter all together. it can become a p.i.t.a.

we are all here to help and get help as needed. as you can see i am still learning.

 

[Fish_wiz2]

30 gals is a good start IMO but use the 15 gal as a sump/refugium and forget the canister (really, useless for reef) get it drilled for an overflow /return and have a pump, pump water back up to the tank. the 15 will have the rock (don't use bio-balls or ceramics), skimmer, heater, and pump plus a light if you do the refugium. The heater should keep the temp stable but have a backup 50 watt in the 30 display (just in case the 150 fails but use jager heaters, best and dependable). for a pump hydor koralia are great water movers!

 

[reefworm]

the amount of live rock is not just a function of pounds, but of surface area. if you get rock that's really open and porous you can do with less - more toward the 1# per gallon figure. the concern is have enough open space for your powerheads or circulation pumps to fully sweep the substrate, and good room for swimming and coral grow out. I totally agree with the sump suggestion. the rock and sand bed are your filtration once the tank has cycled and your bacterial populations are established. then it's a matter of controlling nutrients with detrivores [snails, worms, etc.], skimming, and macroalgae, and occasionally a phosban reactor.

Also, before you start buying, I'd reference this resource as a starting point. It's at the top of the new to the hobby forum, and labelled "new, new to RC, look here for answers"
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1031074
You can never do too much research in this hobby. plus - continue to ask lots of questions.

 

[yellowJZ]

Is it possible to buy 1 liverock to start with and a bunch of bleached reef rock and just let the organisms spread for awhile onto the reef rock. Because in my LFS they have very little liverock but alot of white reef rock, that hopefully wont stay white when i put it in the tank.

And this might be a really weird question but I was under the impression that liverock was called liverock because it had bacteria in it, but in the tank in my LFS the liverock tank has all these little shrimp/worm-like things crawling on it. Do I want these?

And for the drilling, would an overflow box be and adequate substitute for drilling?

I'm still kind of confused about filtration, I understand that liverock covers the biological filtration but what about mechanical and chemical filtration, should i just install a 55 gallon powerfilter somewhere for this? Because I understand the fun in making a small ecosystem of bacteria to control the environment but there was an "ammonia remover" filter media in the store and I was wondering if this would take a large load off the liverock filters if it were used in a powerfilter.

Is the sump you're recommending just the aquarium itself with liverock in it or do i have to insert pieces of plexiglass to create chambers. Like the guy in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxnugJGiT3o this video.]this video[/URL]. What are the "microbubbles" he talks about and why are these bad.

And one final question, should the return pump from the sump pump the water to the bottom of the main tank to create adequate flow. And should I use an airpump/sponge to aerate the water some place either in the sump or main tank.

 

[otrlynn]

I'll try to answer some of your questions. I don't use a sump, so I'll leave those questions to someone else. You are correct that the live rock is "live" because of the beneficial bacteria that lives in the rock. It is the main filtration system in your tank. The bacteria will convert ammonia to nitrite, then nitrite to nitrate. There may also be other "live" things on the rock when you buy it-- some good, some bad. For example bristle worms are good because that consume some of the detritus (waste) in the tank, but aptasia (amemones) are a nuisance because they multiply so rapidly. Most people who have a saltwater tank use a protein skimmer to remove the organic matter from the tank but do not use a canister filter or other mechanical filter. You are on the right track with asking a lot of questions before you get started!!!

 

[WhiteLightsaber]

I use an overflow box for my sump. Just be aware that they usually handle up to 700 gph, but with a 30 gal, you should have no problem.