New Tank

fervidsea

fervidsea

New Member
Hello, I just wanted to get the boards opinion on a new tank.
I am new to the hobby but have done some research.
I plan on starting a 30g long Reef tank.
Equipment: Wet/Dry Trickle filter, Skimmer, Rio 3100 pump for return, Overflow box for supply. (2) Rio 200's for water movement in tank as well as the return from sump.
I plan on having about 30-40lbs of live rock and a 4" sand bed.
Lighting Im unsure on, Need some help there.
Becuase I already have the Wet/Dry I am thinking of using a 10gal tank for a refugium, seperate, so that I can have more sand and Macroalge for filteration. But unsure on plumping. Should it be before the Filter or after and either way what is recommended for the pump between to two.
I understand about the cycling of the tank, But I am confused when it comes to stocking. I understand that after the cycle I should stock slowly, but how slowly? Do the Crabs, snails etc. have to be added slowly? The reason for that questions is because like this site most sites sell the package to get them all at once???
Any help on the lighting and Stocking of the tank, plus anything you have to ask or question about the setup will be a great help and I thank you all ahead of time.
 
stumpdog

stumpdog

Member
fervidsea-
Welcome to the board. I have just a few things for you to think about. You may wish to get a larger tank, maybe a 55 gallon. The problem with smaller tanks is that slight water changes can have large outcomes. In a larger tank you have a "little" more room for error. If you decide to go with a 30L (what are the dimensions of that?) and a DSB remember that your tank may look very full. Just a thought.
A fuge is a good idea, but you are going to get or make an overflow of some type as well as a return pump. No big deal there are several ideas in the Equipment section.
The lighting just depends on what you want to do with the tank.
Good luck HTH-
Jeremy
 
gregvabch

gregvabch

Active Member
welcome aboard. as far as lighting goes, what do you want to keep in your tank? if you plan on getting into corals most people will tell you that metal halide lights are the way to go. do a search on ----. to help with building your refugium, do a search on this site, there are lots of designs in the do-it-yourself forum for fuges. do you have any local fish stores in your area? i would recommend adding everything slowly and monitoring your levels accordingly. also, what do you plan on starting your cycle with? you can do it with just live rock if you order it from this site. by the time it gets there, the die off will probably be enough to start your cycle. otherwise you will need to throw some damsels in or even throw a dead shrimp in to kick it off, but i've never done it that way. good luck!
 
fervidsea

fervidsea

New Member
Well Im thinking of going with the 2-96w 3w moonlight Lights from CSL. That makes it 6w per gallon. Is that considered a good amount of light for a tank with corals? I was thinking of adding some SPS, Leathers, Mushrooms, Etc.
Also was looking at switching to a 50gal. Long. Friend Mentioned it. Only a little larger than the 30. Space is a Concern for my Apartment. But I havent seen any 50L anywhere. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
sagxman

sagxman

Member
As long as you aren't planning on having any really high light corals you will probably like the CSL PC. I love the moonlites. They give the tank a great glow at night and some people say the moonlite helps in spawning. But if you are planning on going with corals that need more light you should probably use MH lighting.
 
fervidsea

fervidsea

New Member
Thank you for the idea,
As of now this is what I have planed. The Wet/Dry will not have any Bio Balls, just filter Media. Primaryly used for water changes, chemical additions etc.
Please tell me what you think or ways to improve.
 
xxvietxjustinxx

xxvietxjustinxx

Member
That is not gonna work or might not work beacuse even if you have 2 R200's, They won't shot out the exact same GPH. They might be both rated.. 200 GPH? But one might have 1 foot of more line and make it 199 vs 200 GPHs on both of the pumps. That means that you will have 1 or even more gallons of water in either the sump or the fuge, which would lead to MAJOR leaking in a long period. You would rather let the fuge be gravity fed to the sump and put the skimmer in the beginning of the sump or where you had put the inlet from the overflow/tank.
 
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