30g Bowfront help and conversion

[Sillyfishies]

Ok, before we start, I'm just letting everyone know this will be a slow going build.

With taxes and money were going to have to slowly convert it all.

Anyway, I am converting a 30g bowfront from freshwater to saltwater. I have no saltwater equipment other then my aquaclear I will be using as a little hang on fuge.

So having that said, I wanna know everything I need to buy.

Do I need a sump?

How much live rock?

What power heads should I use? Assuming I want corals eventually?

What else do I need?

What is the total amount of money you think it will cost?

Thanks!

 

[Sniperhank]

In terms of costs for a SW tank, it varies on area and what all you end up doing. You have the tank, so that is one thing down.
Do you need a sump? No...but more water is always a good idea.
How much live rock? 1-1.5 lbs per gallon. You don't have to get live rock, base/macro/dry rock works just as well so you can save some money that way.
What powerheads? Koralia's are quite popular due to not being as expensive as some. I have several in my tank and like them, even the ones that sometimes start in the opposite direction. There is a fix for it though.
The key to saltwater is keeping water pristine. Either buy ro/di water from your LFS or buy a unit yourself. BRS sells nice units and you can get them off ebay pretty cheap. I have a 5 stage unit that works well. The other bit is lighting. Corals need lots of light, depending on the type of coral you want. This is where the cost is. My suggestion would be to look at the taotronics LEDs from ebay/amazon. This is as cheap as keeping any photosynthetic coral your heart desires gets. Just try to get a unit you can dim so you can acclimate coral to your new, very powerful lighting.

 

[Sillyfishies]

In terms of costs for a SW tank, it varies on area and what all you end up doing. You have the tank, so that is one thing down.
Do you need a sump? No...but more water is always a good idea.
How much live rock? 1-1.5 lbs per gallon. You don't have to get live rock, base/macro/dry rock works just as well so you can save some money that way.
What powerheads? Koralia's are quite popular due to not being as expensive as some. I have several in my tank and like them, even the ones that sometimes start in the opposite direction. There is a fix for it though.
The key to saltwater is keeping water pristine. Either buy ro/di water from your LFS or buy a unit yourself. BRS sells nice units and you can get them off ebay pretty cheap. I have a 5 stage unit that works well. The other bit is lighting. Corals need lots of light, depending on the type of coral you want. This is where the cost is. My suggestion would be to look at the taotronics LEDs from ebay/amazon. This is as cheap as keeping any photosynthetic coral your heart desires gets. Just try to get a unit you can dim so you can acclimate coral to your new, very powerful lighting.

Thanks for the reply! How much turnover an hour should I look for?

 

[Sniperhank]

That depends on what you are doing with the tank. Soft coral need left than sps. I like 30-50x myself.

 

[Sillyfishies]

I definitely don't want to do anything very hard. Maybe some zoas and mushrooms. I really like softies too

 

[Sillyfishies]

Anybody know what skimmer I should use? It needs to be hang on back because I'm not doing a sump. I don't want to spend more than 150 dollars.

Unless I would be able to do a sump and a skimmer for under 250

 

[Sniperhank]

CPR makes a nice hob skimmer. The bak-pak I think it's called.

 

[nelix10]

I built my sump for 80$ with home depot acrylic! I use a tunze 9004 on my 39gal! I think it was 180!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Thanks! I will go with the Bak-Pak 2R+ if I don't use a sump.

Will acrylic stick to glass If I used silicone? Will 10g be too small for a sump? what size should I go for if I do use a sump?

Sorry for all the questions! I feel so new again. Saltwater is a whole new world to me!

 

[nelix10]

Bigger the better when it comes to a sump! And yes silicone will glue acrylic to glass just fine!

 

[Sniperhank]

Keep in mind places like lowes will also cut glass to size for you really cheap. That is how I built my sump from a 20 long for cheap.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Bigger the better when it comes to a sump! And yes silicone will glue acrylic to glass just fine!

Did you use something similar to this? OPTIX 18 in. x 24 in. Acrylic Sheet-1AU0187A at The Home Depot

 

[nelix10]

Exactly! Took me a couple hours to build my sump!

 

[Sniperhank]

Get some old magazines to help hold up baffles while the silicon dries. One of the best assistance when I made mine.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Ok, I think I may go with a sump because it's not too much more money. I have 0 experience with sumps and they confuse me. I do not want to drill my tank. My dad has a quite a bit of knowledge with plumbing so he can help.

Let's say I use a 10g tank as a sump. I put 3 sections. The first would be skimmer, the second fuge, 3rd return correct? Do I need a pump to get water into the sump or only a return pump? How many gph does the return pump need to be? Do I need an over flow?

 

[nelix10]

Yes return only! 10 times display volume! And that is the correct order! The water level of the first section depends on the skimmer

 

[Sillyfishies]

My only concern is evaporation. With an overflow box, wouldn't the flow stop whenever the water drops below the grate? If I don't have an auto top off, couldn't evaporation stop the flow until I fill the display back up with a bucket?

 

[nelix10]

Well ya but you just top it up before that happens! I fill mine once a week with 1 gal of rodi!

 

[Sillyfishies]

I've done a lot of research and I think I got a final checkout list. Do you think this will work?

60lbs Arag-Alive Fuji Pink live sand - 59.64 (do you think I can get a 4" DSB with 40 lbs?)
Synthetic Sea Salt Reef Crystals 160 gallon mix (bucket) - 52.99
Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer 65 gallon - 81.59
Hydor Universal Pump 320 (Seltz L30) - 37.99
ProFlex Sumps Model 1 Sumps - 179.99
2 x Marineland Maxi-Jet PRO 400 PRO - 29.98
CaribSea South Seas Base Rock 40 lbs - 83.07
Shipping - Free
Total -$525.25

Any thoughts or changes?

 

[Fishman007]

I've done a lot of research and I think I got a final checkout list. Do you think this will work?

60lbs Arag-Alive Fuji Pink live sand - 59.64 (do you think I can get a 4" DSB with 40 lbs?)
Synthetic Sea Salt Reef Crystals 160 gallon mix (bucket) - 52.99
Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer 65 gallon - 81.59
Hydor Universal Pump 320 (Seltz L30) - 37.99
ProFlex Sumps Model 1 Sumps - 179.99
2 x Marineland Maxi-Jet PRO 400 PRO - 29.98
CaribSea South Seas Base Rock 40 lbs - 83.07
Shipping - Free
Total -$525.25

Any thoughts or changes?

The maxi jets are ugly and arent very effective, get koralias.
That skimmer is crap, get a CPR bal pak like me, (i have one on my 37g, works great) is much better. Costs $160.

Are you planning on getting an RODI system or using water from the lfs? If your buying one i use the BRS 5 stage chloramine + unit, $250. You may not need a chloramine unit though, check in with your local water department for info if you have them or not.

Theres really no cutting corners in the salty side, cheap ends up broken and with a hair algea and cyano filled tank.

On my most recent build (20g long) it costed me $800 just to give you an idea...