My first DAY!!!!!! ANy help?

[starterkit]

I want a 20-30 Gallons reef setup, with maybe a couple shrimps, just want to see how much information and how far i can absorb all this information with a 20-30 gal reef setup.

Anyone selling a complete setup?
OR just the tank and the equipment to pump, filter, supply water?

I have a neighbor who can probably give me some live stuff from his huge reff setup. I just want to surprise her with a setup so taht she can just drop a couple of rocks and shrimp on my tank and I can take ti from there.

Please help

Thanks
starterkit

 

[jackson6745]

Hey Starterkit, welcome to manhattanreefs.
The key to a healthy reef is extremely clean water. That can be obtained from frequent water changes, protien skimming, growing various macro algaes in a refugium, and chemical and mechanical filteration (carbon, phosphate remover, filter bags etc.) Make sure you have a plan before setting up the tank. What lighting, filtration, flow etc.. Run it all by us first and we'll help ya figure evrything out.

 

[loismustdie]

Have a plan and a lot of patience. It's just not as simple as adding some rocks and shrimp. Either way, welcome to manhattanreefs. I've only been in here for a short period of time and it has been great to me so far. A lot of people in here willing to help. I still have a couple of pumps left over, but that's about all. My light bulbs and wavemakers couldn't have gone faster if I were giving them away. Thanks guysDo your research and take your time.
chris

 

[starterkit]

Originally posted by jackson6745:
Hey Starterkit, welcome to manhattanreefs.
The key to a healthy reef is extremely clean water. That can be obtained from frequent water changes, protien skimming, growing various macro algaes in a refugium, and chemical and mechanical filteration (carbon, phosphate remover, filter bags etc.) Make sure you have a plan before setting up the tank. What lighting, filtration, flow etc.. Run it all by us first and we'll help ya figure evrything out.

 

[starterkit]

Thanks jackson6745

I am aware of the meticulusness of the project. Im just giving you guys an idea of how little I know about salt water tanks. Needless to say, I really need help on my first setup. Im thinking a nano reef setup as it is much cheaper. What do you recomend I buy to get me started? Please advise of a cost effective supplies I need to start with e.g. brandname equipment, power, basics setup vs a setup that has room for scalability. Just to give you an idea again, I will be very much happy with a 12 - 20 gallon nano. I can buy a full setup from a pet store but that wouldnt be much fun. If its not too much trouble, perhaps you can compile a detailed lists of all the hardware I need. Please consider the basic as scalability is not my priority, I just want to establish a healthy ecosystem. Thanks in advance and I am glad to be a part of manhattan reefs.

 

[starterkit]

Originally posted by chris288:
Have a plan and a lot of patience. It's just not as simple as adding some rocks and shrimp. Either way, welcome to manhattanreefs. I've only been in here for a short period of time and it has been great to me so far. A lot of people in here willing to help. I still have a couple of pumps left over, but that's about all. My light bulbs and wavemakers couldn't have gone faster if I were giving them away. Thanks guysDo your research and take your time.
chris

 

[starterkit]

Thanks Chris288

question: does your pump enough for my future nano? what else does it need? Filter, I suppose, but what kind? any particular brand, size, type? Please advise. PM me with the price. Thanks in advance.

 

[House of Laughter]

Starter,

Welcome to MR.com

Creating a balanced ecosystem is not easy and building it, watching it mature and nurturing it along takes time and patience.

A simple setup should include:

Tank, stand and hood
Live Rock
Substrate (if you like that look and want that level of nutrient export)
Lighting (Completely dependant on what animals you want to keep - now and future)
A protein skimmer (or other form of mechanical filtration - both not necessary but very helpful)
Refugium or sump which can hang onto your tank, or reside below your tank. Each of these have requirements as well. The Refugium can be purchased in a hang-on model or you can create your own in a DIY (Do It Yorself). A sump usually resides below the tank with a way to get the water down and back up - this typically includes some sort or reef-ready tank, or an overflow box that drains into the sump and a return pump (and plumbing) to bring the water back into the tank.
You will also need some circulation - again the volume of movement will be dependant on the animals you keep.

Finally, some form of water filtration or way to obtain very pure RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis/Deionized) water. You can purchase a good unit to relatively cheap or you can buy it bottled.

What I recommend you do, is read allot here and on ReefCentral.com to get as much information as you can - you may even want to visit someones house to get a sense how they set up their tank. This will give you a good baseline to how you want to set yours up.

Hope this is a helpful start.

Good luck and ask many qustions.

House

 

[starterkit]

I found a 20 gal hex tank but was used for fresh water. Can you tell me If i can use this for my nano reef? http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/hsh/61087577.html

thanks.

 

[marrone]

You want to check either Petco or Petland and see what a new 20gal Hex and Stand go for, $175 seems like alot for a used 20gal Hex tank/stand. Also you don't need some of the other items specially the hood with flourescent light bulb as you'll need to change that over.

Also since this is a used tank you need to ask and see if the seller has ever used any medication in the tank as depending on what he used it could stay in the tank forever and you'll not be able to use it for corals or inverts.

Michael

 

[DallasNYC]

$175 sounds high to me too, given that you can only use the tank, stand, heater and net. I don't think the type of hood/lighting he has would be sufficient for a reef tank. Like Marrone mentioned, petco and petland are your best place to look for tanks.

The shape is a personal preference, but I personally would go with a shorter wider tank with a straight back. In a tall tank, you have to stack the corals above one another more often, and they will try to overshadow each other for light. A bigger footprint allows you to spread the corals out. You need brighter lights to penetrate to the bottom of a tall tank. You will have allot on the back of the tank (return line, overflow, hang-on refugium, etc) so you will want the space in the back. a square stand will be allot easier to arrange equipment in also. Again it?s a personal preference.

If you are thinking smaller will be easier, it's actually the opposite. Smaller tanks are more susceptible to rises in temperature. They are more limited in the lighting you can use because of the heating effects. And moderate changes in water quality can be drastic in a small tank but can be absorbed easier with a large tank with a large amount of water.

 

[loismustdie]

The only pumps I have left are the RIO's and an Iwaki. Rio's are crap, so I'd rather not set you up for failure with them. The Iwaki is great, but you can get pumps which use less juice. I don't think you're gonna have much room for an external pump if you go with a hex anyway. I'd look into Mag drives. Not too bad, but externals are the way to go.

 

[alrha]

if you're looking for a tank, my brother-in-law left a 35gal hex in my garage he used to use for a fish only tank. it also has a stand to it (black). i do not know if it was ever treated with copper, so you may have to clean it out assuming it was. the stand also isnt in mint condition. i belive he would sell it for $50 if that is something you would be interested, and i can ask him to confirm.

depending on how 'fancy' you want to get you should decide if you want to go with a sump (under your tank) or not. once you decide that, your other decisions will be based on that (either Hang-on-Tank items or In-Sump). As mentioned above, a hex tank doesnt leave you much room underneath for a sump, or behind for hang-on. i think they are better suited for a fish only than a reef.

 

[starterkit]

My observation exactly! With all the pumps and filtrations and lighthings I think that HEX tank would turn into a a big ugly mess! I want a clean, elegant setup. Thanks again for all the replies. I will visit a local shop this weekend.

 

[starterkit]

How about this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20755&item=4360189194&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

and this...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20755&item=4359954789&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Please advise.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[marrone]

They're actually nice little setups and seem to have everything you need, except the 2nd one you need to buy a lamp. The only thing is you need to find out what his reserve is to see if the total cost is worth it.

Michael

 

[jackson6745]

Jeff that first link is really cool. It has everything you need. You can run carbon/phosphate remover in the aquaclear and the skimmer will help remove wastes. Do small weekly water changes and this tank should be a great success!
I would rip off those stupid fish stickers though

 

[starterkit]

seriously, those stupid stickers are pretty tacky! What was he thinking? but youre right, I like that one, he did mention a scratch on the tank but not noticable when filled with water? What do you think? So those carbon/phospate remover, can i get those at petco or petland? how much do those run? what other supplies will i need? what should I stack up for future use? Please advise.

Thanks,
jeff

 

[marrone]

First you need to get some sand, salt and live rock and either an RO/DI water system or one of the tap water filter that Petland sell to get the tank running. Then you need to let the tank cycle before you can start to add and corals or inverts. The cycle process can take anywhere from 1 week to a month depending on the size of the tank and the quailty of the live rock.

Instead of carbon get a poly pad and place that in the filter.

Everything take time with a reef tank unlike a fish only tank which you can have up and running in a day.

Michael

 

[starterkit]

I think the auction already has a Red Sea Prizm protein skimmer & a Cascade 150 power filter and a AquaClear 301. Do I still need a tap water filter system with all the hardware included? What is an RO/DI water system?

Jeff