I'm a little confused, can you help me ?

[ambulocetus]

Hello, I have just started up a 29gal tank (up about 4 weeks). I was told to use about 5-6 inches of sand. I have a lot of lr (i get it cheap as i work in a petstore!) and i hope to have a mix of a couple fish, some nice anenomes and a couple corals when it is all finally finished. However I had a couple of questions

1. How does a dsb work, surely under 5 inches of sand there is very little water movement?

2. Should i ever stir it or not, i have a couple hermit crabs and some snails crusing around at the moment?

3. Power heads - what is the truth about these? I have a Manum 350 canister, which has a reasonably fast flow coming out of the return - do i really need a powerhead too? (I don't want to skimp, yet i am a student and don't have loads of spare change to throw around )

4. Finally a proetin skimmer - I am thinking about an Aqua C remora, i can't really afford it, but everyone seems to say it is the best there is, and it is easy to maintain - is this true? i am looking for easy maintenance - it absolutley CANNOT leak or be prone to leaking as the tank is at my girlfriend's house and they would not be pleased if i swamp the floor!

5. What temp, i have heard anything from 70 - 85, right now we are at 80

I know that there are some answers to these questions (i spent about 8 hours trawling through previous postings) but i would like clear definitive answers if possible!!! Thank you so much, this is an outstanding website!
Jonathan

 

[Atari]

1. Sand-dwelling organisms move it around.. snails, worms, pods etc.

2. Nope, let the critters do it. If you don't have any then pick up a detrivore pack which includes the above animals.

3. You should aim for 10x total volume although more is better.

4. Can't 100% guarantee it not leaking no matter which you go for, but some fair much better than others. Others can chime in on American brands since I can't comment there.

5. 80 is a good temp. The important thing is to keep it constant.

6. Welcome to AA!

 

[RocketSeason]

also remember that you can put only a few small fish in that tank.

 

[ambulocetus]

Wow - you guys are so quick in replying! Thank you so much!

 

[dralarms]

No one here like the Skilter but it works. Noisy but it'll do the job, I would recommend if you get a skilter then do the mod right to begin with, lowers the noise level and actually makes it work a little better.

 

[ambulocetus]

What is the story behind canister filters, I have noticed people suggesting that they can do more harm then good as they collect detrius - or is it only a problem if you skimp on cleaning them?

 

[LapDragon]

Similiar situation...

I am in the same boat as you ambulocetus where I am starting a 30g and would like to find the best route to start a marine tank with minimal cost.

I just bought a used tank and trying to establish cleaning it and getting new equipment such as a better filter, skimmer, and other stuff. Please let me know if u find some useful tips.

Thanks

 

[indy]

If you have any form of mechanical filtration you have to clean it very often. Any matter that collects in the media will rot in it and cause water problems.

 

[darb2]

canister filters are fine. Sometimes they are harder or more af a hastle to clean, so the get cleaned less often than they should. Which is why people reccomend a sump. They are easier to maintain, and therefore tend to get looked after more regularly.

 

[Ayesha97]

A great way to save a little bit of cash... check out http://amekaaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=_SECONDS under their factory seconds. They don't have the remora, but they have CPR's bakpak. I got mine from there and was very happy with the price and the quality of my skimmer. But I would recommend getting the preskimmer and bubbletrap (have noticed that mine would work better if I had added that to my purchase- now I have to wait a bit for my bank account to give me the go ahead).

 

[malkore]

thanks for that skimmer link. I picked up a red sea prizm deluxe for my first tank...now kinda regretting it. it's still clean and unused...I may put it on my Q-tank if it's needed...otherwise I'll eBay it and get half my money back.

 

[ambulocetus]

Thank you all, this is a great community, wished i had joined it years ago when i first gave sw a shot!! If someone knows of a good article regarding deep sand beds (preferably the acctual science behind them) i would really appreciate it. This is probbly the biggest difference from when i did sw 5-10 years ago, and the biologist in me wanted just to see how it came into use! Thank you!

 

[revhtree]

Here are some links:

http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm

http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/reef_archive/deepsandbedadvice.html

http://www.3reef.com/sand.shtml

HTH!

 

[ambulocetus]

Thank you so much, some outstanding links there! Everyone should take at least a brief look at those ones