My first 30g sw tank!

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Joe5688 said:
Rescaped again hopefully for the last time lol
Click to expand...

Looks great except on the right side that piece resting on the glass isn't such a good idea. Try and leave 2" all around for cleaning and to avoid scratches
 
Nice rockwork man. But since your nitrite is so high the cycle isn't done yet but your very close since your nitrate is rising and have low ammonia. What are you planning to put in? And by the way during the cycle don't keep your lights on unless your working on it or somthing, you don't want a green hair algae outbreak. It's a pain to get rid of!
 
I didn't think it would even be close to cycling since its only been up 3 days. I'm surprised I have any nitrate at all but i'm assuming is from the live rock. The raw shrimp has only been in there for one day.

Thanks for the tip about the lights. I just purchased a 10k bulb instead of the 50/50 I had in there.
 
Yeah no problem, saving alot of headache but when your cycle is done to a major water change to take trates down because algae feeds on that stuff keep doing it till your trates are like 2 over a period of a few days. 10k bulbs are good. Under my reef I have 1 10k bulb 2atinic and 1 purple. That what came with mine but I'm looking to replace soon since they are 8 months old. The purple is a neat addition.
 
One other quick question, if I were to add another powerhead and just use the 240 and the 800 would that be to much flow?
 
After the tanks cycled and you stabilize your water parameters so it doesn't flex all the time you can add inverts. Add like 1 every week or 2 till you get what you want. It won't stress the bioload. I'd add fish before inverts. But I wouldn't say too much flow. But if you get shrimp and they are hanging on for dear life then yes turn them down or if you get corals, they don't like too much flow so you will know what you need. Adjustments are key. You want your corals to have a sway effect not so fast that it's like a flag waving in a storm.
 
Ok thanks, right now I have 1 on each side glass right in the middle. Both facing the front center of the front glass
 
It looks good. I see you playing with the aqua scape a lot, you know you don't have to have all that rock in there, and you can always hit a few pieces with a hammer and change their shape. When I did my 120 gallon tank I only put about 60 lbs of rock in it and it looked awesome. I could post a pic if you need but you can also google minimalist tank aquascaping and get a few ideas there as well. the 1-3 lbs per gallon is a "basic" rule but an old thought too. Protein skimmers and nutrient control has come a long way since those rules were established. Just my 2 cents. I liked your first set up but thought it had too much rock, you could make like a large column or island on the left towards the back wall then a smaller island or two on the right and maybe towards the front wall. Give some depth to the aquascape and no so much like a fruit stand look. =) Also if you google the "rule of thirds" or took an art class and learned about that rule of thirds it does apply to aquascaping a fish tank too so try to keep that in mind as well. It's better to fuss with it now while it's empty than to worry about it full of stuff trust me. There is also epoxy that will work under water if you need to hold a piece here or there.
The fixture will most likely grow corals, I would do like somebody else suggested and replace the bulbs with a quality bulb like ATI or D+D. That will go a long way to making things look even nicer, you will be blown away by the look of a quality bulb. Bulk Reef Supply has good prices and I have always had luck, but there are lots of great reputable vendors for bulbs as well.
Good luck, and keep on updating.
 
Rgillund said:
It looks good. I see you playing with the aqua scape a lot, you know you don't have to have all that rock in there, and you can always hit a few pieces with a hammer and change their shape. When I did my 120 gallon tank I only put about 60 lbs of rock in it and it looked awesome. I could post a pic if you need but you can also google minimalist tank aquascaping and get a few ideas there as well. the 1-3 lbs per gallon is a "basic" rule but an old thought too. Protein skimmers and nutrient control has come a long way since those rules were established. Just my 2 cents. I liked your first set up but thought it had too much rock, you could make like a large column or island on the left towards the back wall then a smaller island or two on the right and maybe towards the front wall. Give some depth to the aquascape and no so much like a fruit stand look. =) Also if you google the "rule of thirds" or took an art class and learned about that rule of thirds it does apply to aquascaping a fish tank too so try to keep that in mind as well. It's better to fuss with it now while it's empty than to worry about it full of stuff trust me. There is also epoxy that will work under water if you need to hold a piece here or there.
The fixture will most likely grow corals, I would do like somebody else suggested and replace the bulbs with a quality bulb like ATI or D+D. That will go a long way to making things look even nicer, you will be blown away by the look of a quality bulb. Bulk Reef Supply has good prices and I have always had luck, but there are lots of great reputable vendors for bulbs as well.
Good luck, and keep on updating.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you are saying. I'm not running a skimmer or any filter other then the lr. I'm going to be turning one of My ac50s into a hob refugium with done macro algae and that's about it.

I've always liked the "amphitheater" look to it with high does and a low middle.
I may keep playing with it but I dunno haha.
 
I have my one 30 gal tank with 35 pounds of rock and a hob skimmer for filtration that's it and it supports my 3 fish and corals and snails really well. I'm totally sumpless. For now anyways
 
Go slow and do not rush. Let your tank cycle properly. Marineland lights are a cheap start. If you go LED, 24" strip is big enough. Go to www.drsfosterandsmith.com. I would add some powerheads for water flow, make sure flow does not create any dead zones. Always moving water everywhere. Great start so far. Good luck!
 
AquariumAddiction said:
Go slow and do not rush. Let your tank cycle properly. Marineland lights are a cheap start. If you go LED, 24" strip is big enough. Go to www.drsfosterandsmith.com. I would add some powerheads for water flow, make sure flow does not create any dead zones. Always moving water everywhere. Great start so far. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I just ordered 2 800gph Ph. One for my 100g and one for this one. Gonna run the 240 and 800 in the 30g.

I already learned about waiting to cycle when I first did this 30g as a freshwater tank. I lost about 60$ worth of fish. That was probably almost a year ago. I've done a lot of reading and learning since then lol.
 
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