Upgrading Tanks, Feedback Wanted.

[ERICinFL]

I'm hoping to get a better response here, I didn't get any response on the "Reef Discussion" board.

Right now I have a 112gal tank and I'm buying my buddy's 150. Money is a little tight right now, and I have to purchase another MH ballast, bulb, etc. along with more rock, bigger skimmer and a bigger return pump. So, here's my plan.

Instead of buying more sand, I was planning on heading to the beach (I'm only 10min. away) and just digging up about 50-60lbs. I'd let it dry out, rinse and repeat a few times over a month or so. When it came time to do the swap, I'd put the sand in my current tank down, making sure to keep the layers as consistent as possible, then put the "clean, dry" beach sand (about 2-3in.) over top of it. This should give me a nice 3-4in. sand bed. I figure it will keep most, if not all of the harmful stuff from doing any damage to my livestock and corals. The sand from Cocoa Beach is fine crushed Quartz, fine crushed shell and fine crushed coral. It's not going to be powdery, I'd say it's the same as the medium aragonite sand. I checked my local County website, along with the City of Cocoa Beach's and couldn't find any laws against collecting beach sand.

As far as rock goes, I'd either make some, buy base rock, or a combination of the two. I'd probably use the same beach sand for this as well.

For the skimmer, I'd probably stick with my Euro Reef, CS 135 for a while. I don't plan on adding anymore fish, just more SPS. Eventually, I'd upgrade to something larger, but I just couldn't afford to do it now, as a new skimmer will cost more than what he's selling the tank, stand and canopy for.
Current livestock: Regal Tang, Yellow Tang, Kole Tang, Royal Gramma, Gold Striped Maroon Clown, Madarin Goby

Naturally, I'd build a bigger sump. I currently have a 20gal and would probably go with a 40 breeder or a 55.

Along with the additional MH set-up, I'd need to ditch my 48in. T12s and go with some 72in. bulbs. Not an issue though, my Sun Seeker ballast will drive them with no problem.

I currently have a Mag 12 for my return and I have another Mag 12 that just needs a new impeller. Should I buy a bigger pump, or just use both Mag 12s, one on each return? I figure if I use both, that should save me from buying a couple more power heads right away.

I'll just mix up some fresh SW to make up the difference and transfer all the water from my tank to the new one. I'd imagine it'd have the same impact as a 20% water change.

This isn't something I'm going to set-up right away. I plan on buying the tank and getting the lighting squared away, along with the rock, sand and sump before I make the swap. What do you all think? Does my logic seem sound? Feel free to chime in and agree, call me an idiot or make any other suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[khaosinc]

Fairly sound inprincable at least as far as my experience goes. Though I would be leary of beach sand. I know many have used it without issue though.

As far as saving money, rather than a new fixture, pehaps just ad a 24" unit for the time being.

As for return pump, personally I would stay with the one you have and add powerheads, but thats my preference.

 

[ERICinFL]

My thinking with the return pumps, is with with the head pressure from the sump to the outlets in the tank, they'll only be moving about 900gph. So with two of them, my circulation will only be around 1800gph. I'm going to shoot for about 15,000gph total turnover in the display.

 

[KarlBob]

I assume that the primary reason to use beach sand is to save money. Because you plan to repeatedly rinse and dry it, you're probably not looking for extra biodiversity.

Given that, I'm not sure I'd recommend spending any more money on T12 lighting. Even if the MH will be your primary light source, I suspect you'd get more benefit per dollar from T5s. You could keep the 48" T12 in the middle, and add T5s on either side.

Jumping from 1,800 gph to 15,000 gph may be tough on a tight budget. I'd go ahead and repair the broken Mag 12. You already spent money on it; you may as well fix it and keep using it.

 

[ERICinFL]

The 1800gph will be circulation from tank to sump and back to tank. I already have 7800gph in power heads alone in my current display.

 

[ERICinFL]

My friend just told me, he's making a trip to Key West in Sept. and has offered to bring back some sand for me. I would imagine that would be a far better choice than to use the sand from Cocoa Beach.

 

[KarlBob]

I don't know how much better it would be. Key West is much farther from large cities, etc., but it's not exactly pristine. I think you'd still have a chance of introducing pollutants into the tank. Because you plan to repeatedly dry and rinse the sand, I doubt you'll get any nasty hitchhikers, but if some of the sand has been exposed to oil or other chemicals, you may not rinse it all away. Compared to some of the other costs involved in reef-keeping, buying sand just doesn't seem that extravagant.

 

[ERICinFL]

I understand what you mean KarlBob, but 60lbs of sand will probably run me $60 or more. That's $60 I can use towards another ballast and bulb. When the Exxon Valdez dumped all it's oil, a lot of the clean up on beaches was done with dish soap. My point is, dish soap is designed to break down oils and such, so after a few washes and A LOT of rinses, I don't think I'd have any problems. I could be wrong of course, but I just talked to a guy that has a 55gal reef and he got his sand from the beach and does water changes with ocean water. I'm not quite that brave to use ocean water collected off the beach, but he runs carbon in his holding drum for a few days before he does the change. He told me his SPS thrive and he hasn't lost a fish. I think I'd have to see his tank first before I completely believe him.