help with 30 gal reef tank. please

[scalesandfins]

ok i have a 30 gallon set up right now as a grow out for a few fresh fish.
when they are done with it my fiance gave me the ok to turn it into salt.
since its goin to be so small i want to make this think a beast. prob doin a 10 gal sump/refugium on it. but can you guys tell me what else i will need or should add to make this thing a true beast?
i def want clowns and a few other very small fish like a yellow watchman and such. maybe a mandarin if i can get enough cops goin.
but other that everythin for the sump this is what i have listed so far:
30+ pounds of live rock
protien skimmer(suggestions on what kind and where to put it please)
lights(prob high output t5s or something) maybe halide....? what do you think?
also maybe a fan to make a little more current.
please add ideas or any imput on what you guys think i need or missed
thanks!

 

[scalesandfins]

bump.......?
its really nice that no one can even say yea your looking good or anythin....

 

[Heathd]

ok i have a 30 gallon set up right now as a grow out for a few fresh fish.
when they are done with it my fiance gave me the ok to turn it into salt.
since its goin to be so small i want to make this think a beast. prob doin a 10 gal sump/refugium on it. but can you guys tell me what else i will need or should add to make this thing a true beast?
i def want clowns and a few other very small fish like a yellow watchman and such. maybe a mandarin if i can get enough cops goin.
You have done your homework from the looks of things. Knowing that you need a good amount of copepods for a Manderin is great, but I just dont see you being able to sustain enough copepods for a manderin, even with a very mature fuge.
but other that everythin for the sump this is what i have listed so far:
30+ pounds of live rock
30 lbs in the tank is enough, IMO. Maybe a little bit more in the fuge and call it a day.
protien skimmer(suggestions on what kind and where to put it please)
lights(prob high output t5s or something) maybe halide....? what do you think?
Lighting depends on what you want to keep in the way of corals, but a 150 watt MH would be enough. 4 mixed T-5s would do the job too. Aquatraders.com has good fixtures at affordable pricing. The only drawback is that the bulbs they come with are crap. If you have a good fuge, or an ATS, you can get away without having to do a skimmer. Given the cost of even a small skimmer, I would say go with an algae turf scrubber and incorporate that into the design of your sump.
also maybe a fan to make a little more current.
general rule of thumb is 10x times the amount of water volume needs to cycled every hour. This can be done through powerheads and return pumps. Even if your return pump was doing 300gph at your given head, I reccomend the use of powerheads to help keep crap from settling on the substrate. And while we are on the topic of substrate, what are your plans for it? I reccomend aragonite sand since you want to keep fish that are bottom dwellers. It also keeps most of the left over food and other waste on the top for easy cleaning.
please add ideas or any imput on what you guys think i need or missed
thanks!

Hope that helps.

 

[scalesandfins]

thank you very much!
yea i hear its hard to get cops goin good oh well
n yes i will be using argonite sand bc i aslo want a sand sifter like a diamond goby or somthin
as for the corals i want very simple, just shrooms and small soft corals. but i want them to take over.
that would be cool if i didnt need a skimmer. i will prob do the algea thing also. i can use the light from the fuge for it then.
thank you for all your help!
would you recomend doin a overflow hang on box, or drill the tank?

 

[Heathd]

drilling the tank is the best option in my opinion. If the power goes out, you dont have to worry about and HOB overflow not starting back up.

its also cheaper to drill a tank.

If you are only going to do softies, a metal halide is a waste. I would stick to T5s.

 

[FLESHY]

+1 to everything heath has said. I would recommend t5 for its intensity over PC in your size aquarium.

That being said there are a couple other things.

In a tank with softies only, I might steer clear of a skimmer. Softies LOVE organics in the water. Run your tank, see if you get a surface scum. If you dont, great, if you do...add a skimmer. You were planning on it anyways.

With LR more is better for filtration reasons, but dont go crazy, you want to have room to play and aquascape, so keep that in mind.

Aragonite sand is a good choice, let me take this moment to give props to caribseas reef-grade aragonite. Its the best.

Powerheads are important, but not as much with softies. Just make sure that you dont have any dead spots in your tank, thats the real issue.

Other than that, everything sounds great!

 

[scalesandfins]

sweet! thanks guys!
so its getting drilled and do yall like those fans or power heads better?
i was thinkin of doin two one on each side to make enough current
oh and now its goin from a thirty to maybe a 40 gallon breeder i think it would be nice to have a shallower tank for the corals and have more swimming room for the fish i get. there is a possibilty of an eel maybe.
snowflake should be ok in a 40 breeder right? foot print prob 3'x18" maybe a little shorter.
what other interesting fish could be happy in this tank and be softy friendly?
i know i had a kliens butterfly to get rid or aptasia and he messed up my shrooms and polyps i dont want that happening again.

 

[FLESHY]

40g breeders are awesome. Plus petco is going to start having their $1 a gallon sale again soon! The sad thing is thats what aquariums should cost to start with...but anyways.

I would recommend the 40g B as a better tank for your reef. Bigger is better, but if you are already getting your other tank drilled then maybe its too late. Anything that is reef safe should be softie safe too.

 

[scalesandfins]

nope not too late
i think it would be great for a mini reef setup. i wont start setting this up for prob another month. i just want to make sure i have everythin planned out before i even start so im not in the middle of it and realize i forgot somthin. for a reef setup do you like the over flow in the center or on one corner?
im prob goin to make a kind of whirl pool thing with rock piled in the center so the fish can swim around it in the current.
is that a bad idea?

 

[Heathd]

I have my overflow in the corner of the tank, but I think it is really more of personal preference.