starting a new SW tank, new to the hobby.

[ebondaruk]

my friend who picked it up for me, said there's a sticker on bottom says "tempered". im assuming all sides are tempered and not just the bottom right? if so, that kind of sucks! is my only other option a PVC overflow? thanks guys!

[TLTGF]

I seem to recall that there were a few others that had seen that sticker but found that only the bottom was tempered... Try a search for tempered and maybe one of those threads will pop up.

[Jeffrock]

Its a good place to introduce your chemicals for treatment as well as a place to treat your water with a skimmer or filter media !

[mr_X]

Yeah, I too think the bottoms are the only thing that's tempered on those tanks.

[Closetcanibal]

Wait...you can't drill tempered can you? What about with the circular glass cutter that suctions on?

[mr_X]

No. that's not going to work.

[Closetcanibal]

Originally Posted by mr_X

No. that's not going to work.

Dangit. I'm hoping my 55 isn't a tempered bottom. Is there a way to tell short of putting it in the car and going to the
LFS? It doesn't have any markings on it at all.

[mr_X]

Why would you drill the bottom? Drill the back. The LFS isn't going to know.

[Closetcanibal]

Originally Posted by mr_X

Why would you drill the bottom? Drill the back. The LFS isn't going to know.

I figured I'd drill the bottom cause I I'm going to use an in tank overflow.

[mr_X]

Drill the back and attach an overflow box to rthe back of the tank. There is no need to run an overflow box all the way to the bottom of the tank and waste all that space. do something like this:

check out Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff

[Closetcanibal]

Originally Posted by mr_X

Drill the back and attach an overflow box to rthe back of the tank. There is no need to run an overflow box all the way to the bottom of the tank and waste all that space. do something like this:

check out Glass-Holes.com dope aquarium stuff

That's a great idea. I think I'll go with that. I'm gonna start a build thread once everything comes together.

[ebondaruk]

^ i agree, that is pretty cool. anyways just a little updated pic. no new livestock but re-did my scape a little....still sucks, but whatever...

[ebondaruk]

oh yea, haha i forgot.. please still ignore the awesome light... still on the lookout for a decent one.

[Endless Ocean in My House]

You need some kind of substrate, pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite test kits, make sure you're doing enough research for this.
I'd suggest a slightly larger tank. There are sizes in between a 20 and 55 gal. I'd go with a 29 or 30 gal tank-You really shouldn't try a SW tank in that small of a tank.

[mr_X]

You don't need a substrate. Many tanks do well bare bottom. there are thousands of nano reefs below 20 gallons that are thriving. Why is it that people shouldn't have salt tanks smaller than 29 gallons?

[Endless Ocean in My House]

Only telling you what I've read about SW tanks. I was only listing things it seemed were missing from your list-it's your choice not to use substrate. I probably shouldn't have replied-I didn't realize quite how many replies there were or how long the convo had carried out when I commented.

[ebondaruk]

just picked up a small emerald crab. while the employee was getting it out of the tank i noticed they have tons of bristle worms in the tank (sp). everywhere i read they say they are a nuisance. so far i haven't seen any in my tank so im guessing my LR didn't bring any with it. i was just wondering if it is a bad idea to introduce them to my tank? it just seems like they will help the Eco cycle in the tank? IDK.. can anyone school me on this?thanks in advance guys!

[mr_X]

They aren't a nuisance. They are scavengers that come for free. People spend money on "clean up crews" and then want to kill all the worms. it doesn't make much sense to me. You just purchased a known predator with claws, as do many other reef keepers, but a worm that has some spines for defense (not offense) is considered bad.
The reason a tank is overrun with bristle worms is poor husbandry- Not cleaning, overfeeding, poor flow and uneaten food building up on the sand...

[ebondaruk]

Should I ask for the LFS to throw a few in with my next purchase? Or should I just wait for now?whenever I see them I think its kind of cool.weird I know.thanks for the help mr.x!

[mr_X]

You can do that if you want. I just did that myself.