Need advice before I start- Solana 34g tank

[smoq]

Hi guys/gals!

I'm being active on this forum for 3 months now and it's members still impress me- I truly didn't thought that there are so many knowledgeable people in the NYC metro area. Few weeks passed and I'm almost ready to set-up my first reef. I am also a small fortune poorer, but don't tell my girlfriend
Anyway, I was split between red sea max, drsfosersmith ecocube, cadlights 39g setup and 34g solana tank and I have chosen solana. And I don't regret it- the tank is beautiful-rimless, starfire glass on 3 sides, nice size and not so many drawbacks. I've got the tank from Jim and Russ from saltwatercritters (great people to do business with) and John (bueller) made a greaat stand for me. I will start a journal soon and promise to add some pictures, but before I pour water in the tank, I'd like to hear your comments and criticism. So the setup consist of:

-34g low-iron current solana tank with custom made stand
-stock pump, tunze 9002 skimmer with steviet cup
-lighting is 24" 4x24W aquaticlife fixture and I'm planning to get current powerbrite led strip for shimmering effect (heard it's great addition). I'm talking about this one http://www.marinedepot.com/Current_USA-LED_Light_Fixtures_for_Aquariums-CU-FILTFILD-ct.html What do you think?

So my plan for chambers is:

1.tunze 9002 skimmer and marineland stealth heater
2. tossed out bioballs and carbon, made a cheato cage from eggcrate and I will use a DIY 13w PC bulb fixture to light it above it chemi-pure elite and filter floss.
3. Stock return pump and reef fanatic ATO (forget about those stock top-off bottles, they are a joke)

What do you think about that plan?

I still haven't decided where to get live-rock from, but I will probably get it from premiumaquatics.com.

I have some questions before I start this setup:
1. During the tank cycle I should not use the skimmer and should not add chemi-pure before it finish, correct?
2. I'm confused about photoperiod, I was thinking something like that:

actinic: 12AM-12PM
10000K: 3PM-11PM
LED:ON after daylight is OFF and stays on until daylight power up

Please comment on that lighting schedule, I'm still a noob

How much and should I use? I will have 2 20# bags of fiji pink sand but should I use only one of them?

Well, that's it for now, I will definetely have more questions in the nearest future. Thank you for all your comments.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

Congrats on the tank and I guess officially welcome to MR-- Couldnt agree more about Russ and Jim- you made 2 great choices in my eyes 1)the type of tank and 2) who to get it from and to deal with-

I would say no lights during cycle. When you start to cycle it throw a cocktail shrimp in the tank- get one from the seafood counter at the grocery store- wash it under ro water before you put it in in case there are any preservatives on it. Also your tank is gonna smell while the shrimp rots away but the smell will go away when the shrimp is gone. Let it rot away your pods and other critters in your rock will take care of it. I ran my skimmer during my cycle- some say dont some say do I did.

Once your cycle is done:
I wouldnt go 12 hours they say 8-12 I like to go on the shy side of 12. My moonglows not lunars- moonglows- theyre much brighter. They go on at 4 pm- my actinics go on at 6 my halides come on at 7 halides go off at 11 pm actinics go off at 1 am moonglows go off at 2 am. I am still tweaking my photo cycle I bought halides that are WAY to big but am downgrading them this week so will adjust again after I get the right ones- was just lettin ya know what I do as of now. Everyone has their own beliefs on this one too- is just mine- go with what you like.

You want at least a 2 inch sand bed I dont think 2 20 pound bags will be enough. I would say buy more than youll need for sure and you can return what you dont use, just verify with store that they wont give you a hard time is all. Remember to put your rock on the glass and then your sand so no burrowers can undermine your rockwork once you add fish- gobies, wrasses they are burrowers as well as nassurius snails. Good luck on your tank and welcome again.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

During the cycle I wouldn't use the skimmer or the chemipure.

As for your photo period your actinics are to enhance the view of your corals with the 10k lighting and they create a dusk/dawn atmosphere for your tank. Mine go on 1 hr before and go off 1 hr after my 10k lights go on. Night lighting can be used to light the tank while both the 10k and actinic are off.

Sand is your call but the rock that is at the base should be placed before the sand goes in. For live rock I would go to one of the vendors here so you don't have to pay for shipping and so you can hand pick your pieces.

 

[masterswimmer]

Marcin, your plan sounds solid and well thought out. Minor tweaks will always be needed. The advice from Jimmy and Brendan is obviously spot on. They both know their stuff.

My thoughts on lighting during cycling = NO
My thoughts on the skimmer during cycling = personal preference, I run my skimmer very very wet during cycling to basically facilitate heavy water changes. Lots of folks will tell you that prolongs the cycle. I am from the belief that slow is good. I was in no rush to add livestock to the tank. Extending the cycle because of heavy water changes, IMO, removed a ton of the nasty crap that comes in on uncured LR. I'd rather have that out of my tank rather than break down inside the tank and having to deal with removing it later on. Just my $.02.

The photoperiod I tend to suggest is about 8 hrs max of actinics with 6 hrs of daylights (whether they are MH, T5's, PC's or LED's).

The most useful advice I can give you is, there isn't one correct way to do things right in this hobby. What works for one person, might not work for someone else. Some of this is due in part to water quality right from the tap, or variations in lighting, or even so much as the aquascaping which might prevent or facilitate certain flow in your tank. The variables contributing to the uniqueness of each system warrant different solutions. Therefore, the sum of the varying solutions creates a different method for each reefer to wind up at the same destination. A successful reef can be had by varying approaches. If the resulting reef is a success, then all the various methods can also be considered successful approaches to reefing.

Best of luck,
Russ

 

[smoq]

Thank you for all your replies. I'm getting closer to get this setup going, but I still work overtime hours so it's slower than I wish it was.
I've made my choice on the live rock and I'm gonna get 35# of uncured bali and timora rock. You suggested that I should have my lights off during the cycle, but I read a bunch of "cycling a tank for dummies" newbie threads on various forums and found out that if you keep the lights off during the cycle you may kill hitchhiker corals and macroalgae on uncured rock. What do you think about that statement?
I followed your advice about photoperiod and here's a second version

actinic: 3PM-11PM
10000K: 4PM-10PM
LED:ON after daylight is OFF and stays on until 8AM (to say hello to fishies before I go to work)
How is that?

I also got an used reefkeeper lite level 1 to control my heater and fans. What else would you suggest to hook up with it? It has 4 controllable outlets:
1. fan (maybe two of them connected to one outlet)
2. heater
3.?
4.?

Lights have their own controller so I don't have to use reefkeeper. Vortech has one too. Maybe ATO pump?
I made a DIY cheato light (can you tell me how to pronounce cheato correctly so I won't end up as a moron if I'd like to order one), should I get cheato during the cycle or after it?
So here's what I am planning to have in chambers:
CHamber 1 Tunze skimmer and marineland heater (it barely fits, I needed to toss out suction cups from the heater
Chamber 2 from the bottom cheato in eggcrate cage, then filter floss and chemi-pure on top to keep filter floss from escaping to chamber 3
Chamber 3 ATO and return pump

What do you think?

Again, thanks for all your replies.

 

[NYreefNoob]

definately on the ato, will help keep parms stable, 20 lb of sand should be enough or get a 30 lb bag, agreed get rock from a vendor here or members, i am not a fan of the tunze skimmer, i actually use one from the solana on my tank and it does as good if not better then the tunze and not as finicky. only down side to having filter floss under cheato is if it starts to clog and or keeping pods from going back into tank, i use pura complete myself on my nano, and as russ said alot of different roads to get to same destination, but they all pretty much have the same core way of doing thing's. do you have all the test kits ? using ro-di water ? have a refractometer ? 1 heater or 2 ? and best of luck it's a fun and enjoyable hobby

 

[James]

Marcin, I have a RKL as well and will show you how I have it programmed when you come over this week. I have my lights, heater, ato (this week) and my returns on it (so I can put it in standby for feedings).

I will explain in more detail when I see you, Monday at 5:30 or anytime after that works well for me.

James

 

[smoq]

definately on the ato, will help keep parms stable, 20 lb of sand should be enough or get a 30 lb bag, agreed get rock from a vendor here or members, i am not a fan of the tunze skimmer, i actually use one from the solana on my tank and it does as good if not better then the tunze and not as finicky. only down side to having filter floss under cheato is if it starts to clog and or keeping pods from going back into tank, i use pura complete myself on my nano, and as russ said alot of different roads to get to same destination, but they all pretty much have the same core way of doing thing's. do you have all the test kits ? using ro-di water ? have a refractometer ? 1 heater or 2 ? and best of luck it's a fun and enjoyable hobby

I've read nothing but good reviews on tunze skimmer and I've got it for cheap with mp10, that's why I bought it. Anyway, I have both the stock one and tunze, we'll see which one would be good for me.
About the ATO- what is the reason to hook it up to controller- to control the pump so it turns on just for a minute or so? I mean, my ATo has it's own controller and two float sensors, one for highest level and the other one for lowest. What do you think?
I have ammonia, nitrite, alkalinity and ph tests but I don't have calcium test. As for water, I will be using RO/DI water and I have a refractometer.
1x 200W heater and two fans that will be controlled with RKL.
I hope that helps.

 

[NYreefNoob]

you will need a magnesium kit as well it plays role with cal and alk, the ato will have a box that once float drops it turns a pump on to pump water into tank { top off water }

 

[E.intheC]

Lots of great information was given in the past few posts. I'm only going to 2 things.

The ATO units from autotopoff.com (double float valves) have a great reputation and aren't expensive. I'm going to be getting one for my 45 cube. (And I'm pretty sure they'll fit in the back chambers of your Solana)

Also, there's a Solana thread on Reefcentral that has tons of great information. (I think there's one on MR as well.)

Good luck. MR is a great resource.

 

[smoq]

Thanks guys/gals for all your help. I've got my rocks yesterday and I filled it up (no sleep till Brooklyn). I'll try to start a journal this week and I have tons of new questions

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

 

[masterswimmer]

Can't wait to see the pictures.

Ditto

 

[smoq]

The pleasure is MINE

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...a-tastes-like-salt-first-time.html#post720744