I'm in no hurry... but...

[RLG2182]

Okay... another "is this enough" question... I have a few months before I take the big dip, AND am in no hurry to get 109401289028390 forms of life in my tank (and room for the budget).

Just a few questions:

1) Is it a good idea to get 60 lbs of dry hawaiian base rock from www.hirocks.com & 20-30 lbs of fuji live rock from lfs and let the live "seed" the dry? (in no hurry to throw in corals/anemones/leathers, etc). Will this work, or am I wasting money on this hawaiian base?

2) Not sure I can afford CF right now, but have 2 40W NO (03 & bright white) for my 60E gal tank. If I'm not planning on adding any anemones as stated above, will basic lighting be sufficient to sustain all the coralline on the rocks, or will they die and/or stop growing??

CF can come eventually from captivereefs, but with moving into a new apartment and costs associated with it, my wallet is as heavy as a ball of cotton-candy in the wind.

 

[steve-s]

1) Is it a good idea to get 60 lbs of dry hawaiian base rock from www.hirocks.com & 20-30 lbs of fuji live rock from lfs and let the live "seed" the dry? (in no hurry to throw in corals/anemones/leathers, etc). Will this work, or am I wasting money on this hawaiian base?

This will work quite well. Just remember if the LR is going to be the primary source of filtration, you need about 1.5lbs/gal total amount of the two rock types. The ratio is not overly important, although I wouldn't go more than 80% dry rock.

2) Not sure I can afford CF right now, but have 2 40W NO (03 & bright white) for my 60E gal tank. If I'm not planning on adding any anemones as stated above, will basic lighting be sufficient to sustain all the coralline on the rocks, or will they die and/or stop growing??

Depends on the size and depths of the tank? LR does not need light for it's beneficial filtering capabilities but the coralline and light dependant "hitchikers" if any will. In many cases, 1-2 w/gal will at least keep them alive although YMMV with any type of growth if any.

Cheers
Steve

 

[RLG2182]

Well, first... thanks for the quick reply!

My tank is 48X15.5 deep X17.5 high. It's called a 60E, but if you do the math it's around 55 gal. So it's not as tall as the traditional 48X13X17 55 gal tanks, which should help my light situation out a bit.

I'm going to be building my own sump out of a 20L tank with glass baffles, so I can pretty much have the setup as I wish. Purchased 2 overflow boxes and a mag 9.5 pump to allow for dual return lines, so I'm sure water flow/current won't be an issue (added to my 2 future maxijet 1200 PH). I can add bioballs until the LR starts to spread, or I can add LR rubble... much freedom.

Thoughts on the whole situ?

 

[steve-s]

My tank is 48X15.5 deep X17.5 high. It's called a 60E, but if you do the math it's around 55 gal. So it's not as tall as the traditional 48X13X17 55 gal tanks, which should help my light situation out a bit.

You should be able to sustain (won't spread much) whatever coralline you get but most light demanding hitchikers would most likely not fair well. I would suggest getting already sured LR, it will be less hassle and dissapointment. You can always get some fresh rock down the road and cure it seperately to get additional "goodies".

I'm going to be building my own sump out of a 20L tank with glass baffles, so I can pretty much have the setup as I wish. Purchased 2 overflow boxes and a mag 9.5 pump to allow for dual return lines, so I'm sure water flow/current won't be an issue (added to my 2 future maxijet 1200 PH). I can add bioballs until the LR starts to spread, or I can add LR rubble... much freedom.

Thoughts on the whole situ?

Add as much LR/base rock you can at the initial set up. I would suggest the rubble in the sump/refusium instead of the bioballs. Less attention/maintenance required and will not be as much concern to nitrates if you occassionally overfeed. A MAG 950 will give you about 800 GPG after head calc so be sure your overflows are rated for that speed. If using 2 seperate HOB overflows, make sure each can handle the flow if the other stops/loses the syphon or you will end up with floods. I would also suggest ball valves for each return line just to be safe.

Cheers
Steve

 

[RLG2182]

Will definately buy as much rock as I can afford... just really hard with it being so expensive. Adding that cost to the LS, and then the CF to keep up steady invert health... plus an ro/di... expensive. 8O

At least base rock isn't as much as LR... but if I knew that it would be fine with NO then it would at least help me out to start.

I won't know how fast the outflow boxes are till I try them... but I know I can always put a limiting valve on the pump intake to slow it down w/o harming it in case flow is too much. Or I can add a few 90 degree joints to pile on head flow to the pump's return to get lower gph.

Can't wait to get everything set up so I can do a "dry" wet run.

 

[RMPD109]

You can also use a tropical playsand as a substrate and seed it like the LR. It usually runs about $6 for 50lbs and then add a cupfull of LS from an established tank to seed. This will cut $50 or so of the top to put towards more LR.

 

[RLG2182]

I'm trying to find some Southdown playsand, believe me. Was in contact with different HD stores around the nation, and all of them will force me to front the bill for shipping the product inter-store transfer to my sunny Southern California. A few people I know have a few bags, but I'd have to pay for the shipping... $130. 8O

No better off than buying CaribSea at LFS for $43 for a 40 lb bag.

 

[RMPD109]

look on ebay for tropical playsand. It is still more expensive than HD but you might find a deal.

 

[RLG2182]

Just tried... no listings for "aragonite", "tropical playsand" "playsand" "old castle" or "live sand" . They had a few listings for a cup of established sand, but still not as cheap as LFS. May just have to bite the sand bullet and pay retail. Noooooo

(I had a local HD store Pro Desk check EVERY store in southern california and no dice... nothing.)

 

[cmor1701d]

Check the garden section of your closest HD and ask them what they sell for children's sandboxes. Although not aragonite based it should be fine for your substrate.