Reef Tank and LR

[estein02]

I'm thinking about converting my tank, currently a FOWLR (sort of), into a full blown reef tank. I currently have a few corals (zoo frags a cup coral and a BTA) but I've got the bug and can't stop thinking about what to add next. I think the first thing I need to do is add more LR. I currently have about 55 lbs in the tank (65 gallons). I know that this is a little low, but all I could afford at the time. For reef tanks, from the pictures I've seen, it seems like the rock is against both the back of the tank and the sides, is that correct? I was planning on adding about 30 more lbs of LR to get me to 85 lbs. I'm going to get rid of the current MJ 400 and 1200, and my Seio 620 and add 4 Hydor Korlia 1 pumps. That will get me to about 2050 gph of flow with the return pump taken into acount. Is that enough?

 

[monsteraquatic]

As for adding Live Rock I perfer a open tank with lots of room for the fish to swim and corals to grow. I agree with rock against the back glass but not the sides. Leave yourself room for maintanience. I like the look of less is more. As for adding 4 Hydor Korlia 1 pumps Why? Flow coming from more than one powerhead is positive but why would you want to put 4 powerheads in your display? Your 65 gallon tank is if 36 x 18 x 24? I have one huge tunze in my display tank and it's such an eyesore. At times it's all I can focus on. The Hydor Korlia 1 pumps output s 400gph so why not invest into the Hydor Korlia 4?
Hydor Korlia #1 = 400gph x 4 = 1600gph
Hydor Korlia #4 = 1200gph

 

[azfishgal]

Lets see pics of your tank now. Then we can watch it grow into a full blown reef tank.

I have a 6' tank and I have 2 Koralia #3s on each end, blowing toward the center of my glass. They work out great and give me lots of flow. I've actually run out of room to put my softies because the flow is pretty strong, so now I'm starting to add SPS.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by MonsterAquatic
As for adding Live Rock I perfer a open tank with lots of room for the fish to swim and corals to grow. I agree with rock against the back glass but not the sides. Leave yourself room for maintanience. I like the look of less is more. As for adding 4 Hydor Korlia 1 pumps Why? Flow coming from more than one powerhead is positive but why would you want to put 4 powerheads in your display? Your 65 gallon tank is if 36 x 18 x 24? I have one huge tunze in my display tank and it's such an eyesore. At times it's all I can focus on. The Hydor Korlia 1 pumps output s 400gph so why not invest into the Hydor Korlia 4?
Hydor Korlia #1 = 400gph x 4 = 1600gph
Hydor Korlia #4 = 1200gph
I'm not happy with the linear flow currently in my tank because of the MJs and Seio (though the Seio doesn't seem to be as bad). I read an article by Anthony Calfo about water flow. In that article he states that a "Random Turbulent" flow is the most ideal why to create water movement in a reef tank. He site one set-up where the person used a Tunze "Turbelle" in each of the upper 4 corner directed towards the opposite lower corner. Granted he didn't state the size tank it was in so maybe doing something like this in a 65 is overkill. When you state to invest in a hydor #4 I'm assuming you are suggesting on getting only 1. It seems like have 2 PHs on opposite ends of the tank offer a more ideal flow. That being the case maybe it would be better to get 2 Hydor #2 at 600 gph each or 2 #3 at 850 gph each. I would love to get the Tunze, but they are $$$$.
Do you think that 85 lbs of LR is good?
Thanks...

 

[monsteraquatic]

For how much live rock you add it's a personal thing. I would recommend the biggest skimmer possible in your budget.
For the investment I priced the pumps:
Hydor Koralia 1 - 400 gph 37.99
Hydor Koralia 2 - 600 gph 44.99
Hydor Koralia 3 - 850 gph 49.99
Hydor Koralia 4 - 1200 gph 59.99
I also stated "Flow coming from more than one powerhead is positive but why would you want to put 4 powerheads in your display?" The clutter will distract you from your tank. If you were looking into 37.99 x 4 = 151.96 + shipping. 49.99 x 2 = 99.98 + shipping. Also trying to save you money.
What type of skimmer do you have?
Have you looked into the Tunze Nano? The 6025 with modifacation can bring 1000 gph each powerhead at a cost of 61.84 x 2 = 123.68. A huge + to the Nano's is 360 degree rotation.
Sorry if I came off the wrong way before- just trying to help.

 

[nycbob]

yeah 4 koralia powerheads in a 55 is a lot of flow. i run 2 in my 72 w sps and bta. its plenty of flows.

 

[estein02]

Monster...you didn't come off the wrong way at all...I appreciate the advice. I just want the best set-up that I can have/afford for my tank. I will check out the Nano. Is the modification you are referring to a simple one. If I add 2 of those that will give me a total of about 2,450 gph of flow. The extra 450 gph comes from the return pump...a mag drive 7. The skimmer that I currently have is an AquaC Urchin Pro.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by nycbob
yeah 4 koralia powerheads in a 55 is a lot of flow. i run 2 in my 72 w sps and bta. its plenty of flows.
Are the 2 that you run Koralia #1s? What is your total flow?

 

[nycbob]

i run a 3 and 2 on each end with the flow going towards the middle of the front glass. i also hv a penguin hob filter creating more in the middle.

 

[estein02]

How do you like them? Seems like a good pump.

 

[nycbob]

i like the alot. i takes them to clean them once every 2 months.

 

[estein02]

A lot of places I look at online have them sold out so there must be something to them.
Anyway, what should the ideal flow rate for my tank be if I do turn it into a reef tank? I will have to initially start out wiht soft corals as I don't have MH lighting, just T5s.

 

[nycbob]

i hv t-5 light. i keep sps and clams. u dont really need mh, as long as u keep light demanding species near the top half of the tank. the only difference with mh is it will allow u to keep anything anywhere. how mnay watts of t-5 u hv?

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by nycbob
i hv t-5 light. i keep sps and clams. u dont really need mh, as long as u keep light demanding species near the top half of the tank. the only difference with mh is it will allow u to keep anything anywhere. how mnay watts of t-5 u hv?
I've got the 36" Current Nova Extreme T5. It has 2 x 39 watt 10,000k daylights and 2 x 39 watt 460nm actinics.

 

[estein02]

bump

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by azfishgal
Lets see pics of your tank now. Then we can watch it grow into a full blown reef tank.

I have a 6' tank and I have 2 Koralia #3s on each end, blowing toward the center of my glass. They work out great and give me lots of flow. I've actually run out of room to put my softies because the flow is pretty strong, so now I'm starting to add SPS.

I will do that. I actually just put 2 koralia #1s in my tank, but the flow is not enough so I am going to put a #2 on one side and a #3 on the other and I like the idea of directing them towards the center of the front glass. I think that this should provide enough flow for my little 65!

 

[earlybird]

Holy flow. I think you should aim for 100-120 lbs of LR.

 

[estein02]

Originally Posted by earlybird
Holy flow. I think you should aim for 100-120 lbs of LR.
Do you think those pumps will create too much flow? 100 - 120 lbs of LR...eventually, but not anytime soon. I've got to do this in a way where I can keep my marriage going

If I add around 30lbs now that will give me around 80 - 90lbs total, which should make it look much better and more like a reef.

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by estein02
Do you think those pumps will create too much flow? 100 - 120 lbs of LR...eventually, but not anytime soon. I've got to do this in a way where I can keep my marriage going

If I add around 30lbs now that will give me around 80 - 90lbs total, which should make it look much better and more like a reef.
Possibly too much but not for a mixed reef with sps.

 

[coraldude]

I would be careful adding LR after corals. The die off could cause an ammonia spike that could be catastrophic, depending on how much LR and the quality. As far as how much LR to add, it's all a matter of personal preference. Sure, the more you have the more surface area for bacteria, pods, etc... but you already have plenty for your bio filter. I personally like alot of LR, I've got 95 lbs. in my 55 Gal. Unless you are wanting multiple Mandrins or a huge bio load, 80 lbs. should be fine.