Couple of Questions from Total Newbie

[Silverfuelz]

Hello Guys/Girls,
I've registered on this forum sometime back and was reading it silently since i don't really have knowledge in reef keeping. I learned many things on this forum but, there are couple of Questions i can't find answers so, posting this thread

I am 20year old, full-time student majoring in computer-networking
I have freshwater tank and now i really want to jump in reef tanks (Well, Planning pretty hard and arranging things into *.Doc file :p ). so i was gonna start with one of those nano tank but than i heard people saying DO NOT JUMP into nano if u don't really know what is going on.(or unless u major in bio) so i stopped thinking nanos . Now, i am planning to go for 70-75 gallons (It's not going to be soon enough though)

Here is my questions : (after getting following answers, may be things will make sense better to me)
1. i have read in almost all the threads about "overflow" but i just don't get concept of overflow i mean why would u need that so if some one can explain me or redirect me to detailed article.

2. Coraline .... Is it Useful ? if no than how do u guys get rid off it ?

3. In future aquarium articles: i read some guy writing about vacuuming his sand in tank. So how do u vacuum sand in reef tanks ? same like freshwater or different ..?

and if u guys can suggest a good book (easily available) on reef keeping it would be awesome.

- English isn't my first language so just ignore little mistakes please
Thank you in advance :-D

 

[herpencounter]

First off if you have money to jump in to a 70-75 gall. go for it.
I would get any thing from 29 to 55 IMO for beginners (not to expensive and still big enough to make mistakes).

 

[cindre2000]

Just so you know, 75 will be more work to maintain. Even if it is inherently more stable...

1. An overflow is a plumbing device. You have probably read about the sump, a remote tank that holds water that you can place 'ugly' equipment in. Sumps allow for a nicer appearing setup. In order to get water into and out of the sump, you drill a hole in the display tank, that hole is connected by a pipe to the sump, a pump then returns the water to the display.

However, It would be very difficult to balance the drain and the return (from the pump). Therefore some one came up with the idea of a stand pipe. You attach a length of pipe inside the tank to the 'hole'. The water then overflows into the pipe, down the tube into the sump. Since the amount overflowing is directly proportionable to the volume returned (via pump), there is no tweaking involved as long as the pipe is properly sized.

However, unless you have very little water flowing through the pipe, this basic setup is noisy. Therefore some one came up with the idea of an overflow box. The water overflows into a small partition in the tank, then the standpipe in the box is partially submerged in the form of a durso or stockman stand pipe to reduce noise. The reason you need the overflow box is so you still get the surface skimming.

You can easily get a 'reef-ready' 75 with an overflow already in place, drilled, with stand pipes.

2. Coraline forms over the rock making it look 'pretty' and preventing less desirable algae growth- particularly bubble, hair, etc. It also is an attractor for coral growth. However, it will cover the glass, a simple razor blade; or better yet, a Kent Pro-Scrapper removes it like a charm. If you every break down the tank, or remove equipment that you want cleaned off, submerging the item in vinegar will dissolve the coraline algae.

3. Vacuuming the sand is the same way. You just have to be careful not to suck all the sand up since it is much lighter than gravel.

 

[SnowManSnow]

1. The previous poster did a good job, but here it is in another person's words. An overflow box is a box connected to the inside of your tank that controls how much water goes into your overflow. The overflow sides are an inch or so shorter than the walls of your display tank, so it lets water flow into the box before it reaches the top of your tank.

2. coraline is an algae that uses calcium to grow. It is useful in that other algae generally wont grow where the coraline is.. and the coraline is generally a pretty pink color. It is a pain to scrape off of your front glass though Don't worry about coraline.. a lot of ppl obsess over it, but it will just happen if your paremeters are ok.

3. Some ppl dont vaccume sand,... some do.. I do.

4. personally, I would go for the 75g tank

Just remember to make haste very slow. Reefing takes a lot of time and patience. It's easy to get ahead of yourself in the beginning.

Oh.. dont fall for the pitch at the local fish store (LFS) that you need a prism or seaclone skimmer... stay AWAY from these.

B

 

[Silverfuelz]

Thank you very much cindre2000 and SnowManSnow for taking your little time out to help me :-D i really appreciate

You can easily get a 'reef-ready' 75 with an overflow already in place, drilled, with stand pipes.

so basically if i get "reef-ready" tank i wouldn't really have to worry about setting up those pipes and stuff because i have seen many Behind the scene pictures of all those reef aquariums and they have did enough technical work upon them e.g some liquor bottles, and many weird things to set it up.

i already have play(beach) sand in my freshwater tank so i am good at vacuuming sand. but i asked that question because i got confused for word "live sand" (i thought, may be alive sand need some spacial attention or something)

anyway those were just confusions for me but now reading more about sumps, overflows, coralline in this forum will make better sense to me than before.

Now, I'll make list of things i want, will figure out thier approximate prices, will ask in this forum again will read people's opinion and will buy once i am financially perfect :-D

Once again thank you very much :-D

 

[cindre2000]

A "reef-ready" aquarium means that the manufacturer has build it with an overflow and has already drilled holes. The tank usually comes with the manufacturer's stand pipes as well. All you have to do is install the piping underneath the tank (as well as a sump and return pump). This usually means flexible PVC or nylon tubing.

Live sand means there is helpful organisms in the sand that help convert waste into less harmful substances. There are lots of worms, bacteria, copepods, micro stars, etc. living in the sand making it their home. However as time passes, the sand accumulates detritus, you normally see this as a off-white dust in and on top of the sand in low flow areas. This detritus builds up and really should be vacuumed out. It works just like a freshwater tank as long as you don't have a deep sand bed.

 

[bubblepuffer]

I start off mine as 16g..then end up more reefs setup born after that. Sometime reading through everything and get you excited .. will it be a hobby that you can keep long? so I end up starting it as small tank, see how long I can stay in this Reef Hobby and how much patient and work I can stand spending on it. Small tank will have lot of Bio load issue, if there is many corals and fish in there.. if you can keep up the work of cleaning, water changes. and all the $$$ you going to spend on it.. you will end up like me getting a big tank when you ready..

 

[Silverfuelz]

he he, bubblepuffer u speaking my mind lol
yea, READING EVERYTHING GETS ME EXITED.
but i don't want to take some hasty steps. and realized later that i just wasted money and killed some fish.
if i follow you.....i have 20gallon tank (used to be freshwater) i can convert it to reef.
can u tell me what kinda equipments i need ??

cuz if i even go with 70-75 gallon i don't have much knowledge on corals so far i liked ..
Yellow Polyp Rock
Zooanthids (all available colors) so i have to just put only them in whole 70g and may be 1 anenome

but in 20g i don't have to worry too much about corals i can just fill my tank with only 2 (mentioned above) corals and make it pretty

* i may not even start 20g but it's just thought..
* and no matter what kinda tank i go i need pair of clowns in u r picture and 1 Orchid Dottyback

 

[mr_X]

as stated above, a smaller tank like a 20 gallon will keep you on your toes. there is no room for error. a small mishap in a 20 gallon tank is like an exxon valdez in the ocean. but it's certainly not un-doable. you might read the "nano" forum for a while, to see the issues/procedures/techniques, they use. good luck! :wink:

 

[cindre2000]

The main difference between a nano and a larger reef is that you depend a whole lot more on biological filtration and water changes. You also have to stay on your toes and not overstock.

As for equipment for a 20:

Tank,
Live Sand,
20-30 lbs live rock (what looks good)
Saltwater

Hang-on Filter (for water movement, not carbon filtration)
Powerhead(s)
100w heater
Thermometer
Good light (preferable) (probably a power compact unit)

With such a setup you could easily keep a wide variety of zoanthids and the yellow polyps. The anemone could be difficult without really good lighting. As for the clowns and dottyback; a 30 would be roomier; however, just the clowns would be fine.

 

[Good Alex]

dont forget about a clean up crew!! and if your going to get yellow polyps then you shouldent get a pepperment shrimp because of the reslemblence with aptista anemones and the the polyps. Them pepperements will eat your polyps!

 

[mr_X]

dont forget about a clean up crew!! and if your going to get yellow polyps then you shouldent get a pepperment shrimp because of the reslemblence with aptista anemones and the the polyps. Them pepperements will eat your polyps!

is this opinion or fact?
my aptasia was not yellow. it was more orange or brownish. i have orange and brownish zooz that are almost exactly the color of aptasia, and the peppermint doesn't bother with them.

 

[Good Alex]

sorry i dident mean the yellow polyps resemble the aptista by color, but by shape and sometimes size

 

[mr_X]

oh. ok.
did you read this somewhere? or witness it? i am not putting you on the spot, i am curious, because i keep one and have not seen any behavior like this.

 

[Good Alex]

i found another fourm that explains what im talking about, but i dont know if im allowed to post other websites


and another reason that your pepperment shrimps might not be eating your yellow polyps is because you keep it well fed and therefore your decrease the chance of him picking at your corals

 

[Good Alex]

or i can just post some of the replies that other people said

which would you prefer?

 

[mr_X]

you could pm the information to me.

 

[shavo]

post the website, I don't think it is a problem if it is educational and pertaining to everybody learning something. PM me as well and I will post it

 

[ChrisRD]

Some folks have issues with Peppermints going after certain polyps. I haven't personally had a problem with it, but it's not unheard of.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh.. dont fall for the pitch at the local fish store (LFS) that you need a prism or seaclone skimmer... stay AWAY from these.

B

B,

I'm curious to know why these type of skimmers are no good. I have a Coralife Protein Skimmer. I'm a newbie as well and this is what the LFS pitched to me. lol. When I switched stores they informed me my protein skimmer will eventually have to be upgraded to a AquaC remora since I'm going for a reef aquarium with fish. I have a 50 gallon with no sump. Metal Halides are on my "to do list" and getting another skimmer will set me back a bit, so I wanted to verify if I must upgrade my skimmer.