Hey guys/girls! Ive been out of the game for awhile and when I was in the game I had a bio-cube so I still consider myself a newbie, Anyway, I have inherited a nice 30 gallon tank and stand that I would love to set up a small reef tank for my kids to enjoy watching it grow over time. Heres where I need help, The tank, is just a tank and a stand.. no filter no lid nothing...I am having a hell of a time picking a filter....what kinda canister or skimmer or what? It would be totally awesome if someone could help me get started with a list of things I need to get this thing cyling if you know a place where I can get used things that would be awesome too! looking for guidence for picking out the right things to get the ball rolling! Thanks in advance!
New guy well sorta...
- Thread starter Scott123
- Start date
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
You could just do a decent hang on the back filter, I use a marineland hob on my quarantine tank. It seems to work well but I'm not sure if it is a good one or not. Unless you want to do a lot of maintenance I'd avoid a canister. They work well but require weekly cleaning. I have a reef octopus hang on the back protein skimmer on my 40 gallon. It seems to do a decent job but I've only had it a few weeks. I do have a sump on that tank but it is too small for an internal skimmer.
You can get some reef saver rock or non live rock at a lot of places on line. I got mine at Bulk reef supply. Shipping is cheap and the rock is nice. I have used live sand and I have done it with regular sand. Either way works. I usually buy a couple pieces of nice live rock to seed the tank.
You'll need lights and the options have changed a lot in the last few years. I was out for 3 or 4 years and couldn't believe the difference in the lighting when I came back a year ago.
You can get some reef saver rock or non live rock at a lot of places on line. I got mine at Bulk reef supply. Shipping is cheap and the rock is nice. I have used live sand and I have done it with regular sand. Either way works. I usually buy a couple pieces of nice live rock to seed the tank.
You'll need lights and the options have changed a lot in the last few years. I was out for 3 or 4 years and couldn't believe the difference in the lighting when I came back a year ago.
flower
Well-Known Member
Hi,
Reef tank...get live rock and reef sand, you will be glad you did. It's a small tank so you won't need much. Keep the lid open, or use egg crate. Bio cubes are kind of self contained, but regular SW tanks need to be open. I would get a canister filter with a spray bar (Fluval brand is good). Then get a HOB refugium, and put macroalgae in it. You won't have much HOB room, so use a canister so you can hang the refugium, and the spray bar is worth it's weight in gold to move the surface water.
With the refugium filled with macroalgae, you won't need a skimmer, and it will also keep phosphates and nitrates at 0, something a skimmer can't do. You do need a couple of nano power heads. The cost is going to be lighting, LED is the rage and there are plenty of folks here to help with that (they are not all created equal) T5HO works too, but you need good strong lighting for coral, so don't go cheap on that.
Happy reefing
Reef tank...get live rock and reef sand, you will be glad you did. It's a small tank so you won't need much. Keep the lid open, or use egg crate. Bio cubes are kind of self contained, but regular SW tanks need to be open. I would get a canister filter with a spray bar (Fluval brand is good). Then get a HOB refugium, and put macroalgae in it. You won't have much HOB room, so use a canister so you can hang the refugium, and the spray bar is worth it's weight in gold to move the surface water.
With the refugium filled with macroalgae, you won't need a skimmer, and it will also keep phosphates and nitrates at 0, something a skimmer can't do. You do need a couple of nano power heads. The cost is going to be lighting, LED is the rage and there are plenty of folks here to help with that (they are not all created equal) T5HO works too, but you need good strong lighting for coral, so don't go cheap on that.
Happy reefing