Finally Making the move!..

[Ansphire]

Hey guys,,,, My first post, thanks in advance for the warm welcome I'm sure I'll get.

I'm been keeping african cichlids for a while and I have general knowlede of what the nitrogen cycle is and many terms in the hobby. But I'm ready to make the upgrade to SW. I'm working on a 20L sump for my 75g. I got the overflow done and the return.

First things first... Can I keep only fish at first and then start builting the reef slowly?

And, Do I need bio-media for salt water, or does the live rock take care of the cycle?

What protein skimmer do you recommend?....

I appreciate your help.

Rick

 

[mr_X]

welcome! (hope that was warm enough )
yes, you can start a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) and make a transition to a reef. just be careful what fish you purchase, because you don't want to have to try to catch a non-reef friendly fish in a nicely aquascaped tank.
you might also want to decide now, what you are going to have in your reef. my reef has various shrimp residing in it, and even though some fish are marked "reef safe" they may or may not like to munch on things like shrimp. not to mention the fact that i am somewhat attached to them, coming home from work to find that my new fish ate my 6 shrimp(25.00 a piece) would be disheartening.

live rock, if you have enough, will be your bio media. if you don't want to add live rock, you can use a wet dry setup and use bio-balls. if you are going to go reef eventually, you might as well start out with rock instead of the bio balls.

there is a sticky thread you should read about protein skimmers:
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=78592

i use a skimmer made by a company called ASM. it seems to work pretty well for me.

good luck!

 

[Ansphire]

Hey thanks man.. that's warm enough!!..

I'm still reading on the fish, And I ordered this book called Salt water for dummies...but I'll post here before I buy them just in case, I've learn the hard way with cichlids.

Do you think a 20L tank will be enough for a sump on a 75g tank?...

How much Live Rock will I need (lbs?)?

 

[mr_X]

i like to over-do things. just to be sure. you will get many different opinions on the size of sumps, and how much live rock you'll need. i think about a pound or so per gallon of live rock should be ok.

as for the sump- will you have a HOB skimmer, or will it be in the sump? will you be partitioning off the sump and creating a refugium as well?
these questions should help you decide what size tank to use. i found that a 20 breeder..or even a 40 breeder :twisted: , work well as sumps.
the breeder tanks are lower and wider, than standard tanks.

 

[Ansphire]

I got another 10g that I was planing to use as a Quarantine tank(is that what you mean by refuge?)

The tank for the sump is a 20Long breeder tank And I was planing on putting the skimmer in there or HOB to the sump along with the heater and anything else I need.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... ct=ES33004

Will this one be good enough?

If I have live rock for biological filtration and the sump will have mechanical filtration, all I need besides that is a few powerheads in the tank. Correct?

 

[Ansphire]

DbL post

 

[mr_X]

here...read this-
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm ... cleid=2053

and i'm thinking you didn't check out that skimmer thread yet. do yourself a favor and take a look at it. btw- i wouldn't buy that coralife skimmer.

 

[Ansphire]

I read both threads .. I'm not asking questions for nothing.. I appreciate every piece of advise and will take it very seriously :wink:

But I have to stay on budget.... I don't think I can spend more than $250 on a protein skimmer.

The refuge is an excellent Idea and I will definitely consider one!

Think I should get a bigger sump?...

 

[mr_X]

you can search this and other for sale sections for a high quality used skimmer that will, in the long run, do a much better job.

also you can check ebay.

just remember, when choosing a skimmer, go overkill with it. alot of the time, manufacturers' specs aren't as accurate as they seem. anotherwords, for a 75 gallon tank, with a 20 gallon sump = 95 gallons total volume, choose a skimmer that is rated for a 125 or 150, or even more. you'll find that you will be glad you did.

 

[mr_X]

i meant * this forums' for sale section...and other forums' for sale sections

 

[Ansphire]

OK...

For the sump... If I have live rock all I need is a few pads for mechanical filtration, an area for the skimmer to Hang on and a heater... Then I have the refugium and then the pump for the return.. 20breeder.. hmm.. maybe I'll need a bigger one right?

 

[mr_X]

you don't need to put live rock in your sump if you don't want to. if you have enough in your display, i think you should utilize the sump for macroalgae. use the "search" feature on this forum, and type the word "refugium". you should be able to find all sorts of designs to guide you. as for the skimmer, you'll either be hanging it on the back of your display, or you'll be sitting it in your sump. look at my build thread. you'll see how i have my skimmer. that is an "in sump" skimmer. you can't hang a skimmer on your sump because the sump will not be completely full of water. the level will be too low for a HOB style skimmer.

 

[shavo]

I don't have any mechanical filtration what so ever. I have the fuge and the skimmer and that is it.
go get a tank off of craigslist, put in some seperator pieces and a pump and warlah, instant filtration. I have so many macros you can have as many as you want to get things started if your close to philly / trenton area

look at X's thread the fuge is spelled out there. that is all we are using for filtration. fuge and skimmer.

you can seriousy build a fuge for very very little dollars. under 50 bucks, don't look at lfs prices they are seriously rediculous. 300 400 dollars absolutley terrible.

good luck and keep reading.

 

[Ansphire]

oK...

20g breeder Sump with In-sump skimmer... the refugium witch will contain the macro algae and a heater...

75lbs or so of Live rock inside the tank. Do you guys add any filters for mechanical filtration?

Since I'm doing a fish only, How much light do I need?

 

[mr_X]

you can use a plain old single tube flourescent if you like, for right now. live rock doesn't need light, and either do fish.

the light on top of a fish only tank, should be to your personal preference. -what looks good to you.

as shavo stated, we have no mechanical filtration. i would like to add a filter sock for the intake on my sump, but i haven't gotten around to it.
it's just live rock, macroalgae, and a good skimmer. :wink:

 

[Ansphire]

Yeah... I've been keeping fish for a long time and I stopped supporting the LFS a loooooong time ago..

I already have the tank for the sump and I'm working on the dividers.

I'm willing to go to the trenton area.. I'm In Perth Amboy.

What does that Macro sfutt feed on?.. Just light an water and they will get going?

 

[Ansphire]

Would this protein skimmer work?

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=103354

 

[cindre2000]

As for lighting, go to lowes or another big name hardware store and buy a two tube 4' flourescent, only costs $15-$20, then add the "aquarium" bulbs and you are looking at $35-50 light that would cost a whole lot more from a LFS.

As for the light above the refugium a simple "daylight" (6700K) screw-in compact flourescent is plenty of light.

You can easily get a ASM G-1 or G-X; or a similar Octopus skimmer are quite good for their price.

http://www.hellolights.com/asmg1prsk1.html

Some of the best mechanical filtration that I have seen is a filter sock over the drain. Filter pads are fine if you clean them out often enough.

 

[mr_X]

yes, i use a 6400k bulb over my refugium, not unlike cindre. all the information you will need about macros is in that link i supplied earlier. :wink:

that skimmer you are looking should work for you. shavo has one of those on a 125 and he has no trouble with it....but then again, i wonder how his tank would be doing with a better, larger, stronger, skimmer... 8)

if you want some free macros, you need to come to me (19053 zip code), or you can probably purchase some from a local store for 10 bucks.

 

[shavo]

hey X don't be a macro pimp!!! plus dude you will have to drive past my house for another 20 minutes or so and his macros aren't as top notch as mine!!!

also, that skimmer you mentioned is much much bigger than mine. but it is a very good skimmer. and X bigger isn't always better but I know I can never get that concept out of your head!!! lol my skimmer is about 20" at the most. make sure it fits under your stand if that is where you plan to have the fuge since you said it is 33". it is almost worth buying to barter with somebody else if it isn't what you need.

one more thing, I am surprised the macro pimp didn't mention this, he made his seperators out of cutting boards from wal mart, cut to size and glued in. did you go to his thread and see his 75 gallon fuge? lol