Surprise, New beginner, another day

[dansemacabre]

Hello, all. I just wanted to tell you how cool I think this site is. All of the users are polite and knowledgeable. So, on with my questions

I will soon be setting up a FOWLR tank, and this will be my first saltwater aquarium. At present, I am planning on a 100 gallon tank. I wish to have 4-5" of aragonite sand to create the DSB. I am thinking on a SeaClone 100 protein skimmer, and a small Filstar XP2 canister filter, mechanical media removed, with just the activated carbon and bio-media inserts. I'll ask questions about my potential fish at a later date, but I've got a few questions about my setup.

What do you all think? I will eventually want to go into a reef tank (when I purchase the lighting that is sufficient). I've been researching a lot, and from what I read, I'll need roughly 130-150lbs. of LR? If I buy, say, 75 lbs. of it, will it in fact spread to other rock that I put in the tank? If so, what kind of rock should go in with it to promote the spread? Also, will it spread to the sand giving me some live sand?

So, at the end of my enormous post, my main questions are:
What do you think of the tank setup? Any suggestions/additions/deletions?
Will the live rock spread to..."dead" rock?
Will live rock spread to create live sand?

Thank you all, very much.

 

[ReefLady]

What do you think of the tank setup? Any suggestions/additions/deletions?

I don't know too much about mechnical filtration, or brand-name items (most of our equipment is DIY), but I do know that I've never heard anything good about the Seaclone skimmer. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on this.

Will the live rock spread to..."dead" rock?

Absolutely

If so, what kind of rock should go in with it to promote the spread?

You still want a reef-type base rock (look into http://www.hirocks.com/ or http://www.reeferrocks.com/ ). Don't use river rock, granite, etc. - you don't want anything leaching heavy metals into your water.

Will live rock spread to create live sand?

For the most part, yes. True live sand does contain some organisms not naturally found in live rock, so you might still want to look into begging a cup or two of live sand off a fellow reefer, or purchasing a live sand "activator" kit (available from some MO vendors).

Good luck!

 

[Butters]

I use A seaclone 150 protein skimmer. took about 2-3 weeks to get the air flow just right. now its working like a charm.

I wouldnt reccomend using the crushed argonite. I started with that and changed to a smaller grain. I think that is CC if im not mistaken.

also if you plan on using the hang on protein skimmer there might be a problem if you decide to use a wooden canopy. I had to cut my canopy about 4 inches to make room for my skimmer. however the "100" might be smaller. take some measurments if you are going to use a canopy.

btw i have a 75 g tank and i use the 150. only real problem ive had has been keeping the bubbles under control. after a while they minimize so dont be alarmed when you get themm ALL over. also the 150 gives better water flow and has a stronger pump i think. from what ive read the more water flow the better and your tank is much bigger than mine.

 

[dansemacabre]

ok, cool

Thanks for the info. Actually, I read a review for the seaclone on this very site, in which (Hera, I believe did the review) it was given a 9/10 rating. Any other comment by seaclone owners? (Thanks for your's, Butters )

I've read the mechanical filtration (sponges) will greatly increase the amount of nitrate in my water, because it will trap debris in the filter and cause it to break down in there, whereas a protein skimmer is supposed to remove the gunk before it contributes to the bio-load. I'm just wondering if it will work well if I remove the sponges and just have the carbon inserts and bio-media for bacterial growth. As for the brand, the only reason I'd pick it over the Fluval (404 or 304) is that this one self-primes and has burn-out protection, so if the power flickers and it temporarily loses water flow, it will not kill my motor. My friend lost her fluval when the power went out for a few moments, and the filter ran itself dry, because nobody was around to re-prime it.

Anyways...thanks very much for the info on the rock to use, and about the live sand activator. Am I correct in thinking I'll need 130-150 lbs. of live rock for my bio-filtration? As to the protein skimmer, what would you guys recommend for my 100gal? Thanks again.

 

[loganj]

I wouldn't spend the money on the canister filter. It isn't really going to benefit you IMO. Use what you would have spent on it to pick up some powerheads and more LR. MaxiJet PH's, IMO, are by far the best available.
You'll want to put the rock in the tank first...right on the glass. That way you don't have anaerobic areas in the sand bed and it lessens the chance of rockslide in the tank since the rock has a firm foundation. Use cheap base rock for the bottom layer. I would set 150 lbs as the minimum target for LR. A little more woudn't hurt you any.
I wouldn't buy a SeaClone for a tank that large. I have a couple of them running here on small tanks...got them for nothing though. They do OK. For a 100 gal tank, my first choice would be a Red Sea Berlin HOB with the Aqua C Remora Pro being a close second. I am using a Berlin in sump model on a 180 gal with good results. I haven't owned a Remora Pro, but members here have convinced me that they are a good skimmer. I'd go with a Mag 7 pump on the Berlin. I don't know how well the "Turbo" model Berlin skimmer works as I have never had one.
If you are going with a DSB, you need to use sugar size sand. Perhaps that is what you meant by crushed aragonite? I don't know what availability is in Detroit, but Home Depot sells play sand under the Southdown brandname in some areas. This is aragonite and is perfect for DSB's...save you a lot of $ if you can buy it instead of one of the brands that are specified for aquarium use. JMHO.

 

[dansemacabre]

Alright

Thanks loganj! I completely forgot about the powerheads. I do plan on getting a few of those. What is the flowrate (combined) that I want? Isn't it around 900-1200 gph? I do intend on the yardright/southdown/old castle sand, sorry I was unclear about that. :? I will look into those protein skimmers asap too. I want to get uncured liverock for the beginning, for all its nifty critters, and to help cycle my tank. If I get, say 75-100 lbs. of live rock, and some other rock that reeflady suggested, so it will spread, can I just add more (cured) LR to the tank at a later (though not much later) date to bring me to my 150+ lbs. target range?
Thanks everyone, for all of your help!

 

[Hara]

The seaclone did a fine job for my tank, but my tank had a light bioload. I have since replaced it with an aquamedic turbofloater multi 1000 (dont those german engineers love long names!). I am super happy with that and it is keeping my tank nicely where I want it to be, it had an extremely heavy load on it for a bit and came through that with no problems and is now keeping things very nice with little effort on its part.

 

[sandblas]

I wouldn't spend the money on the canister filter. It isn't really going to benefit you IMO. Use what you would have spent on it to pick up some powerheads and more LR. MaxiJet PH's, IMO, are by far the best available.
You'll want to put the rock in the tank first...right on the glass. That way you don't have anaerobic areas in the sand bed and it lessens the chance of rockslide in the tank since the rock has a firm foundation. Use cheap base rock for the bottom layer. I would set 150 lbs as the minimum target for LR. A little more woudn't hurt you any.
I wouldn't buy a SeaClone for a tank that large. I have a couple of them running here on small tanks...got them for nothing though. They do OK. For a 100 gal tank, my first choice would be a Red Sea Berlin HOB with the Aqua C Remora Pro being a close second. I am using a Berlin in sump model on a 180 gal with good results. I haven't owned a Remora Pro, but members here have convinced me that they are a good skimmer. I'd go with a Mag 7 pump on the Berlin. I don't know how well the "Turbo" model Berlin skimmer works as I have never had one.
If you are going with a DSB, you need to use sugar size sand. Perhaps that is what you meant by crushed aragonite? I don't know what availability is in Detroit, but Home Depot sells play sand under the Southdown brandname in some areas. This is aragonite and is perfect for DSB's...save you a lot of $ if you can buy it instead of one of the brands that are specified for aquarium use. JMHO.

hello
iam just trying to setup my tank what i want to know from you is you from ga so am i hope you can help me finding shouthdown tropical play sand in any ga area if home deopt wich one? help me please