Design help

[bootz]

So i started up my fish tank tank yesterday. i am running a 30 gallon tank so to save a bit more money to buy fish i purchased a hob filter calibrated for 50 gallons with the biowheel.( i am eventually going to buy a canister but petsmark's prices were jacked) I added the salt to the water, and placed the crushed coral (the water is still murky from adding the CC). Now i was hoping someone could guide me in the right direction with setting up reef. What kind of lighting should i purchase, any website suggestions for nice coral and lr. Any set-ups you have that work nicely. thanks for your help.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

I would say get rid of the crushed coral and use sand. The crushed coral limits you on certain corals and fish who need the sand to survive, plus it acts as a great trap for waste to gather in the tank.

 

[bootz]

its weird everyone iv met in fish stores says used crushed coral everyone on this website says dont use crushed coral lol

 

[mfdrookie516]

Probably because most of the people in the pet stores don't actually have successful reef tanks. It's pretty common to get bad advice at LFS

 

[bootz]

well are there any set ups i can used with CC?

 

[Gti_Leo]

i've seen a video on youtube of a guy with a 500 gallon reef running crushed coral with success but it requires alot of cleaning as food and fish waste can get in between the coral and under it. the CC is easier to clan as it doesn't get sucked up when you're vaccuming it like sand does

there are snails and shrimps, sea stars and fish that liek to burrow in the sand, so you're limiting the types of inverts you can have and also most of the nicer goby's that pair up with pistol shrimp won't be able to be kept.

the selection of fish on a 30g is pretty small and without sand its even smaller

 

[bootz]

i guess my question becomes what can i do with crushed coral than?

 

[trackfast]

I don"t know of many that use crushed coral so I cant answer you question. Sorry. I use aragonite sand bc it buffers the pH and comes in different sizes. I also run a HOB with my reef and it works fine so far.
For lighting, I like this -
Current USA Nova Extreme T5HO X2 - Saltwater Aquarium Light Fixtures. But if you have a 30 gallon extra high, you may need more lighting. You're probably a few months away from adding corals but I would buy LR right now and cycle with it;1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon. You can buy mostly dry rock and seed it with a little LR; it'll save you some $.

 

[bootz]

i just found this set up on youtube:YouTube - My 28 Gallon Saltwater Marine Tank ( he is using crushed coral) thanks for the advice ill go get some LR. the more lighting information the better( because i am really not too sure the requirements) by the way my tank is 24" wide and 19" high with a bowed front. thanks guys.

 

[mr_X]

that tank in the video is pretty new. it's long term effects that you are going to see with the crushed coral. it requires regular maintenance, where a sand bed with much smaller granules do not.
i would scoop out that CC and toss it. it will cost you 20 bucks or so to replace it with dry aragonite based sand, and it will save you a lot of time and aggravation.

as for lighting, you are going to have to decide on what you plan to keep in the tank before you look for lighting. if you want to be able to keep whatever you want, i would go with a 4 x 24 watt t-5 at least. preferably a 6 x 24.

 

[bootz]

alright thanks for the help i was just thinking LR since alot of fish seems to not work well with reef. maybe some mushroom for some nice color

 

[Gti_Leo]

i think 6 T5 HOs for a 30 gallon is to much light, 4 should be sufficiant amounts of light

 

[Turbosnail]

I would get rid of the crushed coral, it is way too much maintenance with no real benefit imo. And if you don't keep up with the maintenance it can be a real problem. I have a 4x24 t5ho on my 29 gallon, it works well, but I agree with mr x. I would rather have a 6x24.

 

[bootz]

ok i will continue to look into the lighting, so for the sand do you need Ls? or just sand and add LR?

 

[trackfast]

All sand becomes "live" over time. But if you have $ to spend, buy LS. I think it leads to a quicker cycle, IME.

 

[mr_X]

i think 6 T5 HOs for a 30 gallon is to much light, 4 should be sufficiant amounts of light

not for sps, but definitely for mushrooms.

 

[melosu58]

Just regular dry aragonite sand will become live over time. I too agree that over time your best bet would be to use sand. I`ve had my tank for 13 yrs now and have never had to clean it. The CUC handles that. If I had CC then I would have to clean weekly and very good because of all the fish waste that CC traps.

 

[Turbosnail]

Just regular dry aragonite sand will become live over time. I too agree that over time your best bet would be to use sand. I`ve had my tank for 13 yrs now and have never had to clean it. The CUC handles that. If I had CC then I would have to clean weekly and very good because of all the fish waste that CC traps.

So...if it took you only one hour to clean crushed coral every wk for thirteen years that would be 624 total hours that you would have spent cleaning. That's 26 days worth of cleaning! You saved alot of work with the sand. (I had to add it up lol)

 

[bootz]

yeah i am just bummed that i already screwed up so early because i was advised to purchase CC waste of 14$ and every penny counts when your in college lawl. my tank is already running without fish ofcourse but im going to order some sand and some reef safe eco rox.