7'x14"x14"tank for a reef?

chestnutmoray

chestnutmoray

Member
i have this nice tank. i thought about turning it into a reef tank,my tanganyika tank project has been stopped.i think i would rather enjoy a reef tank.so if any one thinks this sized tank would be a good tank for nice corals and stuff let me know.also if their is a good site/page to read up on converting fresh water to reef,let me know this would be my 1st reef tank,but not 1st salt water tank.

 
rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
yes! and dang i could have a lot of fun with that.
i have never seen a tank like this. anyhow, i would get it drilled, my local lfs will do it for $25, i am sure somewhere around you will do it as well.
after that, its all uphill. the good news is that you wouldn't need the biggest and most powerful lighting, because your only penetrating 14" of water. no need for 6000 watts of halides! lol
your gonna get lots of info here, what exactly are you interested in? what type of coral are you after? fish too?
 
chestnutmoray

chestnutmoray

Member
thanx! well if i do this ill have a lot of homework to do. i already need to do a lotta reserch on fresh and salt cause i am starting work at a lfs. what all would u suggest as far as getting started. i already have the lights,crushed coral,sand,aragonite. two double filters,need to renew sooner or later.i thought i could clean and use.id just by a canister filter or two to help with turnover rate. ill have two start getting live rock! I have a few air stone,and air jets i could use to help with air cirrculation.so in all i think ill end up buying
live sand
live rock
canister filters
water
salt
what else,any help,suggestions
 
chestnutmoray

chestnutmoray

Member
i was going to give this tank to the lfs since i am working their now i am basiclly just working for credit! like 3-5hrs every other day. so i was told i could get a big tank 150 or so and i could get my fav fish. but i am really thinking about just keeping this tank and starting a nice size reef tank, add some nice begginer's coral,polyps,mushroms,gobies,starfish,seahorse, who knows what all i could add. wish i could throw a h.tusk wrass in their.probably a bad idea though huh? well any help getting started appreciated thanx
 
T

tizzo

Guest
Where are you located?? We might could talk about a bigger tank trade...hmmm.
Otherwise, it'd make a beautiful frag tank.
 
J

jesses89

Guest
Originally Posted by chestnutMoray
http:///forum/post/2518968
thanx! well if i do this ill have a lot of homework to do. i already need to do a lotta reserch on fresh and salt cause i am starting work at a lfs. what all would u suggest as far as getting started. i already have the lights,crushed coral,sand,aragonite. two double filters,need to renew sooner or later.i thought i could clean and use.id just by a canister filter or two to help with turnover rate. ill have two start getting live rock! I have a few air stone,and air jets i could use to help with air cirrculation.so in all i think ill end up buying
live sand
live rock
canister filters
water
salt
what else,any help,suggestions

dont use crushed coral... youll deeply regret it later when you have to remove it for live sand... use live sand... its the way to go.... get live rock..... air stones or bubblers arent for saltwater tanks.... so id scratch those off your list... get some powerheads for water movement.... in reefs you need a lot of water movement. you can go with a canister filter... get one thats rated for more gallons than what your aquarium is... its better... but keep in mind... you have to clean out your canister filter pads every three months atleast because of debris build up that will spike up ur levels if u dont... i use a canister rated for a 200 gall and mines a 75 gall. What kind of salt mix are you going to get? make sure you buy some sort of tub.... like u can get one at Walmart for like five bucks.... to premix ur saltwater in and let it age in there for future water changes..... im sure ive forgotten a lot.... anything more questions.. just ask...
 
B

bbeakl1

Guest
If you plan on staying in the hobby do it right the first time. While canister filters are ok, I would do as someone else already said and have it drilled and do a sump, not only does it work great it keeps all the ugly stuff out of your tank(filters, heaters, etc.) also since your tank is so shallow you have more options with lighting but make sure you get good enough lights, on the fact that you might want to get into sps and lps someday, and it sucks when you have to buy stronger light fixtures. Also go with the live sand. Good luck
 
chestnutmoray

chestnutmoray

Member
ok! i am lost when sps and lps was mentioned! i just took out the lights today. i was running coral life 400 watt florescents,4 to be exact.should i stick with those or what? the canopy to the water is about 11 inches. i dont know about watts per gallon? scince it is a shallow tank should i be looking for the same wattage i was using.around 400 watts? i guess i just need to know some good lights to look for halids or what brand names to look at.
 
flricordia

flricordia

Active Member
I would look into getting T5s. The prices are very good compared to most other lightings and the heat will be much lower too. With a full bank of T5s you could do about any coral types you wanted. I also vote to get the tank drilled and invest or build a sump. Get a protein skimmer too. Not a cheap Seaclone, etc, but invest in a ggod one from the start and you won't have to reinvest later. Same with lighting.
You could do an awesome reef with that tank no doubt.
 
grumpygils

grumpygils

Active Member
I have a 96" X 24" X 15" frag tank. It is actually a 240G cut in half with the sump being the other half. For circulation, we we ran 3/4" PVC the length on both sides and drilled ~80 holes along the PVC. Return water shoots out from all over. Tank has a nice flow and we only have 1 othe power head in there. Circulation is the issue with a long tank.
Mc
 
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