Just got a tank, want to set up a reef

[Korwen]

Hi everyone!

I just recently got a 36" x 12" x 15" (30 gallons) tank from my friend, and I want to set it up as a reef. It was set up as a SW tank, and I got a bunch of stuff with it, but I want to know what I will need and what I'll have to do to get this to work (at minimal cost )

This is what I've got so far

• Tank
• Stand
• Lid
• CPR Bak-Pak 2 with the extra pre-skimmer add-on
• 2 Penguin 550 powerheads

This is what I think I'll need (but I'm sure I'm forgetting something) and I want to know what you guys think/reccomend about this

• Lighting - Coralife's 36" 192w compact flourescent hood
• Substrate - Arag-Alive extra fine black sand 30lbs. or so
• About 30lbs. of live rock
• Salt - duh

As far as the skimmer goes, this is the model with the bio-stuff in the skimmer. I was going to take that out, and add the internal bubble trap in place. Will this be fine? Also will I need additional filtration like a HOB power filter? When I'm curing the live rock I know I can't keep the skimmer on, so what filtration will I use? Is the coralife lighting enough?I'm sure I'll have bunches of questions in the future as my tank gets set up, but thanks for anwsering these now!

 

[Lostmind]

What did you want to keep in the tank? The lighting may not be adequate for some corals...

When I cured my live rock, I left the skimmer running all the time. I dont see why you wouldnt...

 

[Korwen]

A couple corals, an anenome and a clownfish, and just some small reef friendly fish - firefish, damselfish, yellow tang.

 

[Cynabar]

Yes I would also run the skimmer during curing, to remove the organics produced by the curing process. IMO your lighting should be good enough for the average 30 gal., but if you want to keep things like acroporas, and clams you might want to think about adding a 150 or 175 watt MH fixture as well.
Get yourself a set of "GOOD" test kits and use them regularly as the water quality in a 30 gal will change rapidly if the tank is heavily stocked.

 

[Meloco14]

30 gallons is too small for a yellow tang, he wouldn't be happy and would either get sick, possibly infecting your other fish, or just be stressed to the point he dies. However, there are plenty of fish suited for a 30. Firefish and damsels are fine, but be careful because damsels are very scrappy and territorial and in a 30 there isnt much room for anyone to run. Check out basslets too, like the royal gramma, or blackcap basslet. Most of your smaller gobies and blennies would be perfect. You may want to get a little more live rock than just 30 pounds. Of course this depends on the density of the rock, but in a smaller tank like that you want as much filtration as you can get, to be safe, so get a lot of live rock and sand. You don't really need the bio media in the skimmer with the live rock. Other than thats it seems like you're set to go. Those lights will be fine for anything short of sps and clams. Good luck!

 

[Revstarky]

I would hold off on the anemone, they're notoriously hard to keep. You can go ahead with the clown(s), they don't need a host. Unfortunately, a 30 gal. is too small for a tang. Yellow tangs get as large as a salad plate and require room swim.The lighting will be fine for a wide range of corals. As Melco14 mentioned, most SPS corals and clams require more intensity.
You might want to rethink the damsel. They really are nasty little buggers. I think if you do a search you'll find more people posting for advice on how to remove them than anything else.
There are a lot of cool smaller fish that are more peaceful and better suited to your setup. In addition to those already mentioned, I'll add two more for consideration- I've had a Swissguard basslet for years, great fish. I recently added a Rainford's goby, and it's another really attractive,small, peaceful guy.

 

[ChrisRD]

Korwen,

Looks like you've already got lots of good advice so far. Definitely run the skimmer while curing the rock - you shouldn't need any other filtration. You should be able to keep a wide range of things under that lighting with a few exceptions (as mentioned already).

If you haven't already done it, check out our reading list (see my sig) and pick yourself up a good book or two. While your rock is curing you can start planning your stocking list...

Good luck with your new setup and welcome to Reefs.Org.