1st Salt Tank(Planning)

[Bee0912]

I am still in the planning stage but here is my plan. I posted this in Ohboitony’s thread but it was not my place i do not want to take his thread over with my beginner questions.

Ohboitony posted about his internal filter and it got my ball rolling.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273547&page

I am not moving till the 1st of the year so i will not be doing anything till then. This will be my first SW tank Now i just have a 180gallon. But i will have the room for another one in the new place so i want to do salt. I have been looking for ways to avoid a sump on it so this was like a ray of light when i saw this. I was planning on a CPR bacpac II but i am scrapping that for this. Half the fun for me is building the tank so i am going to take my time building this filter rather than blowing money on a second rate HOB CPR one. I am still going to do a HOB skimmer and have been looking for one that i like. I am not moving till the 1st of the year so i will not be doing anything till then. This will be my first SW tank and my 3rd tank ever. i went from a 55 to a 55 and a 37 then to a 180. that’s were i am now just the 180gallon. But i will have the room for another one in the new place so i want to do salt. I have been looking for ways to avoid a sump on it so this was like a ray of light when i saw this. I was planning on a CPR bacpac II but i am scrapping that for this. Half the fun for me is building the tank so i am going to take my time building this filter rather than blowing money on a second rate HOB CPR one. I am still going to do a HOB skimmer and have been looking for one that i like. Why is 1100GPH to much i thought the more the better? or is it going to be to much water movement for coral?

I will be building an internal wet/dry eather on the back or in one of the ends of tank run by 2 power heads.


As far as fish go i have not a clue. my plan now is to get a tank when i move build the filter buy a skimmer, light, and get it running with live rock. by then i should have a plan for coral and small fish. i know i want to keep them small that can swim in and out of the rock and coral. My monsters are in my fresh tank.

This is the skimmer i have been looking at. anyone use this one or brand?

Ohboitony is said that 1100 GPH out of an internal Wet/dry may be to much for a 90 gallon reef? I thought the more the better? or is it going to be to much water movement for coral?

my plan now is to get a tank when i move build the filter buy a skimmer, light, and get it running with live rock. by then i should have a plan for coral and small fish. i know i want to keep them small that can swim in and out of the rock and coral. My monsters are in my fresh tank.

This is the skimmer i have been looking at. anyone use this one or brand?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=19865

 

[Sarah88]

first of all why does this post keep repeating itself? and secondly that doesnt seem like to much flow to me usually you want to go for like 10 or more times the gallons of the tank, would see it being to much flow and alot of the more finicky corals like a higher flow anyways and it keeps you from having dead zones where there is now flow. im in the process of setting up my first sw tank as well, it is only going to be 20g Long but im planning on having about 400 gph going through filters along with a koralia 1 powerhead which does another 400gph (good saltwater forum for advice is reefsanctuary and some others just search around and you will get some good advice)

 

[Bee0912]

first of all why does this post keep repeating itself? and secondly that doesnt seem like to much flow to me usually you want to go for like 10 or more times the gallons of the tank, would see it being to much flow and alot of the more finicky corals like a higher flow anyways and it keeps you from having dead zones where there is now flow. im in the process of setting up my first sw tank as well, it is only going to be 20g Long but im planning on having about 400 gph going through filters along with a koralia 1 powerhead which does another 400gph (good saltwater forum for advice is reefsanctuary and some others just search around and you will get some good advice)

First thanks i guess? i like this board but it seems like members are mad for people asking questions? thats what a forum is!! Why are people getting jumped on for looking for help?

 

[Sarah88]

oh sorry if that seemed rude no i think you should ask questions definitely i was just wondering if there was some weird reason that some of the sentences were repeated sorry i didnt mean to be rude just wanted to help feel free to ask any questions you may have!

 

[Bee0912]

oh sorry if that seemed rude no i think you should ask questions definitely i was just wondering if there was some weird reason that some of the sentences were repeated sorry i didnt mean to be rude just wanted to help feel free to ask any questions you may have!

No your fine I did post this in the linked to thread but it was not my place to ask my own questions so i moved my post here.

 

[Sarah88]

oh ok well feel free to ask any questions you may have or anything you may be confused about and those other forums are great too i like to get my info from several different places so you can see what all different opinions people have and then decide what works best for you because you will get VERY different opinions on things depending on who you ask

 

[Pharaoh]

I've seen a lot higher turnovers that 10X, but I'm a noob when it comes to salt.

Turnover just generally depends on the stocking or specific fish that you would like to keep.

 

[Sarah88]

yeah i meant 10 as a minimum to show that 1100 def isnt too much flow and that i am planning like 20x turnover with my small tank not even including the powerhead so i mean as long as your sand isnt being blown around then its not to much flow IMO and pharoah im a noob in sw too so if i say anything that someone disagrees with please correct it as im still in learning process as well from those with more experience

 

[water_baby83]

I am still in the planning stage but here is my plan. I posted this in Ohboitony’s thread but it was not my place i do not want to take his thread over with my beginner questions.
I'm sure they appreciated that.

Ohboitony posted about his internal filter and it got my ball rolling.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273547&page

I am not moving till the 1st of the year so i will not be doing anything till then. This will be my first SW tank Now i just have a 180gallon. But i will have the room for another one in the new place so i want to do salt.
Moving over to the dark side huh? Muahahaha welcome aboard!

I have been looking for ways to avoid a sump on it so this was like a ray of light when i saw this. I was planning on a CPR bacpac II but i am scrapping that for this. Half the fun for me is building the tank so i am going to take my time building this filter rather than blowing money on a second rate HOB CPR one.

I wouldn't call them second rate, as CRP has one of the better lines out there that I've tested. But like I always say, sometimes, if you want it done right - do it yourself. They aren't miracle workers and are created with a generalized use-range. If it doesn't fit what you need, don't blow the dough on it and compromize. Kudo's to attempting the DIY!

I am still going to do a HOB skimmer and have been looking for one that i like.

One (of many) that I've used in the past, and have running in one tank currently, is a Typhoon HO Skimmer. It uses true Venturi injection and has a variable flow rate - counter current.
There are several on the market. Look before you leap, as some are def "get what you pay for" types.

I am not moving till the 1st of the year so i will not be doing anything till then.
Good! Use the time between then and now to do as much research as possible, and never be afraid to ask questions here! Salwater is a whole new beast in aquatics.

This will be my first SW tank and my 3rd tank ever.
Like I said...a whole new beast.

i went from a 55 to a 55 and a 37 then to a 180. that’s were i am now just the 180gallon. But i will have the room for another one in the new place so i want to do salt.
Mmmk, so for this "next tank", what size are you planning for?

Why is 1100GPH to much i thought the more the better? or is it going to be to much water movement for coral?

What? Who told you it was "too much"? For most situations, it's pretty hard to have too much current. Now don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting you have tsunami wave makers and 5400 gph for a 20 long or anything like that, lol, but for the most part, reasonably speaking, the more, the better. It does however depend on the corals you want, as some don't require rip-tide currents, but rather soft, calm fluctuations. But placement is key for any coral, so if the current you have is a stong one, then fine, create areas in the tank which are complimentary to the corals you choose. (just keep in mind that the lower you place some corals, the higher your lighting needs to be to accomodate).


I will be building an internal wet/dry eather on the back or in one of the ends of tank run by 2 power heads.

Once again, I gotta ask (and if I somehow missed this info, forgive me), what tank size are you planning for? If space allows (and contruction of the unit its self), I always advocate these to be placed inside the tank. You have less clutter on the ouside, and more efficient filtering at the source.


As far as fish go i have not a clue.
This will be dependant on the size of the tank, and the "Theme" you'd wish to accomplish - I.E Reef, LRO, LRWFO, FO, Real coral, artificial coral, etc, etc, etc.. That's the fun part, and comes later on in planning.

my plan now is to get a tank when i move build the filter buy a skimmer, light, and get it running with live rock.

Hold off on the lighting until you know what you want. Do your research when it comes to corals and their lighting needs, as well as the fish's compatibility with specific corals. Lighting isn't cheap and there is nothing worse than buying less than you require at the end of the day. (or having too much, for that matter).

by then i should have a plan for coral and small fish. i know i want to keep them small that can swim in and out of the rock and coral. My monsters are in my fresh tank.

LOL what size is your new tank going to be. (I know, I have the whole broken-record thing going for me right now, but it's a vital question to go further with planning.)

This is the skimmer i have been looking at. anyone use this one or brand?

What, where? Did I miss something. I don't see a pic or link?

Ohboitony is said that 1100 GPH out of an internal Wet/dry may be to much for a 90 gallon reef? I thought the more the better? or is it going to be to much water movement for coral?

Pfft. No, I don't feel that is "too much" (Part of this section is a duplicate so I will leave my other answers on this above and not restate them)



This is the skimmer i have been looking at. anyone use this one or brand?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=19865

Ahaa! Here is the link. ... Annnnd, it didn't work. What's the brand and specs? I've used a grip of different types over the years, so it might be one I have now, or have used.

My comments in pink. Fill us in on some more specific details as you hash them out and we can help you along the way. Don't ever hesitate to ask questions. Even if we've heard them a million times, someone will always be willing to answer - ignore the ones who roll their eyes and grunt. We all started somewhere.

Because this is your first salt water tank, there is going to be a lot you need to know. Hopefully I won't be the one answering most of your questions, because I am known for my "novels". But there are some posts I've done for other beginners like yourself that I am sure will assist you in some respect or another. . . Now all I need to do is hunt them down. LOL.
Hope this helped some, and please, keep us updated.