Log of my 45 gallon breeder reef

[kendsley]

So, in reading these forums, ive found that alot of people keep logs online in regards to their tanks history. i figured i would jump on that bandwagon since this is my first saltwater tank and ill probably want to look back on this for reference.

Ive decided on a 45 gallon breeder courtesy of kirkandkhristi. im going to have it picked up this coming monday. Ive decided, since i have alot of lights, i may as well use them. so, ill be using (until i trade for 36 inch strips) 2 48" T5HO 108 watt strips, 1 96 watt pc light and the light that comes with the tank, also a T5 but the wattage is unknown. so far, the wattage total is 312 watts.

i figure with the t5s that come with the tank, ill be around the 350 mark and should be able (if i desire too in the future) to keep LPS, SPS and clams. Ive seen tanks on reef central that are strictly t5 powered and SPS dominated and they look amazing!

i figure one of the most important parts of the tank will be the filtration system. ive already decided to go crazy on the live rock when that time comes, but a good skimmer is also important. im still undecided on which skimmer would be optimal for my tank. of course, i still havent decided on wether or not im going to use a sump/refugium system or a big canister filter plus a good protien skimmer.

pictures will come as gear is purchased. all i have right now is the lights, so thats not really worth posting pictures of :)

[junkstang]

GOOD LUCK!

[kendsley]

so i finally got around to filling the tank with water and sand. ive got 55 pounds of dry arragonite sand in there , a fluval 20-something canister filter that has a UV steralizer plumbed into it and a 200 watt heater keeping the water at 78F. when should i add a skimmer?

im planning on adding about 50 pounds or so of cured live rock to the tank this tuesday when an echeck clears my paypal account.

also, where can i pick up some clean live sand to kick start my sand bed?

should i add more sand? i like the idea of a deep sand bed. i have about a 2.5 inch sand bed right now.

[mhaynes01]

My sandbed is around 3"s so I say just get a little live sand from someone in your area and that should work out well.

[kendsley]

7/23/07 @ 730ish pm

canister filter decides one side isnt sealed enough. water fills the trash can i had it in. caught it right before it spilled over. one side was not closed down all the way, my fault. everything seems to be in order now. going to get some slilicon and seal it up from the outside since the canister filters only being used to circulate water through the UV steralizer.

[kendsley]

i havent decided if i want to use a sump or just get a really good canister filter. i dont want to stress the foundation more than i need too, since im going to add 70 or so pounds of live rock eventually. a canister filter would keep the weight at a minimum, whereas a sump would be another 10+ gallons of water weight plus the filter media.

also, what type of submersible heater works best? i want something thats not going to break if a rock accidentally falls on it. ive seen some heaters that are made of a hard plastic material and are guaranteed to never shatter. anyone used one of these?

the tank has finally cleared up. it was cloudy for the first 24 hours.

[mhaynes01]

i say get a sump so you can hide all the ugly equipment :)

i've heard good things about Ebo-jagers.

[kendsley]

ill look into those heaters, thanks.

also, when will my cycle actually start? right now, its just sand i rinsed off and saltwater. nothing will start to cycle until i add some live rock or live sand, right? i turned the lights on for a lil bit just to see how cloudy it was, but thats it. i dont want algae building up already :(

[mhaynes01]

this is how i cycled my first tank...

I got a piece of shrimp uncooked/raw. and threw it in....when the ammonia spiked i took it out and the bacteria does the rest of the work....

then test the water for ammonia....if it reads zero then test for nitrite....until that reads zero....then test nitrate....nitrate may not be at zero but if the number is fairly low...then its safe to add fish......

HTH

[kendsley]

that helps alot, thanks.

heres another scenario though:

im about to add about 50 pounds of cured live rock into my tank. if things go the way i plan, im also getting 50 more pounds of sand, but this sand is live sand. since im going to be adding sand and rock that is already cured, there would be no reason to add a piece of shrimp, right?

[junkstang]

right, but still give it time to balance

[kendsley]

yeah, i figure a good 2 weeks by itself with minimal lighting should do the trick. i put about 2 pounds of cured purple live rock in the tank last night to start seeding my sandbed. the rock was *covered* in little bugs scurrying around, a few starfish came out later at night and even a few micro snails came out of the rock. real interestng to watch, cant wait till i fill the tank up with rock come this thursday!

[matt]

Don't put a shrimp in your tank, just using cured live rock is perfect. Actually, the smaller the cycle you have, the better, as each cycle ends with excess nitrate in your water. I'd get the lights going a few hours/day if you're adding live rock that has coralline algae (the purple stuff) because you don't want that to die as well.

You should definitely add a sump if you can. It will give you much more flexibility in choosing a skimmer, simplify top-off and Ca/Alk supplementation, and increase your water volume and gas exchange. A canister filter that contains mechanical filter media is not good for a reef tank; it will take micro-fauna out of the water column that is very beneficial to keeping corals.

To me, watching all the new life emerge from live rock is one of the best parts of setting up a new tank. Have fun, but watch out for flatworms!

[mhaynes01]

yeah i agree with matt, live rock will do the trick better....

when I used the shrimp all I had was sand in my tank, and couldn't get live rock for a couple of weeks if i remeber correct its been a 3-4 years since then.

Best of luck, and get some pictures up of this tank :)

[SoLiD]

I agree with adding a sump. Or even better, make it a Refugium. The addition of a high sand bed (in the refugium), macro algaes, and mangrove trees will aid in the removal or Nitrates, Phosphates, and other harmful substances.

You might want to get with Hobogato (aka Ace) about getting him to build you one. That dude is awesome. And his contributions have helped this site and it's members immensely. He is what you would call a PLETHORA or knowledge and ideas.

-SoLiD