Looking for knowledge

gillyweed

gillyweed

Member
Hello all. I am new to salt water tanks, and looking for any and all info I can get

My only previous experience is a series of Goldfish tanks we started for my kids. Began with a ten gallon, then a 20, and finally a nice 40 gallon corner tank and stand. Unfortunately, we then moved to our new house, and had some trouble with the Closing
... So i had to get rid of the goldfish, as they wouldn't last long in storage.
Buuut
we got everything straight (I hate holding companies...
, and are now comfortably ensconced in our new home with a nice 40 gallon corner tank, and no fish
. One thing I do know, is goldfish are boring and ugly for the amount of work they take!

So I decided if I have to put in that level of effort to maintain the tank, I would prefer it to be something visually pleasing, which lead me here!
Anyway, I am starting from scratch: 40 gallon tank with the standard fluorescent lighting, and I have a large canister filter system for it, though I don't know exactly what it is... It isn't a hang-on-side thing though. I am trying to decipher all the info around here, but could use some help... Some things I ran into so far:
  • What is the difference between lighting systems, and why do they matter?
  • What exactly is a Refugium, and what is it for?
  • Sump?
    How do I figure out how to start, as in heaters that would work, filtering, etc etc... Just so much info out there I am unfortunately lost
    Is a 40 Gallon even big enough? Eventually I would like to have some nice crustaceans, maybe a few Anemones. I am not really interested in fish so much, except maybe a Gobi or two; or a clown for the anemones...
    I think that's it for starters... ;-)
I know some of this seems basic to you old hats, but I figure it is best to get the right answers to start with, rather than half the info... Thanks for any help you wish to provide!

P.S.: This is my tank and stand, sorry for the grainy photos.

 
royal gang

royal gang

Active Member
nice looking tank yo' :cheer:
1) for corals(like anemones) you need VERY strong lighting or the corals will not survive very long
2) a sump is to keep things like coepods (which comeout in ur tank auto.) alive so they can grow without predators picking at them..
3) sump is the same, i think i have heard that you can also put protein skimmer so u don't have to see them in your display tank

4) too lazy
5) you can have about 6(small) fish i would say and as many corals as u want, be sure they have space though because they can kill other corals for it, and you can only keep one sspecies of anemones in an aquarium (unless you have like 500+ gallon lol)
6) ok
 
gillyweed

gillyweed

Member
Thanks for the info!
For the light, is that why the halides if you are doing a reef? More powerful light? Do they all take that strong a light, or are there other corals that like lower light?
So a Refugium and a sump are basically the same? And putting the skimmer in the Refugium, does this work ok, or would you still need filtration?
And what is a powerhead? I have the canister filter, and it puts out a pretty solid flow if it is up all the way, but would it even work for a saltwater tank? Or do I need a different set up altogether? :help:

I know, I know... I am horrible!
Thanks again for the info!
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member
Originally Posted by Gillyweed
Thanks for the info!
For the light, is that why the halides if you are doing a reef? More powerful light? Do they all take that strong a light, or are there other corals that like lower light?
So a Refugium and a sump are basically the same? And putting the skimmer in the Refugium, does this work ok, or would you still need filtration?
And what is a powerhead? I have the canister filter, and it puts out a pretty solid flow if it is up all the way, but would it even work for a saltwater tank? Or do I need a different set up altogether? :help:

I know, I know... I am horrible!
Thanks again for the info!
Halides are the preferred light for all corals, but there are many who have been very successful with PC's (power compacts). But standard flourescents won't work with coral.
Refugiums and sumps are different. You can have a refugium without a sump or a sump without a refugium or you can combine them.
Here's a refugium: Please do not post links to other sites including sites that have advertisments for competitor sites
Here's a sump:
Please do not post links to other sites including sites that have advertisments for competitor sites
Skimmer in the sump/refugium is the preferred method. No other filtration required.
Powerheads are used to create movement in the tank to eliminate dead spots and to get flow into the live rock and sand so they can do their job processing waste. You can use your canister filter to help with water flow as well. There are several schools of thought concerning the use of canister filters. Some run carbon 24/7, some run carbon a few days in the month only, some don't run carbon or filter pads at all, and some don't run canister filters at all and prefer a closed loop system to generate water flow. Choice you'll have to make. And for waterflow, you'll want 20X or more flow (GPH) than your tank size or 20 x 40. So your total flow from powerheads, pumps, canister should be more than 800 gph. Make sense?
Best bet, Gilleyweed, is to do what I did and use the "search" tool and find answers to your questions. There are tons of them on this site. You'll find that there is no one exact way to set up a tank. That's the fun of this hobby. Pick an choose from the experts and see what you like. I also tell all newbies like myself to read this first so they won't get confused:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=42388

Have fun and enjoy.
 
gillyweed

gillyweed

Member
aah, thank you! I had been looking for what some of these acronyms were as well!

Excellent links, and I hve more reading to do now ;)
 
gillyweed

gillyweed

Member
OK, seems every question I get answered brings up two more

(It was expected, don't worry hehe)
so, I have a couple others if someone could help me with?
-What is a Frag? I am guessing fragment of Live rock? but I just wanted to verify,
-How do you go about curing Live rock/sand? And Why? does this get rid of the dead stuff, or is it another reason?
-What is a closed loop system? i get the sump/fuge idea, and using these systems as part of the water flow; but I don't get what a loop is or how to go about doing it, thanks

-Can you drill holes in glass? i would rather build in the holes for the sump/reef prep etc since I have a completely empty tank right now; but I don't want to be replacing a tank five minutes after starting :scared:
After reading up so far I am going to go with the 40 gallon tank and a sump/fuge beneath in that center section of my stand. It is a pretty good sized area, so I think I can do a 10-15 gallon sump there (I'll confirm once I can measure it and look at tank dimensions). is that enough? Would the fuge be too small at that point? Also, what size skimmer would be good for this set up? I think I'll just sell off my current canister filter, as I would rather do this right from the start than try to adjust as I go :joy:
Thanks again folks, you all are quite good at making this sound easy for beginners!
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
you can drill holes in glass as long as its not tempered (the bottoms of most newer tanks are tempered if you look in your tank there should be a sticker on the bottom saying that) the side usually are not tempered glass but if your unsure contact the dealer and ask (not the store you bought it at but the company that made it) drilling glass can be tricky. its best to let proffesionals perform the drilling or practice on other glass before attempting to drill a tank.
the word frag is usually used do denote a fragment of coral or a small piece, fragging would be the act of propagating corals, the term frag can also be used to describe a single piece of live rock rubble. rubble being many small pieces.
 
f14peter

f14peter

Member
Originally Posted by Gillyweed
OK, seems every question I get answered brings up two more

(It was expected, don't worry hehe)
so, I have a couple others if someone could help me with?
-How do you go about curing Live rock/sand? And Why? does this get rid of the dead stuff, or is it another reason?
-What is a closed loop system? i get the sump/fuge idea, and using these systems as part of the water flow; but I don't get what a loop is or how to go about doing it, thanks


Curing LR can be done a couple of ways . . . in a dedicated container (larger Tuperware-ish bucket works well) with saltwater, a heater, and some flow (PH, pump). In this case, the water will have to be partially changed periodically to refresh trace elements and reduce ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. It can also be cured in the tank, as long as it's when the tank is first being set up and before any livestock is added. The rocks should be scrubbed from time to time to get the dead matter off the rocks so it can be disposed through water changes, via the filter, or the skimmer.
The reason behind curing LR is because unless you buy from a local and reputable store and you know for certain it's completely cured, odds are the rock isn't fully cured (even if the fishstore says it is), as in everything that's going to die is actually dead and fully decomposed to the point where it won't add ammonia to the system. No matter how quickly delivered, there will almost certainly be some die-off in LR obtained through the mail.
A closed-loop system is a more elaborate take on the PH. Instead of just a pump in the tank, a closed-loop has an intake tube in the tank where water is pulled out, and then an output tube in the tank where the water is pumped back in, with nothing in between except the pump. I believe a pump capable of being used without being submerged is used, located outside the tank (Although I suppose one in the tank could be used). An advantage to a C-L is that it increases waterflow, and also allows you to direct it to another spot in the tank. The more fancier C-Ls even have multiple outputs.
 
antologia2007

antologia2007

Member

Originally Posted by f14peter
A closed-loop system is a more elaborate take on the PH. Instead of just a pump in the tank, a closed-loop has an intake tube in the tank where water is pulled out, and then an output tube in the tank where the water is pumped back in, with nothing in between except the pump. I believe a pump capable of being used without being submerged is used, located outside the tank (Although I suppose one in the tank could be used). An advantage to a C-L is that it increases waterflow, and also allows you to direct it to another spot in the tank. The more fancier C-Ls even have multiple outputs.
sorry to jump in
but, by any chance do you have any pics of the cls you can post im trying to get my 120 up and ready and some one mentioned a cls is better for waterflow and you save money and space
or can you use paint and do a pic design of a cls
any one...
 
gillyweed

gillyweed

Member

Originally Posted by antologia2007
sorry to jump in

No worries, I would love to see one drawn out as well. Thanks very much reefkprz and f14peter; excellent info both!
 
1knight164

1knight164

Member

Originally Posted by antologia2007
sorry to jump in
but, by any chance do you have any pics of the cls you can post im trying to get my 120 up and ready and some one mentioned a cls is better for waterflow and you save money and space
or can you use paint and do a pic design of a cls
any one...

Originally Posted by Gillyweed
No worries, I would love to see one drawn out as well. Thanks very much reefkprz and f14peter; excellent info both!
I just posted an example of one i made for my 55. Pretty basic, nothing fancy. You can get pretty creative. If you haven't already see it, here's the link:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...ed+loop+system
 
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