Thinking of a SW set-up .. Questions

[-=Jeff=-]

After my son saw a starfish at Petco.. he has been bugging me for a SW tank..

I currently have:
two 10 gal tanks (my son and daughter have them)
one 50 Gal, FW Community
one 55 Gal Cichlid ( in transfer from a 40gal

If I do this I will be using my 40 Gal tank (48 long x 12 deep x 14? High)

I forget the actual height but I know it is 40Gal

Anyway, the 40gal has a HOB and a heater I will need everything as I am guessing a Canister will be better..

my other thought is clean the 40, set it up for my FW Community and use the 50 Gal (30x18x22ish) for SW with my Fluval 405

SO if I do a SW is the 40 enough? is the 48" better then 30" in length for a SW tank

to start I think it will be FO.. not sure about FOWLR ( but more then likely)

What equipment is a must have and what is a nice to have etc

 

[joy13]

You can get by with a hob filter if it is over rated. I am running an AC 70 fuge mod on my 45 corner tank.

Star fish are rarely seen so keep that in mind and also they need a well established tank. By that I mean at least a year old.

Either tank you are thinking of will be fine. I like a longer tank rather than a deeper tank for sw.

Two of the most important things to have is a liquid test kit and a refractometer. You can use an api test kit for freshwater but get the ph test kit for saltwater. You can download the color charts from online since there is a minor difference in color.

You want to make sure you go with rock in your tank if you want a starfish later since it will make the tank more stable.

Remember only bad things happen fast in saltwater.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

I have a penguin biowheel 350 on the 40. Thinking a canister might be the way to go as it is quieter.

Will I need a protein skimmer? I know powerhead or two will be needed.

I think for ease of less swapping I would use the 40. If I decide to do one SW tank

 

[carey]

I would stick with the hang on back, canisters can be a pain in saltwater. lol I should know, I'm still running a fluval 305 on my 55g.

And yep, I would recommend 2 powerheads for a 40g, I;d most likely go with 2 750 koralias if it were me.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

I would stick with the hang on back, canisters can be a pain in saltwater. lol I should know, I'm still running a fluval 305 on my 55g.

And yep, I would recommend 2 powerheads for a 40g, I;d most likely go with 2 750 koralias if it were me.

Really? a guy I work with said the opposite, use a canister, not a HOB. What makes the Canister a pain in SW? Honestly if I can do a HOB, I would assume I could reuse my HOB Bio Wheel 350.. if I can get the parts for a reasonable amount then I have 2 Biowheels I can use.

Is the one HOB enough or do I need 2.. I know the up front cost will be there so here is what I have:

• Tank (40g)
• BioWheel 350 (1 complete, 1 missing pieces)
• Heater (150w I think)

I would need:

• canopies and a Light (moving what I have for that to my 55Gal FW Cichlid tank)
• Sand Substrate
• Power heads
• Live rock?
• Refractometer or Hydrometer

Looks like I could start one for a reasonable cost.. just need to find a spot to set it up and get wife approval for yet another tank.. LOL

 

[carey]

The hang on back or canister filter really is only for mechanical filtration or adding carbon or gfo. Your live rock is like 80% of the biological filtration.So yep, I would think one hob filter would be enough.

When using a canister you have to clean it out more frequently than in fresh water to avoid nitrates from building up in it.

 

[TLTGF]

Don't forget a test kit like the API Master Test.

 

[austinsdad]

I don't think you need to wait a whole year for a starfish. And I saw my stars all the time. What kind ya thinking anyway? I've added starfish (brittles or serpents) within a month or so after establishing/cycling my tank as part of my cleanup crew.

 

[joy13]

My brittle star fish came in on rock I have dozen of them I thought he was talking about something like a chocolate chip which seems to be readily available at petco. Once in awhile I will see a serpent star.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

sort of looked like this

but I don't remember the 'chocolate chip' markings

 

[Just.A.Bit.Salty]

Chocolate chip star fish I think like 8 bucks at Petco. Not reef safe at all just so you know.

 

[wvanderborg]

You might want to add maybe one more small bio wheel. I'm about to set up a 55 gal fowlr and I'm running 2 350 biowheels and I'm still iffy on if that's enough filtration.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

Chocolate chip star fish I think like 8 bucks at Petco. Not reef safe at all just so you know.

maybe it was not the red chocolate chip startfish, one I saw was $28

still going to be a bit before I set one up.. need to finish moving Cichlids ( well I need to start moving them too)

 

[-=Jeff=-]

I have tentative approval for converting my 40 gal long to salt. I would like to do it as frugal as possible. I need the power heads canopy and lights for sure. I will use my biowheel 350 that I am using for my FW.

One important question.. is it okay for sunlight to shine on a SW tank?

 

[joy13]

Sunlight equals algae the same as it does in a fw tank.

 

[-=Jeff=-]

So it will not hurt anything and will make more work for me

 

[-=Jeff=-]

Here is the Starfish we saw:

 

[redsea]

That looks like a Red Knob Star.


Saltwater Invertebrates for Marine Reef Aquariums: Red Knob Sea Star