SW setup questions

murgus · July 15, 2006, 08:06:55 PM

Hi All,

I have tentative permission for 1 more tank in the house, and I am thinking of trying a SW setup. I would like a more low tech, hands off approach (like rokgarden's!). I asked the following questions of Ron in PM but thought I would throw it out here too (can't have too many suggestions!)

What is the minimum set of equipment needed? The tank size is indeterminate right now, although it can't be longer than 30" nor deeper than 24". What would the minimum recommended gallonage be for a beginner? I would like some easy corals and a couple of fish plus clean up crew.

Thanks,
Andrew

az · July 16, 2006, 12:23:57 AM

that size will do!

ez corals so you are looking at:

pc lighting, based on the size u provided, i'd recommend coralife 24" 2x36watts fixture (comes with 10k white and actinics).

a decent skimmer(i have a seaclone 150 for sale in classified btw lol).

2-4 very good powerheads...that would do 800-1000gal/hr in total.

u are set!

yellowtang · July 16, 2006, 03:41:41 PM

Hello there.......Welcome
First of all........and congrats on your new to be hobby.
By the sounds of your tank dimensions you are pointing a tank
range of 29g....which I think would be great for a begginer........
provided you' re not thinking of a Nano set up......
the type of equipment plays a role in your results.....
skimmers and lights are by far the most important parts of a
S/W set up...... If opted for cheap equipment be prepare to
spend on same equipment later on..........best to start right with
good equipment than to spend over again in half year....(Go with what you can afford,but at the same type go with at least descent equipment)...
live rock/sand add up fast on the expenses. So look for members
selling those items........
Corals... that would fall under a different thread,but since there are tons of types like LPS,SPS & SOFTIES that will depends on the lights you have.........and fish..well since this is a small tank..........
gobbies,clowns,dottybacks(some) fire fish and perhaps cardinnals
will be a selection to name a few.......
crousteceans......turbo snails,hermits,stars,and shripms will be a
part of your set up.......
this is a small thread to get you started..but IMO always ask the questions before jumping into a fascinating hobby.
cheers

murgus · July 16, 2006, 08:01:09 PM

Thanks az and yellowtang.

As the tank is going to be open front to back, how hard do you think it will be to aquascape a 29 gal (12" wide) so that viewing from the back is acceptable?

Andrew

Seanc · July 16, 2006, 08:13:09 PM

my big tank is like that, and well its hell. its easy to do the one side, but the other, never looks as good. why do you think amano doesn't do tanks that can be seen from bit sides very often? the best thing to do IMO is do the vally aquascape, because then it blends into the wall better.

murgus · July 16, 2006, 08:17:07 PM

Quote from: Seanc on July 16, 2006, 08:13:09 PM
my big tank is like that, and well its hell. its easy to do the one side, but the other, never looks as good. why do you think amano doesn't do tanks that can be seen from bit sides very often? the best thing to do IMO is do the vally aquascape, because then it blends into the wall better.

That's a really good idea Sean - if I understand correctly, you are talking about putting the LR to each side with any open "valley" of sand in the middle?

I will definitely consider using the valley concept.

Thanks!
Andrew

darkphreak · July 16, 2006, 09:35:13 PM

Heres a picture of mine. You'll see the valleys that I made with my tank.

murgus · July 16, 2006, 10:04:23 PM

Very nice Dark, very nice!

Thanks for showing me what Sean meant by valley aquascaping!

Andrew

darkphreak · July 16, 2006, 10:45:53 PM

Thanks. It all depends on the rock shapes. You just have to play around with it a few times.

FishPassion · July 17, 2006, 08:12:47 AM

Nice nano setup James heehehe. The info you got from others would be the easiest and best way to go. I have my 90 setup so that it is viewable from 4 sides and believe me it was hard setting up all rock in the centre and having coral viewable from 4 sides. Lighting plays an important role here as well and certain corals will be more demanding of light than some others, and if you are thinking of keeping an anenome it will wander and possibly sting corals until it is comfy and finds a location that it may settle in (for a while). Keep in mind that the tank you are thinking of starting is 12" which makes placing rock and coral harder than in an 18".

BTW glad to see that you have permission for ONE more tank, start planning NOW for another bigger SW tank. I got permission from my wife to get another bigger tank last year ( all it cost me was a bottle of very nice french wine served to her,and at the appropriate time when enough alcohol had set into her system we discussed another SW tank. Not only did she agree but she also ordered!!! me to convert my 65 Hex to salt as well. I had no choice but to oblige to her wishes)

Best of luck
Klaus

murgus · July 17, 2006, 08:58:41 AM

For lighting a 30 gallon tank (30"(w) x 18"(d)), would 2 x 65W power compact work? I was thinking something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/l52ho

Or is there something better?

Thanks,
Andrew

Julie · July 17, 2006, 09:09:41 AM

My tank is 12" deep, I have the dual satellite 2X65w power compact. I have no problems with lighting on soft corals.
At 18" you may be ok, but the more demanding ones of light will need to go higher up on the rock work.

Have you considered metal halide?

murgus · July 17, 2006, 09:19:57 AM

Quote from: Julie on July 17, 2006, 09:09:41 AM
My tank is 12" deep, I have the dual satellite 2X65w power compact. I have no problems with lighting on soft corals.
At 18" you may be ok, but the more demanding ones of light will need to go higher up on the rock work.

Have you considered metal halide?

To be honest, the high cost of MH bulbs kind of put me off. Are they much better than PC? I have found 30" PC fixtures that can tacke 3 or 4 65W bulbs.

Thanks,
Andrew

Julie · July 17, 2006, 10:09:27 AM

For the price of power compact you could spend a little more and go metal halide, even a nice little pendant. Therefore you are not restricted on growing any corals (sps included).

My little set up is in an enclosed space (formerly my microwave space in my cupboards); therefore heat is a big issue even with the ac on right now. My unit is equipped with fans; so just an example of how hot pc can get-it will leave burn marks on my arms.
My decision not to go metal halide was based on this, too difficult to control the temp in my tank without a chiller.

I don't believe heat will be a problem for you?

Julie

murgus · July 17, 2006, 10:17:08 AM

Quote from: Julie on July 17, 2006, 10:09:27 AM
I don't believe heat will be a problem for you?

Julie

No, heat won't be a problem. The tank will be a sort of room divider (kind of hard to explain without a pciture) but there will be nothing enclosing it (i.e. it won't be built into the wall).

Will a single pendant light a 30" wide tank sufficiently? Having never seen one in operation, my brain is telling me a little pendant might not light everything well. However, it would look rather good in my location...please share any further insight you have!

Thanks,
Andrew

darkphreak · July 17, 2006, 10:28:49 AM

My experience with pc's is that unless you always keep low light corals you'll want to upgrade in the future. So heres my suggestion, go with MH right now and this is what I use and the cheapest/best way to light a tank.

bought from here
http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?cPath=1_74_90_104&products_id=558

This reflector will allow you to have 1 MH bulb and 2 VHO or T5 if you wish. Center it over your tank and it will be enough to light your tank allowing you to keep everything from SPS to clams.

gvv · July 17, 2006, 10:49:16 AM

Have the same reflector, DARK had mentioned.
Even if you are not planning to go with MH right now and just want to use (just for example) T5, this one will be better than use separate Icecap T5 Reflectors, as separate reflectors need more space in the canopy. This one reflector will cost you nearly the same, if you will use 4 bulbs in the setup. For my next tank I'm taking the same reflector, even I'm planning to go only with T5 for now. Just don't want to redo the canopy in case I will decide to use MH later...

Regards

murgus · July 17, 2006, 12:09:34 PM

I take it one would need to build their own canopy to house this? What are the minimum parts needed to build a function light? Obviously ballast (which one?), bulbs, reflector, wire but what else?

Thanks,
Andrew

Julie · July 17, 2006, 12:17:44 PM

Quote from: FishPassion on July 17, 2006, 08:12:47 AM
BTW glad to see that you have permission for ONE more tank, start planning NOW for another bigger SW tank. I got permission from my wife to get another bigger tank last year ( all it cost me was a bottle of very nice french wine served to her,and at the appropriate time when enough alcohol had set into her system we discussed another SW tank. Not only did she agree but she also ordered!!! me to convert my 65 Hex to salt as well. I had no choice but to oblige to her wishes)

Best of luck
Klaus

Lol would this work on my husband too?

(fish tank scheming)

Hey Dark, are you on a commission base by any chance.

Julie

darkphreak · July 17, 2006, 12:22:14 PM

Its so easy to build a canopy, I even did it

I'll suggest Cooltouch MH ballast but there are other brands that do the same work. If you just want VHO you should use IceCap 660 ballast.

So you'd need the reflector with socket, a MH ballast and whatever MH bulb you want or if you go just VHO you'd need the reflector, IceCap 660, waterproof sockets and VHO bulbs. All of the wiring is plug and play so that's good.

I know its bot a canopy but it serves its purpose.