Salt newbie with questions

[Robb in Austin]

Hello all!

I have been lurking here and MAAST since Sept, and RC and TRT for probably 6 months, reading various books too.

(Some background: ~5yrs fresh(CA/SA/Malawi cichlids, planted.)

Now wanting salt.

Just picked up a 58g Oceaninc(36x18x20) with the shaker stand. Looks like the

biggest sump that will fit in the stand is a 10g, maybe a 20l. (It leaves some wiggle room.)

The floor of the stand is suspended, not flat on the floor, so I'm worried about its weight bearing ability.

Plans are for clowns, anemone, and a clam or two. Obviously the anemone/clams would come ~6 months down the road.

Ideas so far:

Aquatininc TX5

Tunze 9010 or Deltec MCE300

Melev's RO/DI unit

Koralia 3 or 4: 2-3 of each

Drilling would be best, but where do the holes go? Back side, up top? How many?

If drilled, do I need to make/buy overflow boxes? Internal I'm guessing.

No ideas:

return pump, actual plumbing

salt(IO, Reef crystals, Topic Marin?).

sand(aragonite, pulverized limestone, Quickrete medium grade-using on my FW)

clean up crew

live rock(TBS, Marco Rock would be great but don't know if I can swing the cost.)

All thoughts/tips/etc appreciated!

Robb

P.S.

Thanks to John at Kingfish for spending ~30min talking with me last week.

Edited October 17, 2007 by Robb in Austin

[GKarshens]

Welcome to the club!

It sounds like you have a great start going. I will try and hit some of your ?s

If you can I would drill for your overflow. I did a weir style with an external overflow. Takes up no room inside the tank that way. I did it center top on the backside.

For a return there are many options. Eheim pumps are great but a Mag will work just fine. Plumbing depends on what type of overflow you go with and any reactors or other things you might try to add.

I am in the process of trying out some different salts right now. I have used Tropic Marin in the past with good results but tested my lastest batch and the numbers were not good. thread here: http://www.austinreefclub.com/index.php?showtopic=2390

Sand is a preference thing. I use a shallow sand bed just for the look and went with the Carib sea live sand.

Online is probably your best bet for a clean up crew, but you might get one of the stores to cut you a good deal, Kingfish is a good place to start. They might get you the best deal on some nice rock too.

HTH.

[Headless_donkey]

Welcome to the club.

Gabriel covered most of the bases.

Live rock is a preference thing as well. Of course it is a necessary part of the modern way of doing a salt tank. My piece of advice would be to figure out a rough plan for the aquascaping before buying rock. When I have done this the overall appearance of the finished product looks better. There are a million different ways to aquascape. I suggest looking at pictures of other people's tank and seeing what you like. Just remember it is almost impossible to exactly recreate what is in your mind. Pick rock that fit the shape you need. Many of the local stores have good deals on rock. The cheapest way is to pick up rock from tanks being broken down, but that takes time. Choose for shape and the overall tank and you will be happier.

cheapest place for clean up

http://www.reeftopia.com/

I used play sand in our fish only tank and the myths are true. It grows detritus hard core in the beginning. It has settled down, but I wouldn't do it in a reef tank. IMO black sand is cool 2-3"

Drilling-It all depends on how you want the tank to sit in the room. Drain holes are typically at the bottom, but they can be at the top if you use external dursos(another whole can of worms). I would build/buy an overflow box. They allow you to run a higher flow rate and are much more quiet. You can go external overflow, but it requires more extensive glass work. Internal is easier and more forgiving. You don't have to drill for the returns. They can come over the top of the tank. If you do drill for them you need to figure out a siphon break(over the over flow or have them high in the tank) or use the dreaded swing check valve(which do work BTW).

I see no reason to go with an HOB skimmer if you have a sump. In sump skimmers typically work better, but I am sure you talked to John about all that. BTW that Deltec kicks butt.

I would flip the stand over and reinforce before filling the tank with water. Some vertical strips of plywood would work great and be super strong(and cheap).

I also am an ehiem convert. The mags are good(cheap), but they do get hot and pull tons of current. With the ehiem you also have the option of going external down the road. External isn't a good idea with the mags. They tend to leak. So I have heard.

swinging by maast.org isn't a bad idea either.

Welcome to the salty side of life.

-james

[tomanero]

Could you use 2x4's under the bottom of the stand to help support the weight?

I have a 58g Oceanic setup if you'd like to check it out.

Just let me know.

Steve

[Robb in Austin]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Gabriel:

Not to sure that I want to get a weir style overflow, too much glass work as James mentioned.

James:

If I do decide to drill I'd skip the HOB skimmer. Another question though. If I have holes drilled

in the back(as far as I know the bottom is tempered) do I have 1 or 2 done? And then, I build an

overflow around the hole and the pipe sticks straght out/up? This is where I'm confused. I understand

when the holes are on the bottom. Good idea on the stand support.

Steve:

Got pictures? I would love to see it! I work the weekends so a personal visit would be tough

to arrange.

Also, I'll probably post a similar question to MAAST/RC just to get more opinions.

Thanks again!

Robb

Edited October 18, 2007 by Robb in Austin