so i've decided to dive in....(advise on tank setup)

fishballer

fishballer

New Member
i have a 25 gallon tank.
i want to set up a reef tank..
what exactly do i need?
how many lbs of live rock?
how many lbs of live sand?
what kind of filter?
i have a heater leftover from my freshwater fishes. Can i use that for my swf setup?
what else am i missing?
[ September 11, 2001: Message edited by: fishballer ]
 
q

q

Member
1-1.5 lbs of LR per gal
4 or so inches of sand
A protine skimmer wouldn't hurt.
Lighting to match your corals
Monitor your calcium, alkilinity, along with Ph, nitrates, and temp.
Kalkwasser drip would be helpful also.
Now that your in take your time so you realize what you have just undertaken.
My bad thanks fender
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: Plato ]
 
mark-24

mark-24

Member
Also, in a reef tank, the lights are more than powerful enough to heat, and some times even overheat a tank. That is why some people buy chillers. But right now, you probally won't need to buy such an expensive piece of equipment.
You also could run a refugium if you decide you want an overflow setup and have the filter system under the stand. But if you don't want that, CPR makes a hang on refugium that from what I hear works very well. I bet by now you're asking yourself " What the heck is a refugium?!?!". Well what it is, it's ultimatly a small aquarium that have water from the main tank and goes into the smaller one. In the refugium there is live sand, live rock, lots of small creatures, and probally the most important item- Caluerpa algea. Caluerpa is a specif type of highly beinifical algea that is a critical part of the nitrogen cycle (Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates), and those chemicals are what is in fertilazer that you buy for your yard, but those naturally occur from animal waste products, and that's what the algea does (sorta that was kinda confusing). The algea bascially 'eats up' all those chemicals.
The other thing I would suggest is the Prizm, cheap, effective, and I've heard great things about it.
-Mark
 
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