+Capt. Obvious Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 looking for some basic sage wisdom. examples would be lbs of sand/gal wattage of light/gallon lbs of live rock/gallon amount of powerhead and qty/gallon sump overflow/return per gallon cleanup crew size how much to feed/how often refugium size per gallon etc. I am well aware that there are no HARD SET rules in this hobby and it all depends on tank residents etc...just looking for some general people's tidbits of info...pick your brain if you will... let the information sharing begin!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefytang Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 LOL whenever someone says "rule of thumb" it reminds me of that great scene from the Boondock Saints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 (edited) LOL whenever someone says "rule of thumb" it reminds me of that great scene from the Boondock Saints. me too actually...even though it isn't entirely true...but then again what would hollywood be without propagating misconceptions Edited January 23, 2009 by Capt. Obvious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 lbs of sand/gal - This really depends on preference. Also what fish you are keeping. (Wrasses need sand as do other fish) I keep a 2" bed. wattage of light/gallon - Also depends on what you are keeping. Depth of tank too. lbs of live rock/gallon - I think the general rule here is 1-2 lbs per gallon. Again that is a big range but depends on your taste in aquascaping. amount of powerhead and qty/gallon - Keeping SPS? The more the better. If not I would say at least 20x turnover per hour. sump overflow/return per gallon - I prefer about a 5-6x turnover per hour. More time for your skimmer to work. cleanup crew size - 1 cleaner per gallon how much to feed/how often - Again depends on your fish. Anthias need several feedings a day. I feed my 8 fish one cube of Mysis or home made food per day and Nori once or twice a week. refugium size per gallon - As big as you have room for. The bigger it is the more good it can do you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 As has been said, there is no wisdom to be given without parameters. How about you describe what you want from the tank and then people can add their $0.02. List the size of the tank as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 As has been said, there is no wisdom to be given without parameters.How about you describe what you want from the tank and then people can add their $0.02. List the size of the tank as well. I wasn't looking for anything in general...wasn't for my tank just some general rules people use themselves.... I.e. "4 watts of heater per gallon"... or whatever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 But see that's why everyone has been shying away from the old "sage advice". Most of the monthly magazines refuse to do such anymore. There are just to many variables to consider. It was the old way of thinking that got people in trouble. "Old" advice: 1 inch of fish per gallon, 1-2lbs of live rock per gallon, 4 watts of light per gallon, DO NOT keep any salt water tanks below 55 gallons ever, Nano tanks are only for experts, Only use 2" of sand as it will trap detritus, Only use 6" or more sand, Etc, etc.. None of that is really valid to anyone and some of it is very contradicting. Decent advice, Keep your SPG near 1.026 and your PH near 8.4 The only good general advice is to do more frequent and larger water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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